TRASH fash!

I'm starting a new trend that I'm sure it'll catch on ... TRASH FASHION!

Yes, thank you very much, I will wear that amazing blue dress from the 50s that fits if you set it out by the road when we are drive-by junking (see here). Oh, and that other one? Yes, please! 

I never complain about free. You can see (on the left) that this dress is shorter than my petticoat. It doesn't look terrible, but I'm not sure if I love the show-your-petticoat look. So I'm contemplating either cutting the petticoat or lengthening the hem of the dress - it's been hemmed by hand a good 3-4". But I'm afraid that the hemmed crease may be permanent and look funny once I take it out. What do you think??

It also looks fine without the petticoat (see below), although it is quite thin! Does anyone even own a slip anymore? Moreover, does anyone even know what they are for??

The other dress may be early 60s (see this juniors' pattern I have HERE) but either way, it's fun and unlike any dress I have.

Oh, and did I mention they were FREE!? Would you wear something you dug out of a trashpile?

*more* thrifted vintage dresses (winter)

And for the cooler season dresses I found...

A $2 petticoat I couldn't pass up. I just resized it Sunday night. Can't wait to show it off under one of my dresses this fall/winter!

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I've been on the hunt for a plaid skirt and this one was too beautiful to pass up at a recent estate sale. I also can't wait to wear this one! It's been tempting me from my closet...

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This dress has me a little stumped (also from the estate sale). Do you think it's 50s? Later? Earlier? I'm just not quite sure, but I'm sort of in love.

It has a small spot on the bodice that I didn't notice until I got it home, but here's to hoping my miracle spot remover will take care of it in a flash.

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And finally, my 50s housewife dress. It may be a wool blend (it's warm!) and pretty conservative, but I want to dress it up with some fun accessories and maybe the above petticoat!

Thanks for sharing in my fashion joy!!

P.S. I've also decided against the boots for now, and I've splurged on a pair of vintage inspired Chelsea Crew oxfords for my fall and winter dresses. Here's a stock photo of them.

photo source

*more* thrifted vintage dresses (summer)

I went to a garage sale in Kansas City (pretty much all the good stuff is in the city!!) and came away with several fun pieces ... no one piece was more than $10 ... I was there.

If you are on a budget and want to stock your vintage wardrobe you don't go to Donna Dress Shop, you garage sale!

Here's a knee-length polyester, patchwork dress for every day.

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Another casual outfit that initially looks like a dress...

But is actually a red, white and blue jumpsuit!

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A fun, 50s knee-length floral. It's a juniors dress, so the waist cuts in a little weird, but it is super fun to wear.

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And a short romper!

Just need some white spandex to go under to to avoid any unlovely sights. Any idea where to find some (I've checked W-mart and T-rget...??

little handsome man - onesie vest and bowtie diy

Lately I've been honing my sewing skills by upcycling an old pair of my dad's dress pants into a cute little size 18 month onesie vest and bowtie complete with little shorts! My nephew needed something to wear to a family wedding, and my sister found THIS inspiration. I offered to try. And it worked!

There was no tutorial, but I pretty much copied it exactly from the picture... with a green polka dot bowtie and pocket square and three buttons instead of two. But pretty much the same.

I drew out my own rough pattern on old packing paper so I'd at least get both sides of the vest symmetrical - and the rest came together so quickly! I found a thrifted napkin (seen here) that would work perfectly and hoped that polka dots wouldn't be too feminine.

Um, how baby manly can you get?! :-)

Then I tried my hand at little shorts - mostly using Dana's pant tutorial and a pair of Ladybug's old jeans. I used the old waistband from the pants and had a few trial and error/imperfections to work out, but on the whole I'm pleased. My favorite parts are the little faux front pockets and the little coordinating fabric in the back.

front:

back:

Now we just have to wait and see if they fit this little guy for his uncle's wedding. I'll update and get pictures of it on this sweet guy after the wedding in June!

Update: With the exception of rolling up the shorts, it fit! See it on him HERE. 

a couple new shop items (*gasp!*)

It's been awhile, hasn't it? The summer has been slow going for the shop, so I've tried not to go thrifting too much. That always gets me in trouble.

But, the other day I had the itch and the girl and I drove out to one of my favorite thrift spots.

I found these adorable crop tops - although I don't think I'd ever put my child in one,  they are so cute and summery!

another sweet pink dress ... (I think I need to sell these as a lot for someone and get some other colors in my line!)

A sweet little yellow toddler nightgown...

And a summer sweatersuit from West Germany - I include that tidbit because from the tag (that says: "Made in West Germany"), I can tell it was manufactured at least from 1990 or before which makes it vintage for sure! (Because West Germany was no more at the end of 1990.) It's in really great condition although like the crop tops, I'm not sure I'd put a baby in a sweater for 100 degree temps, but it's still cute.

Feel free to stop by the shop or click the button on the right side of my blog to visit! I'm slowly clearing out my sale items and hope to have my new all-baby/children's schätzli shop up by Sept. 1. I'm still not sure if I'm going to open another shop - like schätzlipatterns or something like that, but I'm deciding. Too much great vintage for one person!! 

Wish me luck and I'll be back with another shop update at the beginning of the fall. 

Ciao!

star-spangled romper to dress

This was the girl's 4th of July outfit last year.

Except, it was too big. WAY too big. This year, she fits perfectly! However, I wanted her to wear some navy and white starred capri leggings I thrifted with it. Over the ruffly rompered bottom was no good!

So, since it was knit, I promptly cut off the legs and now she can wear it as a little dress and leggings. (It also came with a "baby's first 4th" bib, which she wore last year, but is obviously irrelevant now...)

I'm not much of a "themed" clothing type girl, but this idea was fun, we already had the outfit, and we might as well celebrate!!


KC friends - where is the best place to view 4th of July fireworks in your opinion?? We still have yet to find a place. Any other must-see 4th of July celebrations?

Shop Finds {somebody stop me!!!}

Help! I might need an intervention ... I keep finding wonderful vintage stuff for the shop, but unless it's boy or a quarter garage sale find, I really need to temper my vintage finding/buying. I have tons to list, but I just get so excited to find something!!

My friend, Sarah, is a huge garage-saler and has found some great stuff (garage sale season has started early with 70s and 80s in March this year) already. I rarely find vintage baby clothing at garage sales, but she's scored.

Here's the cutest little "cheerleader" baby shirt dress she found. 10 cents. Seriously.

Oh, so, cute!

And a Sal Army find: my German "dirndl" style baby shirt:

And, I stopped at a kids sale on the half price days and found several dresses:

(nautical!)

... and a lovely peach smocked, size 3 Orient Express toddler dress.

Gorg. *sigh*

Replacing Worn-out Elastic in Vintage Clothing

So I decided to brave an attempt at fixing some sleeves on my little vintage dresses. Two had the exact same problem: worn out elastic in the sleeves. Otherwise they are in excellent shape!

So I whipped out my trusty elastic thread and went to work.

(Excuse the bad lighting in the photos...)

After I took out the old elastic, I was left with this:

I sewed around the sleeve following the old sewing marks with some elastic thread and tada! Re-ruffled sleeves.

What a difference, right!?

Here's the other: before...

... and after! Much better.

I also took it around the waist of these pink corduroy overalls, but the effect wasn't quite as great because of how heavy the corduroy is. It worked okay, though. I'm good with how they look now.

I love elastic thread! What's your secret sewing weapon??