July 5, 2014

Saturday Snapshots: July 5, 2014





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{A young woman - possibly on her way to the prom (the photo is dated June 14, 1958) - poses in a gorgeous black and white strapless party dress on the front lawn. Wouldn't you just love to borrow that dress for a night?}





{This lovely group shot taken in Holland c. 1939 is captioned, "Hannie and the other secretaries link arms in the sun". They look like a sweet, close-knit group, who I'd happily spend time in typing pool with any day.}





{This great 1950s photo of a Jantzen beauty contest participant goes out to all my vintage loving friends in Portland, because the background info provided for it says that it was snapped in your fine city on Hayden Island one sunny Memorial Day long weekend.}





{In stark contrast to the photo above, many of us are already getting hit with snow again, so it seems only fitting to include a charming outdoors winter photo, such as this one of four 1940s University of Wisconsin students enjoying a spot of tobogganing fun in today's post, too.}





{Vintage wedding photos and even group wedding shots aren't rare, I'm happy to say, but it certainly isn't every day you come across one with as many bridal party members and guests in the same frame as this fantastic 1950s picture. taken in Sussex, England, has.}



{Here a fun looking couple (aren't her slacks great?) pose in front of a beautiful garnet hued Cadillac in Washington, DC - a date of '52 is given, but the poster doesn't indicate if that's for the car, the photo or both.}



{As much as I adore what this stylish young woman is wearing, it was also the fascinating bit of background information that the Flickr poster provided about her that prompted me to share her snap. It would appear that after she passed away later in life, she donated more than $5 million to the Cat Protection Society in Sydney. There's a pet loving lady after my own heart!}




{Give me a V, give me an I, give me an N, give me a T, give me an A, give a G, give me an E, what does that spell? VINTAGE! Go, vintage cheerleaders from 1954 in your adorable circle skirt uniforms!}



{Really, could this attractive young couple who are on their way to Valentine's Day costume party be any more delightfully dressed?}



{Doesn't this terrific shot of numerous female college students on bikes have pre-official-launch-of-the-Tweed-Run Tweed Run vibe written all over it?}


{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective Flickr page.}

♥ ♥ ♥



Early in the spring of 2013, I had an absolutely wonderful dream one night. Before I delve into the details though, it's worth mentioning that, as a general rule, I either tend not to dream at all (that I remember in the morning) or to have very vivid bad dream/nightmares. My dreams are usually stark, detailed, and serious (in terms of subject matter). I've never dreamed - as best I can recall t least - that I was flying through the air or riding a horse through a meadow of wildflowers, to put it mildly. So when I have a genuinely good dream, it's such a noteworthy event that it often stays with me for months or even years afterwards.

Alrighty, now onto the dream itself. I was about my current age, though I don't think we were living in the house we do now, instead we were in a small post-war house (that may or may not actually exist) on what looked to be the street that my high school best friend used to live on. Suddenly I was driven in a car up to this house and knew that a party was being held - my birthday party to be exact.

As I stood on the front lawn, glorious summertime Okanagan sun tap dancing across my shoulders, I began to watch the party guests arrive and quickly realized that I was seeing a steady stream of my very dear online vintage friends enter the house one by one. After everybody was inside, I went in too, and we had a rollicking good time, every last person in full vintage garb, great music and food, and just the best kind of celebratory fun one could ever hope for.

That's it, I woke up as the party wound down, and - honest to goodness - had a smile on my face as I did. Unlike some lucky vintage loving folks who live in larger cities (or towns of any size) that have a vintage community, I'm not in that boat. Though surely there must be at least a few others, I'm the only mid-century wearing person I know of north of the Lower Mainland (the area around, and including, Vancouver), and as a result I don't get to interact with other likeminded folks where I live.

I know that many of us out there are in this same kind of spot, and it can be a lonely one at times, even though the awesomeness that is our online vintage community certainly helps us feel more connected and like other people "get us" when we wear a 1950s cocktail dress or stack of Bakelite bangles nearly up to our arms as we run errands around town.

One doesn't need an interpretation book to crack the dream that I had, it's clearly my subconscious' way of doing something I'd truly love to have happen in real life, but which I know will probably never come to be (attending Viva would probably be one of the closest things to such a fabulous shindig of vintage fans).

