1922 Fashions

Hello everyone. I feel like I've been away from this blog for months, although I suppose it has only been a few weeks. Since my last post I've finished my exams, moved back home (for the summer), written a 20 page report for one of my courses, and tomorrow I start two summer courses (so that I can graduate a bit earlier). So in short, I've been very busy.

And the busyness is just going to continue I'm afraid. My family is in the process of buying a piece of property, so between that and school I may not have much time for blogging (for a little while anyways). As I have a moment to spare this morning, I thought I would share some fashions from 1922. These are all from Photoplay magazines from that year. Enjoy!

That's All.

Windy Day

Hello everyone! I am finally done exams!!! Technically I still have a 20 page report to write, but I thought I would take a little break and write a blog post.

I'm moving back home in 2 days, so my friend and I went out for one last latte. It was windy so I wore a headscarf to try and protect my hair (which was curled and pinned up). My friend thought I looked like a grandmother and was embarrassed to be seen with me. I couldn't understand it. Grandmas are awesome!

We took a few photos by the historical train/train station.

Outfit Details:

Blouse: Made by me from a 1940's pattern

Trousers: DangerousGarbs  

Scarf: Gift

Sunglasses: Icings

 We tried a different place for coffee. It was alright, but not amazing. They did however make a heart on my latte.

 And by this point, my "friend" had decided he couldn't stand the scarf anymore and ripped it off my head. Which of course resulted with my hair being ruined. Luckily it somehow managed to retain some of its curl.

One last thing, before I get back to packing/report writing, I've posted two more Youtube videos. So here you go!



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Antique Shopping in St Jacobs

Just a quick post today, as I am in the middle of exams. Sorry if the writing is not the best, but my brain is fried.
On Tuesday, I went to St. Jacobs for what will likely be my last antique shopping trip before I move. I woke up very early, and hopped on the bus. I decided to start the day with a stroll along the Mill Race trail, and had a quiet picnic brunch. It wasn't much of a picnic but it was quite lovely.

Leftover falafel and a latte. Yummy!

Then I got back on the bus to go to the antique mall. There weren't many people there at that time of the day which made wandering around quite pleasant. I'm trying to save money, so I didn't buy much. However I couldn't leave behind this 1950's/60's wool dress. It's a dark chocolate brown and 100% wool (with a lining). I only have one winter dress so this was very much needed.

Not sure why the colour looks so weird in this picture.
It's actually a dark, dark brown.

My only other purchase of the day was this silk scarf. It's not in the best condition, but it's 100% silk and from the 1953 Coronation. Normally I'm not a big fan of this type of thing, but it was just too cute to leave behind.

One last thing, dear readers. As many of you know, I have started another blog about small business (with some millinery stuff thrown in there). I have been planning to write a post (after exams of course) about why small business is important. I strongly believe in the importance of small business and would love to share my thoughts on the matter. However, what I want to know is why YOU value small business. If you could leave me a comment, or better yet send me an email at purlsofthepast@live.ca, I would to love include everyone's views in a post. I will of course give credit to your answers and link back to your blog or store if you wish.

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Southworks Antiques

How is it that I've lived an hour bus ride away from Canada's largest antique mall for 4 years and not known about it?! I just keep telling myself that if I had known about it I would be broke by now, so perhaps it is all for the best.

Southworks Antiques is over 30,000 square feet of antiques and collectibles, and located in the beautiful city of Galt. Actually it's in the Galt region of the city of Cambridge, I think. I'm not quite sure how that all works... Anyways, like I was saying it's really big. I still haven't quite made my mind up if it is almost too big. My normal antique store is Market Road Antiques in St. Jacobs. While I enjoyed Southworks, I think I still prefer Market Road Antiques. Southworks seemed more crowded and difficult to shop. They were however fairly priced and there were many, many things I would have loved to take home with me. In the end, I settled on four items: a pair of galoshes, a magazine, a nightgown, and a hoop skirt.

I have been looking for a white antique nightgown for a while, so I was very happy when I found this darling. The nightgown was labeled as circa 1920, although I think it may be slightly earlier than that. I styled it as a dress and wore it to class today.

My friend told me I looked a bit like a crazy person wearing a nightgown so I played around with it a bit when I got home. I've discovered it looks a lot less like a nightgown when worn as a top with my Victorian styled skirt.      

The galoshes were my silly purchase of the day. I love the idea of galoshes and these were in excellent condition. The galoshes are Gaytee's, and I think they are from the 1940's. The best part of buying the galoshes is getting to say the word galoshes. Hehehe... it is such a fun word to say! Galoshes, galoshes...

