Vintage fashion gifts for frontline workers

At this point, don’t we all know a person who is doing a risky and important job through this COVID-19 era? Not only doctors and nurses are here for us, but all kinds of health care workers. And then think of the food and grocery workers, delivery people, child care providers, bus drivers, farm workers, and teachers. I know I would like to thank people—with an extra tip for pizza delivery, a cold bottle of water for the postal carrier, a note of thanks to an ICU nurse.

Maybe you know a vintage-loving frontline worker. If you can narrow down their interest (is it ‘90s sports teams, art deco era or ‘60s mod for instance) you can come up with a vintage gift specially tailored to the person. If, however, you don’t know what they like, here are some suggestions:

Vintage Christian Lacroix brooch available on Etsy

1. Have it be vintage in excellent condition. You don’t need any rough edges if you’ve been working an incredibly long and hard day.

2. Have it be something that doesn’t need to fit. A bag, a scarf, a necklace—one-size-fits-all!

3. Have it be personal: Something green to match her eyes; an initial; something that complements what you’ve seen on the person, or something they have commented on to you.

4. Have it reflect what the person is doing as a frontline worker. Vintage slippers for the guy on his feet all day; hand lotion and the softest pair of vintage gloves for someone who has to constantly wash her hands; a vintage kimono-style robe for someone who has to be covered in PPE during working hours; a hat for someone making deliveries.

Please keep washing your hands, distancing no matter how painful the separation, and wearing a mask. Our frontline workers are counting on us.

What you Might Have Been Wearing When (Some) U.S. Women Got the Vote

It’s 1920, a year of transition. Prohibition begins on January 17th. World War I has taken a horrific toll, and the deadly 1918 flu pandemic continues into April of 1920.

And on August 18, 1920, Tennessee is the last of the necessary 36 ratifying states to secure adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The amendment prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex. For many of the 26 million women in the U.S., the 1920 presidential election is their first chance to cast a ballot. There are limitations: African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American women are not fully enfranchised. African American women struggled for suffrage alongside their white compatriots, but the history was not smooth, and it took the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to ensure Black American’s voting rights were protected by law. (Of course the issue of voting rights is still significant in 2020.)

Almost immediately after the passage of the amendment, Alice Paul and the National Woman's Party begin work on the Equal Rights Amendment, which they believe necessary to ensure equality. (The ERA was passed by the Senate in 1972, but was not ratified by enough states.)

Alice Paul toasting (with grape juice) the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. Library of Congress photo.

And of course you knew fashion would come into this post eventually.

A celebratory Alice Paul is shown all in white on August 26, 1920. The movement’s colors were purple for loyalty and dignity, white for purity, and gold as a nod to the sunflowers of Kansas where Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton campaigned. (Green, as a symbol of hope, replaced gold in Britain.)

White was strategic: Suffragists had been sharply criticized for looking “intimidating” and “masculine,” and women in demure white dresses, it was thought, would give them a greater chance to be heard. White clothing was something that almost every woman already had, making it a choice that wasn’t difficult to adopt. And in black and white photos of suffrage marches, white stood out. The colors purple and gold were often worn as sashes.

Women's Suffrage envoys from many states brought petitions to Congress. Five thousand women massed on and about the East Steps of the Capitol singing Ethel Smyth's HYMN OF THE WOMEN. May 9, 1914. Harris & Ewing, photographer/Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Shirley Chisholm wore all white in 1968 when she was sworn in as the first Black American woman in the United States Congress. Geraldine Ferraro wore all white in 1984 when she accepted the nomination for Democratic Vice President. Hillary Clinton wore all white to accept the Democratic nomination for President in 2016.

You may recall the 2019 State of the Union address, with Democratic congresswomen wearing white—the history continues.

I’ve picked out the outfit I’d like to have been wearing on this day 100 years ago.

Collection of Jay Thorpe, New York : 1920 Fall. Costume Institute - Digital Collections from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries

P.S. Whatever color you wear, please don’t let our mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers down: VOTE.

Behind the Scenes at Denisebrain Vintage

The finished product of my work, an item of vintage fashion in as good shape as I am able to make it, is what I offer up most of the time. But my vintage world is filled with many things that lead up to that finished product. I’ve been working at home every day for months now (as I’m sure many of you have), and I have lots of time to consider my surroundings.

Pulling back the curtain, here are some of the scenes

I live in a house that is a not so huge for two adults—698 square feet. When all the vintage I gathered was entirely in our house my husband said that we didn’t need insulation, and that he could fall over anywhere in the house and not be hurt! Yes indeed, vintage took up ALL the house. Now my business takes up about half the house, and I have two storage units which have saved our home from being seriously overstuffed.

