The Classic Shirtwaist

What's a shirtwaist? It's a dress with a tailored shirt style bodice, usually buttoned from neck to waist, and made with a full or straight skirt. Introduced in the 1930's, this style of dress has become a classic through the years and was especially popular in the 50's. Easy to wear and extremely versatile, this style of dress fits beautifully into the wardrobe of any woman.

I find vintage shirtwaist dresses frequently in my hunts, and always pick them up to offer to my customers, and they never last long! Savvy fashionistas know that these gems can be worn in many different ways. Add a belt and jewelry to dress it up a bit. Wear it with or without a crinoline. Leave it unbuttoned over a cami. Slip it on with a pair of sandals on a hot day. Wear it under a cardigan or jacket when the days are cooler.

You'll find shirtwaist dresses in every color of the rainbow fashioned in silk, cotton, rayon or wool. Full skirts, straight skirts, solids, prints. And of course, the quality of a vintage shirtwaist is far superior to anything made today.

See these dresses and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Great Vintage Details

I love this vintage 1950's bombshell dress by Alix of Miami. I've never been able to find out anything about this company, but every dress I've ever found by Alix has had great style with outstanding details. This body hugging dress is fashioned from black silk shantung. It's got a built in bra for "full steam ahead" curves!

Now for the details. See that unusual curved insert between the bust? It serves to separate the breasts so you don't get the dreaded "uniboob" and adds even more visual interest to the bustline. But look what happens when you add the little cropped jacket that comes with the dress!

How about that? The button placket has the same curved treatment at the hem, and it completes the look. I just love the thought and planning that went into this suit so the two pieces really work together beautifully.

See this dress and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Matching Plaids

I slipped this late 1940's day dress on my mannequin to take pictures and noticed how cute it is when worn. Its a basic woven cotton plaid with a slight flare to the skirt. The rolled collar extends into tabs that criss-cross and button. "Great," I thought, "someone's going to look adorable in this."

It wasn't until I sat down at my computer to crop the photos for use in the listing, that I noticed. I am absolutely in awe of the matching of the plaid on the rolled collar. The plaid stripes on the tabs match the stripes on the bodice perfectly! Not only that, but the plaid is also matched at the side seams and the center front and back skirt seams.

If you know how to sew, then you know how difficult matching plaids is. It takes time and planning, as you have to place the pattern pieces on the fabric in an exact position before cutting the pieces. Then you have to be very careful when sewing the seams that your fabric doesn't drift out of alignment. The larger the plaid, the more difficult the layout, and the more fabric you waste during the cutting process.

I am astonished at the amount of work that went into this simple day dress dress at the manufacturer. This type of attention to detail is lost in today's world.

See this dress and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Years of Simmering Resentment

It's not often that I find vintage dresses with notes from the original owner attached, but this one caught my attention. This is a sweet day dress made in sewing class at college by Dorrice Trickey in 1935. It's pretty rare to find Depression era day dresses like this in such great condition, because it was a time of "making do" and wearing garments until they wore out.

My grandmother taught me to sew when I was 12 years old. One thing she always insisted upon was that I must use a thimble when sewing by hand. I didn't like it, I complained and groused, but I learned to use that thimble and gradually became used to it. Now I can't sew without one, and my family knows that my favorite thimble that fits just right better NOT disappear from my sewing table! With that in mind, here is the note that Dorrice attached to this dress:

"Made in Sewing Class at Farmington State Normal School. 1935 - Dorrice Trickey - Got a D because I didn't use a thimble".

I can just imagine Dorrice as a good all around student who prided herself on her high grades. But she just hates using that nasty thimble in Sewing Class! In a fit of pique, she decides she can complete her hand sewing on this dress just fine without it. And the teacher has the nerve to give her a D for that reason!!!!! Dorrice puts the dress away in her closet and vows to never wear it, but she can't throw it out - there's a Depression on. The dress sits in the back of her closet taunting her with that grade year after year. Her resentment simmers in the back of her mind, and when, late in life, Dorrice decides to donate her vintage clothing to a museum, she still remembers that D!

See this dress and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

A "Seam"ingly Simple Blouse

What's so special? It's a basic blouse from the 50's made from cotton broadcloth in stripes of olive and maroon. The cuffs fold back, it buttons up the front, its washable. So, what's the big deal that makes this blouse special enough to show you?

Take a look at that collar! Instead of taking the easy way out and cutting the upper collar from one piece, the designer has manipulated the stripes so they form a right angle with a bias cut seam. Those of you who sew, know that not only is a bias seam difficult to stitch without the fabric stretching out of shape, to get those stripes perfectly matched while doing so, is a task for an expert. All for a simple casual blouse!

I've said it over and over: it's the details that grab my attention and that make vintage clothing so special. You can't get quality like this at the mall.

See this blouse and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Wedding Week!

It's Valentine's week, and we've been thinking of romance, which leads us to weddings! This week at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion, we're featuring 6 wedding gowns that date from the 1890's to the 1940's. My personal favorite is the complete 1920's wedding ensemble shown above that comes with the dress, headpiece and veil, shoes, stockings, hankie, ring pillow, and groom's bowtie!

