Before and After Vintage

[cherry lips]

MissHannah, you know I'm a fan, you're marvelous! I like your style in these two pics, haven't seen them before.

 

[ZombieGirl]

Miss Hannah, you are just so darn lovely! You've looked amazing in all your stages through life! Bravo!

 

[MissHannah]

Oh that is SO not true ZombieGirl, but thanks! My frumpiest stage was in my mid-twenties but there are hardly any photos of me from back then luckily!

 

[Octavia]

Hi everyone!

I thought this might be an appropriate first post. I'm an art student from Belgium and I'm currently slowly switching my boring wardrobe to a more vintage style one. I'm not at all a purist on this and I'm pretty sure some of you might curse at me but i tend to look for styles that flatter me and make me feel good-wether it's repro, actual vintage or modern clothing that is vintage inspired. I might chop off a hem when it is too long for me, or mix different era's up. I'm here to find knowledge and ideas on all kinds of different thing I don't know about yet. Not just for me, but also for my boyfriend! We've been together for a little over a year now, and he says that I gave him the courage to really change his regular boring attire into a smarter and more vintage inspired style.

Anyway, to start off, here is me at fifteen, in a snobby school where I desperately tried not to be noticed:

note the fleece.

a few years later, i was brave enough to wear one of my grandmother's old dresses on vacation. and pair an almost see-through dress with white underwear. cough.

this is me and my boyfriend, not exactly our daily wear, but all dressed up for a party with an elderly theme. he was an english pilot who fell into my potato field one day. i gave my mother a small heart attack because she thought i was serious. the only thing i really do wear irl are the shoes and sometimes the bag!

and this is what i look like now on a regular spring day... i have some more vintage outfits too but i should photograph them when there is actual daylight. maybe that was something to consider before making this post!

Welcome to the lounge! You look lovely! I adore your last outfit. No need to feel out-of-place for not being purist - there are a lot of loungers here who aren't, including myself. I love your grandmother's dress, by the way.

This thread is so neat. I love seeing the transformations. Everyone looks fabulous! MissHannah, you look like pure sophistication and class.

I will have to find good comparison pictures of myself. Like a lot of the ladies here, I flip-flopped a lot before I found my niche.

 

[RodeoRose]

Oh wow, I love this skirt (dress?) so much; what a great print.

Yes, there's no shame in era mixing, I am the same way

 

[annet]

Oh wow, I love this skirt (dress?) so much; what a great print.

Yes, there's no shame in era mixing, I am the same way

thank you! it's been my favourite since i found it in stockholm this summer... not vintage, but by a brand i can't remember. i spotted it on the first day but it was around 60 euros so i didn't even want ti try it on, knowing that it would have tempted me... on our last day the boyfriend persuaded me, and it ended up being on sale for half the price!

 

[annet]

this is what i am wearing today, i got the shirt a while ago since i loved the print, but the fit was... weird. it was kind of like a balloon, no waist at all, and had a thick ribbon at the bottom to tie it (even though it hits at the hips)

so i chopped off the ribbon, hemmed it again and slimmed it down a bit, and now i have the perfect shirt to wear with high)waisted skirts and pants! the print is really cute, small birds that remind me of a chris ware drawing.

i also received my very first garter belt in the mail today and i don't think i'll go back to tights anytime soon. this is so much more comfortable!

i'm posting this because this is what i usually look like these days... excuse the messy hair, it's still damp.

other details:

skirt: thrifted and altered to sit at the waist instead of the hips
stockings: cut-off h&m tights
shoes: noa noa, gift from my mother (my favourite pair of heels, extremely comfortable)

 

[Kiri]

Very cute! Love the blouse.

 

[KittyAnneMalloo]

Yuck Yuck Yuck!
Both photo's are taken at my desk at work. My uniform has changed from a bone oversized shirt to a fitted black one as worn under my yummy cardigan:eusa_clap

 

[Kiri]

You look gorgeous KittyAnne! It's incredible how vintage can turn someone from pretty to stunning.

 

[KittyAnneMalloo]

Thanks, I feel much better in myself now which is good. Lot's of compliments from people at work which is also a boost!