To give you an idea of the storage space:

A few more scenes

• Clothes gathered for a photo shoot, ready to leave storage for my home where they will get cleaned, mended, and steamed or ironed as needed.

• My photo studio—a corner of our living room with a white seamless background, lights, and the camera and tripod. The homemade folding screens block all this when it’s not in use.

• Some of my own vintage shoes on a rack in the living room—and in boxes, and on the floor.

• One of my jars of white vintage buttons. There are jars and drawers of buttons, sorted by color.

• A few of my vintage fabric books, and some other books I often reference. There is also a large bookshelf with vintage fashion magazines and more books.

• The backyard laundry line with vintage swimsuits out to dry.

When I started my business 21 years ago I had trepidation about having what I knew would be a very large quantity of things to take care of, house, store, fix, clean, curate, understand, package… I love it though, and every bit of this makes me happy.

And my husband appreciates the insulation.

Vintage fashion things to do online, part 2

For those who need a few more vintage diversions (part one was on April 2), here we go!

A few of the fashion history podcasts I try to catch (these are links to Apple Podcasts but all are available elsewhere too):

Dressed: The History of Fashion 
Bande à part
Pre-Loved Podcast
Dress: Fancy
Fashion History with American Duchess

Allow me to introduce you to

The Pink Lady of Hollywood

…and The Green Lady of Brooklyn

Pioneering women in art and gender equality (and, I might add, fashion), meet the Bauhaus Girls via Creative Boom.

The Washington Post had a great article about the most refreshing designer in American history: Claire McCardell.

Messy Nessy recently Zoomed (that’s a word now, isn’t it?) with the remarkable Dr. Colleen Darnell, The Vintage Egyptologist.

Look and learn

You can take some free fashion courses at your own pace, including the 500-year history of British Royal Fashion, courtesy of Future Learn.

A fashion historian takes on the relationship between clothing and disease throughout history.

Fashion repeats itself in intriguing ways at the MET Costume Institute.

Wearing Memories from the Museum of FIT, helps tell the story of particular items of clothing with special meaning to their owners.

Wedding dress, 1957, Cristóbal Balenciaga. Photo via Google Arts & Culture.

From Google Arts & Culture:

See some of Balenciaga’s most iconic looks.

Then see the gorgeous illustrations of equally gorgeous Parisian fashions, 1912-14.

Be in awe of Schiaparelli and Surrealism (the close-ups are a revelation).

Fortuny gowns up close are also revelatory. (Can you believe I know someone who found a Fortuny Delphos gown in the lingerie section of a thrift store?)

Witness the genius dress construction of Charles James.

See the over-the-top fabulous costumes worn by Carmen Miranda in Copacabana.

Take a spin around places where fashion is made and displayed all around the world.

An hour well spent: 'Christian Dior, Designer of Dreams' at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

mother’s day is coming

Check out this Pinterest board of mostly vintage Mommy and Me matching outfits.

First worn in 1962, last worn in 2013

Take a look at the young women who wore their grandmother’s and mother’s prom dresses to their own prom.

Fun with vintage hair and makeup

Lisa Eldridge has highlights and lowlights of makeup history.

She also has quite a few vintage makeup tutorials, including this Tippi Hedren-inspired 60s look.

Might it be time for big hair again?

Learn to do a bubble flip! (Be careful you don’t tease your hair to death!)

Have Fun

Three minutes comically spent: Schiaparelli might just approve of these 50s kitchen-themed hat fashions.

Now THIS is a cat walk!

Want to shake your groove thing? Messy Nessy presents: If You Can’t Go Out to the Disco, Bring the Disco to You

Finally, the FIDM Museum blog has a word search—find 20 fashion designer names. (If you are feeling competitive, beat my time of 12 minutes, 19 seconds and tell me you did!)

Let me know if you have some found some great vintage fashion things to do online!

Denisebrain is 21!

It was on April 22, 1999 that I sold my very first vintage dress on eBay, and that was it—I was hooked. I loved it then, and now, about 14,000 vintage items later, I still love it.

You might think that I started my fashion recycling business on Earth Day symbolically, but it was really just a happy coincidence. It turned out to be the perfect day to get into it, because vintage fashion is good for the Earth—smart, beautiful and green. And now more than ever, on Earth Day’s 50th anniversary, it is imperative we consider how we can help the world with our actions, including what we wear.

