I Just Had to Let You Know... My Top Ten Vintage Inspirations

Just now I discovered another vintage blog, Dividing Vintage Moments.  Joanna, the awesome lady behind the blog, is hosting a giveaway that you guys should check out.

She also has a new post about vintage bloggers and their "vintage twins" that is quite creative!  A lot of the vintage ladies she found look uncannily like these modern bloggers!  Pretty impressive, I think!


Seriously.  I'm adding this lady to my bloglovin' feed.  I'm quite excited to have discovered her blog!

Also, as part of the giveaway I'm to share my top ten items that inspire my vintage journey.  I'm going to take a slightly different spin on it than it seems Joanna is going to in a future post, so here goes!

10.  My Budget.
While some vintage items can be really expensive, it's not to hard to find cheaper, gorgeous vintage items in thrift stores, sales, etc.  For example, it's much easier to find a cheap vintage pencil skirt or make my own than it is to buy one in a store that I'll probably have to tailor or pay for alterations to fix.  In some ways, it's quite budget friendly!

9.  Movies.
I love old movies.  I have always loved old movies.  I love the glamour, the music, the dancing, the well-rounded actors and actresses, everything.  They're usually cleaner, too!  I take a lot of inspiration from old movies because they allow times past to come to life in a way that old pictures, stories, etc. never could.

8.  Magazines.
From old ads to stories, I find it fascinating to see what concerned women in decades past.  Sometimes I'm a bit concerned (as in when I read an old Kotex ad that claimed their liners remained soft and didn't pack like a snowball... What?!), and other times I'm educated on historical things that I thought I knew about, like a 1943 article that discussed whether talking about after the war was unpatriotic or hope-building.  So much new knowledge, new insight, and new learning in old periodicals!

7.  Make Do and Mend.
I remember hearing stories from my grandmother who was born in 1937 and raised in a very poor, rural southern home in Arkansas.  I learned a lot from those stories as a child, I've realized, including contentment, creativity, and respect for resources.  The "Make Do and Mend" mentality is very important to me in stewarding well the resources that I've been given.

6.  Giant Hats.
Ever since I swooned over the costumes in "My Fair Lady" as a six year old, I've had a love affair with giant hats.  If it were at all practical, I'd totally wear giant Gibson girl hats all the time.  But, alas, I would be constantly bumping into people and blocking their views in class.

5.  Below-the-Knee Lengths.
In a culture that is showing more and more skin, it's nice to have longer lengths.  Beside the modesty and general classiness factor, they're more comfortable!  I don't have to worry about flashing anybody during a pesky gust of wind, having to bend over, or any other such moments.

4.  Victory Rolls.
Who knew one could do so much with a handful of bobby pins and some hairspray?!  A whole new world of 'do's has been opened up to me with the knowledge of how to do a pin curl.

3.  Bakelite.
It's a durable plastic that smells weird.
And I love it.
I just have five bakelite items, but I love them all!  I don't know exactly what it is, but bakelite holds such charm to me.  I like how it looks, how heavy it is, how versatile, and even how rare it is compared to other plastics.  It makes the hunt for it all the more exciting!

2.  Art Deco Vanities.
Seriously, there are few things that evoke instant glamor to me like an art deco vanity.  The giant mirrors, the long lines and details, the low height.  I can just imagine brushing out my pin curls in a silky robe and fluffy boudoir heels while sitting in front of it, and it's perfection.

1.  The Vintage Blogger Community.
You guys inspire me so much!  A vintage blog was the reason I found out that people wear vintage.  Vintage blogs are the reasons I have learned about different decades, learned how to do retro hair and makeup, gotten to connect with others, and come into my own vintage style.  It's now an important part of me that I get to express, and you have been so fabulously supportive along my journey as a newbie blogger to the slightly-more-experienced blogger that I am now!  Thank you guys!

5 comments

  1. What an awesome list:) I would also just love an art deco vanity! There is just something about the angles and lines in art deco that gives it a sleek "modern" edge:) It is amazing at how much Bakelite commands isn't it? I'm sure it was quite cheap in the day! Thank you so much for participating and adding me to your blog roll:) You are on mine:))

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  2. Come by my blog and see my list Emileigh!

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    1. I actually already did! It's great! Lauren Bacall does indeed have amazing hair. :)

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  3. Seriously awesome list, dear gal! Some many of these things (very much including hemlines that hit below the knee) are near and dear to my heart and relationship with vintage, too.

    ♥ Jessica

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  4. I have some 1950s-1960s Saturday Evening Post magazines and I totally agree. They are so interesting! One of the headlines: "Can Fidel Castro Save Cuba?" It's really interesting to look back on that and know what happened.

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