I bought another magazine to add to my growing collection. It's a Photoplay from 1939. The magazine is filled with lots of interesting articles, but despite the giant picture of Shirley Temple on the cover there is nothing about her in the entire magazine! Oh well, I'm not actually a big Shirley Temple fan. She kind of creeps me out a bit haha.

And now for a picture of me in my underwear. What wait?! Don't worry, nothing very scandalous going on. I just couldn't figure out how to photograph my new hoop skirt so I decided to model it for a few quick snaps. I was in the market for a new petticoat for a certain dress and couldn't find one in my budget. Luckily this baby was cheap and will work perfectly!

Ok, this last one wasn't from the antique store. It was bought from the children's toy store nearby. Is it not the most badass kite you have ever seen?! I have plans to take it flying tomorrow. :D

The Dread Pirate Tabby!

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New Blog!

Just a quick update to let everyone know I've started a new blog. I have wanted to write about small business things for a while. As many of you know, I run a small Etsy shop and hope to open an actual store after I finish my current degree (and also get a degree of some sort in business). My new blog is where I will be posting about my own business adventures and also about things I have learned along the way. Don't worry, I won't be neglecting this blog. I just didn't want to bore all of you by talking about this sort of stuff too much on here. This way those of you who are interested in small business things can follow my other blog as well, and everyone else can stay here for the my normal content. (I will also be posting vintage-millinery related things on there, so those hat lovers out there might be interested in that.) My new blog can be found here.

Summer Weather

Although I haven't gotten out recently, with the exception of meeting with fellow students to work on assignments, the weather has been much too warm to not dress up. It seems to be getting closer to seasonal now, but just a few days ago it was quite honestly as warm as summer. They actually had to turn on the air conditioning in parts of campus! I should add only two weeks ago there was still snow on the ground! I hadn't planned on wearing my summer dresses for a while, but with the weather so freaky, I got a chance to wear one of my favourite dresses. It's 1950's and was a birthday gift from my mother. 

My friend was nice enough to take these photos for me (actually I bribed him with copies of class notes he missed). Of course he got a little fed up as I kept making him stand in different spots so I could find a good spot for outfit photos. He felt a little akward that everyone kept staring at us, but oh well. Taking photos with someone is so much easier than with a tripod!! 

And now I need to get back to this:

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Sweater Inspiration

The weather has been freakishly warm the last few days. I love spring weather, but it's been more like summer around here. I don't have many lighter clothes with me so I'm running out of things to wear! It makes me sad to not be able to wear my sweaters at the moment. I LOVE sweaters. They are easy to wear and super comfy. I keep hoping the weather will get cooler again. Until then, here is some 1940's sweater inspiration from one of my knitting booklets.

I did cheat a bit and wear a short sleeved sweater today. It was more of an excuse to have something to pin my newest brooch to, as it was far to warm to wear it. This is the pin I won in a giveaway from Subversive Femme. Isn't it cute? I just quickly snapped these photos so you can't really make of the details, but it's my new favourite brooch. 

Please ignore the one mismatched button. The dress is vintage and this was done by a previous owner.

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Casual Friday and Another New Pattern!

It was quite warm outside today. We seemed to have skipped spring and gone from winter directly into summer! Despite the warm weather I ended up wearing a wool sweater today. I have found myself completely in love with the Lord Peter Wimsey mystery I picked up at a used bookstore. I have never read one before but so far it's great! It makes a nice change from the Agatha Christie's I normally read, although I will admit they do have many similarities. I suppose that's why I like it. Keeping with the 1930's theme, I decided to dress in a very casual 1930's inspired style to go hiking today. I suppose it was more of a stroll than a hike... I realize this isn't the most flattering outfit, but it was extremely comfy and I was told I looked fancy several times today  so it couldn't have been that bad.

 Outfit Details:

Wool Sweater: I've worn this is few times before on here, but it's my favourite sweater. It's vintage and belonged to my dad until I stole it :D

Skirt: This was a large floor length skirt that my mom didn't want anymore. I took it in quite a bit at the sides and now it's a 1930's inspired high-waisted pencil skirt!

Riding Boots: Ariat 

Faux Pearl Necklace: Vintage

Book: Have His Carcase, a Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery - by Dorothy L. Sayers

I thought I would also mention that I have another new pattern in my Etsy shop (and soon it will also be in my Ravelry shop as well!). My tester finished faster than expected so I decided I might as well release it now. This one is a knitting pattern, and I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I based it loosely off of a 1940's design, and it is similar to a pillbox hat. It features a heart shaped top, and is definitely slightly whimsical and romantic. Introducing the Let's Fall In Love pattern:

 That's All.