A Tale of Two Blouses

It all started at the fabric store, ahem, Goodwill, when I found this delightful bird fabric.

A few adjustments were needed.

Not usually a fan of novelty fabric for clothing, I discovered I couldn't pass this up. A blouse did briefly cross my mind as I put it in my shopping bag. Whatever it's fate I loved it. Fast forward a few months.....

 In building my thirties wardrobe, I decided this blouse pattern would be the perfect match with my birds!

I found a date stamped on this pattern of 1938.

This year my sewing goal is to finish one item a month, and so far I am on track! I may fall off the wagon this summer, as the garden and Lady Day are calling my name in the warm breezes BUT it has been a LONG COLD spring. Which means more time to sew, but still deadlines are much more effective.

Antiquing in Hixton, and Easter vacation in Florida were two deadlines on my schedule!

I almost hate to remove the buttons  from the card!

Pulling together my notions for the bird blouse I found some cute vintage buttons in my stash and decided to try bound buttonholes. Isn't the placement of the buttons adorable?

Always best to practice first.

I fall madly for the details of vintage clothing, and this blouse has a few. The pleat in the back and the little tucks which make it tuck in quite nicely to your high-waisted pants.

Hard to imagine wearing any of these clothes when it's snowing outside!

I finished it just hours before Hixton!

I must admit after getting my fabric at Goodwill, I get a little sticker shock when I go into a real fabric store. Two bolts of Moda pleated cotton caught my eye right away, and though I tried to forget about them while browsing I decided that this would be my next blouse. Well, what's a little splurge anyhow?
 I used a pattern from the 40's for this blouse that is very similar to the thirties styles.

As this one was being sewn during the Sew for Victory sew-a-long I decided to submit it. If you haven't checked this out, there is tons of inspiration and flawless seamstresses out there. Even if you don't join I recommend looking it over!

Initially, I planned to omit the trim on the blouse, but then I remembered one of my stashes. This would be excellent use of my vintage rick rack, not an overtly rick rack look, but a softer, scalloped look. More vintage buttons were found in my other stash that worked perfectly.

It occurs to me I have to lay everything out ( no folding the fabric) match the seams, and seam the top of the collar so the pleats would come out matching. I was obviously blinded by love in the fabric store.
Turned out very nicely I think.

Ready for Florida! Are we there yet?

 Ahh.. I finally got to the warmer weather and it was more delightful than I remembered.

Oh, and check out my Freddies! I have never paid this much for a pair of jeans, but I have to tell you, if you want the vintage look and top quality, you will not be disappointed. I am in love with them and already planning which will be my next pair when I scrape up some extra money. Freddies of Pinewood.

I may just buy some capris in case it warms up this summer!

The Power of Attraction

I am a firm believer in the power of attraction, and along with that the idea that whatever you focus on expands! Within the last year alone I have acquired a vintage mohair couch and club chair, turntable, fridge, and camper! But this is not solely about purchasing items you like, it's how things come to you in unexpected ways. I think the best example of this is my vintage aluminum canister set. My neighbor gave me a canister set she found in her cabin, and though I was in love with it, it was missing the sugar canister. No matter, I loved them and cleared the clutter (my huge microwave) to make room for them.

 After seeing my canister set on Facebook, my cousin's friend contacted me and told me she had a sugar canister that she thought matched  for me. I picked it up and indeed it did match! A beautiful canister set that came to me for only the price of gratitude.

Just added-S & P set from antiquing in Hixton.

Soon afterwards, my mother gifted me this spice set too!

This holiday season was a particularly delightful one for me. I had decided to cut out the stress of gift giving by not pressuring myself to get the perfect gift. You know what? I do believe that everyone got a well-suited gift from me this year. I also received well-suited gifts this year. The following are a few of my favorite gifts!

Daddy-O got me this gorgeous vintage blue coat!
 Blue is my favorite color, which you don't see too often.

I think this gift was for Daddy-O, but I'm claiming it as mine!

