Saving lives and making sweet shoes since the 1880's

Thank you again for all of your lovely comments on my last post, I was smitten by all of the sweet and thoughtful responses. Also I just wanted to point out I have yet to make anything out of those paticular patterns but do not worry, now that I have my handy sewing book to reference I will be diving in to more difficult patterns very soon.

I stumbled upon these beauts via one of my favorite blogs Letters from the Home Front, its so fascinating to own a piece of history, especially from an organization dedicated to saving lives since 1881 like the Red Cross.

1940's Velvet Red Cross Peep Toes $58 Adelinesattic

1940's White Satin Red Cross Peep Toes $38 tigerluxe

1940's Red Cross First Aid Text-Book, 1st Edition $9 TheFancyLamb

WWI Red Cross Pin $4 PassingItOn

Inglorious Basterds

Quentin Tarantino's movies are not for faint of heart, he directed movies like Death Proof, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs and the screen play for From Dusk Till Dawn. I have a place in my heart for any movie that he puts his odd hands on he has a dark gory sense of humor and knows how to make any plot even more interesting then one expected. Most movies set around WWII I enjoy but I have a feeling this one is going to be really good, it might just be that Brad Pitts in it. The plot as described by imbd, "During World War II a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers." Inglorious Basterds is scheduled to be released August 21.....and I cant wait to drool over the costumes and Brad Pitt. I highly recommend watching the trailer.

Snoods of the 1950s

Though snoods have been around since the Middle Ages, it wasn't until WWII especially in England that they once again became an adorable and handy wardrobe necessity. Perfect for keeping hair out of ones face while working, or keeping curls perfect before a night out on the town. Snoods are so simple and easy to put on, yet there are so many different variations, patterns and endless materials they can be made from. Snoods are a definite must have in ones array of hair goodies you can adorn them with bows, vintage hats, even brooches and of course they look killer with flowers.

One of the most popular style of snoods would be a crocheted snood, just like the one worn to the left. I just adore the bow adorably completing the look and fascinating her snood to the top of her head. Snoods in the 40s and 50s were commonly made of cotton yarn but they can be made from pretty much any material you can knit or crochet. I have also seen very delicate snoods made out of precious veil material. Snoods can also be made of cotton or pretty much any type of fabric, I prefer the knitted or crocheted snoods though. I just recently picked up a snood for about 3 dollars (including shipping) on ebay, though it is not made out of cotton yarn like the snoods worn in the 1940s and 1950s its made out of a nylon material but it is still adorable and does a great job at keeping my curls in place.

Here is a great link from the UK to knit a traditional 1940s Snood. I am sorry the link did not work before now it will work!


The best part about this pattern other then the fact that it is stunning, is that its from Madame Weigels Journal of Fashion, September 1, 1944. I just learn to knit recently and currently only own small needles, once I buy the right size needles I am going to start on this bad boy. Please enjoy!

My footprint

As I drove to work this morning I thought about the recession we are in and how similar this situation, is to the economy at the beginning and during WWII. I always hear these public announcements on the radio about the drought and how water usage could soon be mandated and fines given out for using to much water (this is only in southern California that I know of). This sounds eerily similar to the beginning of World War II when rationing systems were put in place in the United States. The first item to be rationed in January 1942 was tires, because supplies of natural rubber were interrupted because of the war. Soon after, passenger automobiles, typewriters, sugar, gasoline, bicycles, footwear, fuel oil, coffee, stoves, meat, lard, shortening and oils, cheese, butter, margarine, processed foods (canned, bottled and frozen), dried fruits, canned milk, firewood and coal, jams, jellies and fruit butter, were rationed by November 1943.
It was required to get classified, and a book of rationing stamps was given, this was done by appearing before a local rationing board. Each person in a household received a ration book, including babies and small children. Imagine today if we were rationed on things like fuel and shoes. I know I would sure have to change some habits, I am the first person to admit it I have and addiction to heels.

What in the world would I do if once again pleasure driving was prohibited, and all road trips would be thing of the past. Its so interesting how times have changed, certain supplies and materials so limited today that we are even running out of water in some areas, any we can not run on fossil fuels forever. Putting limits on are intake of goods is that something we need now? (to the left I added a picture of some soldiers in fatigue during WWII) With the war going on and are debt rising, should we learn to make use of are resources better and live like we were back in the 1950s.
Back then when a family ran out of their coupons they could not buy rationed goods till the next month, victory gardens were encouraged. (here is a great advert for victory gardens from the 1940s) These gardens provided fresh healthy fruit and vegetables, cut down on food bills, as well as saving on gas by not having to drive to the market. Now to me that sounds wonderful, if only I could start a garden of my own immediately I would. Plus its an excuse for me to take out one of my old patterns from the 1950s I have collected and make my self an outfit to garden in that is easily washed and comfy for the backyard. Sadly at the moment my boyfriend and I rent a room and are not moving into are own house until july of this summer. I think I will wait until we are settled to start my new garden (don't want to shock my little plant friends).
I have always thought of my self as old fashion but now more then ever I am striving to live simpler, live like a young couple would have in the 1950s. Make those easy changes to name a few cooking more often, not using paper towels but instead cloth towels, and also making my own clothing, to improve my human foot print on this world and keep myself sane. Forgetting about what the media wants me to dress like or how they think I should do my hair but I believe it is important to bypass all the trends and live a much simpler life. When I say simpler I mean cooking at least 5 nights a week and never putting a TV dinner in the microwave but chopping the onions and carrots yourself. Once I get home from work tonite I will cook a nice meal for my boyfriend and also start working on a new outfit made with a pattern from the 1950s. The cost of buying clothing is way more then making it yourself plus the fit is perfect, a well fitting outfit always flatters any size or height.

Theres no pinup like a Vargas girl

The word Pinup became synonymous in during the roaring 1920s and was introduced to the English language in 1941 however the practice is dated and documented all the way back to at least the 1890s. Aside from the traditional drawn pin up, many pinups were photographs of actresses and models. Including one of the most popular early pin-up girls was Betty Grable, her poster hung from many lockers of G.I.s during World War II.

Alberto Vargas

Alberto began his career in the United States as the official painter for the Ziegfeld Follies from 1919 to 1934. Shortly after Alberto moved to Hollywood where he was employed as an artist by various movie studios. Then in 1940 he replaced pinup artist George Petty at Esquire magazine. From 1940 until 1947, his flawless watercolor and airbrushed Vargas Girls adorned air crafts, ships, and even uniform jackets of the US servicemen during the World War II era.

From 1940 to 1946, while working for Esquire, Vargas would prepare a total of four preliminary drawings for each of his paintings. The first three were drawn on fine tissue paper, the fourth on a heavy vellum parchment paper. Each tissue showed increasing detail from one state to the next finally the parchment state showed the most detail because of the paper's colour and texture, was almost identical to the final painting. These were often drawn with the model nude, then Vargas added the clothing to the final painting for publication. In the late 1950s the “Vargas Girls” debuted in the pages of Playboy magazine as a monthly feature. While working for Playboy, Vargas did one tissue and occasionally a few parchment studies for each of his published paintings. Both the “Vargas” and the “Vargas” girls are included among the most recognizable cultural icons of the 20th century. (Pictured to the right Vargas works on one of his iconic images in his studio)

The gorgeous girls that Alberto Vargas created with his bear hands will always be my biggest inspiration. When it comes to sassy outfits, immaculate hair, great props, flawless makeup, the most adorable face expressions and the best poses, Vargas pinups win hands down.