Would you like to help celebrate denisebrain’s 21st anniversary? On April 22 and 23, you can take 21% off your purchase of $20 or more using this link, or use HAPPY21 as a coupon code at checkout.

$20 or more gets 21% off on April 22 and 23. Got it?

Vintage fashion things to do online

Do you love vintage fashion and currently find yourself looking for some diversions at home? Here are few:

Visit a Museum—Virtually

See beautifully photographed items from the Kyoto Costume Institute.

Over 400 items from the Chicago History Museum Costume Collection can be viewed online.

The Fashion Museum Bath Dress of the Year has been selected by a respected expert ever since 1963.

Great for upping your wear-at-home game! Woman's Jumpsuit (Hostess Pajamas)

Addie Masters (United States, active California, Los Angeles, 1901-1983)

LACMA has 160 costume items pictured online.

I doubt you could see all 1,424 costume items from the Cooper-Hewitt in one afternoon.

Then there’s the Museum of FIT (“The Most Fashionable Museum in New York City”) online collection.

454 costume and accessory objects from the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s collection of over 227,000 pieces are available for viewing online.

The V&A has quite a few wonderful articles which the museum has the luxury of illustrating from items in their vast collection. You can download a free pattern for a Mary Quant “Georgie” dress, listen to a Christian Dior mannequin discuss her work for the legendary designer, and so much more. Just like the V&A in real life, you could spend days going through their website.

The MET offers 36 publications at least some of which are sure to pique your interest (Haute Couture, Poiret, American Ingenuity: Sportswear… ), absolutely free.

Watch a Few Videos

Examine the Christian Dior Bar Suit with a dressmaking expert.

And more Dior: Watch a Christian Dior evening gown get prepared for its trip to Paris from The de Young Museum in San Francisco.

Doris Raymond of The Way We Wore lets us look over her shoulder as she previews an auction of iconic costumes created by Erté, and pieces worn by Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, and Olivia Newton-John. See if you’re as surprised as I am at what receives the highest bids.

How about looking at the future of fashion, as envisioned in 1939.

Actually, all of British Pathé’s Vintage Fashion shorts are worthwhile.

Consider Upcoming Auction Catalogues

Items from the estate of Doris Day are coming up at Julien’s Auctions.

Two 1930s wool swimsuits

Have fun window-shopping, or sign up for online bidding at the Augusta Auctions Spring 2020 auction. Stay tuned to see if there will be a live auction, given the current health restrictions.

Learn About a Designer You Might Not Know

Emilie Flöge, the life companion of Gustav Klimt. He did not conjure up those fantastic dresses in his paintings out of thin air.

Anne Lowe, who designed the wedding dress for Jacqueline Bouvier’s marriage to John F. Kennedy.

Clare Potter ensemble from 1944, shared from Vintage Everyday via The Vintage Inn

Clare Potter, considered one of the founders of American Sportswear.

Movies to see

Check off your list all 37 of these movies with fashion show scenes, dating from 1929 through 2016, although that IMDb list is missing a great one: How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). P.S. If you haven’t seen the 1939 movie The Women, you are in for a HUGE treat! Also see its remake, The Opposite Sex (1956). Here’s a great article comparing these movies, from the Museum of FIT.

Check out what Paper Magazine called the best fashion documentaries. When I saw Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel, I immediately watched it a second time—it’s that inspiring!

Photo from Hollywood Costume Designers on Flickr

Another list you might not be able to get through in a year: Films costumed by Edith Head.

Catch up on television shows

If you have Prime, check out In Vogue, the Editor’s Eye, celebrating the 120th anniversary of the magazine.

L.A. Frock Stars lets you in on some of the high level goings-on from the vintage world in Los Angeles.

See how people are living vintage lifestyles in Vintage America with Ginger.

Visit vintage shops in New York with The Vintage Voyageur.

Is it time to revisit The House of Eliott?

…or to rebinge The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel?

Have a little fun

Check out the matchy-match outfits in these 1970s ads.

See if this What Retro Style Looks Best on You quiz gives you the answer you want—it didn’t work for me!

My Pinterest boards that might help right now:

Closet Inspirations

Dress Like a Star at Home

Vintage Distancing

Then start your own boards. If you’re like me, this is a great way to dream up all kinds of things.

Watch Steve Martin win the Dating Game in 1968 (I like the store he wants to be stuck in all night!)

See the greatest dance sequence ever filmed.

Did you know you can work jigsaw puzzles online? Here are a couple that use images from the Fashion History Museum.

