NorthStar Vintage

I am always happy to see one of my items featured in an Etsy treasury, but I thought this Treasury  was extra good.  Alex, at the Skyejuice Blog, creates a weekly Treasury based on a word suggested by one of her readers.

This week’s word:  Disco.

Please click on my Ruffled Knickers Jumpsuit (the featured item) to see the entire gorgeous treasury.  And thank you!

Amongst many other things, I am a geek for research.  It’s one of the thousand reasons I love dealing with vintage clothes.  Every piece is a mystery, but each offers clues:  tailoring techniques, fabric, colorway, and style details. Labels are, of course, the best way to get information on a piece – many older dresses had a label for the designer, a label for the store where it was sold, and another ILGWU label, all of which can help determine its age.  (For more information about vintage labels, please check out The Vintage Fashion Guild’s Label Resource [and yes, I am a proud member]).

So I was thrilled to find an alteration receipt in a box of wedding pieces, which gave me even more information than juts the approximate age of the piece.,

Using the address on the box, and Google Maps I was able to see the home of the bride (most likely her parents’ home) in a beautiful New Jersey suburb with lots of lawns and trees.  One of my fellow VFG members, a research ninja, kindly sent me a census form for that street, showing that the bride’s family was from Scotland, that there were two girls and a boy, an Austrian live-in maid, and that her father was foreman.

By the style of Daniel Green slippers my fellow VFG members were able to date the ensemble to the year 1939, so I figured that it was most likely the youngest daughter (who would have been 23) who wore these pieces for her wedding. (Thank you Ang from Dorothea’s Closet and Jonathan Walford of Kickshaw Productions and author of The Seductive Shoe).

Sadly, I cannot find any more information about her, or her family.  So while this knowledge is lovely, the fact that they ended up in my studio in Maine is a little bit sad.  Still, I find solace in knowing that  these pieces will end up being loved and, with any luck, used again.

Seed Pearl Juliet Cap with huge tulle veils

Daniel Green Cream Satin Slippers

Featured in my new favorite blog post ever!  Plus these shots are from Laconia, New Hampshire – a short, and pretty ride from Portland, Maine.

This blog features about so many of the things I adore (vintage t-shirts, vintage athletic gear, crazy vintage ads….):  Bulldogvintage.com

There have been a few technical issues here at NorthStar Vintage Corporate Headquarters, both bad and good.  The bad was a glitch in the WordPress update which made it impossible to post or edit this blog.  The  good is a new iMac computer, complete with a 24″ screen.  I’m retraining myself to not keep my eyes 4 inches from the screen, as was necessary with my little laptop.  I’m actually looking forward to doing some Photoshop work.

In the meantime I’ve been listing a bunch of killer 1950’s party dresses, most from Anne Fogary, with with one from Suzy Perette.

50's Silk Shantung Suzy Perette Dress Set

50's Cream Silk Anne Fogarty Party Dress

50's Anne Forgary Silver and White Party Dress

On sale now at NorthStar Vintage on eBay.

Vintage 50's Black Wiggle Dress with Faille Trim

1940's Black Slubbed Shirtwaist Dress

1950's Hourglass Party Dress w/Velvet & Lace

Vintage 50's Black Houglass Designer Dress

Vintage 50's Black Party Dress w/Taffeta Swag

Vintage 50's Shimmery Black Hourglass Dress