This marvelous get-together was real, as Tennyson might have said, only so long as I was asleep, for we are spread across all four corners of the earth, and much as we adore one another, it would almost certainly be impossible to get so many vintage folks out to my wee corner of British Columbia for a day.

It's an awesome thought though, and the kind of feel good dream that really helps to counterbalance all the less than stellar ones I have in a given year.

Though this party wasn't real, the happiness that it brought my way sure was, and that's just about as wonderful as an actual birthday celebration - and who knows, perhaps as time goes on, I really will have the opportunity to meet some of those party guests in person (hey, a gal can always dream - literally! :)).

35 comments:

  1. What a lovely dream to have had! I don't know anyone who likes vintage in real life which is a shame.

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  2. Grrr...Google....let's try this again...

    The girl in the first photo really reminds me of Sylvia Plath, might be the hair, or just the era.

    I hope if I was in your vintage friends dream I was the one mixing up the cocktails (someone has to make the Slingers, Gin Fizzes, and Pink Ladies). I do get what you're saying though, about having a community that is very real even if it does not exist in a physical space. Were it not for the web, I'd be pretty much alone in my love of vintage (my friends locally think I just have bad taste, and pity me) with no one to share the great finds with. I don't consider people I've met through blogs any less "real" than people I see day-to-day.
    Skype, the Internet, and social networking sites have really revolutionised the way we engage with people, and for all the nay-saying, I do think it is a worthwhile thing.

    Anyway, if we ever meet in person, I'll make you a vintage cocktail but until then I'll just have to toast you from here. Cheers!

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    1. Oh no, did Blogger eat your comment? I have that happen on one blog or another at least once a week. If only the Blogger comment box saved what you wrote as you put it down on virtual paper and it wouldn't lose it if your browser crashed, you hit the back button by mistake, your cat walked on the keyboard or anything else like that) and can certainly relate to how frustrating it is to have that happen.

      It's a deal, dear gal! You can be the bartender in any future vintage party dreams I have. What a sincere shame that your friends view the way you dress with pity. It is I who pity them because they're so incredibly narrow minded on the fashion front. I adore it when my friends have unique styles and ways of presenting themselves to the world.

      I'm with you entirely when it comes to my online friends and love that I get to wake up everyday and connect with other like minded souls around the world from the comforts of home. For someone like me who is so often bedridden or at least housebound because of my health, this online group of dear friends becomes even more of a massive blessing and one that I never take for granted.

      Aww, I'd love to meet you in person one and sincerely hope that such is able to happen. Make my a virgin, pretty please, and it's a date! :)

      ♥ Jessica

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  3. What fabulous photos (love the stories behind them!) and totally understand what you mean about having a vintage community nearby. This was actually one of the reasons I packed up and moved to Portland last summer (I was living about 2 hours away in WA state). Despite having like-minded individuals in the same town, I still love the connections I make in the online vintage community. This is actually why I really wouldn't want to live in the past - I like the Internet too much!

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    1. Goodness, do I hear you loud and clear there. Sometimes, in a voice akin to when I child threatens to run off and join the circus, I've sometimes said to Tony that I'm just going to pack everything up and move to Portland, so I majorly love that you did precisely that. If we lived in the States, not Canada, and were looking to move, it would be one of my very top choices for sure.

      I highly doubt we'll be immigrating anytime soon, but a trip down that way has been a longtime dream of mine and one that I'm hoping to have happen in the fairly near (next year or two, ideally) future. We'll definitely have to try to meet up if I ever do make it to Portland.

      ♥ Jessica

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  4. I adore all those pictures!! I want to get into the "way back throw back" machine!!!

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    1. Please take me along with you, if you do, my sweet friend! You know, while one might think that if I was suddenly transplanted back to the past I would make a beeline for a department store or boutique, and they'd be a close second, but the first place I'd want to go shopping would actually be thrift and antique stores. Just imagine the Victorian and early 20th century treasures you could find there, likely for a song, back in the 40s and 50s!

      Big hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  5. pretty pretty pictures!
    to think that the charming secretaries from holland are only moments from WW2 away ......

    xxxx

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  6. I don't dress in vintage clothes, but I love anything vintage. Your blog is a real treat and I want to thank you for sharing it with us~

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    1. Hi Susan dear, thank you very much for your lovely message. It's my heartfelt pleasure to do so. I'm a firm believer that if you like anything vintage related, you're part of the vintage community. It's (the community) isn't just for those who wear yesteryear threads by any means. The more the merrier in my books!