Or maybe its the silk satin bias cut beauty that Jean Harlow would have been proud to wear.

No, wait! Every girl dreams of a huge train that trails halfway down the aisle, like the one on this stunner from the 1940's.

But you'll have to pop on over to Couture Allure Vintage Fashion to see the Edwardian dress with the court train! Oh, I'm such a tease!

Prom Season!

Every year at this time, I get nostalgic for the dress I didn't wear to my high school prom. When I was in high school in the early 70's, the style was maxi dresses in bright florals - just about the ugliest fashion creation in my lifetime. I was not a fashion renegade or trend setter, so I wore the same thing as everyone else - and hated it. It just felt wrong.

As a young girl, whenever visiting my grandmother, I was allowed to go up and explore in the attic. I always headed straight for the boxes that held my mom's and aunt's 1950's tulle party dresses. How I dreamed of wearing my own one day!

Of course, in retrospect, I should have marched to my own drummer and worn what I wanted to my prom. Ah, the wisdom that comes with years....

See these dresses and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Spring Hats

Yes, yes, we know...winter has barely begun, and yet Spring has sprung at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion. We were so tired of grey skies the other day, we broke into our stash of spring hats and found a bounty of beautiful headwear.

I am very fond of vintage hats. One has only to look in my closet to figure that out! As a child, one of my favorite pastimes was when my mom would take down all her hat boxes from the high shelf in her closet and let me play dress up. How I loved feeling glamourous and grown-up at age 5!

When I was very young, my mom would always wear a hat when going to church or PTA meetings. I couldn't wait to be able to have my own wardrobe of hats when I was old enough. Of course, by then, hats had fallen from favor and were out of style.

Nowadays, I satisfy my passion for hats by searching them out and offering them for sale to vintage hat lovers worldwide. And, on occasion, I take down the hat boxes that are high on my closet shelf and play dress up with my own collection.

See these hats and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Vintage Hang Tags II

Since my last post, I've been having lots of fun looking at hang tags on vintage garments from my inventory. I ran across this one from a company named Weingarten yesterday. Its on a 1950's plus size dress fashioned from beige linen with soutache braid and rhinestone accents.

Here's what it says:
"Dear Miss America: This is a Weingarten Original created in our design studios by America's top designers. This dress combines the latest style trends with the elegance of fit and construction that has identified the work of our master craftsmen for two generations...."

I don't know about you, but any company that addresses me as Miss America and makes me feel special is going to get my business! Here's the dress:

See this dress and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Vintage Hang Tags

We just listed this lovely early 1950's nightgown by Luxite. This beauty still has the original hang tag attached, and in reading it, I am struck by the fact that the manufacturer truly cared about the product they made and the woman who was their customer.

When you read the hang tag, you get a feel for the time and attention given to details, the consideration used when choosing the right fabric, trims, and thread so the garment would last, and the thoughtfulness in providing the customer with detailed instructions on how to launder the nightgown so it would last for years.

It just makes me feel more beautiful to read, "Wear and enjoy Luxite nylon tricot lingerie....its daintiness is enduring. Follow these easy washing instructions.", instead of today's terse "Hand Wash, Line Dry, Do Not Iron."

See this nightgown and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Oh, Maybelle! We like your style!

We recently traveled to Maine to attend an all day auction featuring the entire collection of the Webb Museum of Vintage Fashion in Island Falls, Maine. Frances Stratton, the owner and curator of the museum was a vintage clothing collector for 45 years and filled her 14 room home with displays of vintage fashion. She recently passed, and the entire collection was auctioned off to support several Maine charities. 800 lots of clothing and accessories were auctioned off in a day long affair. We were lucky enough to bring home a huge assortment of garments including some of the finest hats we've found in quite a while.

Many of the hats were tagged "Maybelle Farrell Collection" and were donated by her son Bill. I've seen women express their sense of style through jewelry, color, and specific key wardrobe items. Maybelle expressed hers through her extraordinary hats.

I love hats, and some of Maybelle's will stay in my closet. The rest will be offered for sale in our store at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion . We've got enough hats to last for months, so check back often!

An Exciting Estate Buy

I recently got a call from a lovely woman who was selling her home and downsizing to an apartment in a senior community. She told me she had some of her mother's things she needed to get rid of and would I be interested? I agreed to go and visit her the next day to see what she had. Mrs. S. had a lovely home with many treasures lovingly collected over the years. I could tell that she was having a difficult time letting go of some of the things she had lived with for a lifetime, but I could also see that she was excited about her move and ready to begin anew.

Mrs. S. had set aside three small boxes of clothing for me to go through. I opened the first box, and the lilac silk velvet devore fabric and peeks of ostrich plumes and rhinestones took my breath away. As I continued to explore, Mrs. S. told me that her mother had lovingly stored her trousseau after returning from her honeymoon, and that she couldn't bear to part with it when her mother passed in the 80's. Now it was time to find a new home for these fabulous garments.

We are now beginning to offer these items for sale on EBay. Over the next several weeks we will be offering a selection of 20's and 30's dresses and lingerie that are some of the finest we've ever seen. Don't miss them!