Design an 18th century wig courtesy of the V&A. I clearly had too much fun with this.

Please tell me what you’ve found to occupy yourself with vintage fashion online!

Manatee Appreciation Day

Yes, there’s a lot going on in the world right now, but I can’t let us forget that March 25 is Manatee Appreciation Day. If you follow anything I say or do, you know I appreciate manatees, and can not let this day go by without advocating for my favorite species.

NOAA image/Unsplash

Happily, many of you also appreciate manatees. Some people have actually purchased from the denisebrain Etsy shop simply because they want to support me in giving 10% of my earnings to the Save the Manatee Club.

March is an important time of year for these gentle herbivores, as manatees start moving from warm springs out into their summering areas in the open sea, making them especially vulnerable to boat strikes.

With the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic this year, there is further vulnerability. As the Save the Manatee Club says “When wild manatees become sick, injured, or orphaned, they need to be rescued and provided with around-the-clock care. Save the Manatee Club works together with rescue and rehabilitation partner organizations to help provide care for manatees, like treating injuries or bottle-feeding orphaned calves.” That kind of 24/7 care has become very difficult. Further, stir-crazy people are heading out in their motor boats to get away from home—great for them, not so great for manatees. 20-22% of manatee deaths in Florida waters are caused by boat strikes.

Financial support for manatee care is the imperative message on this Manatee Appreciation Day.

You can donate directly at Save the Manatee Club, or you can purchase any item from the denisebrain Etsy store*, with 10% going to the SMC.

*Exception: The Pink Heart Shop of my Etsy store benefits Dress for Success.

On a very personal note: I’m sure it must be obvious that I am a vintage clothing seller, not the CEO of a major corporation. The money I am able to give to the SMC is not all that much in the grand scheme of things, but it is quite a lot for me. Since 2007, between online fundraisers, personal giving, and, more recently, 10% of sales, I’ve been able to donate $10,816.14 to the Save the Manatee Club. More important than the money is knowing that people have become aware of the plight of manatees from things I’ve shared through the years. It means the world to me that I have been able to crowdsource help for this awe-inspiring species. #giveuntilyousave

Four Fashion Items You Should Always Buy Used

It may go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: I like old things.

My house dates from 1907, and I’m just fine with my 1994 Suzuki Sidekick, thank you very much. My dog got to the age of 18 and my French horn was made in 1987. Why buy a new copy of a classic book, a new DVD, a new bicycle, or new glassware? Can I get an amen?

That stuff is obvious. What may be less obvious is that certain clothing and accessories should always be bought used, by everyone. Of course I advise stocking your closet with vintage and secondhand whenever possible (and I give lots of advice on this in my book) but even for the used-averse, there are categories of items that offer inimitable value for the quality.

Jewelry

A few of the antique mine cut diamond rings available from the TheCopperCanary on Etsy

I don’t think I’ll get any arguments on this one. Estate finds have been on most-wanted lists forever. Think of an authentic Art Deco brooch, a handmade Taxco silver and turquoise bracelet, or a glittering mine cut diamond engagement ring. Need I say more?

Silk Scarves

Hermès silk scarves available at TheRealReal at about half the price of new

2nd-hand silk scarves in excellent condition will usually save you a HUGE amount of money—and give you so much more choice!

Designer Fashion

Secondhand dress by Christopher Kane available from AfterHoursStore on Etsy

Now that the stars are striding down red carpets in vintage clothing, I think we can all agree that it is fine to wear clothing that isn’t this year’s model. If you saw something on a runway years ago and can’t get it out of your mind, try finding it now!

Leather Jackets

A jacket with experience, available from ReblSoul on Etsy

And here I mean the kind of jacket that looks and feels infinitely better when broken in. Think moto-jacket-that’s-been-around-the-block-on-a-Harley better.

What do you think? Am I missing another obvious choice?

Why you love vintage

I am currently collecting responses from a brief, anonymous, (and maybe even fun) survey, “Vintage for Spring” (click to take the survey yourself), and these are some of the reasons you love vintage:

It’s always a conversation starter especially with older generations. I'm always excited to hear about good memories or wild times from other decades.

I love knowing the item had a previous life and giving it a new one!

…elegant styles that speak of respect, attention to a personal impression or expression and never the fashion/personal "give up" message of, say, track pants.

Amazing how an 80-year old dress looks better than a 10-year old, isn't it?

