Vintage Wardrobe Essentials Eight

Here ends our series on Vintage Wardrobe Essentials. Thank you so much for reading them all. :) I really do appreciate it. 

Today, I thought that I would make a printable list for you. 

Or if you prefer a PDF, simply click here.

I should make another note that this is my wishlist of essentials. I do not own all of these items, nor am I saying that you must/ should, should you decide to adopt a vintage style.

Vintage Wardrobe Essentials Seven

We are almost finished with our series on Vintage Wardrobe Essentials series. This final post may be a tad longer than the others, or maybe not. I guess we will see. 

7. ACCESSORIES

• 3 Pairs Lace Socks- because they are just so pretty.
• 3 Pairs White Tights- perfect for when the weather gets cooler.
• 3 Pairs Nude Stockings- every lady should have at least one pair. They add an element of class and glamour to a simple sun dress.
• 1 Petticoat

Vintage Wardrobe Essentials Six

They say that every girl loves her shoes! So I thought that it was time that we looked at which shoes you need in your vintage-inspired wardrobe.

6. SHOES

• 1 Pair White Closed Toe Heels- Almost every photo of a lady from the 50's or 60's has her wearing  a lovely pair of white shoes. I'm a dancer so I prefer closed toe, but if you prefer an open toe shoe than by all means, change these, and those below to open toe shoes. 
• 1 Pair Closed Toe Nude Heels
• 1 Pair Black Heels
• 3 Pairs Flats (white/ black/ colour)
• 1-2 Pairs Coloured Heels- just imagine.

How cute are these Modcloth shoes!

Memma xxx

Vintage Wardrobe Essentials Five

Here begins Week Five of Our Vintage Wardrobe Essentials Series. We have covered all of the Basics and I really have no idea what to call today's list... I have simply called it;

5. MISCELLANEOUS.

• 1 Playsuit- these are so cute and so vintage. They are perfect to wear to the park, to the beach, or even out for the day. Imagine how much more fun cleaning the house would be if you did it in a vintage-inspired playsuit!
• 1 Swimsuit- if, like me, you never go swimming, you may not need this. I'm clinging to a vain hope that, if I end up getting my ideal swimsuit, I will one day go swimming. 
• 1 Over Dress- I have no idea what the technical name is, but basically a short dress that you can wear over your swimsuit when you go to the beach. These are so cute and, especially if your swimmers aren't vintage-inspired, an overdress can provide an instantly vintage feel.
• 2-3 Night Gowns/ Bloomers and Camisoles/ Pajamas- whatever is most comfortable for you. Vintage-inspired night clothes make going to sleep an absolute delight (not that sleeping isn't great anyway).
• 1-2 Pairs High Waist Shorts- for if you don't particularly feel like wearing a skirt (or it's too windy) high waist shorts mean you can still look and feel beautiful
• 1-3 Skirt, Blouse, and Jacket Combinations- it's always nice to look smart and these outfits do just the trick.

Just a few Nighties (Lana Lobell of course) for you to enjoy :)

Memma xxx

Vintage Wardrobe Essentials Four

Another week, another post. I'm quite enjoying this series. I hope that you are too. :) Please don't hesitate to comment and have your say.

We have already covered the three most commonly thought of vintage clothing essentials, so today we are looking at another very important, although often forgotten style.

4. JACKETS

With four seasons in the year, it is almost guaranteed that the weather will get cooler and you will need to put something over your summer dresses to make them winter appropriate. I mean, you could get winter skirts and dresses as well, but anyway..

Vintage Wardrobe Essentials Three

Week Three Already! Today, we are continuing the Vintage Wardrobe Essentials Series.

I do hope that you have enjoyed it thus far.

 

Can you guess what we are looking at today?

That's right, blouses :) (If you didn't guess that, I'm sure that it was your next choice ;) )

 

3. BLOUSES

Blouses are the perfect vintage wardrobe essential because they allow you to wear your skirts (after all, we don't want to be half naked :S ) and they can also be worn over dresses (this means that, 4 dresses + 1 blouse = 8 outfits!). This makes them a pretty cool and pretty essential wardrobe piece.

