Fabric of the week: Percale

If you’ve ever thought a fabric felt like a sheet, you might have had your hands on percale. The exact definition will help you be sure:

Percale

A cotton or a cotton/poly blend fabric, percale is a balancedplain weave with a smooth hand and no luster. It can be limp to relatively crisp depending on the finish. It is finer and has a higher thread count than muslin.

          Uses: Sheets, shirts, dresses, children’s clothing, pajamas

          See also:

Muslin

©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photo by Hoyt Carter

Right now I have a lightweight poly/cotton blend percale tent dress from the late 1960s or early 70s—so summery!

It’s Fair Weather, friends

Just in time for my July theme:

Fabric of the week: Gingham

I would be surprised if anyone hasn’t heard of gingham. I first new of it at a very young age from the Eugene Field poem “The Duel” (better known as “The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat”).

Gingham has had an almost constant popularity in the warm months because of its cotton fiber, lighter weight and crisp checks. Of all fabrics, it might say summer most loud and clear.

Gingham 

A light to medium weight balanced plain weave fabric usually of cotton or a cotton blend, gingham is most characteristically one color with white in even checks, called gingham checks. Tissue (very lightweight) gingham can have corded edges between the colors (see crossbar dimity). 

The name gingham is thought to come from the Malay ging-gang, meaning “striped.”

Uses: Dresses, blouses, house dresses, aprons, pajamas

See also:
 Check, 
Crossbar dimity, 
Shepherd’s check

©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain,  photo by Hoyt Carter

This 1950s dress and wrap is of gingham check cotton:

There’s always plenty to find in vintage gingham, no need to go with anything new! (If I do say so myself!) Gingham in my Etsy shop. 

How to feel 10º cooler in vintage

No way around it, it’s hot. Here in Spokane the mercury is climbing to over 95º F day after day. It was 107º a few days ago, and chez denisebrain we are thankful for ceiling fans and a house with tall trees around it since we don’t have air conditioning. Oh, and we LOVE ice water.

And vintage!

Staying on trend and in vintage is not a problem this summer, starting with the most obvious of vintage-inspired modern trends, gingham.

Choose a gingham check in 100% cotton for the crispest, coolest look and feel. I love this picnic-y dress from SmallEarthVintage:

White linen is a perpetual summer choice. Yes I know linen wrinkles, yes I know white stains. The trick is to wear something slightly slouchy and casual, where wrinkles and a small mark will not ruin the effect. For me, this oversized 1980s jacket from persephonevintage is the perfect summer cover.

Shorts, especially the skirt-y, high-waisted type from the 1940s. These are not very easy to come by, but they are worth it for the pure flattery. This pair from NiftyLunch is the sort I mean:

A short kimono-style robe is easy to wear, on trend and amenable to lounging, going out, the beach... There are many vintage options along this line, including genuine antique Japanese haori in silk if elegance is what you’re after. This 1970s wrap from NewOldFashionVintage would make a great cover up and has sleeves short enough to allow you to make breakfast in it too:

Try the natural air conditioning of crochet. Crochet is having a big moment right now and you can avoid cliché with an unusual vintage item. This beautiful Edwardian blouse is available from TrunkofDresses:

Another big modern trend that can be interpreted very effectively with real vintage is the cropped top. OffBroadwayVintage has this cropped top with another great vintage choice for summer, a full skirt. Think about it: Only the waist is going to be fitted with this skirt, the rest is pure breeze catcher. The amazing outfit is 1950s-vintage, hand-painted cotton from Mexico:

Some of my absolute favorite summer vintage items are not necessarily part of any current trend, but I couldn’t do without my paper parasol (I get sick of dumping on the sunscreen) and my c1960 Ray-Bans. Jessica of No Accounting for Taste says that it isn’t summer without her 1940s novelty print day dress and a big sunhat. Isabelle’s summer vintage favorites are her 1950s swimsuit and her 70s Guy Laroche sundress, perfect for a picnic. —All great vintage ways to approach summer!

Follow up on post: So you want to start an online vintage clothing business

I recently wrote this post about starting up an online vintage clothing business. The stats say that lots of people have read it, some have shared it. A couple people have quit following my blog since they read it, perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not. No one commented on it directly.

Did I scare you? I have to admit, I meant to. Even though I’m a nice enough person, tough love seemed in order. I have discussed with many a vintage seller the business of selling online, and I can honestly say that it isn’t for the faint of heart. It requires a lot of hard work, patience, knowledge, resources (time, money and information), creativity and passion.

I didn’t make much of all the love you can have for this job. I figure you wouldn’t be reading the post if you didn’t have a fondness for the idea of your own vintage business, or at least a curiosity about it. Loving vintage fashion is the easy part.