      Wishing you a beautiful Sunday,
      ♥ Jessica

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  7. What wonderful Flicker favorites. I love seeing scenes of everyday vintage life, especially when those are in color too. It is interesting that you should have a dream you remember so vividly with details. I rarely remember my dreams. This was a lovely dream to remember as we all live so far away from each other (for the most part) and it is really interesting all the different walks of life, countries, styles that we all have so different and so interesting.

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  8. Beautiful round up of photos! I particularly love the secretarial pool and the lady from Sydney, so much style!
    That dream sounds amazing, I would totally love to attend that party!

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  9. I love the photos, especially the wedding one. I wished I had thought of having a picture taken with EVERYONE in it as I had a small wedding with about 75 people so it would've been doable.

    Dreams are odd things. Nice that you had a wonderful party in your dream. The last dream I remember having a few days ago was that the police were digging up my neighbor's yard, looking for murder victims and they kept bringing wrapped bundles of what I thought had to be body parts to a truck.

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    1. *Shivers!* Oh my, dear Dawn, that sounds like quite the unnerving dream (and more akin to the sorts I usually have, if I do dream, or at least remember it in the morning, at all). I'm sorry that you had such an unpleasant one (and seriously hope that none of your neighbours are actually secret serial killers!).

      I love that wedding photograph, too. It gives us such a great look at a wide array of outfits that people wore to weddings back in the 50s.

      Big hugs & happy Sunday wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  10. What a marvellous selection of photos! Love looking at old snaps, especially wedding ones. And how funny to have a dream like that! I'm a vivid dreamer, so nothing surprise me! x

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  11. In a town of only 800 people you can probably guess I'm the only one of my kind. Thank goodness for the online crowd who share my passion because I know someone out there is like minded!
    Great photos! They always put a smile on my face. ;)

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  12. These photos are so great! I really loved the one with couple in front of the car in DC (don't they just look so laid back and cool?!) and the prom photo (yes! I'll borrow that dress ANYTIME!!)

    Lisa.

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  13. The girl in the first photo is wearing a gorgeous dress! And that dress makes me dream too! The Cadillac, the friends on bikes, the girl in the beauty contest... I love everyone of your photos!
    p.s.
    I visited your shop a few days ago...how many lovable items!!

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    1. Thank you very much, dear Dan. I adore that dress, too. It's stunning and would fulfill my long time dream of owning a bustle shelf dress (I've never had one before).

      It's super sweet of you to visit my Etsy shop, thank you very much. If you ever purchase anything there, please drop me a little note so that I know it's you and I'll be sure to include a special surprise thank you gift for ordering from me.

      Oodles of hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  14. A gorgeous selection of photos and a wide range of everyday vintage outfit inspiration.

    It sounds like a lovely dream, and maybe it isn't completely impossible. I'd like to think you could have that party one day! Perhaps air travel will become really cheap through some new engineering development! Or we'll all win the lottery. In the meantime, at least you have online connections to people you know would love to attend such a party if they could :)

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    1. Hi sweet Tanith, I love your optimistic view on the likelihood of a party like this happening and agree that it's not completely inconceivable. With each passing year, I keep thinking more and more about how I think Canada needs a large scale vintage get-together and how I would love to try and orchestrate one here in the sunny Okanagan. I'm not actively working towards making that happen, but I do find myself brainstorming and thinking about it more and more often, so who knows, maybe one day I'll try to really get something started on that front. It could be amazing - a Viva of the north, of sorts. :)

      Big hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  15. Oh I know how you feel. It's not that I wouldn't try to make friends with people who aren't inclined towards vintage if given the chance, but I simply don't think that they are interested in hanging out with me. I guess the whole introverted/shyness thing doesn't help either. Or the fact that I watch vintage movies where gentlemen really do exhist. Or, that I can't keep up with the latest thing even though I am young... I must say though I wouldn't give up vintage for any of that and if any of you lovely ladies are the closest thing I will have to friendship then I am totally honoured :) Love the pictures btw! especially those slacks <3

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    1. What a beautiful, touching way to describe how you feel, dear gal. It mirrors many of my own thoughts and takes on being a super shy, immensely introverted vintage gal in a small town, too. In fact, I was fighting off tears by the final line. I feel precisely the same way about the importance of honour of the online friends I've made within the vintage world.

