VintageGriffin.com

I have a new favorite blog resource. Craft:

Why? A quick look at their current front page yields wonderful finds of interest to vintage clothing enthusiasts...

Have we all had the experience of seeing ourselves in the changing room mirror, trying on a bit of fashion, deciding whether to trade our precious dollars for it? Well, European Parliament MEP Robert Kilroy-Silk is all over the issue (primarily focusing on the British chain, Marks & Spencer), and introduced it into the chamber:

Marks and Spencer has said it is mystified by a claim by MEP Robert Kilroy-Silk that it uses “distorting” mirrors in its changing rooms.

Mr Kilroy-Silk has accused the store of misleading women with mirrors that make them look slimmer in its clothes.

He made the allegation in a written question in the European Parliament.

An M&S spokesman said: “Our mirrors are perfectly normal, standard mirrors. We are at a loss as to what he might be referring to.”

In his question, Mr Kilroy-Silk asked if it was “conceivable that within the millions of EU regulations covering virtually every aspect of life in the EU” there was not one that made it illegal for M&S to have mirrors that “deliberately distort women’s shapes”.

So, which one is the real Pucci?

Actor and costume desginer Carolyn Hart poses in an authentic Pucci, its image tweaked into mutiple palettes. (Image copyright Adrian Mendoza)

5,939 "unique" vintage clothing items found on Ebay.

Which is amusing because at 5,939, there are more "unique" items than "rare" items, which clocked in at 5,726.



Ebay's search tool is essential to finding good vintage. It does take a bit of work to know how to tweak a search to find what you want, as vintage clothing sellers uncounted (at least by me) offer vintage gems incomparable.

There are a lot of overused adjectives, nouns, and phrases in vintage fashion listings. Some have evolved to be keywords and were effective, but have lost efficacy when sellers mindlessly clamber aboard a good thing, regardless of whether it really applies to her or his 1920s evening gown, 1950s retro purse, or Edwardian parasol. There's a lot more vintage clothing kicking around from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s (you get the idea), so the competition between sellers can be fierce, because it's more of a buyers market. "Description abuse" occurs more frequently with these decades.

When I saw this auction on Ebay I got a little goosepimply. An entire book on Rose Bertin.

Who was Rose Bertin, you ask? O lover of antique fashions, she was the famous, famous milliner to Marie Antoinette, Queen of France.

Some of you have seen these, but many of you haven't.

Jim Bumgardner collages together examples of...stuff... in a miniaturized, interactive montage. In this example, he's collected various covers of vintage women's magazines, from that old Edwardian staple, The Deliniator, to 1930s McCall's. Moving your cursor over a cover triggers a mouseover event. The miniature zine cover blooms large, and is accompanied by relevant information (e.g., date, etc.). It's neat to see the vintage fashions changing over time.

Worth1000.com instituted a "history-that-never-was" Photoshopping contest. Familiar, sepia-toned images of yesteryear get the full, Photoshop treatment, and are spliced, masked, and mixed with unlikely and impossible companion images. Truly, a must-see.