Category Archives: evening

1940’S WARTIME – EARLY POST-WAR ERA DRESSY FROCK

This pretty dress is made of rayon material with a BIG velvet bow and inverted front pleat for added interest. I love the scalloped overlay and the shaping on the cuffs of the short sleeves, which is SO Forties! This dress is labeled as having been made by a company or maker that was nationalized during the years surrounding and following WW2 when many, if not most, fabrics and notions available to garment-makers before the war and the Depression were unavailable to manufacturers and home-tailors because of rationing. Women still wanted pretty fashions and our government helped to make that possible and affordable.

Despite having no lining or buttons, there are very nice tailoring details. It is, unusually for that time, quite a large size but is so well-cut that belting it on my size 6 mannequin (thank you, Madge!) still looks amazing. That is an advantage of any well-made garment and especially in the case of most true vintage clothing. Stay tuned for more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

TRUE VINTAGE ’50’S – EARLY ’60’S COCKTAIL BLOUSE FROM DOWN UNDER

What a wonderful, unique and chic mid-century piece! Discovered during an investigation in Australia, this pretty top made in Britain (or by a British company) is made from semi-sheer fabric that has a woven-in contrasting pattern. It buttons up the back and has the distinctive feature of 3/4 length sleeves with fur cuffs. Great fit and gorgeous over a black skirt or dressy pants. Casual, but elegant.

Women’s semi-formal clothes were especially fabulous between the 1920’s and 1960’s. Although many dresses, skirts and blouses had lovely decoration in the years before, styles were too buttoned-up for my taste. After the 1960’s quality, creativity and elegance really seemed to take a dive. Give me styles from the Prohibition speakeasys, film noir and revolutionary Sixties any day. The Seventies had too much polyester, the Eighties had some great Forties retro and avante guarde New Wave but were overall too gaudy and the Nineties had an overabundance of black. Of course, great pieces were made during all these decades but seemed to be the exception. Just my opinion – you decide.

Thank goodness that modern faux fur and animal skin alternatives have become almost indistinguishable from real ones which, in my opinion, are an abomination. This also includes silk, tortoise shell, horn, coral, pearls and ivory. True vintage pieces made from these materials decades ago are an important part of fashion history and can be fun to collect and wear but I ask my viewers NEVER to support the market for these products by buying modern items made from them. This is how we can block the profit from breeding and slaughtering these wonderful creatures and stop it. If you are looking for clothing and accessories made from any of these, check at a secondhand thrift or antique store. Thank you and stay tuned for that 1940’s series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

ELEGANT MOD TRUE VINTAGE 1960’S LBD

From the early to mid-1960’s, a sleek, sleeveless classic sheath style cocktail dress with a boat neckline, which I love. It’s knee to bottom-of-knee length, which is a very flattering hemline on most women and was common at that time right before almost everything had an above-the-knee or mini length. It’s so hard to get good detail on black clothing in photos, but this one is easier because the only decoration is a medium-width band of black beading at the waistline. Very well-tailored in a light-medium weight knit fabric with a very nice drape. This one factor takes it over the line from a Summer dress to one for Fall. Good quality, good fit – the signature features of well-made true vintage clothing.

I have more examples in the files of 1960’s LBDs but, in my images file, I ran across a large number of dresses of this type from the 1940’s. I’ll probably break the timeline to put these in the next posts before resuming to LBD’s from the more recent decades. I am traveling back to Headquarters as of tomorrow, so there may be a few days pause while I reorganize. Won’t be long so stay tuned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

TRUE VINTAGE 1960’S DRESSY FROCK – ANOTHER FINELY HAND -TAILORED GARMENT FROM BRITISH HONG KONG

This dress is such a treat! I was so thrilled to uncover it. Look at the marvelous tailoring details and ingenious construction – A basic sheath style, with a heavily-decorated blouson top that appears to be separate, but is attached at the shoulders and fully-lined with a white silk under-blouse. Both layers close with a metal zipper. Hooks and eyes secure the neckline for good fit. The shoulders have strap-holders sewn in. The acetate skirt is also lined with black rayon and has a wide hem allowance plus a walking vent in the rear seam. Hand-finished all over.

In the ’50’s and 1960’s a woman of moderate means could save for the occasional purchase of clothing made this way and more prosperous women had closets full of nothing else. These were the standards of better-made garments during the mid-century. Now even very expensive clothing is sometimes constructed poorly and hardly ever as well as this dress is. The attention to detail and hand-done stitching made clothing fit better look more polished.

Tomorrow I’ll show you another frock from this decade. Stay tuned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

1950’S – EARLY 1960’S BEADED TOPS GO ELEGANT TO DRESS-UP

Here are two examples of the most iconic cocktail fashions of this era, which could be dressed down for a home-based cocktail party or dressed up with a well-styled skirt for a more formal type of party or event. The best were made in British Hong Kong – sweaters were made of fine lambswool or cashmere and shell blouses of rayon or silk. They would always be lined and have tiny sewn-in labels showing the bust measurement. Finer pieces had cloth labels from fine tailoring shops. These two are beautiful, but not the nicest I have discovered.

Although many tops similar to this were made in the ’80’s and ’90’s when retro “vintage” fashions became really hot, I never saw any as well-made as these are. There was a great variety of designs and types of beads; sequins, seed beads, jewels and, ribbon were all used. Like these, most were monochromatic but there were some with contrasting designs. Usually, the design was also on the back side and required some care when worn but that was not considered to be a hardship for women in the 1900’s.