      Thank you from speaking from your heart.

      ♥ Jessica

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  16. A lovely selection of photos indeed! Loved the one with the cat loving millionairess! Here's wishing you a many many happy dreams to come....and you never know maybe even a global vintage party hosted in Canada one day!
    may xx
    www.walkinginmay.com

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  17. Love these! The images are stunning Jessica. Interesting dream. I dream crazy. LOL
    http://balearaitzart.blogspot.com.au/

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  18. Oh dear, if I lived just a little closer to you I would gladly come and host a party for you. I've had a US penpal for many years, son was 6 when we started mailing and he's 20 now. Two years ago I visited her in Florida, but it took me 20 years to persuade dear husband to go to the US. I would love to go to Canada too, but I am unsure if it would ever happen. Perhaps I will one day be brave enough to go there alone, and then we could party and chat and I could investigate your wardrobe. Love your photo series, I love vintage photos that are not the usual movie star shots. :)

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    1. That would be fabulous!!! You are always welcome, dear Sanne and any get together with you would warrant a party unto itself. How lovely that you spent time with your friend in Florida. I hope you're able to make it to Canada one day, too - any part. If I can ever help give you some selling points to share with DH (Maple syrup! The Rocky Mountains! Shania Twain! Poutine!), please don't hesitate to let me know.

      So do I. They've always been a much larger source of vintage fashion inspiration than those celebrities, wonderful as they are, because I feel like I relate to them considerably more than the Hollywood stars and starlets of the day (or anytime!).

      Big hugs,
      ♥ Jessica

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  19. What a lovely dream! I have vivid, horrible dreams all the time, courtesy of Parkinson's; so I know how wonderful it is to have a truly nice dream. Thank your for sharing, and for the gorgeous photos!
    ~xoxo, CoriLynn

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    1. I'm deeply sorry to know that you usually have very negative/scary/awful dreams as well, sweet dear. Those who are fortunate to usually have fun/happy ones are so lucky! I honestly can't recall another good one since this party dream, which is part of the reason why I think it lingered so vividly in my memory.

      Understanding hugs always,
      ♥ Jessica

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  20. Gosh these photos are marvellous. As I read through I kept thinking I had found my favourite until another stunning one popped up. A really super set. I have enjoyed looking at the fashions so much. I hope the girl in the first photo enjoyed her prom, her dress was just amazing. And I hope that all the typists got through the war still being friends. In my collection of wedding photos I haven't got any with a big group of guests like that. I like the ones that include guests as you get to see what ordinary people's outfits were like. Your dream sounds like such fun, I bet it was an amazing party. I would have come along and bought a cake with me!

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    1. I really hope so, too. That dress is stop-you-in-your-tracks stunning! I've always wanted, but not yet ever owned, a ruffled bustle front dress like that. I actually tweeted a few months ago that I hopped 2014 would be the year I finally added one to my wardrobe. No dice yet, but we do still have nearly half the year left to go and the hunt/asking Santa for one will continue long after if it doesn't come to be this year.

      Aww, yes, please, bring plenty of tasty treats to the party! I tend to like my fetes more like ice cream socials than drunker benders, so cake beats beer or the like any day in my books. :)

      Big hugs & many thanks for your wonderful comment,
      ♥ Jessica

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    2. I hope the next few months throw up a wonderful dress like this in your size and at a great price! I will keep my fingers crossed. Cake trumps beer for me too. In fact, given a cuppa and a slice of cake I am pretty much happy!

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  21. Hello! I really love your blog posts, they're always so well researched and interesting! :) I loved looking back at these photos, whilst I do love looking at glamour shots I always find candid pictures the most interesting because I think they really reveal what it was actually like to live then. xxx

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  22. What a great selection of shots as always. My very favourite is the one of the couple in DC.
    My dreams tend to be about real things and not unicorns and prairies full of lilies, although I wish they were :)

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  23. the group of dutch girls, along with the college students at the very end, was such a fun setting.

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