Visiting the Lustron House

Recently, on a very hot Saturday afternoon, I decided to take residence in a local Lustron house. Lustron houses were, according to Wikipedia, prefabricated enameled steel houses developed in the post WWII era in response to the housing shortage for returning GIs. You could order the kit from the Sears Roebuck catalog and put it together yourself.

In short, they were small, metal houses that were cold in winter and very warm in the summer. But they were quaint, charming, and a definite sign of the times.

Our local museum has a Lustron house and the inside is completely furnished in mid century furniture and decor. There is everything from a marshmallow tin in the kitchen, to a martini set in the living room. Once you step in the door, you are stepping back in time.

I had the idea to take some of my collection of vintage dresses and other items to the Lustron house to photograph them in the setting of the era from which they came. When I asked the folks at the museum if I could do this, they were a bit puzzled at first. When they saw what I was doing, they completely understood.

Shall I make you a meatloaf darling?

The table is set for our guests!

A drink before dinner?

I guess I can watch I Love Lucy while I wait for him to arrive.

Our train leaves in an hour!

Darling, I think its time for another!

Are you sure you want to watch television tonight dear?

I better set  curlers in my hair tonight!

By the end of my time in the Lustron house, I was hot but happy. I really could have used a martini or two or a full on Don Draper Old Fashioned. It was a blast to step back in time even if only for a few hours. I love these pictures and it matches my theory that vintage clothes not only represent a different time in history, they also tell a story of someone's life. 

However, I really don't think Betty Draper would have fared very well here. Even after a good amount of martinis. 

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me A Match!

There is a black hole in my closet where things seem to get sucked into if I don't wear them for more than 6 months. The majority of items lost to this hole are jeans. I keep holding onto my jeans hoping that I will one day fit into them again. Then there are the jeans that were too large that I keep for fear that if I throw them, I will eventually need them by gaining more weight. I feel that I will 'curse' myself if I throw away my larger size jeans.

I know I am not the only one who believes this. It is not an old wives tale. Doesn't every woman have three sets of clothes? I have the 'medium size Kristen' set, the 'large size Kristen' set and of course, the 'extra large Kristen' set. I never really know at which given time of the year I will be in which set. Therefore it is best to have a large closet and a fully stocked set for each size.

A woman's closet will never truly be as large as she wants it. Sigh. In this case, size really does matter.

Back to the black hole. Sometimes, when I am creating something or thinking of creating something, I will remember that certain piece of clothing that will work just right for the project. Then I realize that it may be located in the black hole. I then have to take a deep breath and let someone I love know I am going into the hole, in case I get swallowed and never return. They might never find me for months if I didn't do this.

Last weekend I was inspired by this awesome little sundress of the Liberty of London line for Target. Liberty of London is well known for its beautiful prints and this little number is a good example. How funky is this print?

Love the colors, love the print and love the ruffles. I don't love the sundress-type top of the dress. A girl as lusty and busty as myself could not pull that off. So I ate pizza and thought about it. I watched some television and thought about it. I read a book made up of supposedly humorous essays and thought about it. I went to the gym and thought about it and BAM! I knew what I had to do. I had to go into the hole.

So I dug and dug and found the perfect pair of denim jeans that would go splendid with this print. Jeans and a sundress you ask? Tsk, tsk you say. But no tsk, tsk once my scissors start to do their job.

I hacked off the dress at a part of the ruffles that were wide enough to fit around the upper portion of the jeans. 

I then hacked off the bottom portion of the jeans. Are you feeling me yet?

I then put the two together in holy matrimony, stitched on top of the already existing ruffle to look like it was made to be there and I then pronounced the pair an adorable, unique, Liberty of London print ruffle denim skirt. It was so beautiful, I shed a tear. 

Alas, the jeans were in the hole for a reason. They were a former size of Kristen that I knew I wouldn't see again for awhile, despite the new workout video I bought last week. So this lovely little number is now at Second Impressions Thrift Store waiting for a new home. I think it would look smashing with a lovely teal or hot pink cardigan, tights and boots. And if you take it home, give it lots of love, will ya? 

Ah, the ups and downs of matchmaking.

