Swapping Sunday - Tops

This week's edition features shirts and blouses, a wardrobe staple for all vintage wearers!  I've got several sweaters, a classic button-down, and a race-themed men's/unisex shirt!  If there's anything that you think you might like or would like to know more about, please comment below or email me!  I'm up for swaps and purchases, and if you'd like to know what I'm looking for in trades, you can check out my shop/swap page.  (You can also check there for more swappable/available for purchase items!)
All the prices below do not include shipping to your location.

Classic white cotton 1950s blouse - floral embellishment on the back, lace trim, two-way convertible collar (as above, or Peter Pan) - shoulder pads just used for photo, not attached to shirt - bust 36", waist 28" - $35

1950s/60s men's olive racing shirt - has checker flag embroidery on pocket - chest 46" -  $35

vintage sweaters tan, pink, and purple 1960s sweater - lambswool, angora, and nylon - "Deans of Scotland," size 40 - bust 38" unstretched, waist 28" unstretched - $40 swirls and flowers 1980s sweater - white with swirls, wooden beads, and flowers on front and sleeves - 100% cotton - marked size Medium - bust 44" unstretched, waist 34" unstretched - $20

vintage sweaters

classic argyle sweater, 1980s-90s - 100% cotton, marked size 38 bust 37" unstretched, waist 30" unstretched - $20

80s does 40s short sleeved sweater - marked size M, 100% acrylic - bust 38" unstretched, waist 28" unstretched - $20

8 Ways to Use 1 Yard (Or Less) Fabric Pieces on Garments

After the hubbub and clamor of the last couple posts, I figured it was time to get everyone back on the same vintage-loving page and look at an obstacle that many of us have in common:

The complete anguish of finding gorgeous fabric, only to unfold it (or read the measurements in the description) and realize it's only a yard, or less.  

For using this cloth, quilting is an obvious answer, but what can you do with only one yard when it comes to garments?

Here are a few options for you in using that gorgeous feedsack piece, that beautiful novelty print scrap, that amazing leftover piece from that last project!

1. Create contrast pieces on garments.

Look at yoke pieces on blouses, pockets, a dickey, contrast cuffs and collars as options.  They don't take a lot of fabric, but they pack a lot of style punch!

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2. Trim a hat.

Use fabric like ribbon to trim on of your simpler hats.  If it's scrap from another project, then you have a perfectly coordinating hat to go with it!

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3. Make bows to accent a dress.

Or any other garment you have!  Bows are a sweet, feminine touch without a lot of fabric needed!

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4. Make a removable collar-necklace.

Removable collars are easy to make and perfect to pair with simple cardigans or as a necklace with a modern take on an old style!

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5. Sew a coordinating purse.

A small purse, especially a nice drawstring shape, is simple to make and accents a vintage outfit beautifully.

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6. Make a hat!

Find an old sewing pattern and create your own hat.  Oftentimes they don't require much fabric, but you get a one of a kind, new-vintage hat out of that scrap! (And I'm loving the look of the one below when it's all made up!)

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7. Cover Buttons.

Make some great, one of a kind buttons by using fun fabric with button kits.  Even if you don't have a dress in mind, you can save them for later as adorable accents to a garment in the future!

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8. Create Bias Tape.

Bias tapes come in so handy, and they really aren't hard to make.  You can use small pieces of fabric and make your own tapes to use later in finishing the edges of garments with a little extra personality.  (I also recommend using a straight pin to help fold the tape as you iron!)

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What other things have you used fabric scraps for on garments?  Are there any ideas you use especially love?

Excuses for Not Wearing Vintage and Why They Don't Apply

We vintage wearers have heard it all, most often the excuses of people who say they love vintage style and would like to wear it... but don't.  Here are some of the excuses you may have encountered (or said yourself!) and why they don't hold any water:

I can't pull that off.

Why?  Do you have some freakish alien characteristic that no one else living from 1900-1990 didn't have?  No, you don't.  There was someone like you that wore 1940s/60s/vintage clothing.  Only, they pulled it off the first time around, and you could pull it off now as vintage.

I can't find my size.

Once again, not every person from 1900-1990 was a tiny Barbie person.  Women came in all shapes and sizes back then, just like they do now, and they also happened to wear all shapes and sizes of clothing... which is now our vintage supply.  Even if you have a hard-to-find size, there are options for you, you might just have to dig a little more.  (Ask me if this is a real issue for you, and I'll help you out!  I'm a difficult size to find, too.)

I can't afford it.

...But you can afford clothes from department stores and the mall that last all of five seconds and then fall apart?  Vintage can be expensive, definitely, but it can also be extremely cost-effective when you find it at garage sales, eBay, or reproduce it yourself, and they last longer due to quality.  There are many deals to be found, and vintage is higher quality than anything you can find at the mall.

Nobody in my area wears vintage.

Me neither.  So you just won't look like everyone else.  Darn.

On the positive side, if vintage isn't popular in your area, it's probably cheaper!

I don't know where to find it.

Look where there's other old stuff.  Or follow my blog and I'll show you the ways!

I don't have time to dress that nice all the time.

Everyone spends time on their outfits, whether it's putting on the perfect eyeshadow to go with your modern outfit or perfecting your messy bun to go with your sweats.  Vintage can take as much or as little time as you'd like to put into it.  Women in the 40s were taking care of families, farms, and putting in an 10 hour shift in the factory and still managed to look cute in what we now call "vintage" styles.  It's not that time-consuming once you learn it.

Not to mention, I spend about 45 minutes getting ready every day.  If not less.  And that's hair, makeup, outfit, everything.

I don't know how to do my hair/makeup/outfits like that.

I didn't either when I first started wearing vintage.  But I learned!  I researched, I looked up tutorials, I practice, and now I'm a pretty competent vintage wearer!

I don't have the confidence to rock it.  People might look at me.

How do you know until you try it on?  There's something amazing about putting on some fabulously made, unique, well-fitted clothing that does wonders for one's self esteem.  Vintage is about dressing yourself well (instead of wearing all stretchy all the time, like modern clothes that are made for the masses, not for YOU.)  Vintage is personal, and even I had to work up the courage to wear some of my more daring pieces.  It can take time, but you won't know if you actually have the confidence until you give it a shot.

What other excuses have you heard or even said yourself, and what is your response to them?  If you've never worn vintage before but would like to, what is stopping you?

Controversial Post: Loving Your Body Vs. Making a Change

I want to begin this post by asking you to assume the best of me and know that I mean no judgment or malice toward anyone in the following post.  This is a particularly sensitive subject for many people, and while I have not struggled with this specific area myself, I do validate and seek to understand the experiences and feelings of others on this subject, so please feel free to be honest!

It seems to be a common theme in the vintage community that most of us are drawn to vintage because it flatters our shapes in ways that modern clothing can't seem to do.  However, I know it is also a struggle for many people that vintage tends to come in smaller sizes.

On some of the selling/swapping pages on Facebook I am a part of, I constantly see the struggle women of "volup" sizes have in finding vintage that fits them.  Here are some of the kinds of comments I've seen lately:

"I would never fit into this and that makes me very very sad..."

"I can never find these things in my size!"

"Why is everything so small?!"

"It's so frustrating to try to find vintage pieces in my size."

So here is the subject I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on today:

When do you know you just need to learn to love your body as it is, and when do you know you need to work to change your body?

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Obviously, there's no "right" answer to pick across the board on this controversial subject, so I won't attempt to do the impossible.  I will say, however, that there is a difference between accepting your body because you love it and rock it (at any size) and being resigned to your body because you feel you can't do anything to change it.  The first is acceptance based on true self esteem; the second is resignation based on hopelessness.

