Vintage Look- 1950's Sky Blue Pleated Suit

We have had enough rainy and cool days for me to feel like fall. I even wore a cardigan with my dress when I went to work at the Wooden Spoon a couple Fridays ago. With the overcast sky and a/c, it was quite chilly! Quarter length sleeves are the perfect thing for in-between weather, and I love them on this suit. I'm not much for pleats on skirts, but I can't help but love them if they are in my favorite color!

This 50's suit actually has a great story behind it. I went into a tiny little flea market in Elm Springs, AR, about a year ago. A sweet lady had just opened it in a tiny cottage. The community there has several churches, a gas station, and a JB Hunt truck office, but the tiny main street of four buildings is basically vacant. I stopped in her shop and the first thing that struck my eye was this suit, pinned to the wall with thumbtacks. The lady doesn't actually sell vintage clothing; she had it there just for decoration. The reason it was only for display was that it was completely covered with age spots, or "foxing". Have you seen old papers, or books, that have yellowish or brown spotting all over them? The same thing can happen to cloth.

I asked her how much for the suit, and she squinted at it and settled on 3 dollars. I jumped on it, sure by eyeballing it that it would be a fit. And I have really good success with getting vintage clothing clean and wearable. For a couple of bucks I was willing to take the chance. What I lament is that I did not have the foresight to take a before picture!! You would be simply astounded at the results. It went from brown speckled all over, with yellowish cuffs and hem, to this. Since I was needing to be aggressive and I hadn't spent much money, I used medium-hot water and two scoops of Oxyclean to about 1 gallon of water. I let it soak overnight, and then did it again. Compete and total success- and my only fear, that the cloth would shrink, did not happen!

Here is a close-up, because I love the little bow that goes across and snaps, the wonderful front pleats, and the little Peter Pan collar. Yes, it is a bit rumpled, but you get the idea.

With it I wore a flowery 50's hat that has blue velvet "ears" that come down and fit the hat snugly to your head without it having to be pinned. I think it is so fun! And the purse is a vintage 30's-40's handbag that has been very well loved, and still is by me. The handle had been held by the original owner so many times that the floral cloth is worn down to the filling! It makes me oddly happy to hold it in my hands now.

And here is a word of caution to all those who wear, or want to wear vintage- be careful of zippers! I am actually going to do a Vintage Wardrobe video about care and wearing of vintage to address a lot of different issues. What I am going to say for now is this, put everything, including skirts, on over your head. No pulling up over your hips unless you have tons of room. I always try to follow this rule, but one time I was in a hurry and stepped into this skirt. There was just the tiniest of tugs to pull it over my heinie...but there was a tiny "snick" sound. I immediately wilted, because I knew what that meant. I had separated the teeth of the zipper! See the original blue zipper above, while the white on is the one I am replacing it with. There's little sewing I hate worse than putting in zippers!!! But I gritted my teeth, and luckily had one in my stash that was actually the right length. Since I have replaced it, you can bet it will be going over my head from now on! Hope this little nugget of wisdom can help you with your vintage wardrobe. Learn from my mistakes, Dear Reader ;). And what about you? Would you have spent the 3 dollars on the chance that you could save a vintage outfit?