The Boyfriend/Grandpa Jacket

It's early fall here in North Dakota and when you wake up in the morning, you don't know if the temperature will be 90 by late afternoon or stay at 45 like it is in the morning. One can never tell. When I leave for work in the morning, I always have to have some kind of jacket as it is chilly. Lately, by late afternoon, the jacket is always carried home with me on my arm as it is a complete temperature change from the morning.

Sometimes I struggle with what kind of jacket will work with my work clothes. I want something that I can wear with work or casual clothes. I found just the thing I was looking for the other day at Second Impressions.

This kind of a jacket is called, in trendy description, the 'boyfriend jacket.' Most boyfriend jackets sold for women resemble men's suit jackets and are a bit oversized, yet slightly fitting. I found an actual men's suit jacket with the fabric in perfect condition, slightly oversized yet just fitting enough to work with what I have to wear.

The only thing wrong with this jacket were the gold buttons. A little on the tacky side for my taste. 

Since the purpose of the jacket is to be oversized and roomy, the sleeves are usually rolled up. I removed the gold buttons on the sleeve cuff and left them off. I exchanged the gold buttons on the front with some basic black buttons.

Bam! The perfect jacket to throw on in cool, chilly mornings and late evenings. This works great over your t-shirt and jeans or with a cotton top and skirt. Anyway you want to wear it, this jacket works. It is the ultimate multi-tasker. And I got it for the bargain price of $5!

The original tag was still on the inside of the jacket. It came from a local men's suit store called Silverman's. Silverman's has since gone out of business, but back in the day, it was THE place in town for gentlemen to buy their suits. Since the tag showed the jacket's age, I have decided to call this jacket the 'Grandpa' jacket rather than the boyfriend jacket.

And since my friend requested that I take a picture of myself in my after shots rather than always on Helga or Olga the dress forms, I had my son take a picture of me in my new grandpa jacket with my favorite thrifting find of the week.

I'm really not used to including myself in the picture. But I like how the jacket looks over my pink tee with my new leopard scarf in my hair. I also found this at the thrift store this week and it is my FAVORITE thrifting find of the week.

I paired it with my new Betsey Johnson sunnies I found on the clearance rack. 

So go dig through your husband's, boyfriend's, father's, uncle's, grandfather's closets and find yourself a boyfriend/grandpa jacket for the fall. 

You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it.

The Very Bad, Awful, Horrible, Terrible Denim Dress Makeover

Denim dresses are everywhere right now in stores for fall. They are very cool and can be worn well into the winter months using a cardigan, tights and boots. I love them. I love anything denim for that matter. But some of them, especially the cooler ones, can be a bit pricey.

Years and years ago, way, way back into the 90s, denim dresses were cool. I loved them then, I love them now. I will be 80 years old in the nursing home probably wearing my denim dress and boots. Hopefully they are Doc Marten boots. Then my grandchildren can proudly say, "My granny wears combat boots."

I knew I could renovate a denim dress if I had one to work with. Late on a Saturday afternoon, I ran off to one of my favorite thrift stores to search. Once I have an idea in my head, it is stuck. I threw open the door to the thrift store, knowing full well they had 20 minutes before closing time. I knew I only needed 5 minutes to find the perfect dress. Before I could even walk 10 paces, I was stopped dead in my tracks by the store employee who sternly told me they were closing early.

"But I only need 5 minutes and I have to find a dress!" I desperately pleaded.

"No dress for you!" said thrift store nazi. Ok, she didn't actually say that. But she did kick me out within two seconds. Sadness.....

I would like to state for the record that this stern, grumpy thrift store administrator was NOT my friend Amanda, who would have graciously let me in her store 20 minutes before closing. She gets people like me.

The next day I returned to grumpy thrift store happy to find that miss sunshine was not working. I then found the most horrible, awful, terrible monster of a denim dress.

It looked like something out of Breaking Amish. Ugh. Don't mess with a guy named Levi....

The dress was very large but the fabric was in great condition. The tag inside gave me the indication that it was from the mid 90s. At one time, this dress was cool. It had potential. It still had some coolness left in it. I'd like to say I am the fairy godmother of this dress. With a wave of my needle, I planned to make it cool again.