Vintage Wardrobe Essentials Two

Last week we began a series on Vintage Wardrobe Essentials. 

So today we are looking at the next vintage wardrobe essential; dresses!

 

Dresses are perfect for every vintage wardrobe because, let's be honest, when you think vintage clothes, you think dresses. Am I right? 

 

So what dresses do you need?

Vintage Wardrobe Essentials One

I've been thinking about wardrobes lately. More specifically about wardrobe essentials.

So for the next I don't know how long, we will be answering the question;

 

What does every (vintage inspired) girl need in her wardrobe?

 

Please don't hesitate to respond in the comments after each post. I'd love to know what your wardrobe essentials are. 

DISCLAIMER-

I may be a bit over the top here (I like my clothes and think that you can never have too many). If you are just getting started, add these in gradually. There is no need to go broke. Try Op Shops and other cheap shops, or consider buying some fabric on special and having a go at sewing your own creations. :) Also, please remember that my numbers are only a guide. By all means, change the numbers to suit your needs. If you only need 1 patterned skirt then don't bother getting 3. Get only the amount that you want/ need/ can afford, and have fun playing with the clothes which you already have as well :)

 

This list is a reflection of what my wardrobe would look like in my ideal world and should be used as a guide, not a definitive list of 'essentials'. Enjoy!

 

I did some wardrobe essential googling and found lists which included white tops and jeans etc. My list is a little different. Jeans are great as a quick solution to going down to the shops, but when my current pair fall apart I don't think I will replace them. I much prefer skirts and dresses.

 

So, what is on my list???

Cleaning Gloves

In my last post, I shared some of my gloves with you. As promised, here is the follow-up post on cleaning your gloves.

Cleaning gloves is a long and, at times, boring procedure. In truth, it's not that long, but it feels it. It requires care and patience. If you are planning on cleaning many pairs at once, I suggest turning on the DVD-player and watching a film. If you want to feel really classy, watch a film where they wear gloves. :) That should make the task much less of a task and more of a privilege. 

So basically, you will need some nice white, unscented soap (I use Lux because it's what I have, but anything will work), some warm water in a bucket, and a plain white towel. 

Step 1- Place glove on hand

Step 2- Dip dirty section of glove into water and gently rub soap on offending area

Step3- Rub fingers together and over dirty sections until dirt and residue lifts and glove looks clean

Step 4- Remove hand and lay glove flat on towel. 

Step 5 - Repeat all steps with next glove

Once all of your gloves are clean, a couple of rinses in warm water is all that is required to remove the soapy residue and provide you with perfectly clean gloves. YAY! :)

I find that after a while, it becomes difficult to slide a wet hand into a glove and hence I don't always wear the gloves when cleaning them. Mine don't stretch or shrink or anything when I do so, but do be careful.

It is not such a long process after all; I recently cleaning 6 or 7 pairs in 20 - 30 minutes.  :)

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Enjoy your afternoon,

Memma xxx

Fits Like a Glove

I recently received a parcel in the mail from my Grandma. I wasn't expecting anything so you may imagine how overjoyed I was when I opened it to find a collection of gloves. Not just any gloves mind you, my great-grandmothers gloves which have not been worn by anyone but her! How cool is that. I have other gloves which I was given as presents for Christmas and my birthday. These gloves were unworn from the 1960's and still had their original price tags and labels on them! I have such a lovely collection now! I wouldn't mind a few more, although I'm not sure I need them; as is I have trouble decided which ones to wear with each outfit.

Gloves are such a beautiful addition to any outfit. I wear them every Sunday for church. I have a general (lazy) rule which means I wear the same outfit on a Monday to Uni as I wore on Sunday. I don't usually see the same people so it's a great little way to make sure that I look pretty and to save time on Monday morning. For practicality, I don't wear my gloves on the Monday, which I feel sort of brings down the look of the outfit. It makes less of a statement and has less of a classic vibe without the gloves.

So, because I love gloves, I thought that I would share some with you, but then I thought that that might bore you, so I decided against cataloguing my collection here. 

