1930s Sping Fashions

Today I was looking for recipes in my old magazines when I found these pages of spring fashions from Woman's Home Companion March 1939.

simple day dresses get a fresh look with a fun pattern, bright colors and adorable trimmings down the bodice

This genius dress starts with a plain neutral a-line type. It becomes 4 totally different looks simply by buttoning on different vestees or epaulets. If only our modern wardrobe pieces could be so versatile!

The darling jumper dress can be worn with a blouse underneath or sewn in linen with no under blouse for sports. Number 8306 has a yoke in eyelet embroidery and hangs loose below the yoke until it is cinched with a belt

Free Printable Stickers for your Blog Planner

Last week, one of my sweet readers sent me a big pack of sticker paper so I can make my own DIY planner stickers. I'm a bit of a planner addict and have bought two MAMBI Happy Planners, which I absolutely adore. One is for blogging and the other is to track my food and exercise progress to keep me on track. I bought two sticker sets made for the Happy Planner but I really wanted some especially for blogging. I looked all over the internet for blog planner stickers but none of them had just what I needed so I designed my own!

Here are 5 free pages of DIY blog planner stickers for you to print and cut out at home. One of these paper slicers really helps when cutting out big sheets of stickers.

 I put these stickers in my monthly and weekly planner pages to help me:

• plan what blog posts will be published on certain days
• schedule my social media posts for the week
• track renewals for my domain names, Picmonkey membership, etc.
• keep track of monthly stats and growth
• decorate my planner with pretty things, because pretty tools make my use them more! 

download for free through Dropbox

*these files are for personal use only, not for resale. Stickers illustrated and designed by me*

Knitting Progress and Random Discoveries

This Saturday, I woke up with all of the motivation and great intentions in the world. Then, while washing dishes around 9am, got this sudden feeling of getting hit by a truck. Some horrible cold/flu/plague like illness struck me down, along with Olivia and I've been stuck in bed ever since.

On the up side, I picked up a knitting project that I started back in September and decided I should probably finish it. I posted this 1950s bulky cardigan pattern ages ago. Mine is in the prettiest chunky emerald yarn. I attempted to change the pattern a little bit but since basic math is not in my skill set, I failed miserably and had to take out several inches of knitting.

This time, I decided I had better stick to the pattern and I'm having much better luck with it. I did notice that the original has a typo, however, so if you downloaded the pattern, please check the edits on the post!

While knitting and curled up with my phone over the weekend, I found some nifty things to share:


If you love history and fashion (which, obviously, you do!) check out the Hidden Killers documentary series, which you can find on You Tube. The Victorian episode had some particularly interesting facts about cosmetics and beauty devices used in the period, which made me happy to be a modern girl! How about a Victorian corset exercise?

  

I found a new Instagram editing app today that I really love. It's called PicLab and has some super cute fonts and overlays. There's a free version but I unlocked all of the extras for $1.99. Well worth it for a cute font addict.

Peaches...wine....slushies. As soon as my sore throat is gone, that's going in my blender!  Get the recipe from Dessert for Two

New Hair Color

St Louis has finally had a break in the nasty winter weather and the sun came out for a 70 degree afternoon. It was too beautiful to stay inside so Pj, Rhys and I went on a walk to the river to enjoy the warmth before its gone again.

I colored my hair last night. I love the first day of a fresh red. I pin curled it and it looked pretty fantastic this morning but the wind had its way with my curls and they were soon all over the place. I used Clairol Flare 6RR  mixed with 1/4 tube of Ion Color Brilliance Neon Brights in Blood Orange.

My color fades pretty quickly so I put the remaining Ion color in a bottle of conditioner to refresh the color every time I wash it. I've never done that before but I read that it helps with vibrant colors like orange and red so we'll see how it works! I rinsed last night in cool water, which was not my favorite thing to do but I read that cool water helps color last longer than hot. So, I guess I'll need to pick up a shower cap to protect it while the water is hot. I've been wanting to try Overtone color, which is supposed to be great for keeping vibrant colors for a long time. Have you ever tried it?

Today's outfit was made up this morning, using things I had and never wore. The cardigan was 3 sizes too big, too long and had a rounded neckline. I shortened it, took in the sides and used my tutorial for how to make a sweetheart neckline. The navy skirt was originally a 70s dress that I wore once and really didn't like. The fabric is kind of stiff and the bodice of the dress had a weird collar with unflattering sleeves in stiff material and piping that was reminiscent of a maids uniform or something. Anyway, I chopped the skirt right off and added a waistband from the extra fabric and now I think it'll be one of my favorite staples!

Outfit

Cardigan- refashioned by me

skirt- refashioned by me

brooch- found at an antique shop, I think

jacket- gift from a reader

shoes- Madden Girl

Giveaway: $50 to Dreem Co Vintage

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend and staying warm! It's snowing in St Louis today and all I can think about is sewing paper thin dresses and gingham skirts for spring, busting out my favorite peep toe shoes and leaving home without a coat! I'll be here before we know it so while we're day dreaming, get a jump start on your warm weather wardrobe with a lovely $50 gift card giveaway from Dreem Co. Vintage!

Dreem Co. is curated by fashion historian, Samantha Canales in sunny Califonia. She selects the most fabulous vintage pieces from the 1920s-1950s, all restored and expertly styled in her exquisite shop. Samantha says,

 "Dreem Co. not only honors the makers and period specific styles of the vintage pieces it features by spending hours of research on fashion plates, catalogues, advertisements and visits to textile museums and more, in order to flesh out the history, but often I will dreem up an ensemble, sketch it and then seek out each piece until it's complete."

Visit Dreem Co. for a beautiful walk through fashion's past and also check out her sister shop, Looky Loo Optics, specializing in vintage eye wear.

DREEM CO.

DREEM CO. SHOP   |   TWITTER   |   FACEBOOK   |   LOOKY LOO OPTICS

Today Samantha is giving away $50 store credit to Dreem Co. to one lucky Va-Voom Vintage reader. The giveaway is open worldwide and the winner will be announced here on Sunday, Feb 21st

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Down with Love

With Valentine's day around the corner, I've been watching some of my favorite romantic comedies, both vintage and modern. One that fits the bill for both is Down with Love, one of my favorite movies ever! Set in the 60s and shot in 60s style, Down with Love is a great inspiration for fashion, hair and decor. See more in my post, Fashion and Film Friday: Down with Love

Scenes from my home

It's a very dreary Tuesday, rainy and cloudy here in St Louis. I had hoped to share a quick hair tutorial today but the lighting isn't fabulous so instead I'll tidy up, do laundry and crochet this afternoon. While cleaning messes, I realized that there's so many little pretty things in my home that I haven't shared here so here are some scenes from my home, just little nooks and snaps of my typical morning. In the spirit of authenticity, just out of frame in all of these pictures, some disaster is happening, be it dirty dishes, craft clutter, me stepping on a Lego while taking a picture or kicking a pile of laundry to the side. No one's world is picture perfect but we can all find little beautiful moments in the chaos.

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