In this post I would like to share some tips about finding the right vintage wedding dress. There are three things that every bride considers to be the most important on her wedding day: the dress, the dress, and the dress. The modern bride doesn’t need to spend a fortune on something off the rack however; spending less on a vintage wedding dress can provide an amazing experience and provide a style and class that the guests (and groom) won’t soon forget. Here are some tips for the smart shopper to find the perfect dress for her perfect day.
Set a spending limit first. This is one of the benefits of buying a vintage wedding dress. This allows you to find a spectacular gown without spending a spectacular amount of money. Also, this prevents you from falling in love with something you can’t have.
Shop slowly and carefully. Shopping for vintage wedding dresses requires more care and consideration than buying new. Make sure you check for stains and dresses that need any repairs. The longer a stain has been on a dress, the more difficult it will be to remove it (it may even be impossible if the stain has been there for 20 years or more). Holes, rips, and tears may not be easily fixed either. The older the fabric, the harder to mend it may be. If you fall in love with a fixer-upper, you may have to prepare for a long and expensive repair process.
You’d better shop around. Like the song says, search for the dress of your dreams in every place you can think of. The internet, eBay and VintageWedding.com for example, are great sites to look at to get some ideas for what you want and what it might look like. Goodwill and the Salvation Army will often carry a lovely vintage wedding dress or two. Estate and even garage sales may turn up a great wedding dress as well. Vintage wedding dresses that you might find at these sales may be better cared for than ones found in a consignment shop and if you can bargain, you could very well find the perfect dress at the perfect price.
Perhaps buy or make a reproduction. If you know you want a vintage look for your wedding, keep in mind that a lot of new dresses have roots in the 40’s and 50’s. Visit your local bridal shop, and tell them you’re looking for something retro. Some stores may even specialize in reproductions so be specific on what you want. If you want to sew or want to give a pattern to a seamstress, you can even shop for vintage and reproduction patterns.
It’s happened to all of us: we put on our favorite shirt/jacket/pants and a button pops off. Or maybe more than one comes off and you start to think “aw man, now I have to throw away my favorite whatever”. Not so fast! You can resurrect your button-less garments with some vintage buttons! A vintage button (or 2 or 3) can turn a potential fashion disaster into the highlight of your wardrobe. To help all you button-less victims out there, I’ve put together a little guide to help you along if and when this happens to you.
Jazz up your Jacket. If a button-down jacket (like a pea-coat) should suffer a button-related mishap, why not try some vintage uniform buttons from the military? These shiny little treasures often come in brass or silver-plate and can have designs from every branch and time-period you can imagine. Why not find out if any relatives served in the military and see if you can find a vintage button with their regiment?
Beautify your Blouse. Shirts (for guys or girls) can often have issues with buttons so manufacturers often include a spare button or 2 in the package so you’re prepared. If you’re not a big fan of the generic replacement button however, maybe a vintage designer button or 2 would be more to your liking. I particularly like plastic Italian Designer buttons; they give any garment a unique flair that you won’t find on your average off-the-rack top.
Perk up your Pants. More than any other kind of clothing, pants can lose their buttons. Every time you put on or take off your pants, you’re putting stress on the button so it’s best to be prepared. Unlike shirts or jackets, there’s only 1 or 2 buttons to worry about so I suggest buying a few different buttons so you’re always prepared. Examine the pants carefully; choose a button that will match the color and type of fabric. Take khakis for example; you might want to try an Asian-inspired wooden button. Or perhaps a carved bone or scrimshaw would suit your look.
If you know your way around a needle and thread and have a little time on your hands, switch ‘em out and see how each one works with your outfit. Vintage buttons like the ones above can turn a garment from boring to stunning with a minimum of cost and effort. Just pop some of these on your clothing and you’ll have people asking “where’d you get that?” in no time.
OK ladies, let’s be honest with ourselves. All of us, at some point in our lives, have loved dolls (or still do). Don’t we all remember our first Barbie (or the nearest equivalent)? What I bet a lot of you don’t know is that doll collecting is a huge business these days and pristine dolls can fetch hundreds or even thousands from serious collectors! Makes you wish you cleaned them and stored them instead of playing with them, don’t you? Here are a few of my favorite vintage dolls.
Madame Alexander – Alexander Doll Company. The Madame Alexanders have been around since the late 1920s and new dolls can still be found on the market today. The vintage ones, on the other hand, are a bit tougher to get your hands on. Especially ones still in the box with the tag still attached which is what most collectors prefer. Most of the dolls come 8” tall but there are a bunch of other sizes too. They even made a Snow White doll. How adorable is that?
Shirley Temple – Ideal Toy Corporation. Aside from Barbie, the Shirley Temples are the easiest to identify by anyone who’s ever seen a picture of Shirley herself. They just look so much like her you can’t miss ‘em. They came out in the 30’s (you know, when she was actually popular), but they kept churning them out from then till now. Now these ones come in all shapes and sizes; even as large as 36 inches tall! If you want to get your hands on one, you may be better off getting one of the Danbury Mint productions today ‘cause you’d have to shell out quite a few bucks to pick up one of the truly vintage dolls.
