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| Manatee Annie and her calf photo by Cora Berchem, Save the Manatee Club |
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| Manatee photo ©Cora Berchem via Save the Manatee Club |
My December theme brings you greetings, featuring some of my vintage Christmas tree pins
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| Painting by Anna Davies/Anna Davies Art |
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| Photo ©Cora Berchem via Save the Manatee Club |
My November theme is up, and...
I believe I have more black vintage clothing and accessories in stock than any other color—all eras, all prices, all styles. No doubt it has always been a good time to go back to black.
I love when I stumble across a vintage photo, sewing pattern or artwork showing an item of clothing I have found...I call these vintage convergences. Here are two recent VCs:
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| 1950s Koret jousting knight print separates. I have had the skirt and the blouse at different times. |
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| Hand knit Mary Maxim totem pole sweater in my Etsy shop, and one similar, worn by Bob Hope in 1953. |
The denisebrain October theme is up, and you’ll never guess what it’s about!
Thanks to legions of union garment workers, we had a thriving clothing industry in the United States, now essentially off-shored.
The delivery may be out of style in this 1980 ad, but the message still sounds right:
Look for the union label
When you are buying a coat, dress or blouse.
Remember somewhere our union’s sewing
our wages going to feed the kids and run the house,
We work hard but who’s complaining.
Thanks to the I.L.G. we’re paying our way.
So, always look for the union label,
it says we’re able
to make it in the U.S.A.
You can still look for the union label, in vintage clothing.
Just a few of the choices with ILGWU (International Ladies Garment Workers Union) labels at denisebrain this week (click any photo for more on the item):
Another benefit of a union label is its help in dating items. Please visit the Vintage Fashion Guild’s
for the scoop on a number of union labels and their dates.
“Symbol of decency, fair labor standards, the American way of life”
ILGWU parade float bearing the union label, December 7, 1960. Photographer unknown, via The Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives.
The most recent denisebrain vintage fashion show called for pictures of people’s favorite red lipsticks. If you wear vintage clothing do you need to wear red lipstick? Some thoughts.
I am a horn player, and my lips—their strength and health—are important to my well-being and survival as a musician. I have even considered insuring my lips.
No one plays a brass instrument with lipstick on, and when not playing, what goes on a brass player’s lips simply has to be good for them. I didn’t wear lipstick for many years, only considering soothing balms. Then, way back in 1999, I started denisebrain vintage, and as I started to shoot photos of vintage clothing on myself I felt the urge to add that authentic detail, a red lip.
It wasn’t particularly easy for me to make the jump to wearing lipstick, even just here and there, given my horn playing. I’m always very conscious of my lips and how they feel. But I found myself really loving the look of tinted balms and lipsticks. Now I feel more myself with some color.
Lips, particularly red lips, say “vintage” of a certain era like little else, for less money and less effort than most things. But again, is it necessary?
I would say never.
Some consider a red lip to be anti-feminist “man bait”...just look at some of the vintage ad campaigns used for red lipstick.
Others know that there are some cosmetics that are tested on animals, or contain unhealthy ingredients. They would rather not risk these things.
For me, colorful lips are simply the most exciting thing you can do with your appearance in mere seconds.
Lipstick is well known to experience an uptick in sales during a recession. Why? It is a relatively inexpensive pick-me-up. Likewise, it can signal a vintage look quicker and more easily than even seamed stockings or pin curls. It can make you feel put together, pretty, yourself.
Can it make you look costume-y? Yes, it could be part of a full-blown vintage look that appears to have time-travelled out of the past if that’s what you’re after. Or it could be applied in a modern way, worn with modern clothing like a single vintage accessory. You can mix-and-match eras and lip colors for a fresh perspective.
If you don’t need lipstick, don’t like it or want it, there is not the slightest obligation to wear it! It is 2015 and most of us have options. If you want to try lipstick, please do look for the companies that do no animal testing, use safe ingredients and responsible practices in manufacturing. Find a lipstick that feels comfortable, even beneficial, so that if you decide to play the horn, you’ll be ready to go! Enjoy the ritual of finding a color, putting lipstick on and wearing it for yourself, not anyone else. See if you like the reaction you get, see if you feel put together and more yourself or not.
Lipstick isn’t something women have to wear, it is something we are free to wear—part of the art and poetry of fashion, nothing more, nothing less.
You guessed it—BLING! The good news is that bling-y jewelry is really in for fall. The better news is that vintage bling is the best—at the best price—that you will find!
My September theme is a small tribute:
Some of the vintage rhinestone pieces in my Etsy shop right now
This September, don’t be afraid to sparkle!
This morning I was able to make a donation of $253 to the Elephant Crisis Fund, administered by the World Conservation Network. I could not do that by myself—only with your concern and caring. I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again: Denisebrain has the best customers!!
Image credit: Four Oaks/Shutterstock
I sell vintage fashion. And I want to save endangered species and the environment. Unrelated? Nope!
There’s no reason not to bring joy and beauty to ourselves and others through our dress, but there is every reason to make the right choices about what we choose to hang in our closets.
Cute, fashionable, new clothing—cheaply and quickly produced—is known as “fast fashion.” It has become the standard in fashion merchandising. What you will often get with fast fashion:
dangerous and even lethal working conditions for the workers
air and water pollution from its production
enormous waste dumped on the planet when it goes unsold or is discarded
That’s why I want you to become a Closet Environmentalist!