First thing I did was take in the sides of the dress. I took it in a good two and half inches on each side, thereby removing the pockets. I hate pockets in my dresses anyway. Like I need any extra padding on my hips. As if!!  I then cut the sleeves off and then very carefully removed the front pockets. Because the pockets were on the dress for so long, the fabric was darker underneath. Originally I had intended to leave the pockets off. I then added new sleeves and new pockets of white cotton lace. 

Once the sleeves were on and the new pockets, I made the dress a great deal shorter. Not too short where an old lady like myself would be shamelessly showing too much leg, but just enough for it to have the coolness factor.  Finally, I removed the blah buttons and added new white buttons that were similar looking to the lace. 

A new dress was born....

I added a brown belt and the dress was ready to go. I had enough denim left over from the bottom length that I cut off for another denim dress project. A girl can't have too many denim dresses, can she? Besides, I can save them and wear them in the day room of the nursing home! 

Fashionable Art

If I have learned anything this week, it is #1-double check your skirt to make sure it isn't stuck in your spanx before leaving the ladies room and #2-it is very good to stray from your comfort zone.

I have had a wall art project in my head since earlier this spring. The only problem was I needed a specific size of frame to complete the project and I hadn't seen any I liked. Normally, I seek project assistance in my usual thrift store haunts. However I was recently given an invitation to try something new and I eagerly obliged.

Meet Amanda. She owns a local thrift store called Second Impressions. I had never been to her store before and she extended the invitation to me to come and visit, I grabbed the chance. Her store is clean, smells great, well organized and most important of all, is very affordable. I know that thrift stores are supposed to all be affordable, but many are not. Amanda's store is exactly how a thrift store should be. Plus, if you are looking for something specific, call Amanda and she will check to see if she has it. If she doesn't, she will keep her eye out for it and let you know if she does. Now THAT is customer service!!!

Tucked in a corner I found the exact size frame I needed. I even dug out my handy tape measure from the bottom of my purse (see that studded Betsey bag on the counter) and TA DA! The measurements added up. I ended up taking the frame home along with some wearable goodies.

I needed to paint the frame white in order for my project to take the shape of what I wanted it to be. So I bent back the heavy staples that held the back of the frame in place. I thought that if I bent them back, I would be able to use them when I put everything back together in the frame. Big mistake. Huge. I ended up breaking the glass because I left the staples in. When you are re-using a picture frame, such as this, make sure you use pliars to remove the staples. It will make removing the glass so much easier. Fortunately for me, I went back to Amanda and admitted my stupid mistake. She had another frame for me that would work just as well. Whew.

It took three paints of white acrylic paint and my frame was transformed. I covered the photo in the frame with batting and covered it with a beautiful floral Vera Neumann silk scarf. 

A scarf, you ask? Vera Neumann? If you don't know who Vera Neumann is, it is time for a little history lesson in vintage fashion. Vera was born in 1907. She married a man named George Neumann whose family was involved in textiles. The couple started with a small silkscreen printing press on their dining room table that was only large enough to make linen placemats. They then cured these placemats in their own oven! When WWII rations were taking place, Vera was scrambling to find fabrics and supplies for her placemats. She then came across some parachute silk at an army surplus store and BAM! Her famous scarves were born. She believed that art belonged on fashion. In the 50s and 60s, Vera scarves were a significant sign of the well dressed woman. Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe both loved to wear Vera fashions. She even started creating dresses and other items of clothing as well. You can find her signature at the corner of her scarves and the coolest ones have her trademark ladybugs.

If you are a Mad Men fan such as I, you probably have seen Joan Holloway wearing Vera scarves or tying them onto the handles of her handbags. Megan Draper was wearing a Vera sundress in the season 6 trip to Hawaii.

Vera scarves are beautiful and very unique. They are art. I like to wear them in my hair. And now, I like to frame them and put them on my wall.

For Vera Neumann, art belonged on fashion. For me, Vera fashion is now art. So the next time you are digging through your grandma's or mother's scarves and come across a Vera, grab it. Tie it on your purse handle, roll it up and put it in your hair and if you truly love it, frame it and put it on the wall.

To Have and To Hold-Then and Now

I have stated before my love for all things vintage. I can't wait to post new vintage items in my Etsy store. And there is nothing I love more than finding a loving home for one of my vintage pieces. However, my favorite things to list are vintage wedding dresses.