Chatty Cathy – Mattel. Any girl who grew up in the 60s either had a Chatty Cathy or was best friends with someone who did (ask your mother, she may still have one!). These little chatterboxes were among the first of their kind; just pull the string and she’d say a cute little phrase like ‘brush my hair’. Did you know that Marcia from the Brady Bunch even lent her voice to the Chatty Cathy in the late 60s? Adorable. Unlike these other dolls, all Chatty Cathys are 20” tall so anything shorter or taller than that just ain’t the real thing. Although the Cathys were produced in the late 90s, these vintage dolls are harder to find and big surprise, more expensive.
The biggest decision you have to make if you want to pick up any of these vintage dolls is if you want them as collectors’ items or as just something cute to play with. Unless you are a hardcore collector with a bunch of extra cash however, may I suggest a Barbie?
We all love creating a classic look, right? A fabulous dress, a cute pair of shoes, the perfect bag—and what better way to ‘top’ it all off than with a great vintage hat. The right vintage hat can really make a good look great so choose carefully. When you’re out at the local vintage clothing store (hopefully there’s one close by), you can use this little guide to know what kind of hat you want.
The Roaring 20’s
These are probably the most difficult to find but if you can find ‘em, you can really make a statement. The hats from the age of Prohibition (boo!) were usually worn low on the head and would frame the face quite nicely. Things to also look for in a 20’s hat were little skull caps and beaded headbands fitted for the crown of the head. Look for a lot of beads and sequins too but if you want to go that way, you’ll probably want to have beads or sequins on the rest of your outfit to match.
Depression-Era 30’s
Most of the 30’s hats you’ll find built off of the 20’s styles and were smallish but worn higher on the head. These vintage hats started to bring out a more feminine style so keep that in mind if you want a 30’s look. These hats are pretty tough to find as well, but these can worth the search if you come up with one.
Post-War 40’s
Fans of vintage hats agree that hats from the 40’s are some of their faves as styles from that period are very versatile and can adapt to many different looks and outfits. That can make for some eye-catching combinations if you find the right hat. Darker colors were prominent in this time, as well as larger shapes and flowing lines. A fun new feature in the 40’s was a comfort band to allow you to wear the hat in some really cute and different ways so experiment to see which works best for you.
The Golden 50’s and Swingin’ 60’s
Headbands really came into fashion in the 50’s with fabric overlays worn tighter on the head than in previous years. The colors really brightened up in the 50’s and 60’s so if you see larger, brighter vintage hats there’s a good chance they’re from 50’s or 60’s. Pillbox hats (aka The Jackie O) began to pop up in the 60’s as well as hats that rise high into the air. Because the hair styles (bouffant in particular) were tall as well, the hats had to accommodate all that hair under them.
No matter which decade you pick your vintage hat from, have fun with it! You can even use one of these hats to give your modern look a touch of old-school class and flair.
Want to retro-fit your style with some quality vintage t-shirts? Well, it isn’t as easy as picking up some cheap old shirts from your local thrift store. No sir. In fact, getting your hands on some choice vintage shirts requires a good deal of time and effort and a whole lot of good taste. To get started, try following some of the tips below:
Search high, low, and online. If buying real vintage T-shirts is your goal, you just might have to go hunting awhile. Consignment shops will often carry all kinds of vintage clothing, t-shirts included, but you may have to spend some time sifting through old junk to find them – lots of old junk. If you don’t feel like running around from store to store the way a real vintage sportsman would, you can always look online. eBay, for example, has listings for every kind of clothing imaginable (vintage included), but really knowing which t-shirts are vintage may not be possible until you see them for yourself, so be wary.
Free is the best price. If money is an issue, try asking older family if they have some old t-shirts in a closet or trunk somewhere. Your parents’ or grandparents’ attics just may contain a great collection of priceless original vintage t-shirts that they’d happily be willing to unload on you. Sure they’ll think you’re a charity case, but who cares? You’re getting your stylish duds for free!
Knowing which is which. One easy way to identify vintage t-shirts is to look for shirts that have dates printed right there as evidence on the iron-on decal. It’s certainly easier than trying to carbon date a “Choose Life” or Hypercolor tee. For instance, you may get a shirt from Goodwill which says “Journey World Tour 1986″. Of course, this could wind up being a reproduction too – so it’s best to look for other signs of wear and tear. The look and feel of the shirt are usually good indicators of how old the shirt may be. Be sure to look for faded colors as well which may be another clue of the clothing’s age. The care instructions tag can even give you an idea of hold old the tee is – since there was a time before “non-chlorine bleach”. It was a simpler time.
Buying replicas does not make you a poser. Buying new clothes that have a vintage look is actually pretty easy. Many department stores currently stock t-shirts that look vintage but are actually brand-new. If you know what you’re looking for, you can discover a pretty wide selection of vintage-looking shirts for not a lot of money. Since the best vintage tee shirts can cost a small fortune – this isn’t a bad idea if you’re on a budget. Plus, it’s easier not to feel guilty about dripping some ketchup on it at your summer bar-be-cue.
Get creative. If you don’t mind putting in some time and creative effort you can recreate a vintage t-shirt that you can’t find anywhere. If you do some searching online, you may find pictures of a t-shirt you want to recreate. It’s not that difficult to create an iron on decal with some supplies at your local craft store. There are even some websites out there that can create a t-shirt based on a picture you upload. The possibilities are endless. Have fun!