11/12/12

Fashion Frocks

Hi Guys! I hope you all had great weekends, mine surely was not long enough!  Friday night I stayed in with a bowl of pumpkin chili, a few local beers, and a pile of dresses to hem for the shop.  Saturday I was going to head into Denver for a little shopping and a trip to our favorite book store/ coffee shop but we nixed that plan when it started to snow.  I ended up working on the shop most of the day, and then we trekked out in the snow to a local Salvadorian restaurant for empanadas and margaritas later that evening.  Sunday we headed to the movies to see Argo, which I thought was really good but pretty intense.
  
 
 Outfit Details:
Dress: 1960s Vintage (Just sold in shop)
Hat: Brixton via Karmaloop
Socks: Target
Shoes: Vintage
     Now that you know what I did every breathing second of the weekend, you don't have to be in suspense anymore. On to what I am wearing!  My mom found this dress in a second hand shop in Pennsylvania dutch country, and I was so excited to get it.  This was one of those pieces that was pretty hard for me to list in the shop, and of course it sold within the week! That's how I remain passionate about my shop though, I only sell what I truly love myself! When I list items in the shop, I like to do research on the label so I know what era it is most likely from and how to price it accordingly, and this was one of the coolest labels I have discovered to date!
      The label was Fashion Frocks, and some research led me to an awesome Flickr collection about the brand which made my vintage-lovin' heart swell with excitement! Apparently Fashion Frocks was a company started in the 1920s out of Cincinnati, Ohio that employed housewives to sell clothing door-to-door to friends and neighbors.  They would carry around sample sale cards with pictures of the dresses, along with different color swatches and customization options.  I am sure the ladies would also be wearing their own Fashion Frocks as well! The company was closed by the mid 70s, and I think that this amazing little red gingham number I am wearing is from the mid to late 60s. You should definitely check out the beautiful sample cards from the Flickr set if you are at all interested in vintage! 
     This kind of stuff is what makes me really love having a vintage shop and working with second hand clothing.  Not only is it a greener way to shop, but when you think about the stories and the history that go along with a certain piece of clothing, its just amazing!  A housewife from the 60s showed this dress sample card to one of her neighbors, who fell in love with it and made the purchase.  Perhaps that lady kept it the whole time, or passed it on to her daughter.  Fifty years later, my mom found it in a small shop in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and carried it with her on a plane to Colorado for me.  I then cleaned it, shortened the hem a few inches, wore it out myself one weekend, and then listed it in an online marketplace.  Within a week, it was bought by another young lady in San Francisco, and its journey will thus continue!
Do you guys ever imagine the stories behind pieces you find?
xo Hannah

27 comments:

  1. ok from now on i'm totally checking labels from the gems i buy, that's super interesting! that kinda reminds me of our group blog, just we're not actually making the pieces haha.

    ps your weekend sounded awesome. beers and margaritas- count me in :)

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  2. I love second-hand clothing for exactly that reason. :) I like to imagine the people who wore my clothes before me, and where they went and how they came across these items. What a neat discovery. :) It's a super cute dress!

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  3. Beautiful dress! The collar is so pretty. One of the main things I love about vintage things is wondering where they came from and who has loved them before, I love the story behind fashion frocks! having a nosey at the flickr pictures now, they're so inspiring!

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  4. Your dress is quite lovely, the neck and sleeve details really make it. Sad about listing it in your shop but I'm sure the new owner will treasure it!

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  5. Aw, that is such a cool story! That is one of the main reasons I wear vintage clothing. I love to think about who wore it before me and what they may have done in it. This dress is super cute and I love the hat you paired with it!

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  6. Such a cool story. I really like it combination with the that coat too- really plays up the sixties feel. And the hat! Cute.


    Neat to think about the story of the clothing too.

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  7. What an amazing dress! I was reading this hoping it was in your shop but thinking "there's no way she's getting rid of this!" and then was sad to see it sold already :) That is the fun part though- wearing something once or twice and then passing it along to continue the journey, you're right! You look adorable! And pumpkin chili?? Where'd you get the recipe? That sounds amazing!

