á Venir Fashions
November 11, 2009 | 
Author 
One of our favorite stores is á Venir Fashions. Operating from her home in the sunny Okanogan Valley in British Columbia, Canada, and selling from her store on Main Street Mall Online where she was a Founding Member, Gayle says, “Men’s vintage clothing is our specialty, here you’ll find a sampling of Harris Tweed sport coats, Club clothes, vintage Nike, Tem-Tex cowboy shirts, Scotland tweed, mexican wedding shirts, Guayabera shirts, gangster suits, Tip Top, mens vintage scarf, Victor di Battista, Simpson Sears, Sears. Wool Coats in the winter, Light weight coats in the summer! What ever I come across!”.
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Retro Chic: A Guide to Fabulous Vintage and Designer Resale Shopping in North America and Online
Amazon describes this book as, “The only comprehensive guide to shopping for vintage and designer resale, including specific stores in all the major U.S. & Canadian cities, favorite haunts of celebs and stylists, Internet thrift shopping, vintage expos across the continent. Whether you’re on a budget or ready to splurge on mint-condition Givenchy, this is your roadmap to the timeless cool of vintage HCing.”
Reviewers say, “Retro Chic is the ultimate, in-the-know, guide to finding the good stuff, in stores and online.” — Jan Lindstrom, Daily Variety and “This smart guide to shops all over North America tells you where to find the best buys of yesteryear.” — Travel and Leisure, February 2003
We call this a must read!
Working with a live models
The discussion has been held, many times, about the benefits of taking pictures of your clothes on a live model vs. a mannequin. Everyone has an opinion, and when it comes down to it, the choice is yours. Personally, I have a mannequin named Goldie that I love! I use her almost exclusively for my older, more classic vintage from the 30s thru early 60s. She has a gorgeous figure, doesnt talk back, is always on time, stays still when I tell her to, and most importantly: she never has a blemish! However, I prefer to use live models when I am photographing trendier items from the mid 60s thru late 80s. A model can show the movement and flow of an item, but more importantly, she can make a personal connection with the buyer and showcase your item to its higher potential. Ever tried to show the beauty of a kimono sleeved jumpsuit with palazzo pants, on a mannequin? So, if you are interested in the ins and outs of working with a live model, I would love to share what I know.
Where to find a model: The first thing that I do is post an ad for a model. Be as specific as you can, in regards to heigth, weight, size, hair color and age. Give a brief description of the job (example: online vintage clothing sales) and ask that they send their information along with at least 2 pics to you via email, including full body and face shot. Ask for unedited pictures! When I am ready to start my search for a new model, I post on craigslist, do a model call on my myspace, and print off flyers and post them at local coffee shops, junior colleges and community bulletin boards. Its always nice to ask neighbors, friends and family. I keep business cards on me at all times to pass out, and found my last model working behind the counter at Office Max.
Meet and greet: Once you have narrowed your search down, I set up a day to meet with potential models. For this first interview, I invite either a parent or friend to come along, just to make the girls feel a bit safer. There are many predators advertising for models and it is important to let them know that you are on the up and up. Have your camera ready to take a few candid shots of each gal and I like to keep a notebook handy to jot down comments once they leave. Chemistry is so important! No matter how pretty a girl is, if you dont like her personality, or she doesnt take direction from you, it will not be a good working environment. Remember… this is supposed to be fun!
Compensation: What to pay? I know quite a few sellers who use models and we all do it different. You can pay by the hour, trade, or pay by the piece. I pay my girls “per-piece”. It is good incentive for them to change quickly, take direction and move onto the next piece. Trade is always an option with my girls too, but I do it at the Per Piece ratio. X amount of value on a dress, means she owes me X amount of pictures.
Model releases: Whether you are a part time housewife who sells online once or twice a month, or a Powerseller who works at this hard every day, it is very important that your protect yourself legally with a model release form for each person you use. This gives you sole ownership of the pictures and allows you to modify, manipulate, merge and publish the pictures online. It is MANDATORY for you to get a signed release if you are dealing with a minor, and I suggest that you personally meet with the guardian/parent and see them sign the document. Many a young girl has forged a name, in order to see herself in print. Here is a general contract, that you can modify to your specifics:
http://www.dpcorner.com/all_about/releases.shtml
The Shoot: I like to work with 2 models at the same time. My gals have been together for a long time and we all have a great time! We spend about 15 mintues going over the items, and then we divide the items between them. While one of the girls is shooting with me, the other one is getting ready. As soon as one girl is done, the other model gets in front of the camera. I never leave my spot and the inventory is constantly rotating and changing. When they are getting paid per item, they appreciate how fast things move along.
Organization: This is probably the most important issue to have a productive/fun shoot! I categorize my shoots with different racks, each one with the appropriate boots/shoes. I do all the dresses with black shoes first, boots next, flats, etc. Keep a box of accessories close at hand, with belts and clasps that may be needed to pin an item to a model. Bottled water within reach is necessary for the models. It gets hot having so much fun!
