Victorian Hair Locket

1920's Dancin' Shoes

Merry X-Mas: Edwardian Blouse

Look how slouchy this Edwardian top is! I think people forget how flowy this era was.

60's-70's Labels

The top label is from a cute, 60's kid's knit striped t-shirt, the bottom from groovy 70's jeanswear brand Landlubber (maker of the trashiest onesie ever that I tragically lost on eBay.) I LOVE finding an amazing label in vintage garments. They sure beat the labels today, and are often rooted in a particular place, as opposed to being mass-produced in a foreign country. I love how you can travel and vintage shop and take home something that was manufactured there.

70's Novelty Knit Sweater

I love the way old sweaters almost always had a crazy pattern on them. This is a copy of a 40's style. Get ready for more sweater posts.

Victorian Bathing Suit

Swimwear can tell you a lot about a culture.

Whatta Novelty Print!

Excuse the blurriness of the photos. This was a 1950's adolescent girl's dress by "Chubette"- sequestering larger sizes from smaller ones has a rich commercial history. When clothing was made by hand, I imagine there was far less anxiety about size because everything was made to fit the wearer specifically anyway. As you may or may not know, sizes are a big lie foisted upon women to make them feel bad! Anyway, check out those deer heads hiding in the trees! I think I didn't buy this one because I forgot it had this print and I was like, "Why am I watching this?"

PS: "Chubette" is a good name for a band. Especially a Roxette cover band made up of people who are fat! This idea is free of charge and just waiting to be taken, ladies.

Late 30's Deco Dress

This dress is so 1930's skyscraper/futuristic- the metallic fabric, the square buttons, etc.

20's Blouse

80's Boot(ie)s

These are all from this etsy store, though only the last ones are still for sale. The store is generally rather overpriced/trendy, but all these booties are awesome! I seem to be posting a lot of these types of 80's shoes; I think it has something to do with my feelings for Prince. But what doesn't???

50's Girl's Dress

70's Gas Ration Print Dress

I can't believe I lost out on this auction! This enrages me!!! Anyway, this dress (with matching poly panties) is from the 70's, during the first gas crisis- though the seller pointed out that it was once again a timely subject. I really wish it was still easy to find printed fabric with something besides flowers on it- fabric is such a good medium with so many possibilities. Anyway, this is a real artifact. It only sold for like $27.

Late 70's/80's Earrings

I should have bought these! So John Waters!

1960's Children's Dress

I was so sad this dress was child-sized (even though I don't like the way i look in the straight-up-and-down fit of 60's clothing.) I love how this novelty print chronicles 60's hairstyles.

Victorian Jacket, Inside and Out

I always save photos of the inside of Victorian clothes. As mentioned in the post on panniers, the internal structure of these garments is often beautiful and complex- similar to architecture in nature! And god, this jacket is cute!

Best Bathing Suit EVER!!!

I don't know when this is from- the 20's or 30's, maybe? It is wool knit with spiderwebs. The brand was called "Sea Ho!"

1920's Beaded Hat

Psychedelic 60's Swimsuit

Witchy/Deco 30's Dress

Insane 20's Dresses with Panniers

Panniers, like corsets, are kind of like "bones" sewn into the internal structure of the clothing. They are similar to the bustle in that they exaggerate a certain feature- in this case, the hips. during the 18th century, fancy ladies had to walk sideways through doors because their panniers were so big. I remember reading an interview with Zac Posen and he said that panniers were the worst part of fashion ever. What an asshole. But anyway, i think it's really interesting how historically clothing has had this built-in sculpture that affects how we see the body. Some modern designers, like Alexander McQueen, have played on this a lot. I'd like to find photos of the Comme des Carcons collection (Uh, I think that was it) that had all this crazy padding everywhere.

Edwardian Parasol

Not that I want to go back in time because of obvious political stuff, but it is pretty painful to think that people probably once thought nothing of carrying a parasol like this. Everything was more beautiful then, it really was. Speaking of which, these photos aren't very good.

1920's-early 30's Outfit

All I have to say about this outfit is that it is truly a work of art. The way stuff like this is made blows my mind!

Kid's 50's "Playsuits"

As these admittedly adorable pieces of clothing will show you, sexualization of little girls is nothing new. Both photos show child-sized pin-up wear. While today we clad little girls in t-shirts with phrases like "Naughty" or "Angel" written on the chest (or ass, if they're sweatpants), this sort of clothing is part of what made the legendary Lolita a sexual object of desire (that and her being a total whore, duh.)

80's Versace Boots

These are sooo incredible! So gorgeously, perfectly tacky and lux- everything vintage Gianni Versace should be, right? If these were made today they would have stuck a huge platform on the front, so I think they are vintage.