I was reorganizing a few book shelves today when I got distracted and started flipping through some of my old books and magazines. I spotted some of these fabulous 1950s pin curl sets. Although many of these old styles require a special cut (and epic skills) to get it just right, they're great for inspiration and learning old school styling techniques. Click each image for a larger view.

                  

               

                                                                          

                      

 See the rest of my vintage hair scans and tutorials on my Vintage Beauty Tutorials Page

I've had some questions lately about where to find reasonably priced vintage maternity clothes. When I was pregnant with Rhys, I wasn't sure how I'd wear vintage with a growing belly but it worked out surprisingly well. The key to saving was, I didn't have to buy a lot of things that I wouldn't wear again once the baby was born. I built my regular vintage wardrobe instead of stocking up on specialty maternity clothes. Shop at thrift stores for things you won't wear much after the baby comes like maternity pants and save your money for things you'll wear all the time (or for the new baby)!  Here's some thrifty tips and ideas of what to buy for your bump that you can wear long after baby comes.

Vintage maternity clothing is cute in theory but vintage skirts and pants often entailed a big hole that the belly stuck through with an unflattering tent-like top to hide the belly and the rest of the expectant mother's body. When I was pregnant with my two, I was thankful that today's maternity clothes are as comfortable and flattering as they are! If you want to try a 1950s style maternity top, you can sew your own pleated tunic from a men's top or over sized ladies top. Button it up all the way, add a peter pan collar and pair it with a stretchy pencil skirt. Get my tutorial for a super fast stretch maternity pencil skirt.

Cardigans
You can't have too many cardigans when you're a mother-to-be. The stretch accommodates a growing belly and chest and anything that buttons up the front is good if you plan on nursing. Let's also face the fact that babies spit up, spill things and drool at the most inconvenient times so if you have a cardigan handy, you can cover it up until you can get a change of clothes. I always kept a cardigan handy towards the end of the pregnancy too, in case of leaky milk problems. Cardigans and jackets are something I wear all the time. They're cute with a little pin up dress or capri pants and they pull an outfit together for work or school.

a simple dress with an elastic waist band and a red cardigan

1. Starburst cropped cardigan

2.  Dream of the crop cardigan (comes in 6 colors)

3. floral keyhole cardigan



 Full Skirts
 I wore loads of pleated or full skirts when I was pregnant with my little ones. Just pull the waist band up over your belly and the fullness of the fabric leaves plenty of room for your bump. Order a size up and you could move the button as your belly grows for a more adjustable waist band.  I never wore maternity blouses. Instead, I paired my skirts with my usual vintage tops, as long as they made room for my chest. Knit tops are a good way to go also.  If you sew, you can whip up a quick pleated skirt in an afternoon with a few yards of fabric and basic sewing skills. Check out this tutorial from Flashback Summer.



1.Hell Bunny green skirt

2. Navy high waist swing skirt

3.Pin Up Girl Clothing Jenny Skirts


Look for dresses with an elastic waist band, pleated skirt, flowing fabric with a little stretch, zip, wrap or button front. These are some of my dresses that I wore when I was pregnant. The top left was sewn using a 1940s robe pattern, I just shortened it and wore it as a wrap dress. The only actual vintage maternity dress is on the bottom right, a gift from my best friend.  Check thrift stores, ebay and etsy for vintage dresses. For larger sizes and fabrics with a little give, look at early-mid 60s styles with a full skirt. I love nylon 60s dresses, especially the Shelton Stroller label, which often zips up the front. For a great selection of swing dresses and fit and flare dresses, check out Unique Vintage. They always have sales too so make sure to sign up for the email newsletter. When you're looking for a dress to hike up over your belly, make sure it's long enough to your liking or if it's a little short for your comfort, try some capri-length maternity leggings in cute colors.



1. Peach High Society swing dress

2. 1940s grey plaid swing dress

3. Hell Bunny burgundy crepe 1950s dress



 Pair stretch capri pants with a cardigan, tee or tunic with cute little flats and a hair scarf for an adorable modern pin up look. If you're in a larger size now than you usually are, don't buy new pants, check out the thrift stores. Some of my favorite capris are cheap ones from Dollar General or Walmart or $10 or less per pair. I like them so much, I buy a few new pairs every 6 months or so.Since you can find simple stretch pants everywhere, I thought I'd share some shops that sell adorable retro tee shirts.

Favorite Pants and Tees



1. Atomic Swag

2. Clumsy Kate

3. Mischief Made


See more of my vintage maternity outfits here and if you'll be nursing, check out "Vintage Style for Nursing Mamas"  This post contains links to my affiliates. Thank you for supporting them and Va-Voom Vintage! 

I'm a sucker for vintage booklets on fashion, beauty, etiquette and anything strange. I have several on periods in the 1940s, which I will absolutely be sharing here too because they're just too weird to not!

Today I thought you'd all get a kick out of this 1941 Charm Chart booklet, which was supposed to go along with a home economics course book called "Clothes with Character" by Hazel Thompson Craig and Ola Day Rush. You can read Clothes with Character for free on the Hathi Trust Digital Library, just click the "full view" button at the bottom of the entry. The book is available for download as a PDF as well.





This booklet has a lot of fun little illustrations, guides to seeing which colors suit you, a chart detailing what clothes you have in your closet, how to arrange your hair to conceal problem areas and things that were great concern to ladies back then. From what I gather by the pencil marks, this book belonged to a curly haired girl named Loretta who enjoyed cooking, dancing, movies, reading and described herself with Coquette personality type. I've digitally removed Loretta's marks so you can do an at-home study of this fashion course and make your own marks in the Charm Chart.

                                   Download The 21 page 1941 Charm Chart for free from Dropbox

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