It’s really simple: Fast fashion robs the world. You can help the world with your actions and that includes what you wear.
It’s because of my great customers that I’ve been able to raise awareness and funds for endangered species and their habitats, most especially Save the Manatee Club and Conservation Northwest.
Lots of you are already passionate about vintage for many good reasons. Looking to your closet to help the environment is yet one more great reason that vintage makes the world a better place!
Don’t forget, through the end of August 30% of your purchase price from the denisebrain web store or Etsy shop will go to a vital cause, the Elephant Crisis Fund.
Elephants are in crisis. World Elephant Day was founded to bring people together to help conserve and protect elephants from the numerous threats they face.
Most pressingly, the slaughter of African elephants for their ivory is leading rapidly toward their extinction. These beloved animals are known for their high intelligence, self-awareness, altruism, grief, learning, compassion, affection, cooperation, memory, allomothering, mimicry, play, use of tools, and empathy. Aristotle once said that elephants are “the animal which surpasses all others in wit and mind.”
Charl Durand/Pexels
How can we stand by when nearly 100 of these magnificent creatures are brutally slaughtered by poachers in the illegal ivory trade every day? The answers is we can’t. What kind of world would it be without the elephant?
Courtesy of GoodFon.com
Today, and through the end of August, 30% of your purchase price from my Etsy shop and web store will go to the Elephant Crisis Fund. This is being administered by two great organizations, Save the Elephants and Wildlife Conservation Network. As WCN states on its website:
The elephant poaching crisis is now too large for any one organization or government to solve and requires a coalition that can tackle poaching, ivory trafficking and ivory demand. The role of the Elephant Crisis Fund is to quickly fund the most innovative and effective projects in these three areas across the coalition. From fuel for a small plane to provide aerial surveillance over a national park in Kenya to anti‐ivory campaigns featuring celebrities in China, the Elephant Crisis Fund identifies and supports the most critical initiatives that can save elephants.
With the future of African elephants hanging by a thread, this is the moment for us to take action. Please donate directly to the Elephant Crisis Fund, or if you’ve been eyeing something in my shops, make the purchase now, knowing you are contributing to this vital cause.
If your funds are low (I understand!), please help by spreading the word.
Looking at Pantone’s color forecast for fall 2015 makes me want to eat curry. Herbs and spices are on the menu, along with earthy bright colors. Every color looks like it was selected from a Moroccan rug. My August theme is a tribute to this savory fall palette:
Block printing
Hand-printing method, using carved wooden or linoleum blocks.
From Fabric Sewing Guide by Claire Schaeffer. Krause Publications, Cincinnati, 2008. Used by permission.
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| Hand block printing in process, courtesy of Rubina Magazine |
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| Block printed cotton gauze from India ©Vintage Fashion Guild, photo by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain |
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| 1970s dress by Anokhi - Jaipur India |
If you have a patterned knit (not printed, but patterned by the design of the yarns used), you have a jacquard knit. Think 1970s and 80s rainbow heart sweaters...among many other items from the 1960s, 70s and 80s. A jacquard knit may also be a patterned hand knit.
Jacquard knit
Either a single or double knit made with a pattern on its face, achieved with jacquard controls on a knitting machine. Any yarn may be used.
The single knit jacquard will have floats across its back, while the back of a double knit jacquard will have a birdseye pattern.
See also: Double knit, Jacquard, woven, Jersey
Nylon double knit jacquard, face
Nylon double knit jacquard, reverse ©Vintage Fashion Guild - Text by Margaret Wilds/denisebrain, photo by Hoyt Carter
Right now I have this 1960s polyester and lamé double knit jacquard dress in my Etsy shop:
Your photos seem like more than photos to me. Each of your photos looks like a stand still scene from a fun or interesting event.
It is fun to go shopping there, every item has a story and she tells it well. She is as happy and cheerful as she looks in all her presentations, shows a real love for what she does, and this spills over into the sweet considerate way she treats her customers.
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| available from thespectaclednewt on Etsy |
Margaret, quick story: received 2 packages today—put the yellow top on, did not notice stain; put box on back porch. Other package—was overcharged, etc. and telling my husband about it got out your box to show him, by contrast, how nicely packaged and personal yours was, compared to other, which was crammed in re-used envelope that seller had not even taken her own papers from. As I was showing Rush your sweet little box, sticker, etc., I saw note and money. I want to write a story, “A Tale of Two Sellers” in which you are the star! Thanks for being so honest and generous. The world needs more folks like you!
I just saw this great jacket and when I read the listing I wanted to let you know that I appreciate your accurate descriptions very much. You are so honest about any condition issues and detailed with your pics it’s wonderful to see a seller like you. Some time ago I bought a dress from you—it was in fantastic condition and I was positively surprised as the tiny “flaws” you mentioned turned out to be even less visible. Thanks again and all the best for you!
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| available from TheHammersmith on Etsy |
Maggie is a true vintage expert, she knows what we like, and she sends every one of my items in excellent, wrinkle-free, smell-free, fresh condition! I am always waiting in such anticipation when I order something from denisebrain, and I have never ever been disappointed, Thank you Maggie, for the wonderful store keeper/entrepreneur/and just STERLING person that you are to us.
