Vintage Patterns and a Sewing Machine!

Here I am, finally entering my first blog!  Yes, I am a little behind but at least my daughter has been keeping you all updated and informed on our great finds and adventures.  I am so excited on this joint venture with my daughter because we both love all things vintage!  I guess you could say I owe it all to my Mom and Dad.  She has given me a few of her great vintage pieces, including a few patterns (one of which is pictured below).  But I will save that topic for another blog.  

With that said, here are a few of the vintage patterns that I have purchased over the past few months.  A few dress patterns and a couple of circle skirt patterns.  Even as I write this, I am still collecting more vintage patterns and will post pictures of those as I get them.  I am very happy with these purchases and am always on the look out for more! 

Take a look at the sizing marked on the patterns.  The sizing of the past is vastly different than it is today.  Notice the Butterick Pattern #9100 and Simplicity Pattern #3229, they both read size 18 with a bust measurement of 36 and a size 20 is a bust size of 38.   So, if you are looking to purchase vintage patterns don't concern yourself with the larger size, just go by your measurements.  That's what really matters. 

Love Butterick #9100...so feminine and retro! 

I love these vintage patterns! I plan on making these dresses and skirts for myself and will post pictures of the finished product.  I must say that my daughter has begun to sew and she loves it!  So, I presume that she too will be posting pictures of her sewing projects as well. 


Here's a couple of patterns that my mother gave to me.  The apron pattern is one my Mom used to use over and over again for all of her lovely aprons. I have a couple of her aprons in my kitchen. (I will post pictures of her aprons later in another blog.)  The dress pattern is one of my favorites.  Love this style of dress, it's so flattering on the womanly figure. 

My love for sewing was instilled by my mother.  When I was little, my mother was always sewing either for herself or making something for me and I would love to sit beside her and watch.  Then when I was older she would teach me how to cut patterns, and put the pieces together to make a lovely piece of clothing.  I immediately caught on and loved it!  

The photo below is my mother's Singer sewing machine. Which I now proudly own....a great vintage item!  Thanks Mom!

I am so happy that my daughter enjoys sewing also because this is something that we can both can share and do together such as shopping for material, vintage patterns and assisting each other with sewing when needed.  So glad that I have passed this interest on to my daughter that was passed on to me by my mother and I know that one day when she has a daughter, she too will pass this love for sewing on to her.  

Until next time, keep smiling and never leave the house without your red lipstick!

~Rena xoxo

 

Happy 2012!

A brand new year to find "new" vintage things! YAY!!

Finding Pieces

Something mom and I do often is find new pieces to incorporate into our "vintage" looks and wardrobe. I don't really like to go by what magazines say you should be wearing, but I am inspired by them or, by like I said, "pieces."

Last weekend we stepped into a Forever21 for the first time in a while, thinking we would find a nice new pair of shoes and maybe a bracelet. Instead, we walked out with a full bag of goodies.  I don't have pictures of mother's goodies, but here are my pieces I will be adding to others in my closet.

I love myself some oxfords!!!!

Mom found this lightweight sweater for me randomly in the store, all by its lonesome. I LOVE this, but I am planning to remove the poofy flower pieces and add a vintage brooch instead. I would love to have  a real, vintage angora sweater, but I've never found one I liked just yet!

Peter Pan collar button-up polka dot blouse!

I've already worn this twice and received many compliments. I think its my new favorite! Its perfectly short and comfy. Plus, I get to wear my vintage lace shorts slip. It makes me feel like swing dancing!

Now as for true vintage, the boyfriend recently bought me three nylon and chiffon headscarves! Loves. ♥

Vintage Expo - Santa Monica

A few weeks ago, we attended one of my favorites vintage events; Vintage Expo in Santa Monica! It was wonderful seeing so many fellow dames dress in their casual, but lovely, vintage attire. I didn't get a picture of myself in my jumper and oxfords (maybe my mother did?) but here are pictures of what I scored that day. :)

My new favorite skirt! This is a gorgeous circle skirt I bought and love, love, LOVE!!!! I cannot wait to wear it out! *draws hearts around it*

Since I always borrow my mother's vintage red earrings, I finally got myself a pair, along with those beautiful blue clip-ons.

