1940’s WESTERN-MADE PIG SUEDE JACKET

1940s Western-made Pig Suede Jacket

I love this one so much!  Beautiful, soft suede in a luscious red.  As always, wonderfully tailored – great buttons, lovely lining, nifty, elegant style.  Forties shoulders are always a favorite of mine.

This one was originally purchased at the Holiday House in Estes Park, Colorado (also in Scottsdale, Arizona).  I have found many more wonderful leather and suede jackets in my vintage-hunting expeditions, and always at great prices.

It pays to be a magicvintagespy!

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY
BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM
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TRUE VINTAGE 1940’S JACKET

IMG_0139This one is a favorite of mine.  It is of a heavy cotton-type material with a quilted lining.  Warm, but not too heavy.  Fabulous Forties style and, also, very practical.

The colors are ivory, green and red.  It’s perfect for spring and fall weather.  The attached belt across the front and some elastic in back give the nipped waist feature that I really love. And, of course, pads in the shoulders.  So flattering!

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

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TRUE VINTAGE 1950’S WESTERN-WEAR LEATHER JACKET FOR FALL

True Vintage Leatherwear

Beautiful true vintage western-wear jacket from the 1950s/early ’60s. Notice the superb workmanship and tailoring (even though it would look best on a size 4 model rather than size 6).

I LOVE the older leather items made in the American west, or in Mexico and Europe.  So beautiful!  Forgive me if your country has made wonderful leather items, too, and I have not mentioned you here.

The materials are of high quality and have enabled it to last for 50 years with very little sign of wear.  Find a jacket of this type and enjoy it for life!

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG:  MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

TRUE VINTAGE 1940’S PARTY-WEAR – GREAT BOHO BLOUSE A’LA JANE RUSSELL

Original True Vintage Party Dressing (or cafe' boho garb?)

Great black velveteen top from the 40s or, maybe, early 50s. It’s a vintage size 16 (can you imagine! Size 4 me can wear it, though it’s very Jane Russell w/o all the decolletage). Just goes to show how sizes have changed.

The back neckline is a wide scoop. There is a short metal zipper at the waist on left. Imagine this worn with a long sweeping skirt, a pencil skirt or cigarette pants with a wide belt – all black or imaginative color combos. This style can easily go elegant or boho/beatnik.

The style is really flattering & dramatic. The neckline is beautiful left alone or showcasing a necklace or long dangling earrings (not both, please).

Another fabulous example of original true vintage elegance, found unexpectedly. You just never know . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTGESPY

BLOG:  MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

IN THE MEANTIME . . . . . .

Couldn’t find any record of having shown these to you before, but I’m not sure.  If you’ve seen them, have patience.  I’ll be getting the most recent treasures photographed very soon.

This is the stash that I found just before leaving for the European adventure – mid-century day-dresses, secretary and pretty styles, plus an early 1960’s Wedding gown!

You just never know . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG:  MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

A DELIGHTFULLY PRETTY LITTLE YELLOW SUNDRESS – TRUE VINTAGE 1950’S

A DELIGHTFULLY PRETTY LITTLE YELLOW SUNDRESS - TRUE VINTAGE 1950'S

This gorgeous little number says summer all over.  It is the brightest yellow, with little embroidered flowers all over the bodice, each with a pearl center.

If that isn’t enough, around the hem are larger flowers, all embroidered in the same bright yellow thread.   fit, as you can see, speaks for itself . . .

The label is long gone, but I am sure that it was commercially-made.  There are too many professional details.  Fully lined, of a really nice woven fabric with a bit of texture – metal zip up the back.

Although this is not a formal dress, it is quite refined and could go into the evening very confidently.  In the heat of the summer, it could go shopping, lunching, to dinner and dancing without missing a beat.

Natalie Wood would have loved it.  “I feel pretty, oh so pretty . . . .”.  Almost as if it found its way from her closet into mine . . . . . . .. . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

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TRUE VINTAGE LATE 1950’S – EARLY 1960’S STILETTO PUMPS

TRUE VINTAGE LATE 1950'S - EARLY 1960'S STILETTO PUMPS

Here’s a pair of shoes that I might wear with the dresses I’ve shown recently.  These needle-toe patent leather pumps are characteristic of late ’50’s to early ’60’s styles. The placement and shape of the heel is also characteristic.