Tomorrow I’ll start showing some dresses. This is a category of true vintage fashion that is a very big one! Stay tuned . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

START OF A SERIES: TRUE VINTAGE PIECES FOR COOL, DRESSY EVENINGS

We’re now heading into the season for indoor parties, special occasions and events after the long, lovely summer; Cocktail parties, dinners, dances, recitals, holiday galas – you name it. I’ll be starting a series of posts of pretty, dressy and semi-formal garments in my collection from the 1950’s – 1990’s which will take us into the Fall and even Winter. Stay tuned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

MORE WARTIME – MID-CENTURY COSTUME JEWELRY FINDS!

I love this! OK, I forgot my bag of donations but I stopped at the Op Shop (I’m in Canada right now) anyway to look for some Fall turtlenecks and took a few minutes to sift through the piles of jewelry. It’s rare to find true vintage jewelry items now, but I often do so I take a peek and look what I discovered! They’re both paddle back style clip-ons. The top pair are early – mid-1960’s girly flower earrings, which was a common design then. They aren’t really dressy, but the gold-tone and aurora borealis “diamonds” in the centers let them be dressed-up easily as well as being stylish with a more casual outfit. What could be better?

The bottom pair are really precious because they are PERFECT with the pearl and rhinestone bracelet that I found and posted a few weeks ago! Sparkly white rhinestones set in silver-tone metal would probably be from the early to mid-1950’s. They were never high-end but I’d happily wear them to the Opera or any gala (if I went to those things – you just never know). There’s one tiny rhinestone missing, but this would never be noticed and I may have a replacement at Headquarters. We’ll see.

So, the moral of this investigation is that taking the time to look for clues in hidden or unlikely spots is almost always a good idea! My experience has proven that many, many times. Stay tuned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

MORE GREAT TRUE VINTAGE FINDS – POSSIBLY SPANNING 50 YEARS!

Italian leather shoes and mid-century jewels! I’ll post the discoveries on the weekend. Stay tuned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

TWO FRESH HANDBAG FINDS! NEW WAVE 1980’S BACK TO THE MID-CENTURY. COULDN’T BE MORE DIFFERENT.

I’m always delighted to find a New Wave early 1980’s piece in beautiful condition. The shadow lines seen in the photo are just a reflection from the glossy surface. This black silk satin evening bag with a gold-tone geometric chain handle was made in Italy and sold by Holt Renfrew, a luxury department store in Canada. It’s very sleek and slim – a great example of the genre. Wouldn’t you know, I have a black leather cinch belt with gold edging from 1980 – perfect match!

Another little coin purse was found at the same location. It’s vinyl from the 1950’s or, more likely, the early 1960’s. Durable and cute, but cheap and hardly elegant. Why did I bother to collect this? Well, if you carry true vintage handbags regularly, you know that although some of the best ones had little matching coin purses tucked inside and attached by a cord, the majority had no secure place to carry coins. That always had to come from a separate coin purse or a ladies’ wallet which had a coin purse inside (or her escort’s pocket). Wallets like that were rarely, if ever, made for women before the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, in my experience. I wonder if that had anything to do with women’s ability to manage their own money? But, I digress . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fortunately, that’s one thing we can more or less take for granted now and I don’t like hunting in the bottom of a handbag or in a pocket for change. Much less do I like to mend holes in the bottoms of pockets that have been abused that way. Therefore, handy purse accessories are always at the top of my list when I’m investigating. And sometimes, the most interesting clues can be found inside. You just never know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

EXCITING “NEW” TRUE VINTAGE HANDBAG FINDS!

Let’s start with a deja’ vu item (for me) – I call it this because I discovered a nearly identical one and posted it just two weeks ago! However, the exciting thing is the different clues involved in their stories. Always SO interesting! Plus, one new item which is a rare find and always makes me do an extra happy dance. . . . . . . .. . . . . ..

Oh, Ho hum you may say. Another black cocktail clutch. Yes, I have many of these in my case archives (and closet), but each one is unique in some way. The fun thing about this one is the similarities to the other one recently found; 1. Both are rectangular and designed to be hand-held. 2. Both are made of black rayon satin. 3. Both have hand-done beading on the front AND back. 4. Both have an additional pocket (or two) inside. 5. Both are from the mid-century, probably post-WWII.

HOWEVER, the one found two weeks ago is more finely made. It was constructed in Hong Kong (while it was still British Hong Kong) while this one above was probably made in North America but is an iconic brand name (Soure’). The first found has more elaborate beading on the front. It is a sac design with no stiffening and simply folds over to close, while this one has stiffening between the layers, probably some form of cardboard, and a metal snap closure (more common and less elegant). These clues lead me to decide that the first find is 10 – 20 years older even though they are so similar. Investigations are so fun! You can check out the previous post and see what I mean.

The final item, just found, is the one that really gives me happy feet – see the little coin purse? I LOVE FINDING THESE!!!!! Not too many of them exist anymore and they are SO convenient and iconic inside a true vintage handbag. This one, also, is navy blue rather than black. It will definitely have a home in one of my purses at Headquarters.

OK, that’s the first of my recent deja’ vu finds, but there is another one which I will put in a separate post because it is in a different category – Men’s true vintage accessories! Stay tuned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM