9 Reasons Why Tap Pants Will Change Your Life

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Recently I bought a pair of 1930s tap pants from Honeytalk Vintage on Etsy (which I will post about at a later date).  I've wanted some for a while now, so when I ran across a pair in my size with a very affordable price, I decided to splurge and go for it!

Some of you may be asking, "What are tap pants?"

Basically, they're lingerie shorts that were popular, especially from the 1920s-40s.  They're also known as French knickers or dance shorts (because a similar short was worn for dancing, which is the origin of the term "tap pants" to begin with).

other 1930s tap pants

Now you may be asking, "So now that I know they're lingerie shorts..... Why would you want them?  What do you do with them?"

While I wouldn't be seen wearing them out in public on their own (they tend to be a bit too flowy and sheer for my comfort), there are a lot of wonderful uses for vintage  or vintage-style tap pants, and I don't know why the modern world has forsaken them!

So read the following reasons why tap pants are amazing, and see if you could use a pair (vintage or repro!) in your wardrobe these days!

1. Tap pants are sexy.

Yes, they go up to your bellybutton.  Yes, they are long.  But there's truly something sexy about them!  Some of them are clingy because they're cut on the bias, and most of the time they're made out of light, delicate fabrics that come in pretty, feminine colors and patterns.  I'm telling you, they really do feel pretty to wear.

2. Tap pants provide a little more coverage.

Obviously, tap pants cover more than most modern underwear styles.  This can be great if you'd like to hide a bit of your tummy, butt, or thighs.

3. Tap pants go up to your natural waist.

You know what this means for vintage ladies?  No awkward modern underwear lines running horizontally five inches below the waistband of your vintage pencil skirt!  Huzzah!

4. Tap pants are flowy.

They're comfortable.  'Nuff said.

5. Tap pants are longer than most normal underwear.

This means no panty lines in form-fitting or thin-fabric dresses!  Tap pant lengths tend to go past the curve of the bum, eliminating a lot of panty lines that would be obvious if wearing modern underwear.

6.  Tap pants are long and flowy.

No, this is not the same point as the two above.  This means that tap pants can also act as fabulous short slips.  They'll add another layer and defeat awkward see-through-to-the-leg-lines moments.

7.  Tap pants have legs.

Unlike other slips, tap pants have legs in them.  This makes them much more wind-proof and activity-proof than a normal legless slip.

8.  They're fairly simple to make.

There are plenty of patterns out there to reproduce your own tap pants.  They don't require a lot of material or difficult sewing techniques (generally), so if you find yourself loving them, you can whip a bunch out!

9.  They're fairly plentiful in the vintage world.

Tap pants were worn by nearly every woman back in the day, so there is *comparatively* an abundance of them.  Hence, there are affordable options for everyone, if you really want a vintage pair.  Or, if you're like me, you may want a vintage pair to use as a template/inspiration for the hardier everyday ones you want to make.


Check out some fab examples!  What are your thoughts on tap pants?

1920s French tap pants 

1940s tap pants

Skin-Deep Honesty

Since I began blogging last October (it's almost been a whole year!), I have found the online vintage community to be welcoming, encouraging, and a heck of a lot of fun.  I have learned so much from all of you, not just about vintage hair techniques and clothing, but also about life.  I appreciate the genuineness and authenticity that I find on a lot of vintage blogs, and I have decided that it's time for me to talk about something that I feel pretty vulnerable about: my skin.

Now I realize that more often than not, subjects like weight, build, etc. tend to come up more among women these days, but everyone has something they're insecure about, and mine is my skin.

You see, since I was a young teenager, I've had trouble with acne, and in my freshman year of high school I developed psoriasis, an eczema-like condition that causes my skin cells to reproduce too quickly.  This makes my skin itch, flake, turn red, and perhaps swell a bit in the affected area.  (That was a thorough explanation there, sorry!)

I've always felt very self conscious about my skin, because it seems that the other girls and women around me have not had so many problems.  Especially now that I'm going to be 22 this year (two years out of teen-dom!) and I'm still dealing with acne, there are just some days that make me want to hide inside with a giant hood over my head.  (These are what I call "bad face days", like a bad hair day.... but for your face.)

