Category Archives: 40s

What I’ve been buying lately: Suits, dresses and jackets galore

Posted in 40s, 50s by

Today I thought I would share with you all some of my recent purchases, my very kind Nanna and Great Aunt both gave me some money for Christmas so I have been lucky enough to have a little bit of spare cash to spend on vintage!
I’ll start off by saying I’m actually feeling really let down by ebay at the moment, well in the UK at least. I am finding that there are less and less sellers out there offering high quality vintage pieces that are accurately described. There are a few exceptions, Lestervintage is one such seller. I’ve bought from this seller before and their items are always exactly as described. I also really appreciate how well photographed they are. Another on this list is redappleclothing who again I have bought from in the past.
The problem seems to be the sheer volume of incorrect listings out there. I’ve ended up with three paltry eighties copies of 50s dresses lately due to people insisting things are genuine 50s that are not. If you aren’t sure, state it!
So yes, this means my vintage buying habbits have swerved overseas and I’ve been buying quite a few bits from America, something I never used to do for fear of a)import charges and b) the items taking an age to arrive.
This has surprisingly not been the case and I’ve been really happy with the items I’ve picked up from the US and the price I’ve paid including postage.
Here are a few of my recents.


First off these lovely two Bobbi Brooks jackets which I think cost me under £40 for the two and from America. They are in MINT condition and are really versatile too. They both look amazing with jeans, and when the weather warms up a little more I’m sure they will become my springtime failsafes.
I also bought this SENSATIONAL 40s red suit. I’m sure it only cost $45, it wasn’t expensive at all. The quality of this piece is quite frankly wonderful. It has padded weighted pockets it is beautifully lined in silk throughout and has a really strong metal zipper. The fabric is some sort of Gaberdine and its pretty warm. I think come February I’ll be wearing this number regularly. I’m not normally one for wearing red (I think it looks a bit funny with my skintone) but the colour really looks good on, and even better the suit makes me feel amazing.

 Then onto this lovely little Blanes dress. Another of my obsessive collecting labels. I believe this dress is a very early 60s piece and is a sensational fit too. What gives this dress the edge is its lovely cowl draping at the back. I just need to find a belt to go with it now. Hmmmm….

I also wanted to show the fact that I don’t only buy vintage and sometimes the odd new piece creeps into my wardrobe too. I bought this during the week in Leeds as my finishing coursework treat to myself. I love a good bit of zingy orange and it has some little side splits for added interest. I bought it in the Whistles sale and it was reduced from (if memory serves me correctly) £175 to £40. Ace! I just want to apologise for my drag queen worthy make up in these pictures, unfortunately the light in my room is absolutely horrendous and I can never tell until I leave the house quite how heavily I have clarted the make up on!

Matilda Etches: long forgotten couturier

Posted in 40s by

I have a bit of a thing for long forgotten couturiers. Couture now is such a dying art and the couture system today is only a tiny proportion of what it once was. For example in France couture represented  a third of the countries G.D.P in the late 1940s. Yet today there are just 11 offical members of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture


Britain on the other hand has a very different couture legacy with couture houses often seeing their money made (unitl 1958 when presenting stopped) through debutante dresses. In Britian today  the couture industry has all but ceased to exest and those names who were once revered in a similar light to the French couturiers (for example Hardy Amies and Bianca Mosca) are often forgotten.
Today I would like to introduce you to a particular British couturier of note, Matilda Etches (sometimes seen as Matilda Ethces-Homan). Etches for reasons I will discuss later has a very important position in terms of the acceptance of fashion into the museum world.
Etches was famed throughout the 40s particularly for her fashionable yet innovative clothing that often featured careful sculptural detailing. I originally discovered her work when investigating garments using minimal seams. I then found this example of her work in the V and A collection. The jacket here can be worn either as seen in the image or worn the other way round to create a dramatic peplum. The jacket must have been created as a circle for this to be possible.
Etches though should be remembered for her pivotal position in terms of the Victoria and Albert museums acquisition  policy. Etches had two of her pieces (seen here) accepted into the V and A collection in 1969. The pieces “were shown to senior Museum officials as key acquisitions. They were the first modern fashion items to be accorded this honour” (V and A website)
From correspondence of Madeleine Ginsburg to Matilda Etches-Homan, letter written 9 June 1969, following acceptance of the Etches collection & dossier 

“The image of our 20th century costume collection has received a great boost through you! For the first time clothes from this century have been chosen to show the meeting of our advisory committee – a honour usually reserved only for medieval embroideries. They are to see the Butterfly cape and the West African cotton dress.”

So all in all a pretty important lady in terms of British couture no doubt! I was also rather lucky to find two pictures of her. These are from the Doris Langley Moores book “the Woman in fashion” and see Etches posing in a dress from 1900(above) and 1913(top of post)
Moore used key people in fashion of the day for this book, so Ethces must have clearly been considered important enough in 1949 to be included!
(additional images from the V and A collections website)

A very special dress

Posted in 40s, advantage in vintage, cameo, Hope and Harlequin, novelty by

My blog post today is all about one little dress. This absolute STUNNER of a dress was one of my 21st birthday presents (i had chosen it before mind you). I am normally a huge 50s fan, but this dress creeps into the earlier decade.

My main reason for loving this dress is the print. I have a real thing for novelty prints, and I adore the quirky cameos in bold colours that hark to a previous era. They sort of remind me of Wedgwood porcelain. This dress screams “conversational print”.

Another reason for loving this dress is the zipped sleeves. The dress has incredibly narrow sleeves, the look created with zips on each sleeve. I have another beautiful silk 40’s dress with sleeves like these. They just scream elegance to me.

I also love the typical 40s combination of the peplum and shoulder pads. Its so nice to feel the quality of the older shoulder pads such as these which are softer and less spongy than their eighties counterparts. You can see in the pic too how the shoulder pad has been finished by hand. This dress being made before overlockers really came to popularity.

What i wonder most about this dress though is where is it from??? I am guessing it is American (i’ve had a few very similar crepe de chine dresses from across the pond before). But, there is the remnants of a shop label. I wonder where it might have been from originally?

I bought the dress from Hope and Harlequin in Brighton, probably my favourite vintage shop EVER (It’s the main reason why i went from a casual vintage buyer to a complete vintage obsessive). I really do recommend visiting the shop, I don’t think i have ever been there and not bought something!

I will be sure to update soon when i find an occasion to wear the little beauty too!