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  8. SUCH a great post, I completely enjoyed it! It's awesome that you are able to research the brands of your vintage dresses. Whenever I see vintage tags on clothing I always wonder about the brand, and yeah, who owned the piece before me too! This dress is darling. And I've never thought about vintage shopping that way, but you're right, it is totally the greenest way to shop!

    perfectly priya

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  9. Sheesh...is that ever a perfect vintage find!! (And from PA Dutch country to boot...I grew up so close to there!). Finds like that are truly hard to let go of and that dress is surely a stunner!

    Not so long ago I listed this floral peter pan blouse that I was also hesitating putting in my shop. Of course it sold in days and I soon found out the buyer was the daughter of the designer of these blouses from the 50s/60s. After I wrote her in the note I included that it was a hard one to part with, she messaged me back thanking me for listing it because it was going to become part of an archive and displayed in an exhibit....how totally cool! Haha...sorry for typing that whole story, just reading what you wrote got me so excited, because I totally get what you mean about a piece's journey. Now also glad because I really needed a kick in the butt as well after neglecting my poor shop this whole month due to vacation and your excitement about your own gorgeous shop is truly contagious and gives me the boost of motivation I need to really start mine back up again :)

    Totally craving pumpkin chili now too! xoxo Marisa

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  10. I love the neckline of the dress. Really cute how you paired it with the tall socks too!

    Sincerely,
    Sabrina

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  11. that is an awesome story about the company (it's like an avon for clothes but WAY cooler/customizable!) and really cool to hear you do the research to find out about each piece, i can imagine some sellers just care about the selling aspect and your passion for vintage and green living def shows! and wow, you look so adorable in this that must have been really hard!! I labsolutely love your styling here w/ the high socks and flats and that hat... so adorable! love the shot of you satnding w/ one leg up, such a cute pose! do most of your pieces just happen to fit you like this? that seems to make it extra tough!
    http://dusanabotswana.com/

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  12. oh & wow, way to go for that productive weekend!!

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  13. What a great story behind this dress! It always amazes me how vintage pieces can have so much history and character to them. This one is especially lovely and looks adorable on you! Also, I LOVED Argo!

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  14. That's something I love about thrifting! I always like to imagine the kind of person who wore it before me and what they might've accomplished or done while wearing the clothing I just thrifted.
    Anyway, such a pretty dress, and I love the knee socks you paired with it! ;)

    Trendy Teal

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  15. Oh wow, I just can't belive how amazing you look in this dress. It's totally cute!! :) <3
    http://coeursdefoxes.blogspot.com/

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  16. I love the stories behind old furniture and secondhand books, but you're right about clothes too. What important things do they do while wearing that article, you know?

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  17. beautiful vintage outfit and story! creative beautiful photos like always!

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  18. You sound like you had a pretty perfect weekend!

    Lea x

    http://shebeginstosee.blogspot.com

    Why not check out my Christmas Yankee Candle giveaway?

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  19. Beautiful details!
    I'm following your lovely blog with GFC & Bloglovin ;)

    Corina
    www.cocorrina.com

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  20. really lovely outfit, loving the shade of red

    hope you'll visit back!
    www.marylee31.blogspot.com

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  21. That's a great story, how interesting! Love the outfit, you look fab in the dress and that lipstick really suits you.

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  22. gaaahhh i just wrote the longest comment ever complimenting you on all your lovely peices when all of a sudden i get "engine initialization failure" and i lost what i wrote. So now im just going to say i love the outfit. lol.

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  23. I absolutely love the dress and can't wait to wear it. Thank you again!

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  24. Your outfit totally looks like something Suzy would have worn in Moonrise Kingdom. Love it! I also love that you did a little research on the brand and found so many amazing and cool things out about it. Vintage shop owning really can be a historical gold mine, I'm a history nerd so I should know.

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