This beautiful 1922 Simpsons catalog cover abounds with fall style inspiration

✯ Day 259 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

With just one week left to go until we hit the the fall equinox this year, my level of giddiness for the start of my very favourite season is increasing with each passing hour.

There is so, so very much to love about autumn, from the bounty of seasonal produce (apples, pears, grapes, pumpkins, zucchini, squash - the list goes deliciously on and on) to the return of fabrics such as tweed, gabardine, and corduroy, the crunchy jewel toned leaves to the brisk evening breezes, I could wax poetically until the cows came home about the many splendid points of this gorgeous time of the year.

Without a doubt fall fashions are amongst the elements that I adore most about this season. Interestingly though, my fall and winter vintage wardrobe pales in size when compared to my spring and summer one.

I know this is partially due to the fact that I'm allergic to wool (even very small percentages in fabric blends), so that rules a lot of old school (and modern, for that matter) skirts, suits, sweaters and coats, but beyond that, it's hard to say why such is the case.

You know something, as I sit here and type this right now, it hits me that my whole wardrobe (whether vintage or otherwise) is smaller in the fall and winter department, which makes all of zero sense considering how many months of the year are chilly to down right freezing cold here in Canada.

Determined to do something about this point - if only by a few garments - I went on the prowl for vintage images of fall clothing to help me figure out what kinds of yesteryear pieces I'd like to add to my cold weather wardrobe.

Without a doubt one of the absolute most beautiful images I encountered was the 1922 cover of the Simpsons catalog pictured below.

 

Though by no means as well known south of the 49th as Sears or even Eaton’s, Simpsons (which later, in the early 1950s, merged with Sears) was a popular Canadian chain of department stores that also offered mail order catalogues to their customers (Simpsons closed its last set of doors about two decades ago).

In this immensely lovely illustration from 1922 (which comes by way of Old Catalogs on Flickr) we see an elegantly attired young woman in a velvet dress and hat (complete with charming feather plume) sitting with her borzoi beneath a maple tree that's burst forth in classic fall shades crisp yellow, orange and red.

Unlike many of the more flapper-ish styles of the twenties (which simply do not get along with my petite hourglass figure), this is the sort of dress from that era that I could really see my (usually 40s and 50s oriented) self wearing.

I love the deeply rich hue of burgundy, the charming Greek inspired embroidery, and the figure flattering sashed waist. Regardless of if I ever add a dress like this to my fall wardrobe, I appreciate the inspiration it provides in terms of colour and fabric.

So as autumn nears closer (yay!), I shall keep hunting for images like this amazing 1920s catalog cover to help me, I sincerely hope, finally grow the size of my vintage fall wardrobe this year.

By all means, please feel free to share any of your favourite images with me in the comment section - the more we show each other what's inspiring us this season, the better!

Found: the perfect, utterly gorgeous 1920s inspired dress

✯ Day 64 of Vintage 365 ✯

The 1920s were a phenomenal decade. It's impossible to adequately sum them up in a few lines (and indeed many splendid books are devoted to this decade of transformation), but I know that when I reflect upon the roaring 20s, I'm met with thoughts that are often equally divided between great literary works and stellar fashions.

To me the clothes of the 20s had in common with those of the 1960s the fact that they ushered in a very new (one might say "radical") way of dressing - particularly for women. By and large, by the time the twenties zipped into town faster than a Model T down a dusty back road, most women had shed off the elaborate corsetry and related layers of undergarments (petticoats, crinolines, etc) that had been much in use still up until the end of the Edwardian period. Hemlines were inching ever higher - much as hairstyles were growing increasingly shorter.

It is perhaps all too easy to reflect upon the 1920s and call to mind nothing but an endless string of flapper girls and Ziegfeld Follies style vixens, and while such women and the looks they sported were indeed a central part of the decade, not all women on the 20s adopted such "new age" styles. Yet, that didn't mean that those women weren’t still very fashion forward in their own wonderful way.

The 1920s saw the widespread adoption of loser cute garments, lightweight fabrics, tiered layers, cloche hats, dark lipstick, and a fad for ethnically inspired pieces (e.g., styles that channelled Egypt, ancient Greece, and the Orient). Today most of the looks of the 20s seem very tame, but in their day they were ground-breaking and they deserve to serve as a continual source of wardrobe inspiration for today's world.

If like me however, you just don't have the thin-as-a-rail figure to effectively pull off a flapper's short-skirted dress, or if you're looking for a style that's a bit easier to pull off on a regular basis, I may very well have found the perfect dress amongst the fantastic offerings on Buffalo Gal Vintage's website.

 

Made of the softest, most ethereally enchanting layers of (what looks to me to be) chiffon in a whisper faint lavender hue, this incredible 1920s inspired dress (seen above) is the kind of flattering style that a great many figure types can pull off immensely well.

Striking the perfect balance between romance and practicality, this sophisticated frock would be stunning for a garden party, summer wedding (either as a guest or the bride!), church event, baby shower, evening date, trip to the theater, art gallery show, or any number of other outings that call for timelessly beautiful style.

Available in ladies sizes Small to XL (all of which are generously cut, thanks to the flowing drape of this elegant frock), this gorgeous 1920s style dress (which features a tie front, scoop neckline, embroidery, and ribbon detailing) is available for $167.00 from Buffalo Gal Vintage.

I look at this dress and am inspired; it captures the best of 1920s fashion in a cut, hue and style that are every bit as timeless and romantic as any flapper girl, FitzGerald character or dancing Folly could ever be - making it the perfect frock for any 1920s loving vintage lass.