I HEART EVERYTHING: vintage

I was taking pics of items for the Etsy store and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of amazing illustrations and photos in this handful of fashion & sewing books from the 60's & 70's. Lets take a walk down the DIY sewing and tailoring memory lane! {click pics for larger view}

Up first is this standard issue housewife's handbook by Better Homes & Gardens Sewing Book circa 1962-1965

It looks straight forward enough on the cover, a no nonsense guide to straight hems...

...but when you open it up, you are treated to a blast of color and a fantastically Mid Century craft & sewing room that would be the envy of any crafty lady (myself included) in today's day and age. Hello starburst clock! Hello drop down ironing board! Hello cheery yellow walls! When can I move in?

There are detailed instructions on how to make some of the standards of the 1960's like Shift dresses and different versions of the standard evening dress.

There are mostly illustrations and instructions in the BH&G guide to sewing, so if you want real honest to goodness patterns, try our next collection, of Stretch & Sew patterns on for size (one size fits all!)

I found a very large lot of Stretch & Sew patterns for all kinds of outfits!

I'd date these to the late 60's early 70's...judging by the size of the bells on those pants!

Look chic in the ever so versatile fabric of the future, Polyester!

The very best part of this lot is the accompanying book that showcases all of the Far-Out Fashions and the cat-eye bespectacled church ladies that wear & make them! OMG, I'm IN LOVE with the photos in this book!

This cover is also very deceptive with its silly half naked stick figurette. You would never suspect that there is gold in them there pages!

Firstly, lets give thanks to the people who helped this book come into existence! They deserve a round of applause! But wait, before we embark, there is one last thing I need to ask you:

Allright! All aboard the Stretch & Sew Express!

Here is one of our very lovely Stretch & Sew Matrons sporting a pinstripe cape and pencil skirt number. Doesn't she look fetching!

Look at this lady with the perfectly coiffed bob with bangs wearing the same exact top as Bert from Sesame Street! Perhaps she is in the park to feed the pigeons...Burt had a thing for pigeons too.

This here, is pretty much exactly how I want to look in my 50's. I'd maybe change out the shoes for some more comfortable flats though. I like to imagine this lady has pink or blue (like cotton candy) rinsed hair. I like that she isn't afraid to bare those knees! I'd take that cool printed cardigan any day too!

I like this pic because strangely enough, I have a middle school yearbook pic that looks almost exactly like this, minus the bangs. I think I was slightly less strident in my turtle neck though, I must've been missing that deeeeeeeeep v-neck cover-up. How old is this girl? She could be anywhere from 15-21, I just can't tell!

More of our Matrons hard at work in the fabric store. These books & patterns are marked with an address for a Stretch & Sew store that used to exist in our town. It is long gone now, but what we still have is Fabric Town U.S.A. that still looks EXACTLY like these pictures. I do believe the same ladies have worked there for centuries.

Want to spruce up the store displays? Just ask Mindy, the resident artiste to whip up a few of her "way-out" fabric mannequins! I sincerely hope that somewhere, these still exist!

Guess what? Stretch and sew aint just for the Church Ladies, it can in fact make some pretty swingin' bikinis! You will make a 'splash' at the next pool party for sure!

The fellas also love Stretch & Sew! Why, here is Herb modeling his favorite alpaca cardigan. What a smart looking fella! All the other gents down at the lodge will be green with envy!

And lastly....if you thought putting dogs into ridiculous outfits was a modern fad, think again!

They still did it in the 60's, they just used poodles instead of chihuahuas! I find this picture so funny! The dog looks mortified. As if it wasn't bad enough that he has the dog world's silliest haircut, his doting owner is about to sew him a Where's Waldo pull-over. Ahahahaha!

How about some COLOR? Lets take a 'trip' to the 70's! Prepare to be wowed by the energetic and glowing (sometimes literally) models in the pages of Restyling Your Wardrobe and The Sporting Scene, two DIY fashion books. Get ready to disco baby!

((( THIS ITEM IS SOLD )))

Up first, Restyling Your Wardrobe, which is covered in some very mod canvas material

Inside is a round up of fantastic fashions!

Flapper inspired style a'la the 70's

Oh how I want this dress! And that hair! Did you notice it was a Before & After re-do? Look at he before on the left, what an improvement!

Smart office attire in the drabest of drabs, but check out that industrial fireplace in the background!

Another Before & After re-do. I like the frumpy expression she is wearing on the left!

Now, the really fun scene...The Sporting Scene!

Bound in orange corduroy, it sets the tone for what's inside!

Knit dresses that cover your entire body, or a knit bikini that covers just the essentials!

Is anyone else wanting to watch episodes of Threes Company right now?

This might be my favorite picture...I like the Gorton's Fisherman slicker on the lady and and her mountain climbing boyfriend (left) who are apparently at a disco! Their pals on the right seem to have a better hold on what should be club wear. I mean the man is in a leisure suit, but his lady friend is holding a riding crop? Well hey, maybe it's that kinda party!

How about this James Bond-ish shot? This reminds me of the novelty bread baking contraption that allowed one to make cylindrical loaves of bread. I have seen one or two at sales...anyone else know what I'm talking about? It looks like this picture was snapped looking down the bread-tube!

Okay, the track suits are rad...but I'll take those bikes please!

Cozy night at the cabin, better coordinate your sweater and hat to your over night duffel bag!

Hit the slopes in this hot-orange snow suit. That way when you ski over the K-12 and land in a ravine, the ski-patrol will have no problem finding you...day or night!

Here ya go, these are timeless! I would sport any of these knits, thank you 1970's for being fashionably conservative for a moment!

Whoops, I spoke too soon! LOLS!

So, I feel like I have to ask, what was your favorite style decade, whether you lived through it or not? I myself like a mix of the old (almost any decade) matched up with some of today's more comfortable options, like jeans & t-shirts! What do you do to dress vintage?

Last weekend I had the amazing opportunity to vend at the iconic Rose Bowl Swap Meet with the very lovely miss Jenny Pea! It was a loooooooong hot day in LA but it was an absolute blast! I managed to snap a few pics in between sales and socializing. Take a look!

Here I am inside our packed booth. Between Jenny & I we had quite an assortment of good stuff!

Train cases! They were in abundance all across the swap meet. I only managed to sell the burgundy one...for $5.00

Jenny had some nice dead stock chrome & lucite light fixtures and a beautiful teak bedroom set, but buyers were fickle and that stuff came back with us.

Miss Jenny and the acres of swap meet sprawling out behind her. Let me tell you that place was HUGE!

More of the beautiful teak and a portable guitar as well as the black velvet staple, a bull fighter.

Surprisingly none of the Sci Fi books sold. Which is ok, I said a secret prayer that no one would buy them so I could keep them. Prayers answered!

The kitchen stuff sold like hot cakes, as did the random clothing & accessories out there.

More random goodies pictures above. We both did pretty well, I made enough to keep me afloat till payday and gained some valuable experience & knowledge. One of the things I learned is that LA types have deep pockets and you can really mark-up your wares compared to my local swap meets. Really, all of the vendors there specialize in certain things. One booth may be all denim clothing, another leather and one all wrought iron stuff. They have done all of the heavy pickin' and are presenting you the buyer, the cream of the crop. As a buyer, you can't walk 3 feet without tripping over something amazing, but you better be prepared to shell out for it. As a seller, well its paradise!

I didn't spend a cent on items, just food (girl gotta eat!) so I really didn't walk around too much. Next time maybe I can get more pics of other vendors. I really hope there is a next time too!