Verity Vintage Studio

Glimpses From Our Wedding Day

And now...wedding pictures!

 

I don't have the photographer's images back yet, and won't for several weeks. When I get them I'm hoping to walk you through the day in more detail (including some behind the scenes photos), but because I can't wait, I'm going to go ahead and share some of the beautiful images captured by my talented brother.

 

This picture doesn't show the puddles from a rain and wind storm the night before...or indicate the pile of towels we soaked with icy water while wiping everything off! But at least it didn't rain that day, and the clouds lifting off the mountain made a beautiful, ever changing backdrop.

 

 

My grandma made the cake, and I helped her decorate it. After helping her decorate cakes for several of my cousins, it felt so strange to be working on mine! As always, it turned out gorgeous and scrumptious.

 

The vintage topper came from Etsy.

 

As did the Scripture sign, and the Idaho wedding favors, among other things.

 

My beautiful bridesmaids, in dresses they made, inspired by this Pinterest picture which I used to find a similar 1950s dress pattern. My sister (standing to my left) drafted the cowl and sash herself and was endlessly helpful with details.

 

Simply the cutest flower girl...ever!!! 

(She wanted her hair put in "curlies" like "Aunt Kristen"!)

 

A few more yet...

 

It was such a lovely day. And after all that planning and work, it went by so quickly. As expected, there were a few minor glitches, but the most important thing took place - which was that I ended up married to my Sweetheart! :-)

(After two weeks of marriage, I can definitely say I'm one exceedingly blessed woman!)

 

Dress details to come, over the next few weeks!

 

And a farewell, happy and tired, just before the new Clays drove away in the convertible.

 

God. Is. Good.

Why I Like Thrift Stores - The Houndstooth Sweater-Blouse

(This post was supposed to be finished last week, but due to a crazy busy weekend, it was delayed until today.)

Getting ready for a wedding entails several major shopping trips, where we include visiting some large thrift stores. Some new-to-me clothes made their way home, among them this lovely vintage style feminine sweater, which I spotted on a mannequin as soon as I stepped in the door, and hovered around it until someone could take it off the mannequin for me. My first impression was - ooh, that looks so 1950s!

 

Fitted sweaters in a shorter length, worn without a belt, were very popular in the 1950s, as were allover prints and sweater sets. This one is a classic, with its V neck and hip length, wide ribbing and a giant houndstooth design. Super 1950s style.

 

Here I dressed it up as a go-to-town outfit, but it also could be styled more simply for an everyday or house outfit.

 

It's also more than just a pullover, with the pretty lace detailing at the neck and the use of contrast at neck, hem, and cuffs.

 

I found I have a dearth of skirts to wear it with, so that will need to be a wardrobe upgrade at some point in the future! I wasn't really happy with this pairing (also a thrift store find from years ago), but didn't have much choice.

 

But it does go so well with my newest hat, snagged at an antique store earlier this year. The straw beret is fairly fragile, but I couldn't resist the big black velvet bow.

 

It can be worn at various angles, and I believe would also work to accessorize for the 1930s, though I'm pretty sure it's a late '40s or 1950s hat. 

 

The sweater also I could see as having 1930s potential, if worn with a longer bias-cut skirt, ruffles at the throat, and a belt. That's the fun thing about simple pieces like this - they can cross decades of fashion. (Obviously, since this is a modern sweater! :-)

I will enjoy wearing it this fall, and finding new ways to style it. Light sweaters with short sleeves are a favorite of mine when the air starts to turn, but it's still warm during the days. Especially for everyday, since as I've mentioned before, sweaters are fitted and vintage appropriate, but without movement restriction or the need to be pressed before wearing.

 

So I consider this one as a wonderful addition to my autumn wardrobe, and am so glad I spotted it at the thrift store! 

Gray Skirt Makeover

This has been a very procrastinated-upon project. I started the makeover several months ago, then left it lay around without being finished for a long time. Finally I buckled down and finished it, and in less than a half-hour it was completed! Another reminder that procrastination never pays. :-)

 

Anyway, this skirt started out as a thrift store find: a very long, straight skirt I used to wear a lot in the summer. A solid gray that goes with anything, in a non-wrinkling fabric (though after being stuck in a redo-or-mend stack for a long time it did get some wrinkles in it). I had dressed it up years ago by doing some embroidery on the front above the hem, so it was also personalized.