I wrote a post to say that the business of selling vintage clothing isn’t easy.

It seems like nearly everybody’s selling vintage now, or knows someone who is. I have read posts like Getting Rich at Home and Top Online Business Opportunities that mention vintage clothing. Maybe you’ve read some of these too? You’d think vintage clothing was a get-rich-quick scheme! (Would that it were!)

Whew, now that I’ve got that off my chest I can be a bit more encouraging in a future post!

Fabric term of the week: Cotton

It’s been awhile since I had a Fabric of the Week post, but it’s back for a return engagement as I add definitions to the VFG Fabric Resource.

Cotton has been a part of the Resource for awhile but somehow I just didn’t get around to posting it in my blog. Maybe it seemed too humble? With temperatures in my area at 100º+ this week, it will be my best friend!

Cotton

Cotton is a fiber obtained from the cotton plant, a bushy plant of the genus Gossypium. The cotton fiber grows from the seeds of the plant in the seed pods, called bolls. The fiber, which is 90% cellulose, is naturally fine, soft, fluffy and absorbent. The length of a cotton fiber can vary from under 1/2" to over 2" with the longest fibers being the most desirable for fabric production. Cotton fiber is usually cream-colored, but also may be grown in green or brown. The cotton plant grows best in tropical and sub-tropical environments.

The history of cotton literally parallels the history of civilization. Evidence of isolated civilizations growing cotton and creating fabric from its fiber dates its domestication to at least 4500 B.C.E. in both the Americas and South Asia.

 There’s never a shortage of vintage cotton wear in my shops, including these cooling frocks:

So you want to start an online vintage clothing business

Vintage clothing is a wonderful thing, and if you want to work to provide it for others I applaud you. Of course I feel that way because that is what I do—and I love what I do.

I started my online vintage clothing business in 1999, inspired by the 1970s and 80s brick and mortar vintage shops that I had frequented. I was new to the internet in the late 90s and as I became somewhat known in the world of vintage on this platform, I had requests for tips on selling and on running a vintage fashion business. The people asking were usually not casual here-and-there sellers, but people striving to earn at least a partial living at it. There weren’t so many of us then.

I used to have a fairly short—though not simple—list of suggestions. It went something like this:

1. Know everything you can about the items you are selling. Do not bluff if you don’t know something, but research labels, fabrics, fashion history and whatever else you need to be able to write with some confidence and accuracy about items.

2. Provide detailed garment measurements.

3. Photograph and describe each and every more-than-miniscule flaw.

4. If you’re just starting, price accordingly. Carefully research the higher and lower ends and don’t expect to be a high-end seller if you are new to the field. Save your exceptional items for a time when you are more established.

5. Always be polite, clear and prompt in dealing with any questions from customers and potential customers.

6. Ship as quickly as possible—within 48 hours is expected.

7. The customer is always right, even if they might not be. Always give them the benefit of the doubt and treat them with respect and kindness.

8. Don’t buy vintage items for resale because they are inexpensive, buy them because they are really good.

Then I started adding in:

9. Don't be lazy in the least. If there is something that you can do to help a garment you are selling, do it.

10. Become an expert at mending and washing/cleaning; find the best dry cleaner in your area, and also a great seamstress if you are not one yourself.

11. Generate enthusiasm for your items by writing helpful, interesting and knowledgeable descriptions.

12. Find the best, most efficient selling methods and use those.

13. Strive to connect to buyers through social media, online and offline contacts.

14. Offer an explicit return policy, and detail all your shop policies clearly and politely.

15. Do not expect quick results. Be patient and build your brand.

Now there are millions of vintage clothing sellers all over the world, many of them doing a very good job. What you need to do to stand out will by necessity be more involved. I would have to add the following to the above:

16. Use professional quality branding (the quality of which is not always based on a price paid).

17. Develop a social media strategy and keep it up consistently.

18. Make sure your photos are detailed, beautiful and accurate. If using a live model, be sure they are pro or very talented at portraying your brand. There are various ways to do lighting, but whatever your choice, it needs to be excellent.

19. Join and participate in appropriate forums.

20. Find strategic and memorable ways to differentiate your business in a crowded field.

21. Be extremely competitive in sourcing vintage items to offer for sale.

22. Do detailed market research and study analytics.

23. Find a good selling venue and be ready to jump to others if needed.

24. Do not assume a website will be found on search engines without very specific protocols being addressed.

25. Always keep your ears and eyes open for what people want from you, and how their preferences intersect with what you can provide.

26. Your business is not you, it is your business. Think and act for your business not according to your own feelings, but rather your brand’s identity.

