Wonderful article in a 1939 Life Magazine about the new styles of shoes from Paris at the time. “Most popular among the spring shoe selection were the open-toe, open-heel slip ons which made “women clop when they walk”. Style experts claimed these shoes were too open to provide a good fit and made the feet larger.”
Source: 
One of my favourite Australian designers is Allanah Hill. She has always had a very whimsical, retro feel to her clothing and accessory lines and this Autumn/Winter is no exception with some pieces inspired by the 30s, 40s and 50s. I am always scared to go into her store as I want to buy so many things!
I did get this lovely late 30s inspired ‘Busy in the Head’ silk blouse to wear with my wide flowing trousers. Has a great 30s resort feel to it. AH is also famous for her amazing knitwear. Much of it has a 50s look but there are some 30s inspired pieces this season too.
You can find Allanah Hill .
Lot’s of lovelies for the boudoir listed here this week. From 1920s step-ins, to bed-jackets, tap-pants, girdles and bullet bras 
Enjoy!
* All items linked back to their original Etsy source.
Categories: Accessories, Clothing
Tagged: 1920s fashion, 1920s lingerie, 1920s step-in, 1930s fashion, 1930s lingerie, 1930s slip, 1940s fashion, 1940s garter belt, 1940s lingerie, 1950s bra, 1950s bullet bra, 1950s lingerie
Just had to add this to the blog today. A stunning 1930s red gown and an amazing pair of satin evening shoes from the same era. Both from different Etsy stores and yet, look how well they go together. Just breathtaking!
Dress:
Shoes:
Categories: Accessories, Clothing, Uncategorized
Hi all, I have been very busy putting more items into my Etsy store – – so I hope you will all go in and take a gander at the 35 or so new things I have added, including some more 40s dresses, 40s tailored jackets, vintage sewing patterns and magazines, lots of vintage hats (30s to 50s), mens 40s suspenders, hair clips and bobby pin cards from the 30s, 40s and 50s and some lovely scarves. And isn’t the 1930s blue blouse divine?! I wish it fit me!!
I’ve featured a few items here so I hope you enjoy looking. If you would like to keep up to date with all the listings, join my VVE page. Now, back to writing my next post!
Categories: Accessories, Clothing, Hats, In Magazines
Tagged: 1930s blouse, 1940s blouse, 1940s dress, 1940s hair clips, 1940s hats, 1940s jacket, 1940s sewing pattern, 1950s hats, Violet's Vintage Emporium
Well, I certainly can imagine dancing on that amazing floor! How very streamlined looking it is.
Categories: In Magazines
If like me, you are fan of , you will have heard of it’s founder; Gabriela Hernandez. She released a book on the History of Makeup in 2011 that is wonderfully in-depth. A great read for all fashion historians and vintage lovers alike. Here is the description from the Bésame website:
Author and founder of Bésame Cosmetics, Gabriela Hernandez, takes you on a grand tour of the rich history of facial trends and styles in her new book, “Classic Beauty: History of Makeup”. Enjoy this in-depth and historical journey of the many trends and styles of the classic beauty looks throughout the ages.
This vivid reference book follows the ever changing concept of what defines beauty by showcasing historical trends and the evolution of makeup innovations for the eyes, face, and lips. Fascinating and bizarre vintage ads, detailed makeup application guides, and profiles of famous makeup innovators, connoisseurs, and iconic faces offer a glimpse of the rich history of facial trends from the ancient times to today. Enjoy over 430 images, timelines, and detailed color-correct vintage color palettes.
Can you see inside the book and purchase it .
Some gorgeous pieces here and wide with a late 20s to mid 30s feel, and wide flowing pants abound!! Almost resort wear in some cases, which is fabulous. I have many pairs of 30s style wide trousers which I incorporate into my everyday wardrobe on a daily basis and I’m glad to see that this flattering style with a 30s edge on catwalks. Lots of bias cut dresses, swagger and cloche-type hats and feminine, flowing fabrics here too. My favourite is the first pic.
Categories: Accessories, Clothing, In Magazines, On Catwalks
Tagged: 1930s style, ralph lauren
Ahh…La Femme Chez Elle. So many beautiful art deco minimalist style covers and fashion plates within. And lots of nifty hat making tips! I have scanned some of the articles for you here from a few of my collection. Yes, they are in French, but the visuals are worth looking at. Some lovely knitting patterns too and I really want to try and make the tilted straw hat. So cute! If you are interested, I have some for sale in my store. I noticed that Artposters.com even has copies of the covers for sale as prints.
I have always loved these gorgeous ads from 1930s Japan. Such stylised, beautiful ladies and a wonderful use of colour and design. The girl with the red hair bow is stunning and I adore the green hat in the second poster.
Hello lovers of 1940s attire! I just added these 4 amazing pairs of shoes to the . Hopefully they will all go to a new home where someone will love them as much as I did
Categories: Accessories
Tagged: 1940s shoes, 1940s spectator shoes, 1940s wedgies
Hello to our lovely followers. Just wanted to let you all know that I have finally opened my own Etsy store: , so I will post items that are coming to shop here as well as the Facebook page before I put them in the shop so you have a heads up. I will have clothing, shoes, hats, sewing patterns and jewellery from the 1920s to the 70s for sale.
I was inspired to open the shop because of my love of vintage style since childhood, which has never waned.So now I have a large collection of vintage clothing and accessories and I am always looking for more, as I have been selling on ebay for years too. But Etsy is easier and more efficient!
I hope these little pieces of history give their new owners as much joy as they have given me – in both hunting for them and passing them on to you Please pass on the FB page and Etsy pages to anyone you know who loves vintage style Some samples from todays listings.
Violet’s Vintage Emporium on
Violet’s Vintage Emporium on
Categories: Accessories, Books, Clothing, Shoes
Tagged: 1920s fashion, 1930s fashion, 1940s fashion, 1940s shoes, Violet's Vintage Emporium
So, I thought I would do something fun and write a regular post every 2 weeks that focuses on a particular colour. I will also include pics showing all sorts of vintage fashion items that were produced in varying shades of that colour, hopefully to inspire some new outfit combinations in the future and some possible purchases.
Black and white: Yes, I’m generally a fan of darker colours like black and navy, so I’ve always been a fan of 1930s Coco Chanel. Even her home was decorated in black white tones, which at the time, was quite daring. Schiaparelli also used black and white very well in some of her clothing lines. Anyhoo, I love the contrast of black and white garments and the streamlining they give the body. Here are some lovely examples that I have found.
I love 1930s sunglasses and I have 3 pairs of the acetate round type with various coloured tinted lenses and celluloid frames. They are stylish, classic and great for everyday wear and really do make a vintage ensemble complete. My nana had a white pair (like the ones below) with green lenses that I adored when I was little and I wish I had been able to get hold of and keep them as an adult, but they disappeared when I was a teenager. Anyhoo…I’m always looking for more, so here are range of 30s, 50s and 50s shades that I found on Etsy for sale.
* All photos link back to their original Etsy page
Categories: Accessories
Tagged: 1930s sunglasses, 1940s sunglasses, 1950s sunglasses, vintage eyewear, vintage glasses
This new addition to the catalogue is a gorgeous 1930s gown and it is available in multi-size. Lovely simple lines and I adore the sleeves. I’ll have to add it to my sewing list!
As always, moving house means that you must sort, pack, then un-pack all of your worldly goods. Sometimes you come across items that you haven’s seen for a while, as I did with my precious ‘Delineater’ magazines from the 20s and 30s. It was with glee that found a group of 4 many years ago in a tiny out of town antique store, and I love them to bits, but I had carefully stored them away and had almost forgotten I had them!
As a designer, I adore Delineator cover art in all it’s elegant art deco simplicity and the wonderful fashions portrayed, so I thought I’d go on a hunt for some more online. For those unfamiliar to the magazine, Delineator (A Journal of Fashion, Culture, and Fine Arts) was launched in 1873 by Ebenezer Butterick – yes, that Butterick. In the early 20s, the magazine published the work of romance novelists and many famous illustrators worked on staff. The magazine later merged with William Randolph Hearst’s Pictorial Review in 1937.
The Delineator was originally a magazine of women’s fashion, with dressmakers patterns, as well as articles covering women’s issues, women in sport and in cultural life. In 1920, it hosted ‘more advertising than was ever inserted in any magazine published for women at any time, anywhere’, thanks to it’s 1 million readers and I believe it was published in many languages. Well, 4 of them found their way to a little store in country town Australia … so there you are!
I hope you enjoy these beautiful covers. I would never part with my copies.
Categories: Books, Clothing, Hats, In Magazines
Tagged: 1920s magazine, 1930s fashion, 1930s magazine, Delineator magazine
Released today, Charlotte Fiell’s … I need this in my bookshelf immediately! Here’s the blurb:
The 1930s are remembered largely as an era of economic insecurity and crisis in the US, political instability and heated rhetoric filling the airwaves in myriad corners of the globe. What better time than the present, then, to revisit and reassess the fashions and styles of that troubled era? Despite the tensions and perils of that long-ago decade, the fashions of the time were often achingly chic, with the insouciantly androgynous flapper styles of the 1920s replaced by sweeping bias-cut gowns with deep-cut backs, floral tea-dresses, tailored suits and draped furs for anybody who could afford them. The latest volume in a series of resources devoted to specific decades, Fashion Sourcebook 1930s collects the most unforgettable looks of the decade, documenting its season-by-season fashions and offering an extensive selection of original photographs, sketches and prints–some 600 images in all, the majority in color–that give a full sense of the opulence and elegance of the period. These images are given depth and context by an essay providing a summary of the major themes within the era’s fashion and presents its most notable designers. This is an essential handbook for fashion students as well as anyone interested in fashion or cultural history.
Oh my yes. I’m off to buy it at !
A fabulous shot of 3 men enjoying a picnic.
With a closeup showing a love of striped socks. In the day it was a way young men could express themselves in a society where rules on how to dress were still in place. Sometimes in the UK they were made in the school colours.
Not a bare head in sight, even during the dark times of the Depression, men still took pride in the way they dressed on a daily basis.
Categories: Clothing, Hats, Men's Fashion, On The Street
Tagged: 1930s fashion, 1930s menswear
Hi fellow vintage fashionistas. I am now settled in my new home and back on the interwebs, so time to get back to it and add an Etsy picks page to the blog, as one is well overdue. Today I’m looking at 1920s dresses and there are some lovely examples for sale at the moment on Etsy. From cotton day-wear to beaded evening frocks and wedding gowns – the variety is amazing.
Sometimes (with horror) I sit and wonder if there will ever come a day when there will be no more vintage clothes out there to find, as there certainly seems to be no end at the moment to the wonderful 1920s pieces that pop up at the moment. Hope you enjoy these pretties. I love geometrical designs on the collar of the navy blue dress from .
* All items are linked back to their Etsy source.