My brother made me a beautiful wooden tray and this vintage sign that goes perfectly in our newly remodeled breezeway.

Good Luck
Compliments of T J Wirrer
General merchandise
Mattoon, Wis.

Bo Peep found this plate in Waupaca brought it home to Mattoon, and fits perfectly in my "new" living room!


Last spring I bought some rocks and shot glasses from my late Great Uncle's estate. I didn't even know other sizes existed until I spied Rebecca's Collins and highball glasses at Mississippi Mayhem! I always gravitate towards glass at any thrift store, but no matching glasses were to be found. Then I received an early birthday present from Bo Peep.

Tom Collins, Highball, Old Fashioned, Rocks, and Shot.

Imagine my delight when I spied the glasses as I opened up the box! Now my mismatched glasses are gone to make way for my beautiful "new" set! Even though they are bar glasses I plan on using them as kitchen glasses. I delight everyday in using these beautiful glasses, and there's no reason to store that joy away!

And would you know it, now I noticed Annie has some too! My focus is expanding.

My mother gave me some of my Great Aunt Helen's lovely jewelry which includes Mount Rushmore sweater clips! Now I am reminded of her whenever I wear one of these.
 I have received many more great gifts, and love witnessing the power of attraction in my life. It never gets old. And if you're wondering what all this power of attraction talk is, I have been reading E Squared by Pam Grout. I highly recommend it!

Alterations: Mens WWII Pants

If you tend to wear vintage, you know that anything is fair game.  You've got to keep your options open and suddenly Grandma's old cat-eye glasses start to look do-able.  Your aunt's beret and scarf set, not too shabby.  Or your dad's old military clothes, not just for Halloween anymore!  Personally, I love my WWII military-issue pieces.  And here are a few easy tips to make the pants a bit more flattering for the female figure. 

We'll never be Royals

But we can have fun playing dress-up and pretend! After all- life is too short not to wear your "fancy pants" once in awhile.

The second annual HVG new Year's Eve Bash was held at the Meade Mansion. This year's theme was the prohibition era which spanned 1919 to 1933. I love the 30's- it's my favorite era of fashion along with the 40's, but when it came time to plan my wardrobe for the party I decided upon a vintage 1920's "flapper" pattern in my collection. This pattern has always begged to be made, but the proper occasion has eluded me- until now.

The sac dress is not my favorite silhouette, so some swanky fabrics were in order. My favorite fabric store, Goodwill, came through again with 13 yards of cream lining and floral printed velvet. I also purchased some cream satin for the dress, but decided I liked the sheen on the lining better. This would later frustrate me, but it looked good, and that's all that matters, right?

Other preparations to be made were selecting stockings, the fancier the better since the hemlines were rising in the 20's, and my accessories! Superglue restoration was done to my minkies, along with a good eye cleaning. The leather was too brittle to sew up repairs.

Four whole minks complete the stole that I won at an estate sale.
 I also won a lifetime of eye rolls from Daddy-O!

With only days to go until the party I zipped up my dress with only a few snags (literally). The boxy design is fairly simple and straight forward, but with no instructions, you need to take your time and possibly rip some seams.

At the evening of the party the table was filled with various hors d' oeuvers, Mr. Shimstock was making some mean sidecars, and we popped a bottle of bubbly to start the evening.

Cheers!

I've been lounging on this chair all day!

For details on BoPeep's dress, check out the Willow Homestead.

Just us flapper girls!

BoPeep was fabulously dressed with her new party dress, and the guys even cleaned up nice.

It was a great evening to stay in and have a cold drink and snuggle with our beaus!

Royalty is just a state of mind- 

so think royal thoughts in the coming year!

Happy New Year to you & yours!