You may not be able to go it alone, in fact, hardly anyone can now. The people you may have to hire once, part- or full-time are a model, a photographer, a website builder, a tech person, a marketing person, an accountant, and a designer. You will probably have to make substantial investments, such as in inventory, photo set up, storage, software, cleaning and mending, marketing and packaging materials. You will need to study and stay up-to-date on not only vintage fashion topics but business and marketing topics.

Do I follow my own advice? Sometimes! Some things are easier for me than others, but these are the things I honestly see from the business end of the vintage clothing field. A colleague recently said “the hippie days of the internet are over” and I have been repeating that phrase to vigorous nods from online sellers ever since. No longer can you just slap up a bad photo of a dress you can only vaguely identify for a highish price and then quibble when the buyer is not satisfied...not even close. You can sell vintage or you can become a vintage seller. The former is a casual affair, the latter is quite an investment, quite an effort...and eventually can be quite a wonderful achievement.

Please also read my follow-up to this post.

Good day sunshine

It’s time for the vintage sun hats, sundresses and sandals that are the best part of summer! See my new theme and get in the spirit:

What's your era?

One of the best things about vintage clothing is that you can dress in your best era...when you would be the It Girl. You might have an emotional connection, or a physical connection, or both. 

I can see myself being a 60s mod emotionally, but physically and emotionally both I feel very connected to the mid 1940s.

Here are some Facebook readers in clothing from eras that suit them well. (This was the theme of last week’s denisebrain vintage fashion show.) This doesn’t mean they’re stuck with just that era, but they look connected to it. They wear it well.

I love many past eras, but if I had to pick one favorite it would be mid 40s. Physically, the cut is good for me because it fits me rather naturally. I love peplums so much that I swear my pulse goes up just hearing the word! I love whimsy, and details that echo throughout an outfit. The length is one that practically always works for me. 

My emotional connection to the mid 40s starts with the sense of social solidarity brought on by years of economic depression and war. The war ended, and new ideas would soon take hold, but for 1945, women still held positions of power and responsibility that they wouldn’t have before or for quite awhile after the war. 

The clothing women wore was often practical but pretty in every creative way it could be. Women wore masculine-inspired suits that looked strong yet feminine. Bakelite was a whimsical alternative to more precious materials, and rationing didn’t stop the milliners from creating some of the most interesting hats of the 20th century. Peplums and draping helped make up for any lack of extravagance in cut, and the skirt lengths and gentle flares were good for walking and biking. Women wore trousers that couldn’t have been more flattering. There were witty details such as victory Vs in necklines, jewelry, and hair. In 1945 my mother was 25, and when I see her picture from that time I feel she was at home. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t want to have lived then, but those are the emotional connections I feel. 

What’s your era and why? 

Denisebrain featured in magazine

A big thanks to Cheryl-Anne Millsap for asking me these questions for a feature in Spokane CDA Woman magazine. Nothing quite like seeing one’s name in very large print!

Our first style icons

For the denisebrain vintage fashion show last week I had the pleasure of seeing some of my Facebook readers’ beautiful mothers. The bonus was the story that came with some of these photos. 

For instance, Gloria (bottom row, center) said “my mom with a little me, November 1953. We had just come here from England, this photo was taken for a newspaper article. My dad, an American serviceman, stationed in England, was sent back to the states before I was born. She and I traveled, alone, 17 hours, in a prop jet. We settled in New Haven, CT, and into my dad’s large, Italian-American, family”

My own first style icon and mother:

This week in the denisebrain vintage fashion parade I’m looking for you in your favorite era. Is it Mod? New Look? Belle Époque? Show us your era!

Real women carry vintage handbags

Whether you go for full-out vintage looks or mix-and-match with modern, handbags are a very accessible way to get into vintage style. 

Just look at how these vintage bags enhance the looks these women have chosen for themselves! 

The vintage selfie

Ever think how different the world was before phone pics? Just try taking your own photo with a film camera! 

My May theme is a mash-up of selfie mania (vintage-style) and a favorite song from West Side Story:

If you want to get dressed up, get dressed up

Last week I posted one of my fashion shows on Facebook. This one was all about dressing up in vintage.

I posted this theme because I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard women say “I love this, but I would have no place to wear it.” And I say, let’s make places to wear things that make us happy. I got a lot of agreement from others on this, and ideas.

Did you know, for instance, that there actually IS a small but growing dressing-better-to-work day with its own hashtag? #fancyfriday is the name.

