Vintage Photos: Mohair Child in the Snow

Do you ever wish you knew what color things were in old black and white photographs? I desperately want to know what color this child was decked out in, head-to-toe. Vibrant fuschia? Bright blue? I'm leaning toward crayon red, myself... That's the color I'd choose for such an outfit!  

This is "Nonah", a friend of my grandmothers, lookin' pretty spiffy in her winter woolens in the early 1920s!

I'm seriously feeling this photo, today. If I had a brushed mohair snowsuit, I'd be wearing it indoors! Our water heating pipes have been frozen for four days and we've been camping in the living room next to our wood stove. Brrr!

Edit: Pipes have thawed and nary a split/break in sight. Yay!

Stay warm!

xoxo
Emily

Vintage Children's Primers & Readers

As you already know, I am a vintage ephemera and graphics fiend. One of my favorite sources for my artwork and art journal pages is artwork from old primers & readers. The New England Primers date back to the 1600's and have a mostly protestant slant, mixing in religious hymns, prayers and morals among the consonants, vowels & reading lessons. Made by fixing thin paper to a wooden board, these primers lasted well into the late 19th century.

I love the well worn covers and pages included in the primers in my possession and enjoy the way they look and feel in my art journals and collage pieces.

Readers were a series of graded primers, used as textbooks in American schools from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century.  The few readers I have are mostly from 1920s and 30s and are filled with beautiful full color plates to go with each story. Some of these pages would make nice prints for a child's nursery or library.

All of these books are wonderful to page through and read the stories and whimsical lessons for the younger children, my favorite being this set of thought and discussion-starters for a classroom and the list of "Funny Things to Do".

While I look through these vintage treasures, I can't help but imagine what it would have been like to be a child in a small schoolhouse in the mid 19th century or even early 20th century, and using these for my lesson plans daily. What a delight!

Below is a scan from one of my readers to give your creativity a jumpstart on a winter project. If you do use these graphics, we'd appreciate it if you would post a link to a photo either in the comment section below or on our Facebook page.


—Nancie

Vintage Color Palettes: 1919 Silk Dresses

Hi there! Emily, here. 

I'm going to be posting a series of entries with some of the color palettes I use when I am designing/daydreaming. It's fascinating to look at a series of images from the same year and see the similarities in colors. Below is a set of colors I found repeatedly popping up in the dresses I found from 1919.

This was the time right after the end of WWI where women were able to indulge again, though in different ways. Heavily trimmed dresses were again in style and available, and light, airy fabrics like silk were available in all of the soft, effeminate, impractical colors of non-wartime. I love the use of champagnes and sages, and you can see by the snippets I've included of the original dresses that there was a renewed attention to detail in these beautiful gowns. 

I hope you enjoy this palette as much as I enjoyed researching and making it! I use these a lot when I am looking at fabric to order online. It helps keep me in the right family of colors so I don't buy anything that's too over-the-top. I've made plenty more of these palettes from nearly every era, and I'm sure they'll pop up somewhere in my future posts.

Do you refer to old photos or fashion plates for design help?

My Library, The Curiosity Cabinet

The "Cabinet of Curiosities", or Wunderkammer, has been a slight obsession of mine since I was a child (possibly coinciding with my first visit to the Harvard Museum of Natural History). The notion of the Cabinet of Curiosities began during the Renaissance, as a sort of predeccessor to the modern natural history museum. These cabinets, or sometimes entire rooms), were filled with objects taken most often from the natural world. Sometimes the objects were manipulations or alterations of naturally occurring specimens leaning toward the occult or mythological, such as chimeric taxidermy (like the Fiji mermaid) or mysterious crystals claiming to have powers.

16th century engraving (by Giuseppe_Maria_Mitelli) of the Curiosity Cabinet of Ulisse Aldrovandi.

Later, curiosity cabinets began to contain found objects as well, including pretty much anything that caught the fancy of the cabinet owner. That's where I find myself today.

When my husband and I moved into our current house almost five years ago we had been living together for a couple of years and so we knew each other's aesthetic tastes. The house is fairly small, but it has more bedrooms than we knew what to do with so we immediately decided to turn one room into a library of sorts. 

Slowly but surely our library (and to some degree, other rooms – as visitors can attest) has become our own little Cabinet of Curiosities. We collect lots of "strange" things like antique taxidermy, antique dresses and costume, paper ephemera, books, shells, sticks, bones... pretty much anything that catches our fancies. We teeter on the edge of "hoarding" pretty much every day, but having things displayed in this manor allows us to confidently say "We aren't hoarders; We're collectors!" (It's a fine line, I know...)

