I’ve just started scanning the 1892 January edition of The Delineator by Butternick Publishing… and the women’s dress fashion illustrations are fascinating! It starts with the illustrated front cover of a Grecian woman, the back cover is a text advertisement for Pears soap. Inside the front cover, you can learn more about The Delineator: “Each issue contains […]
I scanned the 1892 Winter Holiday issue of The Delineator – a Journal of Fashion, Culture, and Fine Arts. Here is the cover of the magazine… more to be posted here! The high resolution, unwatermarked scans are available for sale – just ask me!
Here are the last 11 pages from the Summer 1935 Chicago Mail Order Company catalog. They’re filled with advertisements for silks, viole, pre-made lace for dresses, tahiti prints, polka dot printed fabrics, all manner of silk fabrics and crepes… and more. The last few pages are in color and advertise “Hollywood Dress prints”, “Sanforized prints”, […]
Here are some scans from the 1935 Chicago Mail Order Company of curtains (swagger sets were “new and stylish”), bedspreads of Cretonne, double loop quality towels, 87 inch seamless unbleached sheeting, and Pepperell pre-washed quality sheets! Quite a lot of care was taken, and hardly anything in these pages cost more than a dollar.
Blue seems to be very much in style for womens suits and coats in 1935! Tailored and neat, only $5.98 for a blue tweed coat, skirt, and vestee. The matching hat, which came in 3 modes, could be bought for only 77 cents. Also advertised was a cotton waffle cloth summer jacket, a caped coat […]
This is a VERY classic, sexy sleeveless summer 1950s/60s little black cocktail dress made out of polyester or acetate with lace over the skirt. It’s totally hour glass, and fastens in the back with hooks and eyes and a metal zipper. Go to your next “MadMen” party in this timeless vintage little black dress, and […]
These are some very smart summer hat advertisements showing off the wide variety of womens hats that were in fashion in 1935. Wide brim, short brim, anything but the old cloche of the 20s! As I’m writing this vintage blog entry on Mother’s Day, one of the ads reminds me that “Remember, Mother’s Day is […]
This is SUCH a classic vintage dress! I believe it’s from the 1940s/World War II era because of the thick plastic buttons, the little shoulder pads, the silohuette/cut, pinked seams, and the metal zipper up the side. It’s a lovely salmon-red in a lightweight woven fabric which I think is Rayon. Totally perfect for grabbing […]
I had the privilege of getting to shoot dresses from a 1935 wedding! I used the help of a professional makeup and hair artist, and also borrowed a 1930s car. It was such fun to throw a pretend wedding without the stress of actually having real wedding
This mesh dress came labeled “Bridesmaid dress from M___’s 1935 wedding”. It’s classic! The dress was blue mesh over a dark blue slip. Not using it in the 1930s wedding recreation was a mistake, but I was afraid the colors were too dark in comparison to the other dresses. Sometimes I make mistakes, and this was still just about 6 months into my adventures in teaching myself vintage styling and photography!
This 1940s dress was such fun to photograph! It has red buttons down the front and an abstract polka dot pattern. I put a smart black hat on the model. Like many dresses of the era, it was unlined and meant to be worn over a slip or under=dress. We borrowed a rolling red wooden storage box as the only prop with this simple set. I love the model’s exaggerated “cheesecake pinup” expressions! She did her own makeup and hair, too.
This was a decadent vintage satin dressing gown, complete with a matching 3/4 length over-robe. It totally has the vibe of a classic Old Hollywood movie star, and the model got quite serious and moody wearing it. It’s amazing how wearing different clothing can influence your emotions and mood! I recently went through and re-edited and re-cropped […]
It was very fun to photograph this green plus sized 1920s dress! SO many times, surviving dresses from this era are petite. I’m not sure why, because plus sized women surely existed in the 1920s. I am guessing that clothing got re-purposed during the Great Depression, and worn longer. A dress made with lots of fabric could be repurposed more than a more narrow dress with just 16 inches or so across the front. I am not sure what I did with it, but I did come across one “plus sized” dress (which I sold) which was clearly hemmed from drop waist to the more fashionable natural waist of the 1930s.
Anyway, it’s always fun playing dress up!
It’s hard to beat that 1930s look, but Andrea fit this lace 1910s dress perfectly (and without a corset!). She looked so proper. I love the horizontal stripes of different lace on this dress, and it buttoned properly up the back. We just shot simple studio pictures to capture the details in this delicate Edwardian lace dress. She would have been right at home reading The Modern Priscilla!
Andrea posed in this decadent 1930s satin gown. I really love the cut, and slight flare at the bottom. Totally fit for a classic Old Hollywood movie star!
This was a fun dress to take pictures of! It was black with lace detail across the front. As you can tell, it fits the perfect 1930s silhouette fashion and shape. It buttoned up the back with fabric covered buttons.
I got this shiny red white and blue mini dress in Las Vegas a few years ago, and it fit Dezabell perfectly. She carried a matching American flag and the outfit popped.
I posed Cindy on my vintage 1950s “pinup exercise machine”, and we had a ton of fun shooting.
Cindy and Dezabell wanted to do pinup and retro, but with a naughty twist. This is where pinup sometimes blends into boudoir, but those images will never be posted ;-).
The dress was 1970s. The veiled hat is probably 1950s or 1960s. I did her makeup 1970s style, but tried to go natural. Posed with tulle and the fireplace backdrop. These came out very “old Hollywood” and romantic looking!
October 2013 I collaborated with Clean Cut Creations to host a vintage styled photography workshop with classic cars. It was quite an adventure and a very ambitious project!
