I now have the great pleasure of beginning this next blog series by introducing Carrie from
Glad Rags and Curios.
1. What was your first vintage acquisition and where is it now?
Starting in 7th grade, I developed a habit of absorbing select castoffs
from my parents’ closets into my own (that year, it was my mother’s late
60s acid yellow and neon pink paisley satin turtleneck, while the piece
I remember always wearing in high school was my dad’s late 50s black and
white jacquard knit sport shirt, and in graduate school my mother’s
cream leather 60s jacket and I became inseparable). I’m amazed at how
clearly I remember those cherished garments!
As far as my first actual purchase, though? That would have been the
powder-blue, mink-trimmed early 60s suit jacket I bought as a 19 yr-old
newlywed from a thrift store in upstate NY; I wore it to my first
anniversary dinner (with a maxi-length, home-doctored jean skirt) a week
later. I have no idea what became of it!
2. What was your favorite or best buy ever?
In 2010 I got very lucky at an auction and bought a boatload of
museum-deaccessioned Vera Maxwell garments (for a song!) that ranged in
date from the late 30s through the early 80s. I love Vera Maxwell and
have long thought she’s underappreciated, so snagging designs of hers
like high-waisted black wool trousers from the 30s, WWII era skirt
suits, and a fox-trimmed ultrasuede evening coat from the 70s, was an
incredible high—which I have yet to descend from!
3. What was your most unusual buying experience?
I went to an auction several years ago at a funeral home that was
originally a turn of the century college. It was a gorgeous old
building, full of chandeliers and ornate wood paneling, and the family
that had converted it to a funeral home in the 1950s were collectors
with an eccentric streak and tendency toward hoarding. Everything from
antique biers, Victorian vanity sets and old Victrolas to beaded 60s
dresses, kitschy Occupied Japan figurines and boxes and boxes of novelty
aprons came up for sale.
4. If you had a time machine which decade or year would you
choose to go back to and bring back some clothing or jewelry.
Definitely the late 30s and early 40s, plus the Victorian era for some
extra jewelry! A couple of years ago I acquired a photo album of my
mother’s from the WWII period (from her teen years into young
adulthood), and my jaw drops over and over at how gorgeously she was
always dressed, despite the fact that her family was quite poor.
I’m a huge fan of Depression- and WWII-era jewelry made from “alternate
materials” (ie carved wood, bakelite, etc), and though it was due to an
appreciation for nature vs the constraints of a war economy, the
Victorian era was awash in jewelry made from unusual materials,
too—hair, horn, bog oak, vulcanized rubber. I love when the imagination
and earnest if not always sophisticated artistry that’s gone into
crafting a piece of jewelry is what makes it desirable, rather than the
value of its materials.
5. What are your favorite, most helpful reference
materials/sources?
The Vintage Fashion Guild’s Label Resource and Forums; old catalogs and
magazines; my ever-growing collection of books that are catalogs of
museum exhibits about vintage fashion.
6. What item were you most tempted to keep that is available in
your shop right now?
Definitely this one (if it fit, it would be in my closet!):
Here are some lovely items from Carrie's shop for you to see.
