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!
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.
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.
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:
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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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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)!
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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!
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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
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
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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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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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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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.
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I squared away my closet’s vintage years ago, but I have a vintage jewelry mess going on. Lots of potential for improvement here!
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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.
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!
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.
Also clear: You love your faux fur, and anything with a leopard print.
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.
Then there’s the maximalist trend—strong and bright in 2019. Do you hear me now?
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:
Another perpetual favorite: We’ll always be glad for plaid.
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:
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!
A perpetual favorite category, the vintage novelty print, was well represented in 2019.
Special mention for autumnal New York City novelty prints:
We all fell for fall: Autumn shades and prints in general were strong in ‘19.
To vintage wedding dresses, I say I DO! And I have plenty more where these sold dresses came from!
Do I need to remind you that vintage is always suit-able?
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 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
🎄
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.
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!!
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?
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.
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.
Some people may be ready to grab a steal of a deal from Amazon today, but I know that some of my glamazon customers would rather grab a deal on vintage finery. That's why I am hosting my first annual Prime Vintage Day, featuring many items in my shop at half price!
Which items? Just some of the best in my shop, that’s which ones! Labels include Nat Kaplan, Helga, DeWeese, Anne Fogarty, Lilly Pulitzer, Lanz, and Harold Levine. There are 1940s through 80s silks, wools, and linen.
Good question!
This is the biggest sale I've ever offered. Why am I doing this? It's time to make room for more, plain and simple. I stand by each of these items and its quality, and each purchase will benefit the cause that is described in its listing, to the full degree described.
All items that are 50% off are marked as such in my shop, no coupon code needed. The sale is July 15 only, from 12:01 AM through 11:59 PM PDT.
Is my red lipstick staying put? Are my curls holding? Do I have the right gloves for this dress? Am I doing vintage right?
For years, even decades of my life, vintage was not a mainstream thing in popular culture. Those of us who loved and wore vintage were certainly not in the majority. Television, movies, a few books, and the very occasional magazine spread influenced us, but not the overwhelming, non-stop presence of social media and its cast of influencers.
Me at 19, wearing a vintage happi coat
When I first wore vintage as a teenager, I felt a certain power in my self-expression through vintage. So many that wear vintage got started because they are independent, creative types, not prone to following others’ styles.
But then came the internet—especially when social media took off—and the ability to see what others are doing around the world. This gave people of all interests a vastly larger community.
Social media has changed the world of vintage fashion wearing, buying, selling, collecting, and learning. Much of this is for the good; it’s wonderful to get to know people across the globe who share your interest, and the vintage community online is mostly very welcoming and supportive. But even in this community, there are rumblings of anxiety, self-esteem issues, and depression that seem to correlate with comparing oneself to others or groups of others. After all, we can now witness perfected images, the highlights of lives, and the success of businesses by the thousands every day.
Starting to get anxious just reading this? It isn’t just you: A November 2018 Forbes article cites studies which show that time spent on social media is directly related to feelings of depression and loneliness in research subjects. In the world of vintage:
Vintage wearers: So-and-so is the perfect size for wearing vintage, knows everything about it, has all the money to buy the best items out there, gets to vacation at vintage events, and always has perfect hair and makeup. Oh, and her super attractive partner takes her stunning photos. Did I mention she wears a 5 1/2 in shoes and has zero competition for vintage footwear?
Vintage sellers: So-and-so has 100 times my number of followers, finds the absolute coolest items, has free help from her sister, and sells everything instantly for insanely high prices. Oh, and her house is mid-century modern, and even her cat is unbelievably photogenic.
You know the bit. If you don’t, I’m thrilled for you!
How do you feel when you see an email subject line that reads “Vintage Wearing Do’s and Don’t’s,” or look at a vintage maven’s Instagram feed that seems to include 100% of your wish-list items (all strictly NFS)? How about when you see that everyone you follow seems to be getting fabulous at applying winged eyeliner even though you’ve decided it isn’t for you? Vintage people aren’t bullies but we—being only human—can feel distressed, belittled, and lonely.
Further, it isn’t just social media that pressures us. I have been at vintage shows and events where I saw a definite hierarchy, and even heard expressions of inadequacy, as if you had to be somebody in particular to be at this event, or even to wear vintage.
How to combat this?
Just because a certain style of vintage fashion is popular doesn’t mean you should adhere to it. There is a vintage style for everyone, and I would invite you to find your way to what makes you feel confident and happy.
Spend time IRL. See your friends and cruise your town. Surf the real world, as one of my friends says.
Practice noticing the beauty and confidence in others who are not perfect, then practice the same for yourself.
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What is the difference between fashion and style? Fashion says, 'Me, too,' and style, 'Only me.' -Geraldine Stultz
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Real style is never right or wrong. It's a matter of being yourself on purpose. -G. Bruce Boyer
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You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody. -Maya Angelou
I’m writing this blog at this moment because I need it. Now 58 and with a chronic illness, I realize that I need to get out of the joy-killing comparison and jealousy trap myself. I know I genuinely root for others being themselves, and my goal is to accept myself too. I want to be conscious of the perceived perfection I can feel closing in on me when I’m on social media or even at live events. I want to get back to the joy of vintage, which for me is about self-expression.
This is an excerpt from the draft of my book:
Now that wearing vintage fashion is trendy, you’ll find that in some places there is a tribal aspect to vintage, where people who identify with each other tend to dress similarly in their vintage fashions. Often hair and makeup is part of the look, and a great deal of effort goes into a perfected appearance. That can be a lovely sight, but it can also be intimidating. Don’t let it be. It’s never wrong to be a self-assured and stylish pack of one.
Who can wear vintage? I can’t think of one single person who can’t. You do not have to be part of the boho or rockabilly scenes. You don’t have to have perfect red lipstick and victory rolls, false eyelashes and a Vidal Sassoon bob, finger waves and silk stockings. You don’t have to be part of any tribe, or belong to any club…
Among other human hierarchies, social media doesn’t have to feel bad if we understand our relationship to it, and live not only with it, but without it.
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My advice: Be-YOU-tiful.
I was recently given a stack of Montgomery Ward catalogues dating from 1961 through 1970 by a good friend. A VERY good friend.
Have you ever yearned to order from a vintage catalogue? These items from the 1961 catalogue would be my first picks. From the look of this book, stripes, tucks, polka dots, eyelet, and animal prints were the thing for spring/summer ‘61.
In my vintage business, I think I may have seen a few items in this catalogue, including a veil hat, a two-tone bouffant party dress and a sophisticated rayon dress with sheer chiffon sleeves and yoke.
Besides imagining ordering fabulous clothing from a catalogue that is now vintage, I’m sure we all have fantasized about paying these vintage prices. That first striped dress with matching scarf? A mere $22.84. However, adjusted for inflation, that dress would cost $195.21 today…and that dress came from value-priced Montgomery Ward, not Bullock’s Wilshire!
Today is Earth Day, and that alone is absolutely a cause célèbre! But it also happens to be the 20th anniversary of denisebrain, which I started on April 22, 1999. Why on Earth Day? I didn’t plan it that way, but I love that this day coincides because I believe that wearing vintage fashion is the most beautiful of recycling. I’m all for walking as gently as possible on our Earth. Did you know that I use 100% recycled-content tissue paper to wrap your items to ship? And that my web host MacHighway is wind-powered? And that I donate 10% of my sales to Save the Manatee Club?
On Earth Day, please consider wearing vintage (from me, or anyone else) as if the Earth depends on it—because it most likely does!
I have BIG plans for this year, starting with a 20% off sale in my Etsy shop just today and tomorrow (April 22-23). Click HERE to jump to my shop and have the discount applied at checkout, or use the coupon code HAPPY20TH when you check out.
Now let’s get the 20th Anniversary party started, shall we?
Handy little things, aren’t they? And sometimes they are especially beautiful, like this one on a 1950s sheath dress by D.R.A. Original in my shop:
Today through Sunday, March 27-31, I’m offering all the vintage clothing with pockets in my shop for 25% off. And just for fun, there will be a pocket-sized gift in (where else?) a pocket of each sale item, there for you to discover!
She doesn’t look a day over 19, does she? And no plastic surgery!
The ever-youthful fashion doll was first introduced at the American International Toy Fair in New York on March 9, 1959, so that day is considered her date of birth.
Since the early days, Barbie has undergone many transformations, changed races and faces, run for President (six times!), been a paleontologist and a rock star. She has had over 150 careers and broke the plastic ceiling when she reached the moon four years before Neil Armstrong.
It’s the very earliest years of Barbie’s fashions that intrigue me the most. She started her life with a miniature wardrobe worthy of Best Dressed lists. With names like “Gay Parisienne” and “Golden Elegance,” Barbie’s outfits from 1959 to 65 were detailed and coordinated. The fashion designer at Mattel (can you believe they even had a fashion designer?) was Charlotte Johnson. The original dolls were manufactured in Japan, and their clothes were hand sewn by Japanese homeworkers.
Is it weird to extol Barbie doll style? The reason I ask is because I was not allowed to play with Barbies (et al.) when I was a child—my parents thought they were too “adult” to be right for a child. I do get that, but then every single time I saw a Barbie at a friend’s house, I dropped everything to play with her clothes. I eventually got a fashionable doll that looked like a girl my age, in something like 5th grade. For me, the dolls were not emotional friends like my teddy bears and other stuffed animals, but I loved their clothes. I ended up getting a lot of fashion ideas almost out of the corner of my eye. The moral of this story? I don’t really know. But I do know Barbie fascinates me to this day.
Ever wished you could dress like Barbie? Recently I photographed vintage clothes that I picked from my inventory to most adhere to early Barbie sensibilities, complete with plenty of accessories. I have worked with a number of very talented models in the past few years, and the one that stood out as having just the right look for Barbie is Roxy Lang. I was thrilled that she is a fan of Barbie. She told me her grandmother has a collection of the dolls.
Will the real Barbie please stand up?
Find all these items, while they last, in my Etsy shop (P.S. A few are yet to come):
Happy Birthday Barbie!
Are you a fan of Marie Kondo’s book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up? Or her recent reality show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo?
I read the organization guru’s first book early on. My husband and I live in a 1907 house that has 698 square feet. We really don’t have much extra space to get sloppy in, and so organization fascinates me. Am I organized? In a sense, I think so. I always know where things are, even if they are stacked or cluttered. Could I do better? Oh yes.
One of the central tenants of Kondo’s KonMarie method is that the items you keep must “spark joy” for you. According to her, you must hold each of your items in your hands and see if you register that feeling of joy. If you don’t feel it, you must let the item go, after properly thanking it for doing its best for you.
Spark joy. Hmmm. I can honestly say that is the best way for me to choose what to purchase in the first place, especially clothing. If I don’t love something viscerally—immediately and terribly—it isn’t going to serve me very well. It doesn’t matter if it’s a pair of black socks or a sequined green dress—it has to be exactly what I want. Once I have a loved item, it doesn’t usually fall out of favor for me. I might not fit in it properly forever, but I still love it.
Another important aspect of Kondo’s technique is the spiritual connections she makes. She explains that she is informed by her background in Shintoism, the traditional Japanese religion that emphasizes ritual and the spiritual essence of everything. The connectedness that she teaches making with a home, and with each item in it, gives each thing a value that maintains it as not readily disposable, but also not readily bought. I think this is the soul of her method. How many of us who would take the time to really connect to an item would buy the wrong thing? At the time (eventually) that we let the item go, we would offer it thanks, and it would feel very real.
I love that. Everything that we own is a piece of the world; its creation uses the world’s resources, and it should not have been made in vain or for one use and immediate disposal. I don’t know if that is Marie Kondo’s message, but her thinking slows you down and makes you contemplate each item in your possession. It makes you see everything.
How does vintage clothing fit into this? I think it fits very handsomely.
A vintage item has not just been made, so it is part of a history of passing something along. It most likely has been used, appreciated, and thoughtfully let go of already in its life. You can be part of its continuing story.
A vintage item is usually not a quick and easy purchase; it demands some thoughtfulness.
A vintage item is not usually briefly and faddishly fashionable the way readily available fast fashion is. It stands to reason that if it is not the newest style, it isn’t going to be only temporarily the hottest thing.
A vintage item is most often better made, with better materials and workmanship than the majority of modern-made clothing. It is meant to be preserved through care, and not ruined after several wearings.
A vintage item has undeniable karma, the sort that gives it a presence that transcends a brief existence. Think long simmering stew vs. instant noodles.
A vintage item slows you down in all good ways: It takes more patience to find, it gives you more time to think about how much it sparks joy for you, it doesn’t fan the flames of instant gratification, it doesn’t break down if cared for properly, it demands a certain respect and sustenance. It will care for you if you care for it, and then be glad to go on to its next home.
What do you think…am I missing something? How does Marie Kondo’s method work for you and your vintage? Have you taken the KonMari technique to your clothing yet?
I have no trouble promoting pinks and reds any day of the year, but get heated up around about February 1st, with Valentine’s Day looming. Have you had a look at my Etsy shop recently? It’s positively bursting with these colors!
And, as extra incentive to take a look at these beauties, through February 7, take 20% off anything primarily pink or red in my Etsy shop, no coupon needed. ❤️💘❤️💘❤️💘
Here are a couple of my favorites:
This gorgeous pour of magenta silk satin was created by Carlye in the late 1950s
This rosy dress and swing coat is labeled Sandra Sage
While on the subject of pink and hearts, I want to remind you that the Pink Heart Shop section of my Etsy store is stocked with vintage with all proceeds benefitting Dress for Success worldwide.
(And yes, my model Kendra and I were inspired by The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel when we photographed that last set above! We are both diehard Maisel fans!)
It says it right there at the top of my shop: “On Etsy since 2008”
Years before using Etsy as a selling platform, I sold vintage fashion on eBay. Then when Etsy came along, I decided to make the jump. It has been 10 years now on Etsy, half the time denisebrain has been in business, and my shop recently reached the milestone of 3,000 sales. Would you like to see what 3K pieces of vintage finery look like?
OK, so that’s not half—it’s not even close to half, but I figured it was sufficiently dizzying!
To celebrate, I am offering 25% off any sale of $50 or more from my Etsy shop through January 26. Just use the coupon code HAPPY3000 when you check out, or use this link to receive the discount automatically.
Now, what do 3,000 sales look like on my face?
Yup, I’m pretty excited! Thank you!!