My husband is a comic book artist and illustrator, and his work has a very specific aesthetic (each piece is also similar to an illustrated Curiosity Cabinet) and so we justify keeping a lot of our found objects by calling them "drawing reference". It's amazing how often he pops into the library, now dually serving as my sewing studio, to grab a replica bird skull or a starfish so that he can get just the right angle on what he is drawing. 

I'll never forget the time I hosted an orchard cleanup potluck at my house and several of my horseback riding students came to help. Someone discovered the library on a trip to the bathroom and before I knew it I had a crowd of tweenager/teenagers in my room, whispering and pointing and asking all sorts of questions. They'd never seen anything like it, outside of a museum, and the notion that someone could have a collection like ours was certainly new to them. They still talk about it now, though it was at least three years ago! 

Today I thought I'd share a few photos from my library/curiosity cabinet/studio. The taxidermy we collect is all legitimately antique or of domestic/legal mounts - I'm a little paranoid about wildlife law! Some of the bones we have processed and cleaned, ourselves. In addition to the room itself, I have quite a few "mini-cabinets" and boxes that I have paper-crafted.

I will be posting a pre-Valentine's Day tutorial next week on how to make miniature curiosity cabinets like this for your secret admirée! They're a beautiful addition to any shelf/wall and since they are primarily paper-crafted you can add whatever you want to them to make them wholly your own! 

Okay, this one isn't really part of the library, but what is a Curiosity Cabinet without a resident feline friend? He's certainly curious!

Do you have any areas in your house that you think of as Curiosity Cabinets? 

Crafting: Make your own Dress Form

We all have that one thing in our dream crafting supplies that we'd love to make a reality, right? For me that's been a dress form. I love to draft patterns, and most of the time I use traditional slopers and blocks, but when it comes to finished tailoring of a piece I can't help but wish there was another "me" present so that I could really get the adjustments that I want.

Yesterday, my husband I made another "me"! (Pardon the "mussed" look. I've been moving things all over the place and haven't ironed my blouse muslin since...)

I've been eyeing tutorials on duck tape dress forms for a long time, but I remember a couple of classmates in college who tried it and had a miserable time. They ended up scrapping the idea, several dollars less-rich and several hours of frustration later. Being mildly claustrophobic, I always figured that between their observed failures and my nerves it just wasn't an option for me.

A certain amount of "zen desperation" (as I've taken to calling it) can transform a lady, though! The itch to have a dress form became a raging need this week, when I sketched up a blouse design that I am incredibly excited about. This pattern will require a drapey, semi-sheer fabric (pure silk, in my case - yay!) and will be a very challenging design to draft, as it uses carefully placed gathers to form-fit, rather than darts. Gathers are all fine and dandy until you realize that it's nearly impossible to get them just-so without, well... another "you".

I spent a few hours reading every single duck tape dress form tutorial that I could find and took lots of notes. I specifically looked for complaints, boasts, methods and results from each tutorial I read and after a while I began to feel more comfortable with the whole idea.

So last night, armed with two plastic garbage bags and three rolls of duct tape, my husband and I went to work. I felt prepared, both mentally and emotionally. However... The one thing I didn't remember to do was take lots of photographs! I don't know if it was the fact that I was being taped up in a plastic mummy-esque cocoon of anxiety, or if it was some deep-rooted desire to not have photographs taken of me while I was in such a vulnerable state, but I didn't take a damned one. *facepalm*

So, I will provide you with links to two of the amazing tutorials that I read, as well as the few snapshots I took toward the end of the process... As for the rest, I shall paint for you, with words. I've included all of the tips that I've collected, as well as the seriously awesome filling that I used that really helped me shape my dress form exactly the way I wanted. 


First, the tutorials that have more pictures than I do!:

The tutorial I started with was from Natasha over at "Little Pink Monster" since she mentioned that she used plastic wrap, instead of a t-shirt, for her dress form. I was definitely intrigued by this, as I had read (ages ago) that using a t-shirt was giving some people a very bulky result. Of course, wearing plastic wrap isn't for everyone, and since I didn't feel like using all of our plastic wrap I opted for a garbage bag. Little Pink Monster also had a list of things she felt she did wrong on her first attempt, which was SUPER helpful. She mentioned that on her first try, they used long pieces of tape which folded and added bulk in a few rather unflattering places. She also talked about how the dress footprint form became much more round rather than oval, when it was being stuffed. The filling I used to stuff my dress form solved this problem, big time!

The other tutorial that I really enjoyed was from Sarah over at "Offbeat Bride". She had very specific and helpful ways to start the duck tape layout in order to preserve bust shape and size ratios.

There was one other tutorial that I have unfortunately lost track of that offered the best advice I could possibly think of, despite not having followed it myself. This particular blogger had the foresight to cut most of her tape pieces ahead of time! She stuck them all over her house, and she and her partner then wandered around, taping her up as they went. The most time consuming part of this is the cutting of tape, so I can imagine this cut down on her "mummified" state by considerable minutes. I definitely should've done this!


And Now, my own method/madness:

FIRST: I made a wearable plastic garbage bag by cutting the corners and a small slit for my head to squeeze through. I wore the best bra I own, to make sure I was well shaped and supported. The garbage bag was a bit ridiculous, and very cold dressed like this in our 19th century cottage, but what's a girl to do?











SECOND: My husband began taping me up. We found that using a few long pieces to start with helped eliminate the excessive stretching that we were getting with the plastic bag. We did bands around my bust, waist, hips and shoulders, and were careful to fold the plastic bag as flat as possible under the tape.

THIRD: We did a supportive X around my bust (much like Offbeat Bride did) to keep it in an appropriate shape. My guess is that this is just as important if you are small chested as it is if you are large chested. You want the dress form to "form" to you, rather than squishing your bits this-way-n-that the way you might if you just started taping every which way.

FOURTH: We started using short pieces to patch all over, slowly but surely covering my entire bust/torso/hips. We were really careful to make sure the tape was really flat. One place that seemed to bulk up quickly was my waistline, and unfortunately I didn't notice this until it was too late. My dress form ended up roughly 2" bigger around than my waist, but knowing this I can take it into account and shore up the ease in the waist when I am tailoring something.

FIFTH: Once we had finished covering me in a layer of duck tape, we started again, but this time we applied the tape nearly perpendicular to the original layer to add strength. Anywhere the strips ran horizontally, we taped vertically for the second layer and vice versa. After roughly two and a half layers of tape, we were finished!

SIXTH: Jeremy took a permanent marker and marked important lines on the duck tape such as front center, back center, hips, natural waist, bust line, underarm line. All of those important things that you're supposed to concern yourself with if you draft your own patterns.

SEVENTH: Jeremy cut straight up the center back line that he had marked and I (thankfully) slipped out of my plastic mummy costume. I didn't realize how desperate and anxious I had gotten until he started cutting me out... suddenly I just couldn't wait for him to finish cutting. I may have gotten a bit testy. This was one of those special experiences that really requires an assistant that you are allowed to spaz out on a bit. 

EIGHTH: I ran a 6" wide piece of cardboard up the back of the split open dress form and used that to help me tape the split closed. Once I taped the split closed from top to bottom I cut out a circle for my neck hole and half-circles for my arm holes. I fit them into place and taped them lightly, assuming correctly that I would have to revisit them later to aid in stuffing the dress form.

This is mid-stuffing. The arms and thighs are kind of saggy looking since they aren't packed tightly enough yet. 

NINTH: I inserted the pole I was going to use to mount the dress form (in my case it was an old coat stand, but I've heard of people using IV stands, microphone stands, music stands, etc) and began stuffing the shell.

I used taxidermy pine straw which is like thin strings of pine, but you can use crumpled paper or wood shavings (not chips! the kind of fine wood shavings used in livestock pens). The thing I liked about the pine straw is that I could twist it and pack it into shapes that fit the areas inside the dress form. Also, once the form was nearly filled I could literally punch this stuff into place. If I had an area that was awkwardly shaped or slightly malformed I would just work at it for a moment and the pine straw shifted inside to pack more tightly in that area, eliminating the odd bulge here and there.

TENTH: Once I got the dress form stuffed – I mean really stuffed – I then over-stuffed the bottom and cut cardboard to fit it. I duck taped the cardboard on, cramming the overstuffing into the shell to give it a really firm feel. After this, I revisited the arm holes and neck and reworked the stuffing a bit, making sure the bust was evenly filled and very firm, and fleshing out the shoulder-blade area, which is an easy area to leave slightly hollowed. Once I was satisfied, I firmly taped the arm holes and neck hole closed and stepped back.

The contrast between the shiny and non shiny duck tapes makes her look a little lopsided, but she's perfect!

