One of the developments that has come from the slow fashion movement is that we are buying fewer things, buying quality and taking care of what we own. This includes learning how to remove stains and launder properly, how to mend and how to extend the life of any garment by employing techniques P.G. Wodehouse’s butler/handler Jeeves used to maintain Bertie Wooster’s wardrobe. The clothes brush in this week’s fresh to market vintage is a perfect example of a tool we don’t use much anymore, but we should.
Admittedly, work environments are more casual now. Many things we wear can be safely stuffed into the washer. But suits and other pieces that require dry cleaning should be brushed before they are put away to remove any dirt picked up over the course of the day. Marie Kondo, of The Life Changing Art of Tidying Up fame, encourages us feel our clothes and communicate our affection for them when folding laundry. (We will admit to being skeptical about her folding techniques but we tried it a few years ago and are now entirely a practitioner.) Brushing a jacket or coat or skirt before you hang it is another way to remind yourself of the value and quality of that garment and that slow fashion is sustainable fashion.
And what do you wear with that jacket? The necklace from this week’s fresh to market vintage, of course!
Multi-Color Mixed Media Necklace
While this necklace barely qualifies as vintage, it definitely meets the requirements for fun and bright. Now that summer is coming to an end you may want to extend those sunny days with this colorful necklace. It features everything from colored and polished shells to millefiori glass beads, and even a few pearls thrown in for good measure.
Mixed Media Necklace, $34.95
–Pam, Vintage Renude
Holt Howard Chicks Salt and Pepper Shakers
My best advice for beginning collectors is to get an identification and price guide to learn more about your particular collectibles. Walter Dworkin, who wrote two guides for Holt Howard, has the inside story about the creation of many of their amazing items. Did you know these are from the Little Bow Peep collection with an emphasis on peep as in chicks? These two have given names of Ton and Tweetie. The design came from a bow to a modern streamlined and simpler interpretation of a baby chick. Now that’s something to tweet about!
Salt and Pepper Shakers, $96.99
-Mary Ellen, AuntHattiesAttic
Antique Clothes Brush and Raffia Holder c 1920s
We purchased this antique clothes brush in its woven holder at an estate sale in a small town in South Dakota in the 1970s. We were told it had been a wedding gift when the homeowners were married in the 1920s that was discovered packed away in the attic of the home, unused. Yes, the VU team believes that “friends don’t let friends buy fake vintage” but we also believe you should use what you have or at a minimum, display it so that others can enjoy it. The latter is what I’ve done since I’ve owned it integrating it into a display of handwoven baskets and early American textiles on a wall in our living area.
Clothes Brush in Woven Raffia Holder, $90
–Linda, Selective Salvage
Crop Circle Meanings 1995 paperback
Books are great to sell as they are easy to research, list and ship. But I’m not a bookseller, so the books I sell have to meet a criterion–they have to be intriguing, they have to be on a niche subject and they should be from small presses (or self-published). These books always sell to someone who is looking for a specific title or author for good money because there aren’t many of them on the market.
A collection of books about the search for extraterrestrial life and crop circles crossed my threshold, including many titles from the 1990s that are self-published with comb bindings. While these might be websites instead if they were written now, back then the best way to convey information was through books that were sold at conferences and through advertisements in topical newsletters and magazines. Many of the books in the collection include personal notes from the author to the buyer. The community of those intellectually engaged in extraterrestrial and crop circle research was very connected and active. Sale prices for a few of these books indicate the interest is still there–some titles have sold in the neighborhood of $500. Which is why I am always on the lookout for those niche titles and small presses.
1995 Crop Circle Meanings–Understanding the Symbols by Steve Canada, $25.
–Laurie, NextStage Vintage
Every time something from Holt Howard finds its way into fresh to market vintage, we remember anew how much we love their quirky mid-century designs. Their Christmas items hog the spotlight, but their year-round items are equally delightful. We have a post about their seasonally appropriate Apple Jack line.
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