I love vintage wedding dresses. They tell a story from another time. Who wore it? How happy were they that day when they wore that dress to marry their true love?

This beautiful cream colored early 60s dress was just recently added to My Pink Hanger on Etsy. It is still perfect in every way. It was well taken care of through the years, a sign that it was truly treasured as must have been the love it symbolized.

Another treasure is this vintage crown wedding veil which is also cream colored. I added a new cream tulle veil to the backside of the crown. It is missing some pearls, but it is still beautiful and would look so gorge with the wedding dress above.

Last year, I found this green rayon dress from the 40s, still in pristine condition. It has small shoulder pads and a metal zipper in the back. There wasn't a stain, tear or snag in the whole garment. In war time, the traditional wedding dresses were set aside and brides wore more practical pieces that they could re-use. Suits and dresses such as this were typical in wedding pictures of the 40s. Because of the elegant simple beauty of this dress and the excellent condition that it was, I assume this too was a wedding dress from the past. 

When new brides would leave on their honeymoon,  they would carry with them a train case to hold their cosmetics and toiletries. The well dressed woman always had a train case. Today, train cases are used in vintage inspired weddings to hold the wedding cards. When the wedding is over, the train case is simply closed shut and the cards are taken away with the happy couple. 

I found this blue train case at a 'farmhouse' shabby chic sale in May. A homey and classic farmhouse set in the rural fields of North Dakota had several floors of vintage finds. Mine happened to be this blue train case with the monogrammed initials still on the front.

I like to think the initials could stand for 'a perfect pair,' when describing a happy couple.

I re-lined the interior of the case as the lining was stained and less than visually acceptable. I removed the destroyed mirror on top lid to use for another project and added a banner that spelled 'cards.'

When the wedding is over, the honeymoon can continue at home and the banner can be removed. What is left is a vintage treasure that can be used in a nice display for the home and a happy reminder of a special day.

It Takes Two to Make a Thing Go Right!

What do you get when a hole-y, ragged, black t-shirt meets an elegant, designer t-shirt dress?

HIT IT!

Let's back it up a bit and build up the story to this about-to-blossom romance. Last spring, Target introduced one of their clothing lines where they take an ultra-cool designer who creates a limited edition collection just for Target. Prabal Gurung did this fabulous collection with floral prints and funky designs. Totally thinking it was going to sell like hot cakes, I purchased, at full price mind you, the First Date print dress. Had to have it.

Little did I know that in our neck of the northern woods, the Prabal Gurung line would not sell very well. What??? I know you are as confused as I, right? When Target cannot get rid of their clearance items, they sell them for ultra cheap to an area thrift store. Months later I was perusing through the racks at said thrift store and saw Prabal Gurung dresses. The t-shirt dress that I wanted in the first date print also was there. Significantly marked down with the tags still on it, it wasn't in my size. Sigh. You need a pretty good sized t-shirt dress to fit over these womanly hips.

I like carbs. I won't deny it.

Because I love the print and the fabric so darn much, I snatched that little number up, despite it's fit challenges. I took it home with me and tried to give it some love, but it just wouldn't fit in the places it was supposed to.

Isn't that print awesome? I left the dress on Olga for a few days until the matchmaking spark went off!!!

I have a problem with my t-shirts. They are very temporary as they always seem to end up with a tiny hole in the lower center portion of the shirt. It's a mystery to me. Since I cannot seem to throw ANY clothing away with a simple small hole in it, I knew that my black, hole-y t-shirt would be just the perfect match for this lovely print.

I hacked off the lower portion of the t-shirt almost right below the bust line. I then hacked off the top portion of the t-shirt dress that contained the sleeves that would never fit me and then the lower portion of the dress I knew I could never pull over my womanly hips. I left the bottom floral peplum for a future project. 

I stitched the black t-shirt to the top of the printed tube portion of the dress. I used a stretch stitch to join the two in wedded bliss. I cannot tell you how I like to wear things that stretch in certain areas. I hemmed the bottom of the printed portion and it was a match made in heaven!!!

Whether it is Ryan Reynolds crooning to Sandra Bullock from the makeshift bed on the floor or DJ EZ Rock & Rob Base, one thing is for certain. It really DOES take two to make a thing go right!

And this shirt is outta sight!!!!

Hit it!