Of course I had to try it out immediately, so I pinned up a little 1940's yoked blouse that I have yet to put buttons on and it fit beautifully! You can see I have a little string attached to the top of her. This lets me hang the dress form if I need to, and it's attached simply by looping around one of the structural pieces of duck tape along the back of the neck.

WOWZA. There she is... a headless, armless, legless, duck tape ME!

I hope this has been marginally helpful for anyone who happens across it. I cannot praise the pine straw enough. I was able to manipulate it in ways I am sure I wouldn't have been able to, other fillings. 

It's tradition to name your dress form, and I just haven't quite got a name for this lady yet! I'm sure I'll come up with something soon, though. She can't stay nameless forever! 

Be sure to check in next week when I'll be posting about using a similar method to create a hat form for draping pieced hats!

Also, I'll be posting a tutorial on how best to cover your duck tape dress form as soon as I get around to taking some photos!

Do you use a dress form when sewing clothing? Did you build your own dress form, or do you use a conventional one? (No judgements here! I'm a big fan of the conventional ones!)

xoxo Emily 

Ellen's Vintage Fashion Inspiration for 2014

Just like Emily mentioned in her fashion inspiration post, every year around this time I get incredibly antsy for new projects, inspiration, and new fashion! Today I'm going to share with you some of my favorite pieces, looks, and styles that will certainly inspire me for the year to come.

This is a 1922 House of Lanvin French dress housed in the Met's Fashion Collection. And I am in love. The combination of contrasting fabrics and colors is the first thing that catches my eye. It looks soft and comfortable, but still airy enough (especially with the coral cut outs) to be the perfect dress for a warm summer day! I love how the coral lines the neck and arm and creates a fun, geometric pattern to define the rest of the dress.

The cut of this dress is great too - and in fairly typical 1920s tradition. It looks loose enough to be incredibly comfortable, but still with a little definition around the waist and bust. And I can't get over that full skirt, either! Unfortunately this is the only photograph available on the Met's website, but I would absolutely love to get a closer look at the front of this piece (and not to mention all the detail!).

Another dress I have been fawning over lately is this beautiful silk 1930s dress that is available for sale on Etsy. I think the cut of this dress has to be my favorite part - the fit and flare is incredibly flattering. The pleating above the bust is an excellent addition as well, it adds just the right amount of visual interest to the top of the dress. 

There isn't too much information available on this dress. It's made of a slubbed silk which makes it fairly light and comfortable - and brings out the brilliant red coloring! This dress would be incredibly easy to add into a modern wardrobe as well. It's a style that is copied quite often, but I think it is executed to a T here!

Here we have a pair of 1930s metallic gold dancing shoes (also available on Etsy!). If only my feet were a little smaller they would be mine! Unfortunately, I don't know exactly when in the 30s these were made and worn (I'm not as much of a modern history expert as Emily is!), but they sure are adorable.

They have just the right amount of heel and hold your foot in well enough to look amazingly comfortable. But I love the metallic details and the woven cage around the toes! It's a different approach to the usually closed toe t-strap heel that I feel works really well.

I could just imagine having a fantastic time dancing in these, they are definitely going to be my inspiration while I am looking to buy new heels this season!

Lastly is this robin's egg blue, fur trimmed coat from the 1960s (that is also for sale!). I don't even know where to start with this dress! It's a wool blend with genuine fur cuffs and collar and the most adorable purple buttons. I love the lining along the front and can only imagine it to be a very flattering (and warm!) coat when it is worn.

I think the color of this coat is what really gets me! I think the powder blue mixed with the light purple buttons and light grey fur that has some dark highlights is the perfect mix of pastel and darker natural fur colors.

Although coats are a hard thing to copy, this is definitely my go-to for inspiration. I try to look for jackets in eye-catching colors with nice details without forgetting the warmth factor! This coat hits all those marks and I am incredibly jealous of whomever snatches it up!

I hope you've enjoyed taking a look at some of my vintage fashion inspiration - and that it may have inspired you! Do we share any of the same tastes?

Ellen

Quote of the Day: How Lucille Ball's Sage Advice Saved the Day at Tea Time!

Do you ever feel a little stuck when working on a project? It reminds me of trying to get a car up a slippery hill in winter (something I've gained major experience points in, this year!) You have an abstract sense of what you want the final result to be, and you can clearly see where you are right now, but the path to the final result feels like it is working against you. You make a little progress, and erase it. Make a little progress and throw out your sketch, start over, toss a crumpled paper across the room in the general direction of the garbage bin. 

