Tag Archives: 50s

Book review: Fashion sourcebook-The 1920s

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I love a good book. Whether it be fiction or non fiction there is nothing better than an afternoon snuggled on the sofa reading.
One of my recent purchases was Fashion sourcebook: 1920s by Emmanuelle Dirix and Charlotte Fiell.
WOW what a book! I’ve had this book for about three months but finishing my degree has finally given me the opportunity to browse it properly and it really is showstopping. Not only is this book beautiful throughout but it also contains interesting and insightful information in it.
I’ve just highlighted a few of my favourite images here.


(apologies for the rubbish quality of the images, the book was too big to go my scanner and scan properly!)

The great thing about this book is that it doesn’t just use the standard 20s stock images you see from Vogue. Almost all of the images come from the Fiell archive and I doubt in the whole (over 500 page) book there are more than 20 images I have seen before. Every time you turn the page it is a visual feast of Deco glamour with both original illustrations and photographs from the period. Included in the book is daywear, eveningwear, lingerie, shoes, hats and lesiurewear.
This book also has wide ranging appeal. Great for fashion history enthusiasts but also an excellent t resource for those interested in fashion illustration and fashion students too.
So yes, go out and buy this!!!
A 1930s sourcebook will also be available in June.

A chance to see me in a dressing gown…and vintage up for sale

Posted in 30s, 50s, blanes, ebay, Rayne by

I’m going to start this post with a rather amusing image.



Yep. Me in my dressing gown.
So, my housemates have been saying to me everyone should see the real you and how you ACTUALLY are.  Here I am in my full tramptastic glory , complete with 90s boybandesque hair as I have been for the past few weeks due to the stresses of my degree (they call the pajamas underneath my naked seal pajamas for understandable reasons). But now, with it over in just 2 days time (yes 2 days!!!) I finally feel that I can return to normal and dress like a real human being again.

This is what I wore on Wednesday on my first attempt at “human being” (you can remember how to put on make up and look like a girl Liz…you can!!!) This outfit consists of one of my many late 50s Blanes dresses a 70s jacket that is actually part of a suit (see the full suithere) and my all time favouirte pair of Office shoes. I love this outfit and felt SO good in it. It was such a relief to get dressed properly again!
Anyway, my real reason for posting is because I am currently in SELL SELL SELL mode. I recently found out that I got a place at the Royal College of Art to do a masters in history of design, but that means I actually need some money and henceforth large chunks of my vintage collection MUST go. (Don’t worry the Horrockses are ALL safe).
American novelty print skirt
I have a few bits of ebay at the moment, and will be continuing to list over the coming weeks and months. I’ve got some really sensational 50s ballgowns, bold printed 50s dresses, 30s evening gowns and more handbags than you can shake a stick at. So do keep a look out and like my page on facebook which I will be updating with all new listings.
These are just a few of the things I have up at the moment (the link below should take you straight to the listing)
50s california cottons dress

                                                         novelty print skirt

Amazing 60s Rayne shoes (to find out more about the importance of Rayne you can read one of my old blog posts)
To see all of my current ebay listings (there are quite a few lovely pieces at the moment) click here

Adding yet more Horrockses to the collection!

Posted in 50s, Horrockses by

Many people know that I have a huge obsession with the brand Horrockses and in the past month or so I have added another 5 to the ever expanding collection. I’m getting to the point now that I think I need to get them all together look at the them and work out what I actually have. Unfortunately the collection is spread between 4 different houses (uni house, mums house, dads house and grandparents house) so I’m never quite sure how many I own but I know it is somewhere between 40 and 50!
Anyway I’ll give you a little run down of my latest 5.

This  lovely number has been considerably altered, I’m pretty short and this is far too short for a mid 50s Horrockses, but I find this is quite nice because the alterations mean I can wear it without fear of damage and it  is another different print “collected”. It was also the cheapest Horrockses I’ve ever bought- £12 including postage!
The next one shows the benefits of understanding your labels. This is so very typical of the style Horrockses was famed for and whilst it actually doesn’t contain a Horrockses label it has its original made in England label, a defining factor in working out wether a possible Horrockses is one or not. The label for this would have almost certainly been in a matching bolero.
This one is a bit different as It is actually a Horrockses childrens dress (one of three I own) but being petite it does actually fit me! Horrockses in their existence produced two childrens/ younger ranges. Horrockses pirouette and Horrockses younger yet. This is a younger set example and I believe this is quite late on in Horrockses heyday dating between 1958-1964.
I’ve found price wise that the Horrockses label (white box black writing) that is in this is often dismissed, but I still feel that these dresses are highly collectible and it is only when you get to the labels which have the royal warrant that the dresses really start to loose their appeal.
Next off this stunning dress which really is the definition of Horrockses quality. This is made from the real sumptuous cotton you can expect from Horrockses and has a heavy handle and almost satiny finish. I love the contrast belt feature on this dress, I have another similar one that I blogged about here. This dress has an interesting back vent. It would actually accommodate a rather large bust but being small I think I will be wearing it open instead.
And finally this little number, which I absolutely adore. Again this dress does have heavy alterations (meaning I’m not so worried about altering it further) which decreases its value, but it is still a beauty to look at! What I will say about this dress is the measurements of this. Anyone who follows me on twitter might have seen my anger at a dress that was 4in out with its waist measurement…this is it! Supposedly it has a 24in waist. It is in fact almost 28in. Grrrr alterations here i come!
Hope you enjoyed seeing my latest additions to the collection!