Wild Kat's Wardrobe
Pattern- Standard new Idea Designer Pattern circa 1920's
Fabric- Goodwill
Fur Mink stole- estate sale
Jewelry- estate sales
Feather Hair piece- Walmart
Nylons- Gal Stern etsy
Shoes- eBay
Gloves- Bo Peep's collection

Montgomery Ward 1934

Ladies, need some suggestions to pass along to the Mister for Christmas?  Take a look through the Montgomery Ward & Co. from 1934.

Just one pair of shoes, and I'd be thrilled!

Fancy Hat Sundays!

In case you don't follow our facebook page, you may just want to pop over there and take a look.  We just created an online event that runs every throughout the Summer.  It's called Fancy Hat Sundays, and it's gearing up to be a doozy! 

If you're anything like us, you have a closet full of hats that do not make it out as often as they should. Well, here's your chance to take them out of their acid-free tissue and show them off. Whether they be cloche, pillbox, birdcage, fedora, porkpie, cowboy, cocktail, feather, fascinator, bucket, bowler or beret - we want to see them!

Here's how it works: Join the event and every Sunday don a new hat and post a pic. It's that simple! It can be you, your sharp dressed man or your little buckaroo. It's a public event so invite your family and friends. The more, the merrier!  It starts this Sunday, June 30th, so join up today! 

My Glamping Wardrobe

A while back I was watching a program on our local PBS channel about the evolution of resorts and summer camps in Northern Wisconsin.  They explained how the tradition got started, and how it evolved over the years.  One comment from an elderly woman, whose parents in the 1940s rented out single-unit cabins, really stuck with me.  She said, "When we camped in the summer, we didn't have 'sports' clothes.  We had old clothes."   She went on to explain that her dad wore his fatigues from World War II.  Her mother wore plain, cotton dresses.  The kids wore overalls and hand-me-down flannel shirts, both boys and girls.  This is the basis of my glamping wardrobe.

Now some glampers will say that crinolines and sequined sweaters may be more in line with the trend, but I like to play it a bit more traditional.  I'll pass on the windbreaker, the fleece hoodie and the Gortex pants that you'd see on most campers today in favor of cotton, denim and good ole Pendleton wool shirts.

So let's start with basic cotton dresses. Button-down-the-front, shirtwaist dresses are easy to wear and comfortable.  These babies will never go out of style.

Full skirts are an option in case you just can't bear to leave the crinoline at home.  And a monogram is always a sensible choice for labeling your items (better than a Sharpie on the collar).

Wrap front dresses are also a good option because they tend to be less restricting.  A good thing to consider if you love s'mores as much as I do.  And I love the huge patch pockets on this style.  While not always flattering to the hips, they come in handy for carrying matches, hand sanitizer and extra worms for fishing.

If you'd rather forgo the whole dress idea, classic trousers in denim or lightweight cotton are always appropriate.  Just look how nonchalant that gal in yellow is roasting her wienie.

Capris (or pedal pushers) can be a bit more flattering and summery.  And I love this wrap-front blouse!  Ahem, the s'more issue...although if my waist looked like this, I could eat the marshmallows straight from the bag.  Who am I kidding?  I do that now.

Shorts and a basic camp shirt can also be a cute look although I'm not sold on the knee-highs.

Overalls have become a favorite of mine lately.  Wearing History has a great new pattern available for overalls with a pants and playsuit option as well. To me, overalls say, "I'm serious here.  Roll up your sleeves and start that fire with these two sticks."

One option that might not come to mind are playsuits.  Playsuits offer the best of both worlds.  You have the coverage and ease of shorts, but the fancy, wind-in-my-skirt feeling of dresses.  And there are tons of options available to mix and match tops, bottoms and skirts.  Admittedly, I wore these when I was 7 years old, but I still want one.  Might even do one in gingham!

And of course for the cool Summer nights, you'll need a plaid 49er shirt jacket.  I own several of these and love them!

So while us Girls are finalizing the details of our first official glamping weekend,  you go out and pull together your wardrobe.  Thrift, sew, or steal from your Mister's closet if you have to.  I hope I've given you some inspiration.  And we'll see you in the Northwoods!