Je t'aime: Vintage illustrations from the 1940s and 1950s Depicting Amour

I simply adore vintage illustrations depicting love and happy couples (in advertisements mostly). They are a little cheesy, but so very romantic. Don't deny it, you know you've fantasized about being swept off your feet (wearing a gorgeous vintage dress, of course!) and being kissed as if you were in a TCM movie.



A snippet from the poem "Camomile Tea"
"We might be fifty, we might be five,
So snug, so compact, so wise are we!
Under the kitchen-table leg
My knee is pressing against his knee."
- Katherine Mansfield

Vintage Room Envy: Hot Pink, Crystal Chandeliers, & Vintage Perfume Bottles

I am so in love, absolutely head over heels with this ultra feminine bathroom! I am definitely taking a cue for my own rather chintzy 1920s bathroom. I love that this has a lot of va-va-voom but all the lines are very clean, very simple. That is a great mix. Start off with clean simple lines and add the high glamour with vintage bottles, crystal chandeliers, and anything floral and sparkly.
Image credit: 1st Option

The "Oh So Pretty!" Blouse Post

Silk georgette, floral printed chiffons, lace and flounce... I adore it all! I especially love the blouses with ruffled peplums, so sweet! If you are looking for vintage inspired blouses in modern day shops be sure to look for dainty details such as tiny buttons, pintucks, panels of lace details and pleated ruffles (very Victorian).
Shopping Links
(some of these are no longer available)
1.} Isabel Marant Blue Silk Lurex Blouse, FarFetch.com
2.} Marc by Marc Jacobs Cotton Top, Net-A-Porter
3.} D&G Silk Floral Blouse, Jades24.com
4.} Cream Floral Corset Top, Debenhams (UK)
5.} Printed silk-georgette blouse, Net-A-Porter
6.} Ylang Ylang, Mirabella.jp
7.} Erich Cotton Printed Blouse, My Theresa
8.} Black Floral Camisole, Topshop
9.} Cream Lace Embroidered Tunic, Peacocks (UK)

10 Images of Inspiration: By the Sea By the Beautiful Sea

The ocean said to me once,
"Look!
Yonder on the shore
Is a woman, weeping.
I have watched her.
Go you and tell her this --
Her lover I have laid
In cool green hall.
There is wealth of golden sand
And pillars, coral-red;
Two white fish stand guard at his bier.

"Tell her this
And more --
That the king of the seas
Weeps too, old, helpless man.
The bustling fates
Heap his hands with corpses
Until he stands like a child
With a surplus of toys."
- Stephen Crane

Image credits: 1.} Natalia by the Sea, 2.} Paper Boats, 3.} Yulia, 4.} Tumblr via We♥It, 5.} Ppppapertissue, 6.} Lauren Rose, 7.} I wonder where you are, 8.} Mah Mah, 9.} We♥It, 10.} Le Love

Flea Market Homes: 10 Pretty & Eclectic Interiors to Inspire

There is something so cozy and welcoming about homes that have a mix of antique and new. The interiors featured here all have bits and pieces you could easily find at your local flea market or swap meet. Look for vintage linens such as floral curtains and table clothes, hand painted bowls, vintage tin cans or wire baskets for storage, and needlepoint pillowcases and ornate framed paintings. Just remember to buy what you love and what catches you eye, because as I've found, when you purchase items you cherish, it all comes together in the end.

Image credits: All images are from Sweet Home Style with proper link backs to their original sources.

Vintage Trend Inspiration: 1970s BIBA Bohemian Florals, Laced Up Boots, and Bejeweled Velvet

A bohemian and hippie outfit ensemble inspired by the 1970s label BIBA. I'm really quite enjoying putting these little ensembles together on Polyvore. Now if only I were able to afford all of these beautiful things. *hehe*

The shopping list for this outfit is at Bohemian Tea Party set on Polyvore.