 

Yet it was always too long to be practical. After I lost weight last year, this skirt settled down around my hips and what had been an ankle length skirt now puddled on the floor! It went from being impractical to being impossible.

 

I considered just getting rid of it, but liking the color, fabric and embroidery, I decided to try doing something else entirely. My first makeover.

 

I cut it off just under the zipper, which made the length about right. I wanted to cut the waistband out of the remnant, but the darts made that impossible. So I cut out a waistband from another fabric. Not the closest color, but close enough. I usually wear my blouses out over the skirt band anyway.

 

Marking the center of the front of the skirt, and the waistband, I pinned it together and began to play with the extra fabric. 

 

I tried several ways of pleating the extra fabric.

 

And decided on just a single box pleat in the front. For the back I did long darts to use up the extra.

 

From there on, it was just like finishing any skirt. I put in a short zipper by hand, and whipstitched down the waistband. 

Now I have a much more practical skirt that will actually get some wear!

 

I'm quite pleased with my first attempt at a makeover. I think there are more pieces in my closet that deserve a new lease on life as well. 

 

It's nice to have what feels like a new addition to the wardrobe without all the work of making it from scratch. 

 

Since I'm wearing it in these photos, I have to show you another favorite thrift store find - a classic pullover sweater. It's another one of those modern pieces that can easily become vintage with the right accessorizing.

 

A simple V neck and pretty puffed sleeves make it suitable for 1930s and 1940s wear. Plus it's comfortable! One of my favorite ways to dress vintage even when I don't feel like dressing up.

 

I think more makeovers are on the radar for the future! (After wedding sewing, though, I think. :-)

1950s Blue Twill Skirt

Supposedly a quick project, this skirt took me 3 weeks to complete. Not because it was difficult, but because it was hard to find time to sew. But at last it is finished, and in a pretty shade of solid blue is a great addition to my wardrobe, which badly needs basics.

I was going for a very accurate look this time, so my blouse is a modern thrift-store find, and my shoes are 1940s. You can call it vintage-inspired if you like.

 

The skirt is from a 1950s pattern but I think has classic elements that make it suitable for other eras as well. It looks kind of 1930s to me, actually. Maybe that's because so many skirts in the 1930s had those low pleats at the hem. This one has 2 in the front and 1 in the back, and I like the way they flow when I'm walking.

 

This was a new territory for me. Fitted skirts are something to be cautious with, but I figured I could always not topstitch the pleats if needed. The pleats are inserted all the way down, and top stitched. I stopped the top stitching right above the knee, and love how the pleats give it extra fullness so that it is still modest when I sit down.

 

It is too fitted around the hips, I think, so I'll wear it with tops that come down over the waist - and next time take a pleat in the pattern pieces at the hips to adjust the flare a little.

 

Otherwise it's fairly basic...I did French seams everywhere except the zipper seam. The fabric - now that is a different story! I got this length of twill and it was soft, and a great shade of blue. I washed it - and it came out as stiff as cardboard. I folded it up and put it away, trying to figure out what to do with it. Some time later I pulled it out again, thinking it would be a great fabric for a skirt (one of the fabric suggestions on this pattern is actually twill) - and it was soft again! So I happily made this skirt, only to have it dry on a hanger after wearing and laundering it for the first time...and it was stiff as cardboard again. Ironing softened it up, but it's quite weird, and the iron leaves marks, so I'm sure it will be only for everyday wear. But a good trial version of this pattern just the same. :-)

 

Once again I was reminded of how easy skirts are, compared to dresses or even blouses. No sleeves, facings, collars, etc. Even ones like this, with a little more involved, are quick and comparatively simple. A nice way to feel like you got a lot accomplished in a little time!

Talking About 1940s Sweaters...

One of my favorite ways to dress up in vintage style for everyday is to incorporate sweaters during the cooler months. Sweaters with 1940s styling are easily found in thrift stores and are generally very comfortable to wear for everyday since they have no motion restriction.

 

I've written before about wearing sweaters as a collegiate style, but sweaters were actually worn by women of all ages and occupations, so they can be quite suitable for anyone to incorporate into their wardrobe.

There are many different pictures available of women in the 1940s wearing sweaters which can give us a wide range of options when we are sweater shopping. As a 1940s sweater buying guide, you should look for two different styles. One comes just to the waist, or just past it. This type of sweater was generally worn as a blouse. It could be button down or pullover. This kind of sweater might not have shoulder pads; it could have gently puffed sleeves of any length (short sleeves were common) and usually was fitted at the waist while it could remain a little more blousy or be fitted on the top.