Unique, quality, history, style—these are the words you used the most to describe vintage:

I also asked what colors you are most excited to wear for spring, and green was the clear winner, followed by pink (are you trying to make me happy, or what?), then various shades of blue.

From your survey responses, I might just have the perfect 1950s spring frock on eBay! It’s all cotton in a stunning rose bouquet border print. Bonus: 50% of the sale price will go to Save the Manatee Club!

I am busy listing greens and pinks, so keep an eye on my Etsy shop—And keep an eye out for spring!

The pink dress is in my Etsy shop now, the green will be soon. Model: Selah French

And we have a winner!

This morning I spun the wheel and chose someone that I get to play Vintage Fairygodmother for! I can’t wait to put together a look for her!!

Thank you to all aspiring Cinderellas! This isn’t the last time I’m going to be doing this, so hang on to that glass slipper—I’ll be back!

Let me be Your Vintage Fairygodmother

My February 2020 vintage fashion resolution is to give someone a vintage makeover. When I wrote that resolution, I didn’t know exactly what I meant, but since then I’ve crystallized the idea: I want to play Vintage Fairygodmother! That’s why I have a giveaway going on over on Instagram:

Now, as much as I love the idea of waving a magic wand, this isn’t actually about me. What I really want to do is to offer a person some vintage clothing from my collection that will both fit and be a bit surprising. What the surprise will be has to do with the person I choose (by random selection). If the winner is new to vintage, anything could be surprising—but if I pull a vintage expert, my job as fairy godmother will include quizzing the person to see what I might do to surprise her.

I’m not going to give someone a suit tailored by Christian Dior (which I’d think would be very surprising to almost anyone!) but I may surprise a 1950s maven with a mod getup, or a 1970s boho-wearer with a WWII home front sweetheart fashion.

This is going to be fun!!

If you’d like to join in the contest, you need to go to my Instagram page , follow denisebrain_vintage and comment on the contest post before midnight PST on Friday, January 31. I’ll be drawing a name on Saturday morning and will post the winner on my Instagram feed.

2020 vintage fashion resolutions

Do you make New Year’s Resolutions?

I like to make one resolution for each month when possible. Think about it: If you have 12 resolutions at the beginning of the year, how many are you keeping up with by December 31? On the other hand, if you give each resolution one month of its own, it has a greater chance of being accomplished. Of course, getting healthier might be something you choose to do all year, but you might, say, switch up your exercises every month.

Of course you know I’m not talking about exercise here—I’m talking about vintage. I have 12 months of resolutions to try to accomplish this year. I did this in 2014, and found some things very easy and natural (wear scarves!) and other things much more difficult and time consuming (get through the mending pile!).

I have a repeat or two from 2014 this year, but mostly new goals. Can you believe my closet is still making me happy from the overhaul I gave it six years ago? Win!

So here they are, my 2020 Vintage Resolutions:

denisebrain photo

January: Wear vintage Hats

This is a repeat resolution from 2014. I have been given renewed resolve by the words of my Instagram friend @tiffanybb. She wrote:

On a recent #vintageshopping excursion, I overheard a couple ladies as they were trying on hats for an event that evidently required one. They loved many of them, but felt self-conscious and were struggling over how much they were vs. how much use they’d get out of them. One of the ladies finally said “I just wished they looked right on me.” As a lifelong wearer of vintage, I’ve had people say that to me about clothes of other eras I’ve worn. Here’s the deal: anything looks right on you if you love it and OWN it. If you feel weird, or are constantly fidgeting and tugging at what you’re wearing- THAT is the only thing keeping it from “looking right.” I have owned hats for as long as I can remember but have only worn them sparingly, because it sometimes felt like too much, or how people tend to stare when you’re wearing one (when no one else is). … [but] when I wear them, I somehow feel more fun, playful and pretty. My friend @fbphotogllc has a good friend @redsshoediaries who almost always rocks a pretty hat and one of the first times I met her, I told her I still had a few hats but felt a little over the top if I wore hats outside of an event that called for one, or a weather related one and she said, “Girl, wear your hats!” And it hit me: It’s that same philosophy about wearing your good lingerie. What are you saving it for? So, if it works with what I’m wearing, I’ll be wearing the hat, and feeling good about it. Life is too short not to wear your special stuff, use your “good” dishes and drink the nice bottle of wine you’ve been saving!

I have plenty of vintage hats. This month, I will pull them out and incorporate them in my wardrobe with renewed resolution. Life IS too short to do without.

