Musings from Marilyn

Posts Tagged ‘Vintage Clothing’

While going through my vintage knitting patterns, looking for a shawl pattern similar to the green frilled shrug Kate Middleton wore grocery shopping, I ran across this beauty.  I guess I could say that it’s a 1950s version of Kate’s shawl.  I love how the model is depicted wearing this over her bathing suit at the beach!  Yup, just the place I would want to wear a warm stole.   Anyway, who knows?  Maybe Kate is wearing a shawl at the beach on her honeymoon?

This pattern calls for all-purpose yarn, and is 28″ wide by 72″ long.  The knitting directions look relatively easy, and it gives detailed instructions for making the attached fringe.  It also gives instructions for those who are tall and wish to make the stole a little longer.

So happy vintage knitting, readers!  Let me know how it turns out if you decide to make it.  And pictures, please.

~Marilyn Huttunen

Download: Knit a Fringed Stole

I delight in the serendipity of thrift store shopping.  Those times when I run across something so wonderfully unique, that I take pause to wonder if it was placed there fully intended to be found by me!  My latest occurrence was yesterday, while I was looking through the miles and miles of designer fake vinyl purses that tend to populate the thrifts.  Anything made of real leather jumps out at me, and I spied a large, thick leather hippie type of purse that I remembered from the 70s.  They look like they were handmade by some sort of folksy artisan.

As I was marveling at the heft and substance of the purse, I noticed an amazing etched drawing on the front flap.  It was of two little laundresses with washboard and tub, and hanging laundry on a clothesline!  Of course, it had my name written all over it; being an avid laundress/clothesline user AND adoring and collecting vintage purses.  I need another purse like I need a hole in my head, but I could not leave without it!  No one else would ever appreciate the unique whimsicality of it like I would.

I like its large size and durability.  It’s been heavily used but there is hardly any wear to the thick leather.  It’s just so delightfully funky; the juxtaposition of the sweet, quaint laundry scene with the rugged hippie element is hilarious!  I’m sure that there is no other like it in the world.

My son, who is quite used to my unique findings but isn’t into vintage, wasn’t so amused.  “You’re not actually going to wear that are you?” he said, rolling his eyes.  He should know me by now, and should know the answer.  Yes!  As a matter of fact, I will.

~Marilyn

I spend an inordinate amount of time shopping in thrift stores.  At least two to three times a week, you’ll find me in any of the six local thrifts that I haunt regularly.  I mainly shop for “inventory acquisition” (the ‘polite’ term that vinties like to use), but I also shop for myself.  And I mostly love it.  I’ve been shopping thrifts since I discovered them as a teenager, and I’ve never quit.

There is just something so thrilling to me about thrifts.  Malls and department stores bore me silly with their sameness.  At thrifts I never quite know what I’m going to find, and everything is unique.  I get a feeling of anticipatory excitement in the pit of my stomach when I enter the door…where to look first, what to see, what to do!  I actually enjoy going through the racks, digging through bins, and finding things placed randomly throughout the store.

I’m all-business when it comes to thrifting.  No distractions for me please;  no cell phone, no iPod, no shopping with others.  Pretty much a laser focus to scope out the goods.  I know which days are the sale days, “color tag” days, and are the most and least crowded.  I know a lot of the clerks personally, and enjoy a good jaw while checking out.

Of course, it’s not all fun and games.  There are actually quite a lot of annoyances that I have resigned myself to live with while shopping thrifts.  Probably my biggest beef is loud people, be they screaming kids, yelling moms, or people screeching into their phones.  Thrifts are full of them.  I have to work myself into a “zone” to carry myself through.  I like peace and quiet…but I know I’ll never find it at the thrift.

Another annoyance is people who sidle.  I can be the only one in the aisle and sure enough, there will soon be someone who is right next to me going through the racks.  This is something that is so irksome to me that I usually leave and go to another aisle.   But then I have to consciously calculate to come back to that same aisle when all is clear.

The one thing that I’m on the fence about is the amount of “unique” characters that thrift stores seem to attract.  Since I’m a regular, I’ve learned pretty quickly that there are also a lot of other regulars who shop there too.  Some are highly amusing; others are just plain creepy.  One thing for sure is that it is never a dull experience.  They probably feel the same about me too!

It used to be that shopping thrifts was kind of an alternative, funky thing to do.  A lot of people wouldn’t set foot in such a place.  Now it seems like thrifts are getting to be more of a cool, economical thing to do.  That’s okay, the more the merrier.  And the more I hope people will donate and recycle.  Thrifting may not be for the faint of heart, but it will always be unrivaled!

Happy shopping!

Marilyn

Now that winter’s here, my sweater wearing is on full-force.   My personal yarn of choice is cashmere.  It is incredibly soft, thick, and luxurious…and is really the only natural wool that I can wear next to my sensitive skin.  It adds needed warmth without unnecessary bulk;  I don’t like looking like a linebacker in those thick, chunky sweaters!

Of course, most of my cashmere sweater collection is vintage.  I look for the thick, plush cashmere, preferably made in Scotland.  There is just no comparison to most of the “whisper thin” cashmere sweaters that are out there today.  Good quality cashmere can last a lifetime, so it’s a good investment.  In fact, several lifetimes, as someone wore these sweaters a long time before me!

I love how cashmere retains scent.  One of my favorite things to do is wear a different vintage perfume each time I wear a certain sweater.  The scent gets picked up and blended with the others, forming a whole new evocative aroma.  They become pieces of  poignant delight, a magical signature, which is especially nice on these dark, dreary days.  I’m a bit sad when I have to wash the sweaters though.  All that captivating scent down the drain.  But it just gives me the chance to start a unique combination anew.

I shall remain forever devoted to cashmere, but sometimes it’s good to spice it up!

-Marilyn

I am the ever-practical environmentalist; doing all that I can in my daily life to keep the earth a little greener.  Most notably in my laundry practices.  I’ve been air-drying exclusively now for about four years; ever since my dryer refused to heat.  It makes my life easier (really!), my utility bill is down about 15%,  and I don’t have the added worry of a possible dryer fire.

While I could feel some smug satisfaction with the energy and environmental saving aspects of using a clothesline, I still continued to regularly use warm, and sometimes hot water to wash my laundry.  I think it was a combination of  “it has always been done this way”, and the thought that my clothes would not get clean in cold water.    I think it’s been pounded in our collective brains over the years through advertising, and yes, from mom, that warm and hot water washes are “the way” to go.  You don’t want creepy crawly bacteria or other horrifying creatures crawling on your clothes do you???

This summer I decided to “Go Cold”… all the way, baby!  The temperature setting on my washer is now set on cold, and hasn’t budged.  I wash everything in cold water.  Yes, even sheets, towels, and underwear.  Amazingly, everything comes out extremely clean.  The whites are brilliant, and the colors aren’t faded.  I am almost convinced that there is some kind of super power in cold water!

No heat at all is used in my laundry practices.  Cold water wash, and then straight to the clothesline or drying rack.  I rarely, if ever, iron – so no heat from that either.  Hang-drying leaves clothes perfectly pressed.  The life of my clothes will probably be extended indefinitely!  This is good because I love my clothes, and wear a lot of vintage clothing too.

These days I guess I could feel a bit smugger, knowing I’m about as green as you can get in laundry practices.  But I’m not a smug person.  I do get a feeling of satisfaction and yes, joy, from doing things this way.  Now THAT is a good feeling!

Marilyn