Amateur Dresses

The 1930s, when dresses like these were made by amateurs.

Source: The Progressive Farmer, March 1935.

French Do's

Source: Woman's Home Companion, September 1911

can your spanx do this?

Source: The Home Arts Magazine, 1934

a very vintage valentine

I have always loved old paper. As a child in the 80s I would buy Teaberry gum and save the wrappers because they looked 'old'. (I still love Teaberry gum but I do throw the wrappers away now). I've been collecting vintage ephemera for a long time, and vintage valentines are some of my favorite items. I have a few ornate Victorian ones with scalloped edges and beautiful artwork. But my absolute favorites are the little classroom valentines of the 30s, 40s, and 50s. They are just so cute and cheerful. These are just a few from my collection. Happy Valentines Day! :)

 

spring fashions 1949

The gray days of winter have me looking forward to spring and lighter/brighter clothing. I scanned these from a 1949 insert of the pattern department of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The green ensemble with matching beret in the first picture has my name all over it. I love the color combination. While the 30s is my absolute favorite era, there are so many things I love about the designs of this time period too. So pretty!



palmolive ad - 1938

Source: Woman's World, July 1938

Wouldn't you love to know where this dress is today?

Source: Popular Science, November 1937

clothes for the places you go - 1966

I ran across this chart while sorting through my vintage sewing ephemera. It's from a 4-H club in 1966 and tells young girls what type of clothing to wear to different places. I love the distinction between shopping in a small town and shopping in a large town. On the back was this poster on how to look your best every day:

Source: North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service, August 1966

too skinny

It seems that with each new year come new diet products. We're bombarded with promises of a "new you" and hundreds of ways to get your bod ready for the beach just in time for summer. When was the last time you saw an ad like this?

This ad promises not only "solid, naturally attractive flesh" but along with that "new charm and a new winning personality." All in six weeks.

Happy new year! :)

Source: Woman's World, June 1937

1930s quilt project

I recently finished my second quilting effort. When I learned from my grandmother a few years ago, I chose a standard nine patch for my starter quilt. For this one, I chose a 1930s pattern from the Kansas City Star series called 'Weathervane.' I used 1930s feedsack reproduction fabrics in various shades of pink. I'm so glad to get it finished and really like how it turned out:

Depression era quilts are particularly interesting to me because the women who created them had so little to work with. An excellent video on 1930s quilts can be found here. It's filled with pictures and stories- including information on the scandalous 1933 Chicago World's Fair quilt competition!

fels naptha ad - 1938

Source: The American Home, September 1938

Homesewn 1920s Gift Ideas

The Winter 1927 issue of McCall's Quarterly suggests sewing these beautiful underthings for your holiday gift giving. There are a variety of items to choose from, including pajamas, chemises, slips, and kimonos. I am a novice seamstress at best, but I can see that several of these would be simple to sew. The most time consuming part would be the intricate embroidery detail that most of them have. So pretty! Can you imagine receiving that peacock kimono for Christmas?

Source: McCall Quarterly, Winter 1927/1928

Holiday Dresses - 1933

I came across this ad for Christmas dress patterns in a 1933 craft magazine. The 30s has always been my favorite decade in terms of style. I love the long, bias cut dresses. Of these, I think I like the black and white one the best. It would be gorgeous in black velvet with white satin at the top.  So Myrna Loy!

Source: The Home Arts Magazine, December 1933

fruitcake love

I like fruitcake. I really do. Fruitcake gets a bad rap, mostly, I think,  because a lot of people don't make it correctly. Last Christmas my cousin gave me a binder filled with copies of old handwritten recipes that were our grandma's and her mother's (my aunt).  They were both wonderful cooks. I was so excited to find a fruitcake recipe in there and couldn't wait for the holidays to come so I could try it out. It did not disappoint and I was really pleased with how it turned out:

I made a few alterations to the recipe. The original called for 1 pound of butter (!) and I just couldn't bring myself to use that much. So, I cut the amount in half and substituted with applesauce. Here is the recipe:

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 cup applesauce

6 eggs (separated)

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup oil

4 cups flour

1 cup orange juice

1/2 lb. orange peel

1 cup candied cherries

1 lb. pecans

1 lb. white raisins

1/2 cup coconut

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream sugar, butter, applesauce, egg yolks, orange juice, and vanilla. Then add fruit, nuts, and coconut. Next add flour, soda, and nutmeg. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold in. Bake at 250 degrees for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

This is a huge cake. I used my angel food cake pan and still had batter enough to fill 12 muffin cups.

happy thanksgiving

Here is some footage from a Macy's parade in the 1930s. Such interesting balloons-I wish I could see them in color. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

1930s beauty tips

These tips are from a 1939 booklet I have from Linit laundry starch. It has several pages of other uses for the starch besides laundry. The manufacturers suggest using it in facial masks as well as bathing in it. In this booklet, they offer other helpful beauty advice, such as slapping yourself to avoid a double chin:

Many of these are actually good tips, such as drinking plenty of water and using lemon juice as a bleaching agent. I'm not sure how effective those ankle exercises would be though. :)

new shop, new look

 Hello all- I've been a busy bee working on a new Etsy shop which I started last week. I've been changing the look of  things around here as well. I'll still be posting vintage recipes and ads, as well as shop updates and other vintage finds. In the meantime, here is a random ad I found in a 1933 magazine for Crayola Crayons. Notice it's marketed to women for use in craft projects like lamp shades and curtains!

 

Anyone ever tried any of these craft projects? :)

Listerine Ad - 1933

Source: Needlecraft The Home Arts Magazine, September 1933

Peach Puffs - 1926

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 can sliced peaches

Drain syrup from peaches and reserve. Place a layer of peaches in the bottom of well buttered individual baking dishes or muffin tins. Mix remaining ingredients to make a batter. Cover peaches with batter and bake in a moderate (350) oven for about 25 minutes. Turn out the puddings so that the peaches are on top. Serve with Hot Peach Sauce and hard sauce.

Peach Sauce
1/4 cup sugar
few grains of salt
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 cup water
syrup from drained peaches
2 teaspoons butter
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
few grains of nutmeg

Mix sugar, salt, cornstarch, water and peach juice in a saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick and clear. Remove from fire and add 2 teaspoons butter, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, and a few grains of nutmeg.

Source: The Del Monte Fruit Book, copyright 1926, California Packing Corporation

LUX Soap Ad - 1933

Source: Needlecraft: The Home Arts Magazine, February 1933