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February: Give Someone a Vintage Makeover

This is something special I have been thinking about for at least a year. I would like to help someone put together a vintage look that they love. They might be new to vintage, or an old hand at it but ready for a change in perspective. I’m not sure how this will take place, but it probably will be something I offer as a giveaway. If you’d like to try out a new-to-you vintage style, keep your eyes open in February (and August)!

denisebrain photos

March: Find 6 ways to wear one item

Here’s the plan: I want to find one vintage item in my closet and find new ways to wear it. This could be an LBD for which I find collars, scarves, gloves, brooches (etc.) to accessorize. Or, it might be a jacket that I wear backwards. Yes, I’m in an adventurous mood this year!

April: Find a New Color to Wear

Public domain

This is another repeat. Last time I came up with chartreuse as a color I wanted to wear, and I still dearly love that choice. What’s the next unexpected color? I’m ready.

I want to do as @zeezsa, and mix my decades with panache

May: Try More Bold Mixing of Vintage

I talk about vintage mixing in my book and I feel like spending more time in that realm. I love the idea of wearing multiple eras of clothing combined with a (take your pick) creative/quirky/interesting/sophisticated eye.

Photo credit: Thomas Vogel on Unsplash

June: Support Small Vintage Businesses with my Purchases

I would like to do this every month, but if you must know, I’m always very careful with money so I can keep my small business afloat. Also, if there’s one thing of which I do have plenty, it’s vintage.

Despite this—or maybe because of this, and my understanding of how tough it is to keep a vintage business running—it is my goal this month to offer a little tangible support to others in my position.

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July: Wear Vintage Every Single Day

You may be thinking, just how hard is that? I could, technically, wear vintage every day, but it isn’t always easy for things like physical therapy appointments, or long-distance bike rides. This month, I plan to find a way to ALWAYS be in vintage. I think I should be a walking calling card for my business, and a pied piper for vintage in general, don’t you?

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August: Give Someone a Vintage Makeover II

See February, above. I have no idea where I’m going with this, but I so want to do it and hope you are as eager as I am to see how the experiment comes out!

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September: Find a fashion trend to interpret (Better) with vintage

I always keep an eye on runway fashion. When I was young, I’d take my favorite styles from fashion magazines and comb through thrift and secondhand stores for items that gave the same vibe.

This fall, I’m going back to those roots to try to show how well a trend can go vintage.

Pixabay

October: Organize Jewelry

I squared away my closet’s vintage years ago, but I have a vintage jewelry mess going on. Lots of potential for improvement here!

denisebrain photo

November: Create Vintage Button Bracelets

I have many, many beautiful vintage buttons and used to make bracelets using them. I miss this creative outlet and plan to get back to it in November.

Photo credit: Kira auf der Heide on Unsplash

December: Give Nothing New for Christmas

This, ladies and gentlemen, sounds difficult. Many people are not yet attuned to the value of vintage and used items. Can I find something that is absolutely appropriate and wanted by everyone on my list? Especially for my dear husband, The Modernist? I’m not sure, but I am going to give it a go, for vintage, and for the Earth.

Do you have vintage resolutions for 2020? Please tell me in the comments!

Denisebrain best of 2019

I’m back with another (I’ve done this since 2007) round of greatest hits from the year just passed, and as usual, it is very hard for me to cull favorites. It’s like trying to name your favorite child!

Looking over my sold items, it appears that red was the most wanted color in 2019.

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Also clear: You love your faux fur, and anything with a leopard print.

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There were a few big moments for denisebrain this year, including celebrating my 20th year in business.

Once again I’ve donated 100% of the profits from the Pink Heart Shop section of my Etsy store to Dress for Success and 10% of the rest of my earnings to the Save the Manatee Club.

Do you have a New Year’s Resolution? I’d like to suggest wearing hats—and having them be vintage. Here are a few from my shop that found new homes in 2019.

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Then there’s the maximalist trend—strong and bright in 2019. Do you hear me now?

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I don’t care what year you are talking about, gold vintage is always popular. Here are some of this year’s gilt-y pleasures:

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Another perpetual favorite: We’ll always be glad for plaid.

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There needs to be a special mention of the items that I got to see on customers. As an online seller… Well you don’t know how much this means to me!

Thank you to these four and many others!

Have you been watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as avidly as I have? Imagine the thrill as these items were sold to the show’s wardrobe department:

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Kendra, who models for me, is also a big fan of the show, and although this outfit didn’t sell to them, we couldn’t help but think of the Maisel costuming when photographing this outfit.

Speaking of costumes, how about a full Western suit? Or a vintage blouse to wear to Disneyland? I love how vintage lets you try on different roles!