See? I was a good girl and didn't buy much. There was this one 50's golden yellow party dress I tried on and DIED over. It was beautiful, fit perfectly at my waist, but was about three inches too big on my bust. It would have cost too much to have altered, so I decided not to buy it. Oh well.

I promise that my mother will get on here and post eventually, but until she does, I will continue blogging away when I can. Cheers! xoxo

Vintage and not-so-vintage

A quick little update on my part. Haven't bought much in the way of vintage attire, just a piece or two here and there.

Recently I discovered a fantastic little vintage shop only a few minutes away from my house. I didn't find much in the way of dresses, as everything was either from the 60's/70's or the 40's garb was too small/too big. However, I scored an awesome purse! Unused, still with tags!!!

Only $25?! Yes, please!!!

Now onto not-so-authentic-vintage. Forever21 currently has these uber-super-duper cute shoes!!! Vintage inspired, whats not to love? You would never really know once they are paired with the right outfit. Again, yeah, under $25!

Mom and I feel so Mildred Pierce in these!!

Speaking of Mildred Pierce, anyone else watching the new HBO series starring Kate Winslet? Two of my favorites! As if we didn't love the Joan Crawford movie or Kate Winslet enough as it is! The show has started off with a solid start and Mom and I cannot wait until part 3 this Sunday! Love, love, LOVE!!!

Stay tuned; Mom has a great post on vintage sewing patterns she's recently acquired. Cheers! :)

"You both are delightful to look at!"

The Mother:  Rena
The Daughter:  Justine


After much discussion and debate, we decided to do it! Yes, get a blog, much like everyone else in the world.  But while many speak of their daily lives and latest music purchases on iTunes, we are going for a different direction for this particular mother-daughter blog.  We will be rambling of great vintage pieces we find, our outfit for the day or a retro event we attend.


Why retro?  Vintage, pin-up, retro, whatever you want to call it.  We love it.  It was a time when women were women and men were men.  I mean, do you even see women in petticoats and a swing dress shopping at the grocery store anymore?  Women didn't even need a reason to look and feel as beautiful as they did back then.  Things shouldn't have changed, we can still feel gorgeous ladies!!!


So, why DeCarlo/Hayworth?  The question is more like, why not?  Yvonne DeCarlo is one of my mother's all-time favorite actresses, while Rita Hayworth is mine.  Our inspirations come not only from these bombshells, but also from classic Hollywood movies to old magazine covers and sometimes from pictures of my grandmother, my mother's mom.

And the title of our blog?  It comes from one of our favorite films, Mildred Pierce, from Eve Arden's character Ida.  If you're not familiar with the movie (for shame!!!), the quote is in the scene where the character Wally pauses to admire Ida standing on a chair.  Being the amazing broad that she is, she replies simply, "Leave something on me, I might catch cold!"  There you have it.

We hope you enjoy our adventures and can't wait to discuss glamour with you.  So let's start with our first adventure, shall we?

Poster Peepshow: The Art of Pin-Up

February 5, 2011

Yes, it is us, the mother-daughter vintage duo!

It was opening night at Nucleus in Alhambra, an art gallery featuring pin-up inspired artwork from artists such as, Olivia De Berardinis (!!!), Glen Orbik, and K.O. Munson, to name a few.  It was a smaller gallery than we expected but lovely nonetheless!  Several of the talented artists were present, along with the Suicide Girls participating in live figure drawing.

Besides viewing the beautiful pieces of art, the highlight of our evening would have to be meeting the fabulous, sweet, and still gorgeous, JULIE NEWMAR.

GORGEOUS!!!

Mom was beyond thrilled.  She says it was a memorable experience meeting an icon from her childhood.

  I, too, was excited to be in the presence of a pin-up icon and, um, HELLO, CATWOMAN!

Probably the thing about meeting Ms. Newmar that will be so special to us for years to come is that she complimented our outfits several times and how well put together we were!  "You are both delightful to look at!" was one of her compliments.  Yes, we were complimented by Julie Newmar!!! AHHHHH!!!! *runs around in circles*

So, if you're local in Los Angeles, be sure to stop by the Nucleus gallery if you get a chance.  You'll see some nice pin-up art and who doesn't love that?!

Until next time.

~ Rena and Justine

Julie Newmar early days photography credit to julienewmar.com