And Mrs. S.? As I carried the boxes of treasures to my car, I promised her that her mother's garments would go to new homes where the new owners would love the clothing just as much as her mother had. She shed a tear, gave me a hug, and returned to her packing. I sure hope she is happy in her new home!

See this dress and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

A Sad Story - Beware of Vintage Buttons

My good customer, Linda, recently purchased a vintage 1940's rayon suit from me. Linda was thrilled with the suit because it fit her perfectly. She took it to her favorite dry cleaner, whom she trusts with all her vintage garments. Sadly, the suit did not survive.

During the war years, garment manufacturers often had to make do with inferior quality fabrics and notions. This particular suit had pretty clear plastic buttons that complimented the white chiffon ruffles nicely.

Linda's dry cleaner didn't think the buttons were a problem, and so did not cover or remove them. Unfortunately, they melted during the dry cleaning process and made holes and stains on the suit jacket.

Linda asked me to share this with all of you. Please, please always remember to cover or remove the buttons from your fine vintage garments before having them cleaned. Older buttons, especially those from the war era, were not made to withstand the chemicals and heat of modern dry cleaning. By taking the time to protect your garment, you'll save yourself possible vintage heartache.

Why I Love Vintage Clothing - The Gusset

1950's Dress with High Cut Armholes

Have you ever noticed when donning a vintage garment that the armholes are cut much higher than you are used to? A higher armhole gives a much better and more defined fit through the bustline and sleeve. In the 70's, as clothing manufacture was streamlined, clothing became less expensive, and knits were used more frequently, designers sacrificed fit for speed and lower cost. Tops became looser and more square shaped, many loosing the bust darts altogether.

1980's Dress with no Bust Shaping

But, I digress. Back to the gorgeous 1950's Gigi Young dress shown at the top of the page. The armholes are cut quite high and the bodice is shaped with two princess seams and darts. How can the dress be comfortable with all those seams bunched up under the arm? The solution is a gusset.

A gusset is a diamond shaped piece of fabric inserted into a slit in the underarm to provide ease , relieve strain, and add comfort for the wearer. They are usually cut on the bias to provide maximum ease of movement. Inserting a gusset into an underarm involves great skill and accurate stitching of a bias seam onto a straight one so the corners match and the gusset lays flat. You just don't see this attention to detail in modern garments...one more reason why I love vintage clothing!

See this dress and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Vionnet Reborn

1930's Vionnet Bias Cut Gown

Madeleine Vionnet was arguably one of the most important fashion designers of all time. She was a master at draping and the inventor of the use of the bias cut. Her ingenious details and intricate seaming have fascinated designers and vintage clothing lovers for decades. For a detailed look at Vionnet's designs, we highly recommend
Betty Kirk's book.

Late 20's Vionnet Dress

Madeleine Vionnet closed her company in 1939, on the eve of WWII, but interest in her designs has never died. In 1988, Guy de Lummen, head of the ready-to-wear department at Balmain, bought the rights to Vionnet's name and spent two decades exploring ways to re-establish the brand, experimenting with perfume, scarves, and bags. Now, de Lummen's son Arnaud has announced the rebirth of the Vionnet clothing line. He has hired Greek designer, Sophia Kokosalaki, as creative director, and a line of high-end ready to wear will be offered in January 2007 through Barney's, New York and the Vionnet studio in Paris.

Fall 2006 Kokosalaki Dress

Kokosalaki was chosen "because her interest in technical innovations, combined with her romantic, feminine clothes, fit nicely with Vionnet’s legacy." Like Vionnet, Sophia drapes her designs, rather than using a flat pattern. Since bursting on to the fashion scene in 1999, she has consistently won praise for her artfully draped but thoroughly modern designs.

The first runway show of the new Vionnet line will debut in Spring 2007. It remains to be seen whether Kokosalaki can pay proper homage to the genious that was Madeleine Vionnet. We'll keep you posted!

Height of Fancy

In the late 1930's, new heights were reached in millinery designs, and I mean that literally! Perhaps influenced by the fanciful designs of Elsa Schiaparelli, daring women wore hats with extended tall crowns. This hat is by American designer Marion Valle. The cream wool hat is accented with a magenta velvet band and large velvet roses.

The style of this hat brings to mind the 1939 movie "Ninotchka" in which Greta Garbo is enthralled with a hat in a store window. She eventually succumbs to her desire and wears it with great panache.

See this hat and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Manipulating Stripes

When is a stripe not a stripe? When it is manipulated into other patterns by the use of cutting and sewing. Designers can use seams to great effect in changing the directions of stripes. Seams can be used to form angles, zig-zags, diamonds, and a myriad of other designs, all with a simple striped fabric.

This vintage 1950's full skirted sundress makes great use of this technique. The designer has used a simple blue and white cotton stripe, and by cutting the fabric in to rectangles and sewing those rectangles back together with the stripes facing in different directions, he has formed a bulls-eye design in the skirt.

The skirt of this dress is formed from 24 rectangles, all seamed together so the stripes line up perfectly. That's alot of work for one dress, and is just another example of why I love vintage so much more than modern clothing!

See this dress and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .