Vintage 1950's Shoes

Shoes, shoes, who likes shoes? All from October 1959.

Vintage Pendleton Wardrobe Basics

I'm sure many of us, including myself, are thinking about how to get along with less. The other day I posted about building a wardrobe on a budget, and purchasing quality instead of quantity. Here is another example.

Pendleton is a well-known maker of good quality woolens; so good that many vintage Pendleton garments from the 1940's and 50's are still in service today. If you purchased just one of the items shown above, you could mix and match that piece with others in your wardrobe to add more looks to your closet. That's what is great about a "basic". It works well with lots of items you already own.

Lets take that green pullover sweater. I happen to love green, and use it alot in my wardrobe. Green is the "fashion" color in my closet that I mix and match with basics. I could wear that green sweater with either black, brown, grey, navy, forest green, or khaki pants or skirt. (I don't own all those colors in bottoms. I tend to stick with black and brown, but any of those basic colors would work with green.) I could add a jacket in one of those basic colors, or add a cardigan sweater I already own in a lighter green or orange.

Ok, lets take that basic green sweater and pair it with brown pants. Pretty boring until I turn to accessories. How about my favorite paisley wool shawl in several shades of lighter green. Or a vintage Vera scarf in pink and orange. If a scarf doesn't do it for me, I can add a cluster of vintage rhinestone pins, or how about a modern beaded necklace with touches of light green beads in amongst the gold. Or a chunky gold necklace from the 80's would work. And I'd probably grab my green Franco Sarto bag I've been carrying alot this year.

Look at all the possibilities with just one high quality green sweater! And because the quality is there, I won't need to donate it at the end of the season because it is pilled, pulled, faded, or misshapen. I can wear it for years. And the beauty of being a vintage clothing dealer? If I was patient, I could probably find that exact green Pendleton sweater from 1959, still servicable, and still wearable for years to come.

Shown in the ad above, from 1959:

Pendleton's Slim Jim skirt in lightweight beige wool flannel, $14.95 ($110.00 today)
Paired with a beige Pendlefleece collar cardigan, $16.95 ($126.00 today)

Pocketeer skirt in green wool flannel $16.95, ($126.00 today)
Paired with the fine guage wool pullover sweater, $8.95 ($66.50 today)

Tabmaster wool flannel skirt in blue, $14.95 ($110.00 today)
Paired with a blue Pendlefleece cardigan, $16.95 ($126.00 today)

Here are a few vintage accessories that would work with our outfit, all available at Couture Allure. Click the pictures for more details!

How to Dress Well on Practically Nothing!

The October 1959 issue of Ladies Home Journal has a small month-to-month feature about dressing well on a budget. This is Mollie Farnham, a young Midwestern kindergarten teacher. The magazine notes that in the September issue, Mollie had purchased a camel skirt and beige blouse, and then knitted a cardigan sweater to go with them. In this issue, Mollie shops for her "all-important fall-and-winter investment: a coat." Since she already had a white dressy coat and an evening cover-up, Mollie needed a good serviceable coat for everyday wear.

She shops carefully, and considers several options, but chooses this black and white tweed coat by Gordon Corpuel for $35.00 ($260.00 today). "Mollie's new coat has a flattering cowl collar, is warmly lined in furry black Orlon. The black and white tweed will go well with her beige separates from last month as well as another of her favorite colors: blue." She then adds a black handbag for $3.00 ($23.00 today). She can now alternate the coat and purse with beige or black shoes, and white, beige, or chamois gloves.
Her second accessory purchase is a hat for $3.95 ($30.00 today) . "Mollie rarely wears a hat to school during the week, but for Sundays and special occasions she does. The coat takes on a special occasion look when accessorized with her new turquoise hat, pearls, and white gloves."

Lastly, if Mollie has time and a few extra dollars at the end of the month, she'll invest in some blue wool to sew this basic sheath dress from Vogue Basic Design #3000.

The focus here is on investing in practical but versatile basics that you can accent in different ways with accessories. Mollie's coat wardrobe is complete with one tweed for everyday, a white dressier version, and an evening wrap. How many coats are in your closet? How many dollars have you invested in trendy styles, inexpensive fabrics, or unusual colors that don't work for everyday? Isn't it wiser in today's economy to spend more money on one practical coat in a high quality fabric and basic color that can be worn for years? A change of accessories changes the look in a few seconds.

Our mothers and grandmothers got along with far less clothing than we do today. Each piece of clothing was a carefully considered investment that was meant to last for several years, not several months. Think about it this way. How big are the closets in most houses built in the 40's and 50's?

Vintage Suits - 1959

Two suits featured in the October 1959 issue of Ladies Home Journal as a "liveable, loveable and wearable" garments.

Kimberly was one of the largest privately held clothing manufacturers in the US in the 1950s and 60s. They specialized in wool knits, and would often buy Paris originals and adapt them to knit styles. This suit is fashioned in navy and red buffalo check knit that has the plaid turned on an angle, and a solid navy overblouse. The model wears gold jewelry, white gloves, and has a bow headband by Emme in her hair. The calfskin bag is by Lederer.

This black and white tweed suit is by Traina Norell. Anthony Traina was Norman Norell's backer until his death in 1960. This suit was part of the last collection with the Traina Norell label. In 1960, Norell formed his own company, Norman Norell, and the Traina Norell label disappeared. The three piece suit is trimmed in black braid with black buttons. The model wears a white silk shirt with a bow at the neckline, white gloves, pearl earrings, and also has a bow headband in her hair.

Fashion Makeover - 1959 Style

I admit it, I love makeover shows like "What Not to Wear", and I've learned a thing or two from Trinny and Susannah, as well as Stacy and Clinton. It's probably a secret fantasy of most women to have a makeover. Who wouldn't want a team of experts giving advice about fashion, hair, and makeup and teaching us how to make the best of what we have? Here is a makeover from the October 1959 issue of Ladies Home Journal. It involves Karen, shown in the before picture above with "uninspired hairdo, unflattering clothes, a potentially attractive face completely bereft of make-up.

'I'm all thumbs when it comes to fixing myself up. I don't know where to begin or even what to do.' In her touching confusion over how to bring herself out, Karen had stumbled into the familiar beauty trap of becoming so preoccupied with her shortcomings, she overlooked her enviable assets. On her credit side: silky-textured hair, a 22" waist, beautiful legs. But without special attention these pluses went unnoticed.

Each step leading toward Karen's transformation was based on this capsule philosophy: accentuate the positive and work on, but stop worrying about, the negative."

That is still the best advice today. Focus on the good things about yourself, and stop concentrating on the imperfect.

Here is Karen after her makeover. She now wears a dress that emphasizes her tiny waist and adds fullness to her too-slim hips. The belt further emphasizes her waist, which is one of Karen't most enviable features. Karen's "before" hair style was too severe and elongated her already thin face. By adding bangs and volume, the stylist has given her an over-all look of width and softness. Add a touch of foundation and lipstick, and Karen's look is transformed. Karen is holding her eyeglasses in the after shot. Contact lenses were in their infancy at this time, and were very uncomfortable to wear.

What will you wear to accent your positive traits today? I'm wearing pink and purple, colors that complement my skin tone and make me look radiant. How about you?

It's a beautiful morning here in America. The sun is starting to burn through the mist off the ocean outside my window, and all is well. Enjoy your day!

Vintage Vogue Pattern 196 - 4 More Looks

Here are the other 4 looks produced from Vogue Design 196 as shown in the October 1959 issue of Ladies Home Journal magazine. I showed you look number 1 yesterday. Look number 2 is made in grey wool flannel. The pleated dress is matched with the boxy jacket for a suit look. The belt makes all the difference with this look. Big mother-of-pearl buttons are matched to bound buttonholes and the pleats on the skirt are pressed to a sharp crease. I love the addition of the yellow gloves and hat. They perk the grey right up.

Another suit look, this time in violet tweed, with the slim sheath dress matched to the fitted jacket. I don't know where the magazine found a mouton fur collar tinted to match the fabric, and I doubt you could today. But, you could remove a fur collar from a vintage coat or suit, take it to your fabric store, and match your fabric to it. The magazine also suggests this dress can be worn for evening without the jacket and by adding sparkly jewelry. Hat by Mr. John.


Look 4 includes the slim dress in red wool jersey matched with the boxy jacket worked in faux Persian lamb. To pull this off, you'd have to make this from a high quality faux fur - not the cheap stuff that is used to make stuffed animals available at your local big chain fabric store. Donna Salyer's Fabulous Furs sells the most incredible faux fur fabrics that look and feel like the real thing. Expensive, but worth every penny if you don't want to wear real fur. The jacket shown requires 1 3/4 yds in a With Nap layout.

Finally, look 5 consists of the slim dress worked in gold silk brocade. A beautiful fabric cut with the utmost simplicity is always in fashion. How did she make a belt to match? You can buy belting that you cover with your fabric, both online and at your local fabric store. Add a buckle and you're done! I love the idea of wearing a large rhinestone brooch on the belt, but to the side of the buckle.

Go.....Sew!

Vintage Vogue Pattern 196

The October 1959 issue of Ladies Home Journal magazine did a feature about 5 different outfits you could make from one pattern, namely Vogue Design No. 196. This pattern features two dresses, one with a straight skirt and one with a pleated skirt. It also features 3 different jackets. There are an infinite number of ways you could combine these pieces, and the magazine shows 5.

The first version uses the pleated dress and the short bolero jacket. The dress is made of plaid wool and the jacket of blue velveteen with brass buttons. The outfit is worn with a wide belt, a brooch pinned near the waist of the jacket, a navy hat and white gloves. And yes, that is Jane Fonda, who was also featured on the cover of this magazine, which I showed on Saturday. She does not receive credit by name anywhere in the magazine, but you can't mistake those eyes!

Fonda was 21 when these photos were taken. She had a very brief career as a model while studying acting with Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. It is reported that she used the money from modeling to pay for those acting lessons. She was featured on the cover of Vogue magazine twice. By 1960, Fonda had moved on to start her acting career in the film Tall Story.

More from Vogue pattern 196 tomorrow!