Facebook reader and vintage maven Jessica shared her photo of a #fancyfriday dress (“Designed by Blauner for Bonwit Teller label, which I believe was by Evelyn Dawson, the designer for Suzy Perette.” Yes, she’s really a vintage fashion maven! Check out her blog at No Accounting for Taste.) Isn’t she a gorgeous sight? 

We have reasons to dress up, yes? Just a dozen:

1. DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) meetings, as Facebook reader Leigh Anne mentioned. The women love history and love seeing her vintage fashions.

2. Any historical society gathering: Think museum exhibits, boards, historical preservation groups.

3. “Put even the plainest woman into a beautiful dress and unconsciously she will try to live up to it.” - Lady Duff-Gordon

4. Dress for the every day theater of life like you are the leading lady.

5. All your regular clothes are dirty.

6. Go to an historic hotel for a drink.

7. “Life is a party, dress like it.” - Lilly Pulitzer

8. “It takes nothing to join the crowd. It takes everything to stand alone.” - Hans F. Hansen

9. “If you're sad, add more lipstick and attack.” - Coco Chanel

10. Being well dressed is a beautiful form of politeness.

11. #fancyfriday

12. You will make people happy...maybe most especially yourself

Sweet 16 and even sweeter 45

Today is the 45th anniversary of Earth Day and the 16th anniversary of denisebrain.

On April 22, 1999, Earth Day was 29 years old and I sold my first vintage dress online. I wasn’t thinking “hey, Earth Day is a great day to associate with selling vintage clothing,” but it was my good fortune that the day coincided. I’ve always been interested in the beautiful recycling aspect of vintage clothing, so what a perfect day to get started.

Do you know how much you help the world when you don't purchase a new clothing item? To give one example, National Resources Defense Council states that just the water it takes to raise a pound of cotton (enough for one new t-shirt) is 700 to 2,000 gallons.

Some more good for the Earth:

• I wrap your items with acid-free tissue paper that is 100% post-consumer recycled
• The ribbons I tie packages with are made of 100% recycled cotton
• MacHighway, the website host for denisebrain, is wind-powered
• I donate at least 10% of sales profits to endangered species and environmental causes annually

Psst! Celebrate the 16th anniversary of denisebrain with a 16% savings in my Etsy shop. Just use coupon code SWEET16 through Friday, April 24

Real women wear vintage skirts

My own most favorite vintage item could definitely be a printed cotton full skirt. Chicly classic or the center of attention...how do you skirt the issue? 

Watch for a new vintage fashion show theme tomorrow on Facebook and Instagram!

Real women wear vintage brooches

How do you wear your vintage brooch? This is how a few Facebook friends showed theirs off in the first Denisebrain Vintage Fashion Show:

Get ready for a new theme tomorrow, announced on my Facebook page!

(You may end up in my book!)

Vintage convergence time again: 1956 Jantzen Tahitian Temptation

Ah, the mad delight of finding some vintage ephemera—an ad, a pattern, a magazine photo—that matches a vintage item you have in your possession! I call this a vintage convergence. 

This ad was particularly great to find, because the photos and copy are pure vintage breathless inspiration. But you know normcore was not a thing then. This ad uses adjectives like ‘dreamy romance-provoking’ and ‘dangerously lovely.’ The slogan is ‘Jantzen Makes All Girls Gorgeous’. 

The 1956 Jantzen ad is available from VintageAdGallery and the swimsuit is in my Etsy shop

Judging by this great cotton suit, Jantzen had a right to such a boast. Remarkably comfortable and figure flattering (you don’t have to look perfect to wear this!), the suit has made it since 1956 with its elastic perfectly intact.

Do you find vintage convergences too? I have a Pinterest board dedicated to these and I’ve recently had the treat of being joined in pinning by Joanna of the Dividing Vintage Moments blog. This woman is the convergence queen! Oh, and do check out her charming blog.

Calling modern-made clothing “vintage” is a disservice to real vintage

Please allow me a small rant. The term vintage applies only to items that were made at least 20 years ago. Why does this distinction matter? What’s the difference when it was made?

Just one example: I’m working on listing a dress, made in the 1950s to early 60s of heavy silk satin with blue velvet flowers. Designed and sewn in the U.S., it was sold in a local department store. The construction is couture quality. Can you go to your local store and find anything like this now? Does the first page of a Google search for “vintage dress” show anything like this? Are any of those Google-search dresses unique?

So maybe you don’t care if your dress is made fancily. I’m not a big label snob myself, but...

Are the new “vintage” dresses on the first page of Google using fewer of our resources? Were they made by fairly paid workers? Will they last?

Does any of this matter? I think it does.

A riddle for April

My latest theme is available now, and so are plenty of choices in a perennially fresh (non-) color combination!