This cardigan has cute front detail, shoulder pads, and a collar.

 

Loretta Young wears a more casual style here - a fitted pullover with a novelty design, and a rare turtleneck.

 

The other style you can look for is a longer cardigan, which would have been worn as a jacket, sometimes even instead of a suit jacket. This type of sweater, always button-down (or even closing with a front zipper), usually has shoulder pads and is generally in more of a jacket style. Close the top button on these and button them all the way as long as the sweater is hip length.

Here's a sweater that is a jacket replica. Notice the crossed scarf to fill in the neck - a great idea!

 

This color block knitted sweater zips up the front and has a plain high neckline.

 

The cardigan I'm wearing falls in the 2nd category. It has patch pockets and cute sleeve detail. It did not originally have shoulder pads, but the nice thing about shoulder pads are they are super easy to add to a finished garment like I did here. 

 

I paired it with a vintage dickey and one of my new finds at an antique store - a dangling heart 1940s brooch.

 

Another style you can look for would be a long pullover to be worn with a belt, or if you want a sloppier teenage look, a slightly too-big sweater can be paired with a simple skirt and bobby socks. No belt.

Here are some less fitted schoolgirl style sweaters. Notice the initials at the neck of the one on the left.

 

Things to Look For

Sweaters in the 1940s often were solid colors, sometimes with shoulder detail. If they were unadorned, a lady would often wear a brooch or some sort of decoration on the shoulder. Novelty designs in sweaters were very common (hearts, arrows, animals, etc), and fair isle was popular especially for ski sweaters. Sweaters of some style or other could be worn for almost every dress code, including evening wear, though that was less common. 

Fair isle pullover, a little longer than some. A ski type of sweater but since it's short sleeve, probably not worn for skiing!

 

Sweaters often were blouse style, worn as blouses, and would have collars. This is not so common today, but don't worry - many sweaters were without collars back then as well. A plain round close neck was common, but if you have a sweater with a V, wear it with an undershirt or dickey that sports a collar - preferably white. The rule of thumb is if you have a sweater or jacket with a lapel or collar, wear a plain round neck dickey (maybe with a bow for a fussier style). If the sweater or jacket has a plain neck, wear it with a dickey with a collar.

V neck simple cardigans, worn with white collared blouses or dickeys.

 

If you are crafty, you can make 1940s sweaters yourself! Many vintage knitting patterns for lovely sweaters are available online and you can make the real thing.

 

Most of these guidelines apply to other eras of sweaters as well. 1930s sweaters might have more neck and shoulder detail, worn belted, and often sported raglan sleeves and button embellishments. 1950s sweaters were usually plain and snug, always without shoulder pads, and sweater sets were in vogue. So if you know what to look for and what to pair it with, these can be some of the easiest modern pieces to incorporate into your costumes or vintage-themed wear of any decade.

 

With these guidelines, just keep the options in mind when sweater shopping. A plain cardigan when worn with a white collared blouse and an A line skirt is a great, easy to find, everyday style for comfort for us vintage dressing gals, and still can be worn as a period correct costume if paired with the right accessories.

 

(All pictures not of me were found in the public domain.)

The Magic of Fur

A dear friend gave me this coat last year before we moved from Pennsylvania to Idaho. I've found it a treasure this winter - it's the right length and fit, so nice and warm, and the lovely shade of gray wool goes with everything! 

 

I think it is comparatively modern, though it's one of those classic styles that pop up now and then through several different decades of fashion and I do wear it with my quasi-vintage outfits sometimes. But the best part of it is the lovely soft genuine fur collar, which someone (with a definite sense of style!) sewed on over top of the small lapel collar already on the coat.

 

The collar gives the coat an instant sense of glamour it otherwise wouldn't possess. I'm picky about my furs - no heads, no leopard or cheetah spots, and I don't really like the feel of mink. I don't like to be swallowed in furs, unlike the pictures you might see of the 1940s full length coats or a 1950s model swathed head to toe in fur, including her hat. To me, it's a "less is more" approach and I prefer it as accessories or trim. I might even choose a good quality vintage faux fur item over genuine fur because it is easier to care for and won't shed all over my clothes.

 

But a touch now and then of the real thing is just the right touch. It's indefinably glamorous and instantly makes the ordinary very special. That's the magic of fur!