In 1975, when I was 6 years old, it was normal for little girls to have at least one pretty party dress which was long to the ground, colourful, frilly, and preferably with a few or more ribbons attached so that they would flow around or behind you whilst running, twirling or dancing in a ring. I had two such party dresses that I can remember, but unfortunately for me at the time, as my French mother had total control over my wardrobe, my dresses were more fashionable than girly, and they were both brown. (Are there any other girls of the 70's out there who to this day, will not wear brown clothes?). I remember well the way my mother used to proudly state that these were in a word "libertyprince" and so like them I jollywell would. Even though they were brown. It wasn't until only a few years ago, that I realised what she was saying all along was "Liberty Prints" and that indeed, these are very beautiful and tactile. However, I am still trying to reconcile the memory with the reality. Other girls of my age had flowing cotton dresses of yellow, cream, pink, or even one which I remember in particular which was red and floaty with tiny white polkadots. For myself, I was thinking much more along these lines:
But this isn't a little girls dress, and it is much more than (nearly) 40 years old. This dress belonged to a lady known as Gertie, and she would wear this when she went cruising on a ship. Gertie wanted to see the world, and she did so by booking the cheapest sharing cabin always, and wore this dress when the occasion required something special. There is a label which I can't help but say in the manner of the
Little Britain "ladies".
But this label, despite its comic connotations now, is evocative of a time when designer labels weren't everything. When couture was the preserve of the very rich and not always famous, and when clothes with an "English" label, were really something and sought after.
I have some more of Gertie's gorgeous dresses to show you. My model Madge the Material Girl is wearing a corset and petticoat. The dresses would not fit without!
This dress is home made. The fabric is linen and so pretty! I love the style. So fun and flirtatious, I can imagine a girl wearing this dress for summery pickniks by a river!
A slightly more conservative dress, also homemade, looks very "40's".
Practical, comfortable, attractive, more mature than the picknik dress, and yet still not complete without a perfectly coiffed hairdo and some red red lipstick.
Gertie was obviously always a snappy dresser with an eye for pretty fabric in lovely fresh colours. This is the dress she wore to Miss T's wedding 10 years ago.
When I saw this dress, I had a Twiggy's Frock Exchange moment. I'm thinking take the sleeves off, shorten, lose the lace and add a belt ...
This fabric makes a shirt
And this is a cotton dressing gown
Gertie was Miss T's Grandma who sadly passed away recently only a few weeks after her 100th birthday! I am honored and most grateful that when sorting out Gertie's clothes,
Miss T saw these and thought I might like the fabrics to make things with. And so, though I can hardly bear to even hold a pair of scissors in their presence, I took some fabric from the back of the cruise dress, and made something for Miss T in appreciation, and also to remember her grandma's dresses by.
A Ladies handbag with vintage buckle, and fit for a cruise!!
I've done another shift at Antiques on High in Oxford. My shelf (above) was all but bare! Very exciting to think that people have been buying my handmade bits and bobs, and even more exciting that all the corset kits I had there, had gone! I came away with a fistfull of little brown envelopes full of cash!
The usual range of vintage loveliness was on sale, including these handbags from the 40's. I am particularly in love with the grey barrell shaped bag. The green raffia bag is detachable from it's frame - presumably in it's day, it came with several different shades of raffia bag, so that you could co-ordinate your outfit accordingly!
These earrings from the 30's and 40's are to die for! Particularly the sparkly dangly ones.
When I was a little girl, I read all of the Famous Five books, and the Mallory Towers books, and the Naughtiest Girl, Nancy Drew etc., Total escapism. I loved Enid Blyton.
I had my very own "Antiques Roadshow" moment when I showed this comb to one of the resident 'experts'. I bought it years and years ago - perhaps as many as 15 - for not very much money (because I didn't have any in those days!). I was told that because of the Art Nouveau metal work, it's worth quite a lot of money! Not enough to pay my mortgage though!
I never realised that accordions are so pretty. So many rhinestones! And I'm a sucker for those. Shame they're not small enough to wear!