(And as a side note, I know health restrictions or illness can cause weight gain and can't be helped; this is not what really I'm referring to.)

I've just seen both sides of the spectrum: Some people applaud "accepting your body" and condone health habits that are increasing their risk of an early death and making their life more difficult.  On the other hand, our culture is so obsessed with being a certain size that that almost no one can be considered "beautiful" without big boobs, a tiny waist, smaller hips, and general thinness.  That's not right either.

When you've encountered body image issues, when have you decided to learn to love yourself as you are, and when have you decided to do something to change it?  Why did you decide that way?

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts, and please keep things respectful!

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Other Controversial Posts:

What I did With That Middle East Novelty Skirt

3 Reasons Vintage Is Like Crack (And How I Control the Habit)

Vintage Novelty Prints and Jewelry: Racist?

Refashioning Perfectly Wearable Vintage

Late 40s Casual Outfit - Simplicity 2684

I did a quick photo shoot on my way to work today to showcase my newly finished late 1940s button-down, from Simplicity 2684!  It's my first real, tailored button-down, and even though parts of it are janky... please be proud.  It required several new skills!  (There are sewing details at the bottom!)

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This blouse is actually a wearable muslin to see if this pattern would work for some novelty print fabric I have.  Although I do like how it turned out, I'm not sure that it's exactly what I want.  I think I would like to try a more fitted version that can tuck in more easily.  I happened to have purchased another pattern that will arrive soon that just might do the trick!

Also, tip for life, don't do a pattern for the first time with stripes.  One pocket happened to line up in a happy coincidence, but the other didn't, and it bothers me a bit.  Not to mention some of the seams aren't exactly straight and don't line up with the stripes, due to my not-so-perfect skills and the pattern itself.  Don't do that to yourself.

I paired the button-down with jeans made from a 1960s pattern and some 1940s deadstock ballet flats that I swapped for.  Since it's Friday and I don't care about my hair at all by this point in the week, I put it all up in a couple of bandanas.  Accent bandanas, like the lighter blue polka dotted one, are becoming my new "thing."  They're a great use for those sheer, silky bandanas that show bobby pins too much underneath or are too slippery to wear by themselves.

Also, random note, Dietrich loves our morning walks.  I'm pretty sure it's his second favorite thing of the day, only beaten by an evening run.  Because he loves running more than anything.  He actually dog-smiles after a run. I, on the other hand, am rarely smiling after a run... 

Outfit details:

blouse: Simplicity 2684, from wearevintagesewing Etsy shop

jeans: Butterick 9779

navy bandana: Hobby Lobby

accent bandana: flea market

shoes: swapped

lipstick: Estee Lauder Rubellite

Here is a summary of the pattern details and things I changed:

Fabric: 100% cotton

Pattern: Simplicity 2684

Year: late 1940s

Notions: 9 buttons

How historically accurate is it? Very accurate!  I think only the plastic buttons may be a bit off, but even plastic buttons were used in the 40s, so it could be just fine!

Any tricky parts to the pattern?  Not too much, except for the fact that there are men's tailoring skills needed, like using felled seams.  I had never done that, so the sleeves, especially, were tricky for me. It also took me much pondering to figure out the cuff opening (where it buttons) and how to bind that, but I got it!

Did you change anything?  Nope, I did not!

Time to complete: 4 days (lots of tailoring details, like I said)

First worn: August 30, 2014

Total cost: Everything was from my stash, so..... yeah, just the cost of the pattern, about $10

Notes: I would recommend sizing down, as with most 40s patterns.  This 30" bust size worked well for me although I'm a 32".  Some of the tailoring methods are also a bit tricky, and every buttonhole is bound.

10 Perks of Social Media for the Vintage Lover

Social media didn't really exist en masse until the last decade, and there are so many fabulous perks for us vintage wearers with the rise of social media!  Below I've included 10 perks for vintage wearers in the social media world.