Of course, I have tried many different things to help my skin, and it is healthier now than it has been in many years.  I have a prescription cream and lotions to help with the psoriasis (it really is loads better than it used to be!), and I take birth control and use other creams to help with the acne every night.  The clearness of the skin comes and goes, of course, as the hormones fluctuate, but I'm feeling much more positive about my skin than I have in a long time!

I still have scarring from the years of skin-struggles past and still have those off days where I don't feel as confidently as I'm typing now, but more and more every day I'm taking hold of the truth that God has made me beautiful despite what I see as my flaws.  He has hand-crafted each of us women to be the gorgeous masterpieces that we are, inside and out, and we have value and worth because of this careful, loving attention.  

While we aren't beautiful or worthwhile simply because of our looks, I think there is something that needs to be said for them!  A woman that is comfortable in her own skin (in this case, quite specifically in her own skin) and has embraced the fact that she is beautiful both inside (character and intellect) and outside (the bod), and works to develop that beauty more to become who she wants to be..... Dang, that woman is a force to be reckoned with, in a great way.

Thus, I am striving to be authentic and real with you guys on this blog.  Sure, I don't have the incredible skin that lots of other ladies are blessed with, and, sure, some days I will use that "retouch" button on my blog photos because I'm just not comfortable with posting them how they are.  However, I'm hoping that as my skin does continue to heal and get better, and as my confidence deepens and my beauty becomes more real to me, that those "retouch" days will become fewer and further between, and I'll learn to be truly comfortable in my own skin.

The Bergundy Bedouin

It is no secret that one of my favorite things to do with my wardrobe is combine my love of vintage with my international/multicultural experiences.  Today's outfit, which I have entitled "The Bergundy Bedouin" (sounds like a pub name to me, too), combines vintage with Egyptian and Sudanese desert tribe accessories.  I love Middle Eastern traditional accessories because they tend to be large and gaudy, which is my favorite!

I bought the bracelet in a market in Sudan, and I believe it comes from a tribe called the Rashaida.  You can see similar bracelets on these women:

And the necklace I bought in Egypt.  It's tricky to find anything out about this jewelry, but from my quick research it may be from the turn of the century, possibly from the peninsula area of the Middle East.  Either way, I love it.

What do you think?  Do you like the "more is more" style of the Middle East, or do you prefer more scaled-down?  Are there any non-traditional-vintage elements that you like to work into your wardrobe?

dress: The Sarah Marie Shop

shoes and belt: Ummmm...?

bracelet: Khan al Khalili Market (?), Cairo, Egypt

necklace: Souk Omdurman, Khartoum, Sudan

sweater: Aeropostale via thrift store

Let's Talk Flats.

I love heels.  In fact, my boyfriend would probably say I have a mild addiction.  (But he just doesn't understand why five inch heels would make one feel "sassy" and not just uncomfortable.  But I love the guy.  Anybody out there identify with me?)

In fact, I wear heels at least 50% of the time, if not more.  I'm only 5 feet tall, so it's not hugely noticeable when I wear heels.  I feel like they really add to a vintage look.  They're feminine, classic, and flattering.

However, woman cannot live in heels alone.

I realized today that if I don't want to wear heels, I pretty much have three options, and two of the options are almost dead from lots of wear.  Oh dear.

Thus, I bought boots recently (which will be featured in a future post that I'm SUPER excited about!), and I'm attempting to look into non-heel vintage styles.  Not low heel, I want no heel options.  "Adventure shoes", shoes that can be tromped about in during all kinds of weather, shoes that are hardy, shoes that can be thrown on as I run to class in the morning.

Here are some of the vintage inspirations I have from photos and advertisements:

The Loafer

Weatherbird

Sandals

Lots of Amazingness

WHERE did all these wonderful shoes go?!  I LOVE the ones above, but it's so rare to find such shoes.  I suppose they were worn until they fell apart.  I did, however, find a few pairs that are for sale today, or modern reproductions that I'm currently drooling over.  Fabulous:

1940s Repros

Legit vintage sandals

Cute 1950s

AAAA!  So fun!

