You've Got Mail!

Talk about one of the best mail days EVER: After running errands in town, I came back home and found this lovely pile of packages in front of my door...

The little box contained a fabulously-wild vintage felt tilt hat with multiple pink faux birdies and a vintage veil!  This hat operates under my personal philosophy of "the more birds, the better."  I had to do a massive repair job on the birds using glue, but the hat is now fixed and looks wonderful!

The larger package contained my early-birthday-present-to-myself vintage late-1940s kitty coat!  It's in a bit rougher shape than I would have liked (lots of small tears and worn spots), but it fits me perfectly and I love the style!  I have always wanted to own a vintage kitty coat, and while I cherish my cape, it's too light to wear on chilly winter evenings.  Now I can choose between a cape and a coat!

Meet Betty

Betty is my new vintage "Sally Stitch" adjustable dress form! She's a size small, so that she can be used for sewing little clothes for little me. Betty comes with the original sticker, and a sturdy cast iron base. She's from the 1940s/1950s, and is still going strong! Betty is going to become the new model for our Etsy store!

Here she is displaying that fab vintage 1950s seal fur swing coat I purchased last week for $8.99. While the fur was in excellent condition, the coat had been badly abused and was ripped in many spots. My grandmother and I repaired it as best we could, and it's wearable as-is (though you have to be careful with it). Love the pretty lining!

Speaking of the ol' thrifty, I made two fantastic scores today! The first is a SIGNED Weiss rhinestone bracelet for $9.99! WOWSA! The bracelet is in great condition, except for a few imperfections in some of the larger rhinestones (only noticeable up close).

The other wonderful vintage item I found today was an older vintage cheongsam dress! Now, most of the ones you see are from the 1960s or later, and are made of brocade or something similar. However, this dress comes in red velvet with white detailing. Yet again, I was just about to walk out of the store when I saw the dress on the mannequin! I didn't even have to see the metal zipper - just glancing at the velvet told me this dress was OLD! I have a Christmas Santa decoration that belonged to my grandmother, and it is made of the exact same type of red velvet material. Because of that, I knew the dress was vintage, and also because of that, this will forever after be my "Christmas Dress."

The dress has a metal side zipper, and metal snaps along the right shoulder. It fits like a glove, and I love it!!! So sorry, ladies, this one is staying in the personal collection. But don't despair!: I have another cheongsam dress coming into my Etsy store that is made of iridescent peacock blue/green brocade with a matching jacket - you'll be sure to LOVE IT!

Fuzzy Wuzzy Fur Coat - Update

My grandmother and I finally finished repairing that $19 fur coat I found at the thrifty the other day. There were a great deal more seam tears than we originally thought. However, the coat is now back to being as good as new! I have searched in vain for a maker's label and have found nothing. The style of the coat had me a bit stumped too. However, after a great deal of research, here are my theories:

1) I believe the coat to be marmot fur, most likely woodchuck, yellow-bellied, or alpine marmot due to the white spots prevalent throughout. This is just a guess, mind you. I am no fur expert! But based on the description and images from the Vintage Fashion Guild's fur resource site, this seems a good bet. The pelts have darker, long-ish guard hairs, and a short, fine, light-brown down fur in between. Mink, squirrel, etc., is too fine and even in hair type/dispersal, and does not match what I am seeing on this coat.

2) I have searched in vain for a maker's label, or anything to tell me who made this coat and how old it is. I have not found anything. The coat has had a second lining hand-sewn onto it (I don't quite know why, as the original lining appears to be intact underneath...?), so if there IS a label on the original lining, it's very hard to see (I have looked though!). The style is unusual to me: extremely long length, cuffed sleeves, very wide collar. The closest guess I can make is that it's from the 1950s, which seem to favor that style of collar. You can see one example on Etsy HERE. The CLOSEST I have been able to come to another coat has been this very high-end 1950s SCHIAPARELLI coat on Etsy. Now, I'm not saying that my coat is a Schiaparelli, however, it IS well made and this other coat is quite similar. A girl can dream, eh?

So, there ya go. Any opinions about timelines, etc.?

In any event, it's a gorgeous coat, and I am so thrilled to give it a loving home! Bring on the cool weather!

Egg Money Madness

So, bitch and you shall receive!

After my previous complaint that no one wanted to buy eggs, all of a sudden I had orders for 6 dozen assorted chicken and duck eggs today! YAY for fridge space again (at least for a day or two)!!! I had to drive into Medford to deliver the eggs, so of course I stopped off for a quick look at the thrifty. Gotta feed the addiction, right? Anywho, what lovely treasure should I find today but a BREATHTAKINGLY beautiful vintage fur coat! Talk about meant to be: I had made $19 in egg sales. What was the price of the fur coat? Why, $19 of course!!!

It's in amazing shape - the pelts are still soft and supple with no discernible shedding! The full-length coat is quite obviously high-end and very well-made, with a double lining and deep front pockets lined in soft suede. The only problems with it were four 6-8" long tears in the seams between the pelts on both arms (2 tears per arm - one is visible in the pictures). This is an ok defect because the actual FUR is not ripped. Therefore, my grandmother and I spent the afternoon carefully stitching up the tears. We draped the fur coat over a chair, and each of us pulled up a seat, took an arm, and began sewing. Voila! Good as new! The fur has me a bit stumped - it's too long for mink, and the white spots scattered throughout are startling and gorgeous. I plan to do some more research on it.

Anywho, forgive the poor pictures, but I was just SO excited to share my find! I'll get some better ones another day, but here is a glimpse. The large back collar can be worn either down or flipped up. Haven't figured out a time period on the coat yet. Doesn't seem to have the large Joan Crawford shoulders though...

And Now A Break For Vintage...

I know that lately - with spring just around the corner! - I've been focusing more heavily on the garden and plant-related posts, so I decided that I needed a vintage-inspired break.

The most exciting news by far (for me, anyway) is that I won Bombshell Bettie's Vintage blog giveaway! She was celebrating the fact that she has reached 300 followers, and giving away a sheer blue vintage robe, hankie, faux pearl necklace, and brooch. I remember seeing the giveaway contest and thinking, "Oh my gosh! That is the most GORGEOUS brooch!! I want it!!" I never in a million years dreamed that I would actually WIN. I never have any luck at giveaways, so YAY me! I can't wear to wear/show-off my new goodies!

I never wrote anything about the ADORABLE pair of 1950's earrings I scored for $4.98+shipping off of Etsy the other week! I love how they dangle, and the rhinestones are still in great shape with only the slightest hint of yellowing. They are screw-back earrings, and I LOVE them! Plus, you sooooo can't beat the price!

Until I looked at this picture, I never realized how many freckles I have...

And finally, my lovely vintage raccoon fur coat (along with three complimentary vintage fur collars and two mink stoles) shipped out today! I've been eagerly looking forward to being able to afford it for a while now. Patricia of WhatWeCollect on Etsy has been SO wonderful this entire time! This is my second purchase through her store, and I have been really, really pleased with my experience. She has some awesome items, and I encourage everybody to check her store out! My coat has obviously not arrived yet, but I am going to show you a sneak peak of it (I hope Patricia doesn't mind?!):

Isn't it gorgeous?!?!