Another year has come to a close and with that comes a review of what were those very special things that found their way into my collection. To be clear: My collection isn’t the biggest, deepest, most valuable or even most interesting- it’s simply things that amuse me.
All in all it was an off year for collecting. Whereas last year I felt I found many things- it was only in review this year that i realized I did find things but not in my typical ways. I found almost no remarkable corsets this year (my favorite) and very little trim (even in France). Etsy made some major changes to their platform and ever since- I’ve had very little luck in finding things there. Perhaps the sales have gone elsewhere- it is the nature of this for objects to ebb and flow and so I don’t worry about it. As my collection matures- I’m also noticing a shift in what interests me. The things I buy are more about inspiration in my own art instead of just “needing to own it.” or “wanting to wear it”. This makes sense as I aspire to make rather than buy more and more “wearable” (but antique styled) clothing. I hesitantly admit that I’m also gravitating to more 20th century fashion but Ive always said that I love formal wear and lingerie in every decade.
I hope you enjoy my finds.
Which of these would be your number 1? Comment below! (or share your favorite find of the year with me)
#10 Tambour Lace Skirt
Lace of all kinds is my guilty pleasure and so you can imagine my squeals of delight when I scored this incredible tambour skirt in a box of “leftovers”. A dozen other people pawed through the box before I did and I am so happy they didn’t have an interest in this. What is so unique about it is that the tambour is done in such a way that loops of printed silk are able to woven through the “holes” Unfortunately- also due to this silk- this skirt can never be cleaned. Alas I had no plans to wear it anyway.
#9 18th century Mens shoe Buckles
Much like me- these are all destined to spend the rest of their days as a single. I bought this lot of shoe buckles for a killer price likely because non of them have their matches. I cannot show in photos how sparkly and incredible they are. The sizes and workmanship in them varies dramatically too. Even as onesies they are a great and oh so sparkly addition to my burgeoning 18th century collection.
#8 1930s Evening Dress
In the middle of June my office had a “Summer Friday” that happened to fall on the same date as this estate sale up near Yonkers. Being accessible by train- I decided to make an early morning of it and check it out. The place was an asylum. People running and a line of 20 people before 6 am. Dozens upon dozens of early garments- most very very very badly preserved (The house had survived a fire and a lot of subsequent moisture damage) . Silk shredding everywhere. I should have been wearing a dust mask. On top of that- they prices were ridiculous. (Think 900$ for a completely shredded dress; the kind I wouldn’t buy for 20$) Still after all that work- I did my best to zoom around and find a few diamonds in the rough. I walked away with three dresses one of which is this amazing stunner below. To be clear- it didn’t look like this when I bought it. The bottom half of the dress was beyond filthy and I was unsure if it was salvageable but I was able to negotiate a bit for my “lot” and after all that effort decided to buy it. Due to how the dress is constructed (gelatin sequins!) it cant be entirely submerged and wet cleaned. Working some magic- I was able to get the skirt freshened up (no I cant tell you how as I don’t recommend taking the risk) and after a huge process of getting the crepe back out I wound up with this incredible stunner of a rare 1930s evening gown that fits like a dream and is just dying to be invited to the party. There are a few rayon fade spots but nothing that would be noticeable in evening light. It has a label from a NY store and is so beautiful in how it drapes and wraps. This dress alone make that entire day and hassle (and disappointment in the pricing) completely worth it. I will still always wonder who wound up with the other 30’s lame evening gown…and if they foolishly paid the asking price.
#7 Edwardian Irish Crochet Wrapper
So I only have these photos of this item because it is not yet in my grabby little hands and was only picked up on the 31st of December! Just under the wire for my blog! I found this incredible antique Irish crochet wrapper in a small town auction. The problem? It was pick up only. Luckily I knew someone who loved me who lived close by- and so I’m able to add this handmade work of art to my collection for about the price of a NYC cocktail. On one hand it makes me sad how little textiles and more specifically women’s work is valued but on the other- I know it will be in a good place with me.
#6 1913 Museum DECOMMISSIONED Dress
I would like to tell you that this dress has an amazing acquisition backstory alas it does not. I simply bought it online It is a decommission from a museum. It is evidence of that very narrow period time about 1913 when the dresses show the bridge between the late Edwardian and the soon be coming freer and unique styles of the 19teens. The materials used in this dress are incredible- metal embroidered silks and gauzy silk laces. The size is unique too- this has nearly a 30” waist and doesn’t fit on the form. Sadly the entire lining of the gown is entirely shredded and this will likely be the one and only time I ever mount it on a form. I wish I had better been able to capture how special this gown was alas I’ll have to settle for showing it to my friends in person.
#5 Women’s Institute CORRESPONDENCE CoursE
Technically I bought this at the very tail end of 2018 but as it did not arrive until after the new year- I was unable to include it in last years top 10. There is no way this doesn’t belong on my special item list and so I am including it this year. The “Women’s Institute” correspondence (by mail) school that strove to teach women a variety of useful skills that they could use in their home or for profit. I first start seeing ads for it at the end of WWI. There are a few course options including Millinery, Tailoring, Dressmaking and Cooking (the last of which I dont do.) Each course is made up of booklets of work that are completed by the student and tests at the end which can be submitted for grading. I had been fortunate enough to have the entire millinery series already but the tailoring/dressmaking booklets were more random ones that I had come across in my travels. Then this amazing listing popped up on Etsy (before Etsy committed suicide) . Not only is it the ENTIRE Dressmaking AND Tailoring course books- it also included the original woman’s graded exams, samples AND pattern slopers. The patterns alone are quite the coupe as my friends and I had never seen one and discussed if they ever even existed. Now we know for certain they do. The amount of research and knowledge in this entire series is inconceivable- and I have only yet begun to start understanding some of what these books have to offer.