10 Vintage Sewing Patterns from the 1940s & 1950s by Simplicity

One way to date vintage clothing is to peruse old vintage sewing patterns. You can find many of them on sites such as Flickr or search for them on Etsy. You will have a better understanding of what real women wore in comparison to what the Hollywood starlets wore. You can also find out what the trends were for that year. So if you're trying to learn more about dating vintage clothes, be sure to research vintage patterns!

Simplicity vintage sewing patterns are the most helpful in my opinion only because each envelope was stamped with a date! I mostly view Simplicity patterns to get a better date range for a vintage dress or blouse.



Descriptions: 1.} Rockabilly Vintage Blouse Pattern circa 1957 2.} 1940s Skirt Pattern 3.} Vintage Teen Dress Sewing Pattern circa 1949 4.} Low Back Blouse circa 1954 5.} 1950s Sundress Bolero Playsuit 6.} 1953 V Neck Summer Dress Sewing Pattern 7.} Vintage Blouse Patter circa 1947 8.} Cocktail Dress Vintage Pattern circa 1956 9.} 1954 Vintage Skirt & Petticoat 10.} 1940s Pinup Front Knotted Midriff Top With Shorts & Skirt

Image credits: All patterns are from Flickr from the Vintage Patterns group

A Vintage Photograhp of Marilyn Monroe & A Quote to Live By

“I do the very best I know how, the very best I can, and I mean to keep on doing so until the end” - Abraham Lincoln



One of my favorite photos of Marilyn Monroe, she looks so very happy here, so innocent and carefree.

Stole My Heart by Little & Ashley, also the Kindle Commercial Song

I love this song so very much and also quite like the stop motion commercial, wish I could be in this commercial! Wouldn't it be great if they did a type of stop motion commercial with an Audrey Hepburn theme? *hehe*

Adorevintage Site Changes, New "FAQ" updates!

The last two days I spent revamping the F.A.Q. section so that it was easier to navigate and information was more accessible. I removed a lot of the "site embellishments" so it was straight to the point but also looked pretty.

I also changed the link colors and the banner colors to this pretty peachy/orange color (picked from the Vargas girl illustration). I'm hoping it's just as pretty on other people's monitors as it is on mine. *hehe* It would be awful if it looked lovely on my screen but horrendously orange on other peoples' screens!

It took awhile, I had to redesign new banners, new graphics, and create all the new pages and change the stylesheets. *phew* But it was worth it! I love the Adorevintage.com F.A.Q. section, it's so clean!

Vintage Trend Inspiration: Pretty Ginghams, Summer Straw Bags, & Country Florals

Summer! Summer! I love pretty floral dresses and sweet gingham prints for the summertime! I've always had this idyllic picture of visiting a local farm, picking fresh produce to cook at home, all the while wearing a cute gingham dress, perhaps a vintage cardigan with floral embellishments, and a kerchief or bandana. One can dream, no?

You can view the "shopping list" of this ensemble at my Polyvore page. A Country Story by AdoreVintage.

Vintage Vogue Magazine Fashion Editorial "The Late Romantics" (c) 1967

Vintage polyster nightdress by Van Raalte described as "Stripes streaking across crepe, a streamered bow down a bare back, a pointed fall to the ground"

Lightning-green tricot side-slashed to the waist by Beau Sure.

Vintage Empire nightdress from Emilio Pucci described as "Pink, white, yellow, and rose on a great gale of nylon - from a tiny arched bodice"

Drifting out of a Bronte night, a brown-voile dream sashed in yellow velvet, - daisy-sprinkled white. Vintage Arthur Williams for Siren made of Cotton and Dacron.

Photographed by: Helmut Newton
Magazine scan credits: Vintage Fashion Magazines, re-uploaded on Adore Vintage (flickr)

Vintage Clothing & Fashion in the Movies: "The Women" by George Cukor 1939

Fabulous vintage clothes, don't you think? Some of the costumes are so outlandish in the best sort of way! The "eyes" sweater for example... it's so interesting, I could easily see this being snapped up in a heart beat at a vintage shop.



Image screencap credits: Live Journal via Film Stills