Yesterday I was stuck on a group of designs I thought I had firmly in my brain. I'd set a goal for the day and was staring at it – scrawled sloppily on a scrap of paper and tacked crookedly to the wall in front of my face. 

I kept sketching the same darned thing, over and over. Yes, brain, I've already got the pattern for that one drafted and nearly finished. No, brain, it doesn't count if you just put a different sleeve length on it. Go home, brain, you're tired. Wait, we are home. Drat.

I decided to take a break to grab a cup of tea (Herbal "Sweet and Spicy") and a graham cracker and it wasn't until I sat down that I noticed the quote on my tea bag.

"I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done" – Lucille Ball

How perfect was that? In my moment of feeling droll, ordinary and unoriginal, there was Ms Ball, telling me to just let go and try some new things. I grabbed my pencil and began sketching out some designs based on drapier fabric, thinking about cowls and capelets and how they lay across the shoulders. I'd been focusing on designs using fabric that is easier for the average sewer, when all along my brain was trying to get me to say "Damn the average sewer! I want to challenge the average sewer and to make something truly elegant!" 

This quote was the four-wheel drive to my slippery slope, and I quickly met my goal and started drafting the pattern for this dress: 

I'm daydreaming of drapey rayon crepes and a gorgeous forties broach at the collar. I've also got some sketches of possible panel insertion and trimming for this one. We'll see! 

Have you ever found that perfect alignment of words that helps you forge ahead on a difficult task?

Thanks, Lucy!

xoxo Emily

Vintage Inspired Crafting: The Embroidered Pocket

As an amateur (and I mean really amateur!) student of sewing, I decided to focus on improving my needle skills in the new year. So, I decided one of my first projects of the year would be to create a brief tutorial on embroidery from one student to another!

I chose to do simple, 1920s Deco inspired pocket embroidery designs mostly because as a first time embroider-er I didn't want to take on too large of a task, get overwhelmed, and ignore it for the next two months (something that has definitely happened in the past!).

First thing's first - supplies! You will need: a sweater to embroider, a pen or thin marker, craft or embroidery thread, a needle with a large eye, a hardcover book, and a pattern! My thread is actually more fuschia than bright red in real life (no Christmas colors here!).

Step 2: choose your pattern! My pattern came from this 1920s Deco dress trim. I fell in love with it because a. it's simple (most important!) b. it's vintage, but still totally workable into modern fashion and c. it's so pretty!

Here's a before photo of my sweater. I love the mustard-y color and the scoop neck design! It's one of those pieces I used to wear almost every day but has sadly fallen out of my fashion routine. I'm hoping (now that I've sharpened my embroidery skills!) to add some more vintage inspired patterns along the neckline and buttons a little later!









Step 3: Draw a freehand mock up of your design onto the intended area.

This is the simplest way to transfer your pattern, if you're looking for a more detailed and "perfect" result, feel free to leave a comment and I'd be more than happy to tell you the extra transfer steps!

 Step 4: Stretch your sweater across a hardcover book. This is in place of an embroidery hoop (if you have one of those, use it!). It'll help keep the sweater taut as you work on your design and make your life a whole lot easier!

Step 5: Sew! To be perfectly honest, my first pocket took a very long time. It was challenging working so repetitively and keeping to the pattern, but I did it! The entire pattern was done using the simplest embroidery method that I know (looping the thread) which I hope is visible in the above photographs. It also turned out that keeping a similar method throughout the pattern made it look significantly more put together! Make sure you remember to knot your thread firmly in the back so your embroidery doesn't come undone in the wash.

And here is the final product! My first pocket definitely turned out a bit nicer than my second pocket, but such is DIY. I hope that my brief tutorial was helpful and (maybe!) inspired another amateur seamstress to try their hand at embroidery!

Ellen

Quote of the Day: Mary Brooks Picken

"Never try to sew with a sink full of dirty dishes or beds unmade.When there are urgent housekeeping chores, do these first so your mind is free to enjoy your sewing." 

Oh, Mary Brooks Picken! You're so domestic and painfully dug deep into the trenches of early 20th century gender roles!

Do quotes like these come off as being more dated or sexist? I'm always torn when I find books and pamphlets placing women in the kitchen and men in the workplace, but there is something about the writings of Mary Brooks Picken that occasionally makes me think she was on the right track.

