These are definitely for Fourth 
of July! I have a purse from the same era that they’re almost a match for. Also, they’re great nautical colors that are popular in the Spring and Fall. However, the closed toe can be worn any time of year.
Another fab find in wonderful condition. Chunky low heels, a raised vamp – perfect mid-late 1960’s style. This is so much fun . . . . .
MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY
BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM
Back to my Australian find – I found the best photo and description of this gown and Stella shows it off properly. I gasped when I discovered it. It may even have been a wedding gown back in the Depression and World War days of the 1930’s and 1940’s when they were often simpler. But, I suppose they had the equivalent of “debutantes” in that society, too. The custom of showing off young, marriageable women “of good family background” was a widespread practice that still persists in some places.
Lots of clues: Since Australia is closer to Southern Asia than we are in North America, silk may have been a more popular fabric for better dresses than it was here. A friend of mine says that she remembers the wired necklines from the 1950’s. This dress was made for a VERY tiny person (even more so than Stella), so it could have been floor length on the original owner. Impossible to say for sure.
Anyway, it’s beautiful and unique with an interesting history. I’m glad to have it home where I can show you a better photograph. Fully lined, with covered buttons at the wrists and that collar with wiring all around the edges – it was quite a tailoring project for someone! It’s really one that makes me wonder what stories it can tell . . . . .
MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY
BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM
BOOK: HOW TO FIND THE BEST IN VINTAGE FASHION – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM
Count on the McCall’s magazine to come up with everything! – including patterns for hand-crocheted or knitted dresses for all the women in your wedding party. Unbelievable!!
Well, it would certainly have kept the cost down. Many women did make their wedding gowns and attendants’ dresses in the past, or have them made, but usually the designs weren’t so labor-intensive as something like this. Can you imagine, with everything else there is to do to prepare for a wedding?
So, that was life in the early 1950’s. A lot simpler in some ways, a lot more tedious in others – but we’ve lost most of the elegance along the way. We’ll keep stepping back in time with my latest finds . . . . . . . .
MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY
BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM
BOOK: HOW TO FIND THE BEST IN VINTAGE FASHION – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM
These are the perfect shoes to be worn with the wedding suit shown yesterday. Can you imagine a pair of white satin pumps at least 60 years old staying in this condition? Who knows how long they were out of the original owner’s safekeeping? Amazing!! I found these beautiful fabric shoes clean enough to be worn again as is.
Fun ’40’s/’50’s styling and beautiful leather soles that make them good forever. They also carry a mysterious story of a very special and formal occasion. I wonder where and when it was . . . . .
MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY
BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM
This is the ensemble that Stella was wearing when I met her and I’m glad she didn’t want to give it up. I’ll be showing some white satin 1940’s wedding pumps tomorrow. Although they didn’t come with this outfit, they’d be just perfect with it!
During wartime, this was a relatively modest choice for her wedding and the bride probably had this suit custom-tailored. Naturally, it has many of the 1940’s styling details which were popular then – shoulder pads, nipped peplum waist, a handkerchief hem and a rare coil metal zipper in the skirt.
Also, some of the favorite classic features of a wedding gown are also present – rows of tiny, covered buttons and medieval-style points on the sleeve hems. The fabric is a substantial brocade/jacquard floral – not a high-end textile, but nice. Clearly, this wedding took place in a formal setting.
I wonder about her hair . . . . bridesmaids? Wouldn’t it be fun to go back as a guest? . . . . .
MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY
BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM
This is a bridal dress and veil from the early 1940’s that I had a surprise chance to acquire from the bride’s daughter. Here it is in all it’s glory. The story goes that it was ordered through the Eaton’s department store chain in Canada, and was made in Europe.
Eaton’s stores were a shopper’s paradise early in department store history in Ontario, and have now been closed. This would have been a wonderful resource for a woman who wanted a commercially-made garment during the war years. Although Canada was not as heavily involved in the war, it was subjected to many of the same restrictions of goods.
This beautiful ensemble has a traditional feel, which may reflect it’s European origins. I so love finding fashions along with their histories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY
BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM
