Some of My Estate Ladies

Being in the business I am, I always send silent thanks and blessings to the women whose closets I clean out, the women who lived through tougher times than we do, the women who purchased quality garments, the women who saved all their clothing for years and years, the thrifty women of New England. When I purchase clothing from an estate, I try to find out a bit about the woman whose clothes I am buying and I bring home a photograph of her if I can. The other day, I was searching for a piece of paper in my office and came across a few of those photographs. I thought you might like to see them.

This intriguing photo was found in a house where I purchased some lovely dresses dating from the Edwardian era right up through the 1960s. I still puzzle over this photo. The person on the left looks like a woman in a man's shirt and tie. Or is that a man with long hair? Or is that a woman's blouse??????

This is Jean. She lived in a small house in Cambridge. This looks like a college dance. Isn't her date handsome in his white bucks? While I didn't find this dress, Jean saved most of her clothes from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. The suits, blouses and sweaters that came out of her closets were incredible.

Many of you will remember the opera singer's clothes I sold many years ago on eBay. Irene's closets were filled with the most incredible plus sized dresses from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. Here she is (on the right) with two friends at the Brockton Fair sometime in the 1930s.

See the fashionable woman sitting on the sofa? That's Barbara. Barbara loved hats. Barbara loved furs. Barbara saved everything. I emptied Barbara's closets on a very hot day in July. I was packing to go away on vacation when the phone rang. Barbara's nephew wanted to know if I was interested in her clothing. The dumpster was arriving the next day, so I had to come now or it would all be thrown out. Who cares about a vacation?

In 1986, Louise was honored by Governor Michael Dukakis for 50 years of service to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. This photo was taken on that day. Louise is flanked by two politicians here, but I can't remember who they are. Louise was a buyer for the state. It was her job to purchase all the uniforms worn by state workers, prison inmates, etc. Louise's attic was filled with rack after rack of dresses and suits that she wore to work from the 1940s to the 1970s. There was some incredible stuff in that attic and it took me 4 trips with my car to bring it all back to my office. Good times. Oh yes, good times.

Read more...

1923 Needlecraft Magazine

My mom is the best gift giver I know. She enjoys going to thrift stores, yard sales, and swap meets, and always has her eye out for things that will be enjoyed by her loved ones. A box in the mail from mom always makes for a good day. For my latest birthday, mom sent me a couple of vintage magazines, including what is now the oldest in my collection, the September 1923 issue of Needlecraft Magazine. In amongst the patterns and features for crocheted doilies and embroidered dresser scarfs, there are some wonderful fashion images that mom and I thought you would enjoy.

The magazine offered mail order patterns for 12 cents each. Shown here are several blouse options that could be worn over the long pleated skirt.

More patterns available, including a romper suit for boys, a girl's slip-on dress, two middy dresses for older girls, a woman's house dress, and a dress for the full-figured woman.

Shown here are intimate wear garments that you could make at home and decorate with embroidery. At the top, a chemise and "step-ins". At the bottom, a "princesse slip".

A little girl wears a peach cotton voile dress decorated with crochet and embroidery. Love those bangs and the T-strap shoes.

A little boy wears a white cotton lawn romper decorated with cross-stitch embroidery. Note the long hair, knee socks, and shoes!

All images from the September 1923 issue of Needlecraft Magazine.

Read more...

An Ode to My Grandmother

Hallie King with Barbara and Nancy in 1930

When asked who most influenced my life, I always answer, "My grandmother, Hallie Jessie King." Her birthday was August 8th, and this month marked the 105th anniversary of her birth. My fondest memories of my grandmother come from the summer I turned 12 years old, when she was in her 60's; a summer that changed my life, and set me on the path to where I am today.

My grandmother was born in 1903. She had two daughters, Barbara born in 1927, and my mother Nancy, born in 1930. My grandmother was one of 13 children born to a postmaster in Walling, Tennesee. She learned to be frugal as she was growing up, and used those skills during the difficult years of the Depression. She was an RN, and worked during much of my mother's childhood. My grandmother was the ultimate example of "make do and mend". Even during later years, when times were better, I remember her darning the elbows of her sweaters and the heels of my grandfather's socks. And she would use a sewing needle until it became gently curved to the shape of thousands of stitches in her fingers.

I am the oldest of 5 sisters. For my first 6 years, we lived near my grandparents in South Bend, Indiana. I remember weekend sleepovers on my own in the built-in bed in grandma's sewing room, where I was surrounded by fabric scraps, button boxes, sewing patterns, and a myriad of notions that held a mysterious fascination to me. I remember playing in grandma's attic, where the formal gowns grandma had made for her daughters' school dances were stored, along with hats, shoes, and old clothes to dress up in.

When I was 6, my family moved to Dallas, and my grandparents were too far away to visit. The relationship waned as it became one of letter writing, often times forced by my mother who wouldn't allow me to go out and play until I had scrawled a hasty note to grandma and grandpa. I was busy being a child, and though my interest in fabric and sewing remained, it was pushed below others, like playing with Barbie dolls and learning to ride a two-wheeler.

When I was 11, my family moved to Milwaukee, which was near enough to my grandparents to allow occasional visits. They would drive up to spend time with us, and once, my mother braved a bus ride with 4 young girls to visit with her parents, whom she missed terribly. I remember Grandpa would build a fire in the outdoor grill and allow us girls to cook our "weiners" on a stick. Then we would roast marshmallows and chase fire flies in the dark until it was time to take a bath in the huge old tub and go to sleep with several of us in that bed in the sewing room.

The summer I turned 12, I was allowed to go and stay with my grandparents for an entire month all by myself. I realized years later it was a really big deal to not have to compete with 4 younger sisters for the attention of grown-ups. I was the center of my grandparents world for one magical month, and it changed my life. My grandfather would take me to the grocery store and allow me to choose my favorite green grapes and Eskimo pies. And my grandmother taught me to sew.

I remember the magic of going to the fabric store, and sitting down to choose a pattern. Then learning about which fabrics were best, and being allowed to choose the one I liked, a cranberry colored corduroy. Each afternoon, grandma and I would work on sewing my dress. It was a basic shift style with long sleeves and gold buttons up the front. I remember the thrill of learning how the pattern pieces worked together to make a dress, and watching it emerge day after day. I wore that dress all through the 6th grade, and was so reluctant to let it go when I outgrew it.

After returning home, I began to save every bit of my babysitting money so I could have a sewing machine of my very own. It took me two years, and by that time, my family had moved on to Boston. When I finally got my sewing machine, I didn't have my grandmother close-by to help me, and had to learn on my own, but the basic lessons she gave served me well. I learned more through trial and error, but I perservered and sewed all my own clothing during high school. I sewed most of my children's clothing when they were little. In fact, I've never stopped sewing. It still brings me great joy.

That summer influenced me in other ways too. I wound up going to school for fashion design, and when I marched down the aisle to "Pomp and Circumstance", my grandmother received my thanks and smiled down on me from heaven. And when life brought me to a place where I could finally be my own boss and do what I loved, all my life experiences and a bit of serendipity brought me to vintage clothing, where I am surrounded every day with fabrics, buttons, hats, and special dresses that were lovingly stored in attics.

My grandmother works beside me in spirit every day, and I smiled this morning when I realized my own favorite sewing needle has a gentle curve from thousands of stitches in my fingers.

Hallie King With Me on My First Birthday

Read more...