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A perpetual favorite category, the vintage novelty print, was well represented in 2019.

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Special mention for autumnal New York City novelty prints:

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We all fell for fall: Autumn shades and prints in general were strong in ‘19.

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To vintage wedding dresses, I say I DO! And I have plenty more where these sold dresses came from!

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Do I need to remind you that vintage is always suit-able?

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In some ways, 2019 was hard. U.S. and international news was disturbing and chaotic. We’ve become more aware of the increasing damage we as humans are doing to the environment.

On a personal level, I’ve been in pain caused by psoriatic arthritis, and finally had to have another hip replacement surgery in December.

2019, I’m glad you’re over. And I’m glad it’s 2020.

But there have been some developments that fuel hope for the coming decade. Above all, people have become much more interested in living sustainably, including wearing vintage clothing. Aren’t you glad you are already clued in?

Really big for me was finishing my book in 2019. I hope it helps many feel more confident in choosing, caring for, and wearing vintage. You can purchase it from most anywhere, but if you buy it from my Etsy shop, or here on denisebrain.com, the author will sign it! :)

Here’s to a 2020 of hope. I hope you get as much joy as you give.

And I hope you wear vintage!

My best,
Maggie of denisebrain

12 days of denisebrain vintage

Ask yourself, do you really need French hens when there's vintage to be had?



12 Vera scarves
11 winter coats
10 vintage velvets
9 beaded things

8 black shoes
7 red dresses
6 winter skirts

5~golden~things

4 reversible coats

3 49ers

2 copper parures

and a red box bag made by Delill


🎄

Hope the holiday looks good on you

The book is here!

Wear Vintage Now! (signed by yours truly) is available for in my Etsy shop!

Edit 2/22/20: The book is also available here on denisebrain.com.

Update on Save the Manatee Club Donations

November is Manatee Awareness Month.

Wait—MONTH? Why should the manatee get an entire month for awareness?

I can tell you that even though I loved animals as a child, I didn’t know of the manatee’s existence. When I finally came around to finding out about them as a teenager, I was shocked that such an endearing animal had slipped by me. You will be forgiven if you too didn’t know that manatees have barely any fat on them, that they are related not to seals or walruses but to elephants, that they can’t turn their necks, that their tails are called paddles, that the species is between 30 and 60 million years old, that they have flipper nails, and that they are absolutely gentle. Hardly anyone lives near manatees and sees them in the wild.

Photo courtesy of Save the Manatee Club

One thing I can say about this manatee awareness stuff: Once you know them, you love them. So it is of vital importance that people learn about manatees, and how to protect them from our boat propellers along with other encroachments on their environment. With no natural predators, man is the manatees only “enemy,” and the toll we take is pretty terrible.

In honor of 2019’s Manatee Awareness Month, I’ve made another donation of 10% of my earnings to Save the Manatee Club, bringing the total to over $1200 this year. I trust SMC (THE human voice of the manatee since 1981) to get the word out about this wonderful species, to advocate for their protection, and to help rescue them when they are injured or sick.

To all my customers who appreciate my donations of earnings to manatees—Thank you for caring right along with me! You keep me afloat!!

1942 Singer Make-Over Guide

“Make happy use of every last thread of the things you possess.”

Recently I was given a booklet, published by Singer at the height of World War II. In it are instructions for darning, patching, mending, and altering—but what I find most interesting are the creative ideas for repurposing worn or outmoded items.

My mother in the early 40s

I grew up with parents who lived through the Great Depression and WWII. My mother, a 22-year-old in 1942, was particularly creative in mending and fixing, reusing, and every frugal skill she’d learned as a young person. She could have written this booklet.

There were many times in my youth when I really wished my mother was not so creative, like when I wanted to have new store-bought clothes but she insisted on making all my clothes. Guess what though? I owe a lot to my mother’s frugality and creativity. I would never have raided my parents’ closets for vintage clothes to wear, and found ways to style them, if I’d had all the latest stuff from the mall. I learned to sew, crochet, applique, tie-dye… I made homemade pants look a bit cooler by sewing patches all over them, I painted plain used t-shirts with band logos. I made a dress out of flowered sheets (got in trouble for that one—the sheets weren’t worn out!).

Back to the booklet. I don’t believe this publication uses the word frugal. Instead, it uses the words ingenious, imaginative, and happy. Above all, it emphasizes the patriotism in using what you already have.

I love the creative projects being called Victory Styles. In 1942, we had our goals set almost impossibly high.