Picture Review: This is especially important for the first few times that you use a new model. I find myself saying “give me right shoulder”, “stomach in”, “kick back your leg”m, “pivot your knee”, alot! You want a girl that can take direction, but more importantly, you need to SHOW her WHY you want specific shots. Sit down at the computer after a shoot and you will both end up giggling at the funny faces, bad posture, flailing arms, etc. A contructive critique between the two of you will make her understand what you want. I try to focus on the GREAT shots and point out the things that I like, and they listen and learn.
Editing: After my pictures are edited, I upload them to my pictures on my myspace, into the models specific folder. They are welcome to copy the pictures and to use them on their own sites, be that facebook or myspace. I also have small Moo photo business cards with pictures of my models, and I present all of them with a card holder that has pictures of them on the front, and my business information on the back.
In closing: Working with a live model is so much fun! I have become best friends/den mother with all of my models and am still in contact with every single one. I hope that my influence in bringing out their beauty and showcasing them, along with positive motivation from me as an older woman has enhanced their lives. I know that their connection to me, has enhanced mine!
Bobbi sells wonderful vintage clothing and accessories through eBay under her account name Dressedtothe9s and from her lovely website. You can also find her MySpace page here
Secondhand Chic: Finding Fabulous Fashion at Consignment, Vintage, and Thrift Shops
NMark Hetts, reviewing this book on Amazon, says,
“In recent years, increasing numbers of people have become aware of something that impecunious but savvy folks have known for a long time: You don’t have to be rich to wear high-quality, high-fashion clothing. You just need to know how and where to shop for it at incredible, bargain prices–secondhand, vintage, consignment, and thrift stores.
“Christa Weil goes the whole nine yards here, explaining how to spot quality, understand labels (and fakes!), and find your size when labels are missing. She knows which flaws are easily fixed, how to organize your wardrobe, how to look “done” without looking “overdone,” how to care for your clothing and accessory treasures, and even how to make money on your unwanted clothes.
“For anyone who likes to dress well and get an incredible bargain in the process (and who doesn’t?), this is an indispensable guide. Weil’s light, conversational writing style and her numerous hilarious asides (like “Why Socks Disappear in the Wash”) make this an entertaining and lively book to read or browse.”
Memories and Nostalgia!
I like old patterns because they are full of memories. Memories of a more elegant time. Memories of my Grandmother and my Mother, not to mention memories of my youth.
When you sit down with a box full of old vintage patterns, it’s like a box of Cracker Jack, you never know what you’ll find. Perhaps a swatch of cloth, or rusty straight pins, or notations about how the pattern fit or in some cases, didn’t fit. Then trying to pin point a date is a mystery in it’s self. After a while you have a good idea from the styling and the graphics and the price, but it’s still fun to try to narrow it down. Is that beauty from 1935 or 1939?
With a little help from a lot of friends and by collecting information from vintage Magazines and Catalogs, plus paying attention and taking tedious notes on patterns that have been in my hands with copyright dates, I’ve put together a pretty comprehensive dating guide. So come visit and take a walk down Memory Lane and wallow in the nostalgia of forgotten times.
Darrell and Rita Holcomb own and operate their own website, cemetarian where they offer one of the biggest and best selections of vintage and out of print sewing patterns, clothing, jewelry, vintage magazine advertisements, vintage postcards, vintage photos and vinyl phonograph records.
Bathing Suits of Yesteryear
I love the styles of yesteryear’s bathing suits. I recall with great memories a bathing suit my Mom gave to me that had been hers. It was a corset style suit with a little bit of skirt over the built in panties and made my tiny waist look even smaller and my small bustline look a bit larger. I wore that suit in the hot Phoenix sun for two summers until it fell apart. Had I known then what I know today I’d still have that suit in my collection and I would have worn something more practical for every day. Ah the mistakes of youth.
Bathing suits have been around since the Greeks. Actually the bikini is very similar to early Greek bathing suits. How we got from those minimalist suits from Ancient Greece to the cover it all up wool suits of the 1890s I’ll never know.
As time passed, suits got a bit briefer like in the 1920s and 1930s. The bathing suits were a bit briefer for men than woman (surprise surprise) such as the ones seen here:
Once the 1940s hit swimsuits really started to cling to womens curves such as those in the pictures of Betty Grable in her pin-up bathing suit or Esther Williams in her swimming movies all dolled up and looking great.
Bathings suits give a woman or for that matter a man a way to show what they’re made of. Suits of the 1940s and 1950s had modesty panels across the hip area in lots of women’s swimsuits.
Two piece suits were available and of course American Sportswear designer, Claire McCardell, designed some spectacular swimwear.
However, none were near as brief as the bikinis of the late 1960s to the present. And of course there was the famous monokini designed by Rudi Gernreich in 1964 that let almost all of it hang out. Bathing suits after the 1960s still included the ever popular tank suit for those serious swimmers and for those more interested in being seen or tanning, all types of bikinis such as string bikinis, etc. were available as well.
Now that I’m the parent of two young girls bathing suit decisions are looming ahead for next summer. At this point, however, my girls are young enough that they’re not very interested in letting as much show as possible but that day will come soon enough. For now, my husband and I have another year to be able to dodge that bullet!
Marge Leyden is an avid vintage collector who also sells vintage clothing and accessories through Born To Late Vintage, her shop on Ruby Lane.
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