#4 Late 18th century Stays
This pair of stays likely dates to the very tail end of the 18th century. They are not quite transition stays (my holy grail of stays) but they are certainly shorter in length and wide in the bust than is seen in earlier versions. Frankly there is not likely a limit to the number of pairs of stays I would like to own as they are all so different to me. Sadly the condition is quite poor as some small creatures have turned this into a delicious and expensive snack. I love the silk facing on the front and even the damage is unique because it gives me a view into some of the interior. You can see from how this fits my form that these are not epic-ally small but are meant for a shorter stature lady. Don’t worry- no one will wear them as long as I own them.
#3 1915 Silk Net dress
In addition to being a simply phenomenal dress- this dress is number 3 on the list because of the fun adventure I had in getting it. It is very challenging for me to make it to estate sales because I don’t have a car and I work a full time job. (Most estate sales start during the week). The risk of not being able to get any special items makes justifying taking a day off and last minute (expensive) car rental rarely an option. I heard of this great estate however and mentioned to a dear friend how disappointed I was to not be able to attend due to lack of a vehicle. Much to my surprise- she offered to take me and make a day of it. (she too likes antiques and had her eyes on some treasure). It was a dream of a day. Not only did I score this incredible dress from 1915 in remarkable, but fragile, condition- we spent the rest of it brunching, hunting for bargain fabrics and laughing. She got her wish list too! A well spent day out of the office. Oh and this dress- its top on my list to use for inspiration for my own work! I need only to save the money to buy some of that incredible silk tulle (modern) and antique metal trim. drool.
#2 3-D swan Embroidered Dress
This incredible dress came to me via a textile auction and I’m hesitant to admit- I paid a small fortune for it. Its rare for me to spend so much on any garment- let alone one from nearly the middle of the 20th century. I couldn’t resist the construction techniques of printed swans and their 3-d flowing twisted feathers. Absolutely ingenious. The dress also features….a giant hole. yep. On the right hip there is a sizable tear to the chiffon. In fact I credit this tear to the reason why I was even able to buy it in the first place. Were it not there it easily would have sold for 3 or 4x the amount and been well out of my own budget. The other downside to this dress (and why it is not my number 1)= it wont (yet!) fit me. In addition to being a very rare style- its an even harder to come by larger size. Still I love it just the same and perhaps that will save me from attempting to wear it. {I do however hope to undo some of the badly done alterations in the neckline and repair the damage to silk chiffon} These pictures barely do it justice as it does not fit my form at all.
#1 1830s silk Day Dress
Certainly to have an 1830s dress with gigot sleeves is rare enough on its own but dress is my top buy of the year more because of how it came to me more than the object itself. I bought a box lot of salvage from a seller because there was a skirt in the box that I wanted to use for a sewing reference- I quickly flipped through the contents and saw that in addition the skirt there was a few very damaged bodices and other fabric pieces. Good enough for me. A quite low price was agreed upon and it was mine. It was only after purchasing that I emptied the box and found that at the very bottom- what I thought was a folding of fabric was in actuality this incredible dress. If you have not seen a dress from this period in person - I will tell you they are far simpler and thinner than you will ever imagine. There is a lightness to them that is rarely reproduced in our ‘costumes’ today. I hope this inspires me to create even better and more elevated work.
THE REAL BEST FIND OF THE YEAR
So….above were all of my best antique/vintage finds of the year…but my real favorite is actually none of those. As you know- I am obsessed with dressmaking, textiles and trims. As a modern dressmaker- one of the biggest struggles is finding fabric. Specifically fabrics that were once cheap but now…not so. The top of these in my mind is cotton bobbinette. Bobbinette used to be very affordable and as a result you see it in EVERYTHING. In large quantities too. Modern bobbinette can be found but I had exhausted all my “cheap” stores in looking for it. One NYc garment district store even told me there is no such thing as cotton net! In truth most of what is on the market is some sort of synthetic tulle (nylon, polyester) and decidedly not what I want . True cotton bobbinette is made on specific looms and generally runs 40-60$ a yard depending on the resource/width/weight. Not a horrific price in itself but certainly not something you can “stock up on”. And something that must be used judiciously as I slyly eye those flounced dresses that easily use 5 yards of fabric.
And so for years I have joked that the universe would one day send me an affordable source of bobbinette and that when it did I would be ready. In fact I had made the joke that very morning to my friend as we traversed the eastern sea board in search of fabrics for our projects. WOAH did it ever. In this sekret store she took me to- I found the mother load of cotton bobbinette. Even better- a tag on the bolts showed that it actually was originally from my favorite french lace and textile producer at a mere fraction of the cost. I bought everything the store had- over 100 yards- in a few colors (antique ivory and an off black mostly; no white sadly). Even just typing this I am giddy at the find because this means I can make all the dresses of my dreams- and not go bankrupt doing do.
Thank you Universe. I will use it wisely (and have already shared some with friends)
Thank you for taking the time to read my top 10 of 2019. Looking forward to what 2020 brings- antique and otherwise <3