10. Keep up-to-date on deals and steals.

Plenty of shops post sneak peaks, coupons, and updates on their social media accounts that they don't share on their blogs or in the shop proper.  Following your favorite shops can keep you in the loop and in the know about great deals!

9. Get inspiration for your own looks.

Instagram and Facebook are especially great for this.  There are countless times when I've discovered a new way to style something or been given the extra ounce of courage needed to rock a style I've never tried from seeing someone else do it successfully!

8. Learn tons.

I. Love. Learning.  And what better way to sift through all the World Wide Web for info you actually care about than to follow and like other vintage lovers?  Then it's as if you have a team of like-minded people combing the interwebs for interesting tidbits 24/7, all brought to your fingertips!

7. Increase your skills.

Lots of people post sewing successes, knitting fails, etc. on social media for their friends and followers to see and learn from.  Oftentimes you can take out the trial and error part by letting a friend do it, and sooner or later there will be a time when you can return the favor!

6. You can have a team that has your back.

All of us have things that we are looking to add to our wardrobes, collect, or just plain have an irrational addiction to.  Social media friends and followers oftentimes become amazing teams of people that will let you know where to find the things you love.  Joanna of Dividing Vintage Moments does this for me all the time!  She runs across Middle East and Egyptian print items I would never find and lets me know about them.  Jessica of Chronically Vintage, as well, was the one that let me know about the amazing Casbah print skirt I ended up buying and refashioning, a wardrobe piece that I cherish!

5. Social media gives you people to bounce your ideas off of.

There are times when I have run into a dilemma, such as whether or not to refashion a wearable vintage pieces, and I asked the vintage community to give input via my blog, Twitter, and Facebook.  Their input helped me decide what I would like to do and helped me make a more educated decision.

The vintage community can help you when you're on the fence.  Deciding whether or not to open a shop, start a certain kind of post series, whatever!

4. The vintage community can support you.

Whether you need emotional support in a tough time or support in starting a new business venture, the vintage community can help!  For example, Wearing History has already raised over half of its Kickstarter campaign goal because of its connections with the vintage community that supports it.

3. Social media gives a new level of access to your favorite bloggers and vintage trendsetters.

Unlike a blog post comment, social media like Twitter and Instagram can be immediately responded to and even turn into a conversation.  Oftentimes it isn't as intimidating as emailing someone, and it isn't as easily overlooked as one blog comment among hundreds.

2. It breaks the facade of blogger/celebrity/authority perfection.

Bloggers, magazine writers, and vintage "celebrities" are real people, but this is often glossed over in a blog.  Social media lets the rest of the world see the more personal moments throughout their day via Twitter, Instagram, etc.  Now we can see what their living room looks like in the morning light, or the epic knitting fail they did preparing for their next blog post.  It brings the element of flawed humanity to people we all admire, and we love them all the more for it!

1. Get to know others in the vintage community better.

Not all of us have vintage friends in "real life," so connecting with other like-minded vintage fashionistas can be a really refreshing experience.  (I'm telling my life right now.) However, these deeper relationships just can't be fostered through only reading each other's blog and Facebook posts.  It's created through emails, comments, and--more often-- social media interactions!  We can have conversations, send a picture of that building that made us think of that certain friend, or gush about the new fabric that just arrived in the mail from a swap.  We can interact with each other at a deeper level and see little windows into our everyday lives!

These are a few reasons why social media is so beneficial to us vintage wearers.  For me, this is not just a list but a real discovery for my own life!  I used to be anti-social media, feeling that being "plugged in" all the time would lessen my ability to fully enjoy "real life."  While I still believe that is true to an extent and am sure to limit my social media use, I have also found social media to be revolutionary in making "vintage friends" that I would otherwise miss out on in real life.

That being said, I would really love to connect with all you lovely readers and get to know you better.  It would be fabulous to hear from all of you!

Instagram: flashbacksummer  (I just got this!)

Twitter: @EmileighRogers

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