ETA I really love you're new profile pic Kiri, Lovely!

 

[Kiri]

Thank you very much. :cheers1:

I know, dressing vintage I feel nice too, I feel like a lady, it inspires me to hold my head up higher and walk gracefully. I feel so slobby when I wear modern clothes. I really must get some vintage trousers for those freezing cold stay at home days so I don't have to feel slobby and wear my old jeans.

 

[Hercule]

Please don't take offense from this but the print on your skirt reminded me that father once told me that back on the farm in the 30s and 40s they used to save grain bags and because they had attractive designs on them my grandmother would make dresses out of them for my aunt. I've never seen such a grain bag let alone a dress made from one so I can't attest to it.

You are quite cute and your grandmother's looks very good on you.

H

 

[Amy Jeanne]

Please don't take offense from this but the print on your skirt reminded me that father once told me that back on the farm in the 30s and 40s they used to save grain bags and because they had attractive designs on them my grandmother would make dresses out of them for my aunt. I've never seen such a grain bag let alone a dress made from one so I can't attest to it.

You are quite cute and your grandmother's looks very good on you.

H

Yes, it was common for poor rural folk to make dresses out of old feedsacks. My grandmother was telling me -- the feedsack industry caught onto this "trend" of women using them for sewing so they began to purposely make the feedsacks in pretty patterns.

 

[annet]

Please don't take offense from this but the print on your skirt reminded me that father once told me that back on the farm in the 30s and 40s they used to save grain bags and because they had attractive designs on them my grandmother would make dresses out of them for my aunt. I've never seen such a grain bag let alone a dress made from one so I can't attest to it.

You are quite cute and your grandmother's looks very good on you.

H

haha, none taken! this is a skirt i got in sweden, i loved the print, perfect for summer and spring

and that feedsack story is true, the companies that made them actually designed gorgeous prints for the fabric so they would sell more!

 

[Miss 1929]

There are dealers on Ebay who specialize in feedsacks!

 

[Amy Jeanne]

And there is an entire feedsack "reproduction" fabric industry!

 

[MirandaFern]

Please don't take offense from this but the print on your skirt reminded me that father once told me that back on the farm in the 30s and 40s they used to save grain bags and because they had attractive designs on them my grandmother would make dresses out of them for my aunt. I've never seen such a grain bag let alone a dress made from one so I can't attest to it.

You are quite cute and your grandmother's looks very good on you.

H

semi-fftopic: I saw an example of one with toy patterns printed on them. You bought the flour sack, and cut out the doll or bear pieces, and sewed them together per the instructions.

http://www.appalachianhistory.net/2010/07/feedsack-mania.html

I'm trying to talk my grandmother into making me a repo-feedsack quilt for my wedding quilt.

 

[fortworthgal]

I know, dressing vintage I feel nice too, I feel like a lady, it inspires me to hold my head up higher and walk gracefully.

I feel this way too when I wear vintage. I find that I tend to pay more attention to my appearance - I find myself wearing more makeup, spending a little more time on my hair, touching up my makeup more often throughout the day, and I definitely feel more "ladylike" if that makes sense. I'm very comfortable in jeans and a tee (which is what I'm wearing for casual Friday today at work), but I love wearing vintage.

MissHannah - You have fantastic style. I am certain you've heard it many times, but your look and style just screams Dovima. Sure you aren't a long lost daughter? lol

 

[MissHannah]

MissHannah - You have fantastic style. I am certain you've heard it many times, but your look and style just screams Dovima. Sure you aren't a long lost daughter? lol

I have heard it before, but believe me, it isn't something a woman could ever get tired of hearing! I adore her look and the styles she modelled (I can't really call it 'her' style) and while I lack her perfectly refined features I have a similar enough face, build and colouring to pull off a rough approximation! She embodies the 50s styles that I love - sophisticated, grown-up, tailored and chic. Sadly, most of her life was rather miserable and I wouldn't hold her up as a role model but visually I find her incredibly aspirational - so thank you for the comparison, you made my day!