Here is the booklet in its entirety. I especially love the restoring of sweaters on page 4, the rescuing of a shrunken dress on page 10, combining two dresses, pages 12-13, making a woman’s suit out of a man’s suit, page 18, and all the buttons, bags, hats and “lapel gadgets” on the last several pages.

Have you tried reworking or repurposing something worn out? Any creative suggestions for Victory Styles in 2019?

Gem: A New Way to Search for Vintage

Do you wish you could find that certain vintage something without going through all your bookmarks? Have you ever wanted to comparison shop vintage items on a gallery page?

Now—I’m frankly stunned to report—you can. GEM is a vintage search engine, available via website and app. I first heard of GEM in June of this year, so I guess one could say it’s fairly new.

Let’s give it a test drive together, shall we?

A lot of people say they can’t find vintage in larger sizes, so let’s try a search for 1940s dresses in size XL.

Today you can see:

There are some nice looking frocks! I like having the price right there. Of course you know you still have to click through and look at the garment’s measurements to compare these to what you need for a good fit, look at the condition, and consider the seller’s terms of sale. But what a fine start!

Next let’s try searching for something more specific, say, Enid Collins bags with owls:

Boom!

If you are looking for something more general, like a green prom dress, the choices are going to give you a lot to go through:

I’m not going to tell you all my favorite searches, the ones I’ve kept track of for years, but I’ll tell you one: Claire McCardell dresses. I don’t need to buy one right now, but I always want to look at everything McCardell designed. This gives me the chills, seeing what’s available in one place:

They also have some solid posts, what they call Stories, on the site, such as vintage shopping guides to various cities, profiles of vintage wearers/collectors, vintage clothing care, vintage wearing trends, and vintage designers. I’m writing them rather than it because GEM is a creation of Liisa Jokinen and Sampo Karjalainen, a Finnish-born couple based in New York City. Bravo te kaksi!

Give GEM a try yourself, and see what you think…and let me know!

I’m not beholden to GEM, except in that my denisebrain finery can be found on the search engine. If you are a seller with a stand-alone website, be sure you are being found on GEM. You don’t want to miss being part of this compilation.

What were you doing on July 20, 1969?

I know, I know, you were T-minus 15 years or so. Me, I was watching Neil Armstrong take man’s first step on the moon. I was eight years old, just the right age to be completely riveted on space travel, knowing all the details of Apollo 11 that I could get my little mind around. You can bet I was glued to the television at this very moment:

Neil Armstrong descending onto the moon’s surface

For a denisebrain moon landing tribute, I invited one of my favorite people and models, Gianna, to join me, and she did the most fantastic job of channeling a mod Twiggy vibe.

We had an awful lot of fun taking these photos. I didn’t plan it this way, but when I looked at the pics, I saw that Gianna had captured a bit of what it was like for me, being a kid in 1969. I remember being clothing crazy even at that young age. I would have LOVED any of these clothes! 1969 was tumultuous in so many ways, and fashion was no exception. You might have been wearing space age synthetic knits or hand-embroidered muslin, looking fashionably mod or anti-fashionably hippie. The length of your skirt could be micro mini…or you might not have been caught dead in a dress.

My brother was 10 at the time, and could not possibly have been more consumed by the Apollo 11 mission. We built model rockets, and even launched a few into backyard orbit.

I had an Earth globe, as well as a moon globe. I knew exactly where to point out The Sea of Tranquilty, where the lunar lander came down on the moon, and had a star on the Earth globe’s Cape Kennedy, the place I wanted to visit more than anywhere else in the world.

On July 16, 1969, we had lift off.

As exciting as that successful lift off was, nothing could possibly have prepared me for the moment when the lunar module, The Eagle, came down so gently on the moon’s surface.

If you want to relive the final minutes before the lunar landing, check out this very cool site.

Just the idea of setting a foot on the moon, and seeing the Earth in the distance. Believe me, it was an 8-year old’s dream come true!

We all wanted to be astronauts, eat space food, collect moon rocks, bounce in zero gravity…and we wanted to have moon shoes. It wasn’t too long after, in the 1970s, that Joe Famolare came out with his Amsterdam, an outsized fiberglass clog that I remember calling a moon shoe. I had a pair in navy blue.

It happens that I found five pairs of these unorthodox and cool shoes some years back. I’ve been holding onto them for just this occasion.

Famolare Amsterdam: A big step for woman kind

Many thanks to Gianna for helping me relive my moon landing dreams!

Find all these fashions from the era in my shop in the coming week.