All that to say, there are some options out there that I'm going to have to find.  I'd really hate to be old with "Barbie feet" from wearing heels all the time.  (Yes, that's a real possibility.)

Meanwhile, I shall be hitting the thrift stores and websites to see if I can find some options.

Have you found any good vintage/repro flats sources?  What kind of shoes do you wear all the time?

Edwardian Bettie Bangs

This summer my grandmother gifted me with this gorgeous shirt.  At first, I was confused by it.  I thought maybe it was one of those 1970s-80s Edwardian revival shirts because it was in WAY too good a condition to be an original one, surely.

However, when I looked at it closer...... I'm now sure it IS an original early 1900s piece!  Some of my clues were:

- only the straight seams are sewn by machine

- the trim is crocheted right onto the fabric, not sewn on

- the decorative cutwork and embroidery seems to be done by hand

- only buttons and a tie sash are used

- obviously, the look of the shirt is early 1900s

And the determining clue was this:

- the back is much shorter than the front

What? You may be thinking.  Doesn't that just mean someone made it wrong or something?  No, it doesn't!  Somebody made it exactly right!

During this time, the Gibson girl S-bend corset was popular:

photo credit

You can see how the corset arches her back a lot.  This makes the distance from her shoulder down her back to her waist shorter, and the distance down the front longer.  This explains the length difference of the shirt!

Then, the shirt also had a tie sash to blouse the front of the shirt to create a "pigeon breast" look like this one (the front is rounded and full, as you can also see on the corset picture above):

The mystery was solved!  I'm still so astounded that it's in such good condition.  I'll be taking REALLY good care of it.

I also tried these faux, Bettie Page-style bangs for the first *successful* time.  Though it was still a bit rough (especially after being out in a windy day!) and I will definitely be doing more practice, it does achieve the overall look I want.  I used a hair rat, bobby pins, and loads of hairspray, and I put two vertical victory rolls on the side.  The bangs are also reminiscent of the early 1900s, I thought, so it does some decade-mixing double duty!

And on a funny note, I found that there are two general responses to these bangs on my campus:

Male- (mental response and facial expression) "What is that?"  (verbal response) "Nice hair...?"

Female- "OOOOO!  How cute!"

(Random note: I referenced this site to figure out the difference between Edwardian and Victorian.  Just something I've been wondering about.)

skirt: handmade

belt: resized by me

shirt and earrings: gift

lipstick: Estee Lauder

shoes: department store (Kohl's?)

Fall Beginnings

The fall weather has finally begun!

It's been raining here all week, and it's cloudy and about twenty degrees cooler than it has usually been.  I must admit, I'm quite excited.  I LOVE fall.  The colors of the changing leaves, the crisp air, pumpkin flavoring in everything, it's a wonderful time!

And not to mention, the rain gave me a chance to try out my new raincoat and new (vintage) umbrella:

raincoat: The North Face

umbrella: flea market

shoes: Payless kids

shirt: hand-me-down

skirt: me-made!

necklace: gifted, from Afghanistan

Technicolor Velvet - Friend Photo Shoot Part 3

This is the last in my "friend photo shoot" series (to see the other parts, go here and here).  Now you can see my outfit in color!  Did you have any guesses as to what it might be?

RED!

What do you think?

Softness

I asked my friend Noor to help me with some outfit photos (it's quite difficult to take pictures of one's own hat and brooch), and wow, did she deliver!!!

I love the softness of the pictures she took.  I think it goes really well with the colors and feminine details of the outfit.  It's so great to have talented friends help me out with stuff!

And did I mention they MATCH THE BLOG?!  My matchy-matchy heart is happy.

dress: altered 1990s, thrift store

hat: 1940s vintage, flea market

brooch: belonged to my grandmother

shoes: Payless kids

belt: ?

earrings: Claire's