Ten items that inspire your vintage journey - Part Two

As much as I love (love!) watching movies and glamour shots of beautiful actresses from the 1930s and 1940s, I feel that there is nothing better to look at than actual real life photo's if you want to get a realistic impression of what people actually looked like at a specific point in time. It is a great source of inspiration and information if you are going for your own period-accurate look. Additionally, the pictures are often fun to look at all by them selves. How utterly adorable is the girl in this picture?!

1941, Source

7. Vintage Catalogs

Another great source of inspiration and something I can get lost in for hours are vintage catalogs. I don't just think they're great for fashion inspiration, I also enjoy looking at the fabrics for instance. I don't own any catalogs myself, unfortunately, but luckily they are easy to find on the inter webs. Or at least pages of them. You see lots of them pop up on Pinterest and Flickr. And you can buy books with a compilation of Sears catalogs per decade, or even per third of a decade (early 40s, mid 40s and late 40s). The page below comes from the Sears 1943 Christmas catalog. See the full catalog and others here!

8.  Vintage Buttons & Buckles

Ever since I started sewing I have become addicted to vintage buttons and buckles. They form a source of inspiration all on their own. Sometimes I see a set of buttons and start fantasizing about the dress or other garment that would complement them. For instance, I have this set of pretty, small, forest green buttons and I can envision them being attached to an elegant green button-back blouse made from a delicate fabric. The same goes for vintage buckles. Vintage buttons and buckles are just so unique, you don't see them made like that any more. And I especially like the early plastics they are often made of, they are so interesting to the touch.

Buckles made from Galalith plastics, c. 1930s/1940s - Source

9. Wide-Legged Pants

Being quite a tomboy for a large portion of my teenage years, that part of my personality is still very dominant. I have become more and more 'girly' for the past couple of years, but the tomboy side of me still often rejects wearing dresses. So having pants in my wardrobe next to dresses and skirts is awfully important to satisfy my 'split personality'. Luckily I love pants from the 40's and 30's. They are just girly enough, but not too much. I really enjoy seeing pictures of ladies in the 30s and 40s wearing pants. I have a pattern for the style of c. 1940 pants on the right that I'll be making for next summer. I hope to find a pattern similar to the pants on the left as well.

10. Other Peoples Blogs

Last, but definitely not least, one very important source of inspiration for me are other vintage bloggers. It wasn't until I discovered so many vintage blogs that I realized how many people actually wear vintage clothes. It opened up this whole world to me and convinced me to finally take that step to start building a vintage wardrobe. I feel very inspired by other vintage bloggers and I also feel much more self-assured in my vintage journey. In real life I don't know a single person who shares my passion for vintage (nor sewing) so having an on-line 'community' to fall back on is something I am very grateful for.