Searching for snow clothes in the middle of summer

It might seem a touch ironic that I live in a country known the world over for being notoriously cold and snowy (a reputation which is by no means unfounded in many places) and yet have been searching for the past few years to find vintage snow clothes - specifically a pair of mid-century winter boots and a cute two piece snow or ski suit - and keep coming up empty handed.

To be fair, it's not that I haven't seen options online (there's been absolutely nothing forthcoming in person), it's just that almost every last one of them has either been the wrong size or well beyond my budget.

Unlike, say, sundresses, there doesn't seem to be anywhere near the abundance of vintage snow clothes that there is of most other types of seasonal clothing that’s still to be had. Of course some pieces exist and are still for sale, but because relatively few of them surface in the marketplace anymore these days, there's ample demand and little in the way of supply, meaning that those that do pop up frequently fetch princely sums.





{Sewing one's own is always an option, if you happen to be a seamstress that is, which alas, sadly, I'm really not - but gosh, do I adore getting styling inspiration from great 1940s sewing patterns like this. Image source.}


Even if one finds a good price however, there's nothing to say that the size will be right (especially when you wear a modern size 8/8.5 shoe like I do) or that you'll love the garment in question, both make-or-break points in most cases.

There have been a few times that I've found either a great pair of boots or ski suit on eBay and bid like crazy, but when the dust settled, someone with deeper pockets always ousted me, and I had to repeat a phrase familiar to most auction bidders the world over, it just wasn't meant to be.

Compounding these points is the fact that I'm allergic to wool. Really allergic. I nearly always burst out into a horrible case of hives that usually develops into contact dermatitis (lasting for days or even weeks afterwards) if wool (or even fabric that's a wool blend) touches my skin for more than a few minutes. Not good at all if you're in the market for a vintage ski or snow suit, as most of those from the 1930s, 40s and 50s were made of wool. However, some of them are lined and others can be worn with long underwear and/or other garments underneath to ensure that wouldn't come in direct contact with my skin, thus making them fairly safe (I've been doing this with my wool winter coats my whole life).




{The fact that I don't - or more accurately have been unable to for more than a decade now due to my health - ski doesn't phase me one bit, it's the ski bunny look that I'm after more than actually swishing down the slopes. For that, I'll happily thwart wool allergies with long johns, layers, and scarves if that's what it takes to give me the chic, charming yesteryear look (akin to that in the photograph above - especially if the hood is involved!) winter look and protection from the elements that I'm after.}


Some in the vintage community have had great success in finding original cold weather footwear from the 40s and 50s, and others have lucked out and been able to get their mitts on wonderful reproduction style winter boots, such as those from Miss L Fire (I love, for example, the Miss L Fire's that Laurence sported last winter).

While one has a decent range of vintage winter footwear styles to chose from (for examples of such shoes, I highly recommend these two posts that Charlotte wrote last year: one, two; as well as this terrific look at vintage winter shoes and some modern vintage appropriate styles that Gemma penned back in 2010) in terms of the style they’d ideally like to find, the type of boots that I'm after are those that have a distinct cold weather look and feel to them and are ideally fur (or faux fur) trimmed, redolent of the burgundy hued ones in the lovely 1940s ad below.

{Image via Marlene's wonderful blog post which is chocked full of inspiring vintage shoe and winter boot examples.}


I'm not ruling out other styles of course, but I wouldn't place things at a beggars can't be choosers kind of level either. I think that the key factor is that I really want them to look like they just stepped (footwear pun intended) out of the 40s or 50s, and should they happen to be fur trimmed (I just adore that look!), all the better.

It might seem a bit strange to be weighing one's options and discussing this topic in the middle of the summer, but now is in fact a great time to ramp up my hunt even further, because we still have a few months (baring a super early winter) until the snowy season returns once more.

Just as you can sometimes find better prices on swimwear, sundresses, and playsuits in January than in July, so too (one can at least hope) is there the possibility that you'll unearth both a wider selection and slightly better prices on vintage winter boots and ski suits during the summer, when there's considerably less use for them (in the Western hemisphere and outside of the Swiss Alps, that is).

My hunt for both of these items will continue diligently. Ideally I'd love to find each one before the first flake hits the ground in the late fall, but if it doesn't happen (again) this year, it's not the end of the universe. I'll just keep my eyes and ears peeled, and know that sooner or later they're both bound to show up (good vintage things, as I always like to say, come to those who wait).