Still, once you get past the blatant assignment of gender roles, I think this quote has a lot to offer. Too often in modern times we divide our attentions among activities. We clutter our brains and our lives with tasks and plans and rarely do we fully devote ourselves to the task at hand. So whether it's cleaning the dishes or changing the oil in your truck, I believe if you really want to excel at a craft you have to be willing to set aside those complications. Tidy up your to-do list, so you can approach a project with a clear mind. 

Anyway, back to the gender roles... Mary Brooks Picken started the Inspiration magazine, as well as the correspondence courses through the Woman's Institute for Domestic Arts and Sciences in the early 20th century and through these two highly influential publications were geared toward "womanly" activities, yes, but they always seemed to encourage women to use their domestic skills professionally. 

Sure, she talked as much as every other contemporary female columnist about women pleasing her "men-folk" (not sexually, folks – by maintaining a tidy house and a gentlewomanly manner) and reading some of the articles in her magazines is enough to make me physically ill with irritation at the brazen sexism, but there are also these strange little gems in her publications on women starting their own shops and businesses, improving and marketing their skills and even building successful careers as independent women. 

xoxo Emily

Style: Vintage Scarves and Seven Historical Ways to Wear Them

Today I am so very excited to share a post on vintage scarves with you! Scarves (both vintage and modern) are one of my favorite accessories, and I have an embarrassingly large collection.

Here is a little preview of just the vintage scarves I have in my collection. These mostly range from the 50s-70s. As you can tell, the majority of the scarves are silk and they are mostly all in little squares. I absolutely adore the range in patterns and the incredibly vibrant colors! The reds, yellows, greens, and oranges are eye-catchingly bright, plus they bring a ton of visual interest into whatever outfit they're paired with. The scarves with more traditional floral motifs even stray from that with their variety and color. Not to mention the geometric prints! The boldness of these prints make them a perfect addition to any outfit!

Now that I'm done blabbering about myself, here are seven ways to fashion scarves as seen in some of my favorite vintage eras!

1. The 1915 Front Knot:

This one is fairly simple: wrap your scarf under a collar and knot it in front of your blouse. This style comes from a brochure dating to 1915 that depicts a typical outfit for a female tennis player. I adore how her scarf ties under her collar and adds just the right amount of extra detail to her simple outfit!

2. The 1920s Head Wrap:

Fold your scarf into a triangle and then fold flat to your desired width. Wrap it around your head with both of your ends meeting under an ear and tie loosely! This is definitely a fairly scandalous image for the 1920s and unfortunately (even after 40 minutes of super internet sleuthing!) I couldn't find a solid source. I think this would look particularly nice with some sort of up do as is pictured, and is definitely a trend we don't see often enough!

3. The 1935 Clip:

This look simply requires a brooch (or hair pin!) to tie your scarf under your neck. It's a great way to bring in two different personal touches and add some color to your outfit! This photograph is showing a handmade crocheted scarf from an instructional booklet.

4. The 1937 Bow:

Pictured is Jean Muir with her scarf simply tied around her neck. The choice to spread out the extra scarf over her shoulders (rather than in front of her blouse) almost makes it resemble a bow! This scarf style is fantastic and is something I haven't seen before. This is a promotional photograph of Jean Muir published by First National Portrait (and it's for sale on eBay!).

5. The 1943 Rosie the Riveter:

Here is an example of the "Rosie the Riveter" (or Wendy the Welder!) scarf look. This one is also pretty simple: First fold your scarf into a triangle. Then wrap it around your head and over your ears and knot it a few inches back from your forehead. After you knot the scarf, pull the remaining triangle point under the knot and wrap it around - tucking it under so it stays in place! This is a classic way to keep hair out of your face while you're working and represents an important time for women!

6. The 1955 Sleep Cap:

I've included this sleep cap (as modeled by the one and only Lucille Ball) to show a variation in the "Rosie the Riveter" head scarf style (even though the sleep cap has been around for longer than the Rosie head scarf!). Here, Lucy has pushed the scarf behind her ears and knotted it about halfway back on her head with a little bow in order to show off her hairstyle!

7. The 1960s Jackie O:

Jackie Kennedy has taken the simple and turned it iconic. Simply fold your scarf into a triangle and wrap over your head, tying it loosely under your chin! This look is perfect for a windy fall day or just looking super fly in your convertible (I wish!).

I hope some of these ideas inspire you to play with your vintage scarves a bit differently than we usually see! Do you have any other styling tips for vintage scarves?

Ellen