Among this week’s fresh to market vintage picks, there is a beaded necklace that is “princess” length, which means it’s between 16″-18″. Different necklace lengths do in fact have names, but they were not determined by some kind of necklace regulatory board. They evolved colloquially over time as a useful way for jewelers to describe how long a necklace was in a way a buyer could instantly understand.
“Collar,” which at 11″-15″ hugs the throat, and “Choker,” which at 16″ rests at the base of the neck, evolved during the Victorian era, being used to describe mostly expensive pearl or gemstone necklaces.
“Princess” is next in length, followed by “Matinee,” which at 20″-24″ falls between the collarbone and the bust and originated as a length description during the Art Deco era. “Opera” length, looping anywhere from 24″-36″, was coined during the late Victorian era as a descriptor for the length of necklace one wore to formal events, reaching from below the bust to as far as the belly button. And finally, “Rope” necklaces are anything over 35″.
We were about to say none of the other picks in this week’s fresh to market vintage have special size names, but that would be incorrect. There are special names for book sizes. We’d try to explain them, but frankly, we don’t understand them. What we do understand is there are four items directly below these words deserving your attention.
Brown Beaded Necklace Marked Hong Kong
If you’ve ever wandered through my shop, you might have noticed I have a soft spot for this style of vintage necklace. These relatively inexpensive pieces were popular after WWII when the world was rebuilding itself. Hong Kong and Japan produced loads of necklaces along with matching earrings and sometimes complete parures or sets of jewelry. This one is marked Hong Kong on the hook and is what’s known as Princess length, which is between 16 and 18 inches in length. Just slightly longer than a choker and meant to sit just below the throat.
Double Strand Beaded Necklace, $24.95
Pam, Vintage Renude
Lefton September Girl Figurine
I feel that the month of September is zooming by! This Lefton September Birth Month figurine might be a teacher with an open book in one hand and a basket of apples in the other to hand out to her pupils. Apples are so good for the body and books and reading are so good for the brain. I hope you can slow down a little in the last days of this month to enjoy its bounty.
Lefton September Girl Figurine with Books and Apples, $45.99
Mary Ellen, Aunt Hatties Attic
Antique Victorian Painted Glass Tumbler
I’m a big fan of hand-painted glass, in particular small tumblers like this one that date to the Victorian era. I get a kick out of thinking about a group of socialites having a painting party in the parlor, followed by cocktails when the decorative work is done. If you’re interested in what they served back in the late 1800s, take a peek at “How to Mix Drinks: Victorian Style“.
Blue Floral Painted Tumbler, $45
Linda, Selective Salvage
Martha Stewart Hors d’Oeuvres Cookbook
When Martha Stewart was a little girl, did she imagine herself as an icon? A model from the age of 15, she graduated from Barnard College with a double major in Architecture and Architectural History. After nine years as a stockbroker, she and a friend started a catering company in her basement. She released her first book, Entertaining, in 1982. Hors d’Oeuvres is her third book. Of her many accomplishments in a long career, I admire her most for regaining and strengthening her career after a five-month incarceration for insider trading and for modeling for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue at age 81.
Martha Stewart’s Hors d’Oeuvres 1984 Food and Entertaining Book, $24.
Laurie, NextStage Vintage
That’s this week’s fresh to market vintage. Did you put on your opera length necklace so you felt extra fancy while you read it? Or were you like us, flicking cookie crumbs off our hoodie to destroy the evidence of our raid on the cookie jar?
However you style yourself to read Vintage Unscripted, we’re glad to have you. But we worry that you might miss something, life can get busy. One way to keep that from happening is to subscribe to our email newsletter. You get an email on Sunday with links to all the posts from the previous week. And we’d rather wear a choker made of bacon to a dog park than ever share your info, so you’re safe with us.