However, to add substance to this post, below are both from my great-grandmothers collection.

This is one of my pale pink gloves (I think that they are my favourite). I love the detail in the fingers. It is so well made.

Some beautiful embroidery down the arm of an elbow-length glove. Oh so pretty!

Gloves are, obviously, worn on one's hands, which means that they are wont to get dirty. In my next post, I will share with you some ideas for cleaning your oh-so-special collection of gloves.

Enjoy your day,

Memma xxx

Orla Kiely Films - Simply Beautiful

For all of my vintage loving followers, I simply had to share this. 

I follow a blog called http://www.rosaspinavintage.com. She always has beautiful outfits and a stunning photography. Recently one of the outfits caught my eye and I scrolled to the end of the post to find out where the beautiful dress was from. It was from Orla Kiely. Never heard of them? Neither had I. But now I'm glad I have.

The clothes are undeniably out of my price range, but oh so good to look at.

But the real reason I felt that I needed to share this with you was because I continued to explore this website and came across their 'film' section. WOW! 

Basically each film is a showcase of their Summer and Spring or Winter and Autumn collections. They are, however, created in such a way that they are engaging, creative and works of art in their own right. 

So, here is the link. I encourage you to watch them. You will not be disappointed!

Enjoy!

Memma xxx

Popcorn Anyone?

So, if you follow my WeHeartIt account, you may notice that I love 50's and 60's dresses. Well, today I wanted to share one with you; specifically a beautiful Lana Lobell dress! D

Going to a fair or serving popcorn? This dress would be perfect! Not a bad idea for next Christmas either. It is so cute! How adorable are those shoes?!

Speaking about a fair, every year we have an agricultural show in our town, and today was that day. We went and watched the wood chopping, applauding, as always, for the youngest and slowest competitor; saw the pavilions, admiring the wonderful displays of needlework, art, quilting, baking and gardening; and had a quick game of the clowns. I never fail to win the consolation prize which has made a worthwhile addition to my dog's toy box.

After collecting a bucket of fairy floss we made our way home and waited out the hours until the fireworks display, viewed as always from our conveniently placed bedroom window. Our show has a great (and long) display of fireworks and, although I must honestly admit that I tuned out in the middle, I do admire the big purple ones, as well as the collection of fireworks which turn into gold and pink, purple or green, artworks. 

Which fireworks are your favourite?

Memma xx

Stirrup Bow Leg Warmers Pattern

WOW; it has been a while since I last blogged. You have my sincerest apologies. I don't really have an excuse. I could talk about how busy I've been (except I haven't been overly busy), I could tell you that I haven't had much to say (but that's not strictly true either). So I won't bother listing my excuses; I will, instead, give you a very cute leg warmers pattern. ...


 Not just any leg warmers; adorable STIRRUP BOW LEG WARMERS!!! :D

CUTE!!!

What do you think?

Okay, so my ballet classes are at night time, and needless to say I never want to get started because it's SO cold. So I decided to knit myself some leg warmers (pink of course ;) ).

As you can see, one leg warmer is longer than, and not as well done as, the other. This is because I was originally working from a pattern that I couldn't quite master, so I decided to just do my own thing. Naturally I forgot how many rows I did when it came time to do the second... oops. If you use my pattern, you shouldn't have any problem with this though. :)

The shorter one (on the right of the screen) was the second, and best, one I did. 

Originally I was using this pattern http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/90667AD.html, but after my failed purl attempt, I decided to just use it as a guide. It is a decent and relatively simply pattern, though, so by all means use it. (I don't know if you need to register to use it or not, but if you do, it is free anyway!)

Here is an up-close view of the bow. Naturally you'll need to shape it a bit before you sew it in. If you don't feel confident that the bow will be on the correct side, you can always stitch it all separately and then assemble it and stitch it on; that would be no problem at all.

How cute are they?

Okay so I know that you can't wait to get started. Here is the PDF file:

Stirrup Bow Leg Warmers PDF :D

Why not have a go?  Also feel free to share the pattern, let me know if anything is incorrect or confusing, and/or show me how you go with it.

Enjoy,

Memma xxx

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