I love the little cut-outs on the vamp.  Many shoes of that era had great details.

One of the things I like best are the company names stamped on the insoles.  The script is usually so interesting.  Although these are cracked inside, the outers are in great shape.

I’ve had new heel caps put on, but otherwise they will last for decades more.  The color is funky but fun, too!

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

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A PRETTY LITTLE TRUE VINTAGE DAY DRESS FROM THE 1950’S – EARLY 1960’S

A PRETTY LITTLE TRUE VINTAGE DAY DRESS FROM THE 1950'S - EARLY 1960'S

I see Sophia Loren wearing this dress and running down a street in Naples, Italy  (in black stilettos) – chasing Marccello Mostriani in their latest film.  Someone custom-tailored this little beauty in a style that falls low on the shoulders if you are petite.

It’s a sunny, breezy style with the 1950’s wasp waist and full skirt, in cotton print material, made for whatever casual activity is on the agenda.  However, like most dresses of the era, a little jewelry and a hat (and, maybe, gloves) made it suitable for a slightly more formal event such as a luncheon date.

I prefer to let fantasy take my imagination away with this one – a bottle of local wine, a loaf of bread, cheese and fruit on a balcony overlooking the Adriatic Sea – with a very good friend . . .. . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

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A CLASSIC SHIRTWAIST DAY DRESS WITH A STORY

A CLASSIC SHIRTWAIST DAY DRESS WITH A STORY

This dress doesn’t shout at you, but it shouted at me and that was why I picked it up.  It is so obviously classic 1960’s and has an interesting label.

I researched the company, Carolina Made, and discovered a small clothing firm in, I believe, South Carolina, USA, which has been selling clothing for decades.  Rather than closing down, as many have done over the years, they have morphed into selling a completely different casual line of t-shirts, shorts and other sportswear that looks like the usual modern styles.

The southeastern U.S. was a clothing manufacturing center for many, many years.  This is where the garments were constructed.  So, this company – regardless of how it has changed – represents that history.

And, this dress also represents the history of classic styles in several ways.  The style has stayed good over several decades, the construction is strong and the colors are basically neutral.  It’s very versatile and useful – the way that we wear jeans today, a dress like this would serve for many activities that an average woman would do in a day in 1964.

The original belt was probably a fabric tie belt – this dress was not even swanky enough to have a buckle belt on it.  It’s a workhorse-type of dress, but with lots of possibilities.

Anyway, that’s the story that it told me and part of the enjoyment I get from hunting for true vintage.  I love stories and you just never know . . . .. . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

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TRUE VINTAGE EARLY – MID 1960’S LOUNGE-WEAR AND HOSTESS GOWNS

TRUE VINTAGE EARLY - MID 1960'S LOUNGE-WEAR AND HOSTESS GOWNS

A change of pace for the weekend – let’s slip into some fabulous-feeling vintage nylon. There’s nothing that feels like it – heavy, smooth, creamy and cool on your skin.  Well, enough of that – this is a vintage fashion blog, not a . . . . . .

These are what the fashionable woman wore at home while relaxing and/or for casual entertaining.  The one on the left is a slip-over design with roses embroidered at the neck. The right-hand style is unique with two fabric layers, a front zipper and long scarf “tails” that can be tied in a bow or crossed in front and thrown over the shoulders.  One is by ShadowLine and the other by a less well-known maker.

Those shoulder “tails” are an interesting feature.  I have a velveteen sheath dress circa about 1960 which has them and also a jacket, which I think comes from the wartime era. Not sure if this style element was something that repeated – I haven’t seen it often.  The color combo on the right has such a characteristic ’60’s look.

When I go sleuthing, or just sorting through my closets, I drift through several decades one after the other.  It’s almost as good as going to the movies . . . . . . . . . . . .

MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY

BLOG:  MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM

BOOK:  HOW TO FIND THE BEST IN VINTAGE FASHION – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM