more vintage goodies

This dress i found at the Antique Mall in Manteca.. who'da thunk?? I asked the lady if i could try it on, and she eyed me like you wouldn't believe! Now, i can usually tell if something will fit me just by looking at it and feeling its construction, so I asked. The lady pointed her reprimanding finger at me and told me not to "push it" if it wouldn't go on easily... well BIG FREAKIN' DUH. I'm not new to vintage clothing, lady. i'm not exactly the "ideal" size that most of the women then were, but i'm not a heifer either. one of the reasons women were the "ideal" size then was with a little or a lot of help from underpinnings-- corsets, merry widows, girdles, waist cinchers-- all of which i have and USE for garments such as these-- plus the fact that sizes weren't standardized like they are now. (you know how they say "Marilyn Monroe was a size 12"? well that pretty much translates in to a size 6 or 8 by todays' standards...) SO I proceded to try it on, and it absolutely fit! it was more like it just glided on. I was meant to be this garment's wearer. I came prancing out to the counter, swooped it up to the lady and condescended, "it absolutely fit like a dream." I put my hands under my chin and batted my eyelashes in a mock Scarlett O'Hara fashion. Hah. Take that.




Here is the house dress/apron dress, i'm not sure which. the tag on it said "black and white 1930's dress", but i'm not sure it was worn as such. it just seems more like a full apron you'd wear over a housedress of sorts. it doesn't look like much on the hanger, but when worn, the ties cinch the waist and gives the skirt more of an a-line look. my problem with vintage clothing is that the shoulders are usually too broad for me. even if the rest of it fits, i just don't get the full range of movement in the shoulder area. i don't always have great posture, but i've tried keeping proper in some of my dresses, and it just doesn't always work. anyways, it came with a few holes on the arms and one on the front that had been patched up with the same fabric of its time. a few minor repairs, she's as good as useful :-)

this is the girdle I bought the same day as the patterns in the previous post. it has a wonderful feel to it. it seems only lightly used, and still completely wearable. the garters still have full elasticity, the boning still strong, and the stretch fabric on the sides still feels tight. you can barely see it in this first picture, but there's a hook from a hook-and-eye sewn straight onto the middle front of the thing. i don't know if it came that way or what it's use is, but i'll leave it there either way. this fits me perfectly, and is even a hair too big. i mean, it is still very form-fitting on me, but these things were meant to "keep you in", tuck your flesh away underneath, sort of downsize your midsection.. it just kind of sits there on me and doesn't constrict much. i guess i'd wear it if i had a specific purpose to, but as it is it'll stay as more of a novelty piece, or put away until i do become a bit more "fleshy" for it's use.