To parents of little girls who love wearing poodle skirts

Please always ensure that you encourage and support them in doing so, because...

Little girls (and boys) who show an interest in old school clothing as a child sometimes grow up to be vintage fashionistas (or fashionistos) with an unending love of, and appreciation for, the history of the decades they adore sporting the clothing of, and who...

{You may remember this poodle skirt filled photo from last December, when it first appeared here in this post.}

Find, as I do everyday of my life, that they feel more comfortable, confident, beautiful, and happy in clothing styles from decades long gone.

They are not odd for wanting to eschew some or all modern fashions, or for embracing elements of the past. Children, as with adults, often have very distinct sartorial voices of their own, and these should never be silenced.

While some kids may just want to emulate the cast of Grease, West Side Story, Dancing in the Rain, or any number of other classic Hollywood films that we show to children once they're old enough, and thus may lose interest in vintage fashions as quickly as they do the hit pop song of the week, there is a handful out there who will not – particularly if you help make their decision to wear yesteryear styles a completely positive one.

Like many skills and traits, I believe that a passion for vintage fashion often begins very early on in life, and should be nurtured if spotted. As a little girl, I asked her if she could and my mother very sweetly sewed me the adorable pink and white gingham poodle skirt pictured above for Halloween, which  I wore around the house after school most days for at least three years straight after that night back in 1991.

My mom never said anything against me doing so, and I cannot begin to thank her enough for this (one harsh word from anybody in my life back then, as I was an incredibly sensitive child, could potentially have discouraged me to the point where, unthinkably now, I abandoned this important love).

As the years passed and I read every historical fashion centred book having to do with early and mid-twentieth century in both my school and town's public library, my passion for vintage fashion only intensified. By the time I hit high school, though I did sometimes wear modern fashions, my heart lay on the side of my closet which was slowly amassing a collection of 1940s and 50s pieces culled (back in those days usually just for a few dollars at most) from local second hand shops and yard sales.

Then, as now, my mother says that she thinks it's awesome that I wear vintage and don't look, from a wardrobe standpoint, like most people you see everyday. As with many of us, I don't dress the way I do to intentionally stand out, it's simply a by-product of appearing so different from the vast majority of folks in today's society. In dressing as I do, I bring an immeasurable amount of happiness into my life (a point I talked in much greater detail about in this post).

The clothing that I don has a soul. It tells a story, not only of my own wardrobe choices, but of a very different, yet not actually all that distant, time in our shared human past. I cannot fathom at this point my life, a world in which I didn't wear vintage (or repro or vintage appropriate clothing) nearly all the time.

It is so much a part of who I am, and how I see myself. It bolsters my self-confidence (which I see as being very important for someone like me who is incredibly shy, introverted, and has some self-esteem issues), makes getting dressed a phenomenal joy, and doesn't harm a fly. There is nothing wrong with anybody of any age wanting to, and actually, wearing vintage styles or adding elements of the past to their modern day world.

I've always considered myself very lucky actually. The universe does not tap everyone to be a vintage lover, yet it did so with me, and I don't take that honour lightly. I cherish the fact that I wear, try to preserve (a point that Hannah from Just Peachy, Darling is very actively engaged in as well, and which this post was written in part to help celebrate), and get to share my passion for the past with other, be they cut from the same (vintage) cloth or otherwise.

So mothers and fathers of the world, if you child - whether they're a girl or a boy - seems interested in wearing and/or studying the fashions of the past, pat them on back, tell them you love what they're wearing, and sew them some repro or take them to your newest vintage store on the double.

I promise you, they'll grow up to thank you for it - especially if they're part of the next generation of full-time vintage clothing wearers for whom collecting, preserving and sporting yesteryear fashions is as natural as drawing breath.

Happy (vintage) Father’s Day!

Good morning, my dears, I hope that you’re all having a fantastic weekend! Lingering spring showers continues to come and go in spurts on this end, but it's definitely nothing that celebrating a holiday can’t banish from one’s mind!


{Fathers of the 40s, 50s and 60s were often portrayed as being wise and a bit stern, but also loving and devoted to their families. Charming vintage illustration via Prudence Pennywise.}

In an ode to dads everywhere, I thought it would be fun to highlight five well-known pops that always spring to mind when I think of vintage era fathers. Come along as we peak into the lives of some of TV’s best known and most loved dads of the 1950s and 60s.


{Ward Cleaver}
Few shows portray the idealized and iconic middle class, white picket fence family of the 1950s like Leave It to Beaver, headed by father Ward Cleaver (played by actor Hugh Beaumont). From his den to his enjoyment of reading the evening paper, Ward definitely personified the sort of kind, but not overly doting, dad that has now come to represent fathers of the fifties and early sixties as a whole.




{Andy Griffith}
You’d know the tune to this next TV dad’s show anywhere (and have probably whistled it to yourself before, especially if you’ve ever gone walking down a quite country road with a fishing pole in your hand), and likewise Andy Griffith himself is one of the best know on-air fathers of the 1960s. Griffith (whose character shared his real name) played a widowed, small town sheriff who ran both his community and family with a time-honoured set of morals, a loving nature and an endearing country charm that made you want to move to Mayberry quicker than you could say, “Golly, Andy!”



{Fred Flintstone}
Based loosely on the TV character Ralph Kramden (from The Honeymooners), this prehistoric Dad had a penchant for large slabs of meat, bowling and hanging out with his neighbour (and fellow Bedrock daddy, Barney Rubble). Fred Flintstone who was as a blue collar worker and his family’s (which consisted of wife Wilma and daughter Pebbles) primary bread winner. While Fred did have a bit of a temper at times, he was generally sweet towards his family, especially his daughter, throughout the show’s many year run. To this day Fred – and his well know catchphrase “Yabba-Dabba-Doo” remains one of television’s most famous cartoon show fathers.




{Jim Anderson}
Akin to Leave it to Beaver in the sense that this show is now seen by some (be they critic or fans) as portraying an unrealistic, polly-anna like view of 1950s life, Father Knows Best was an American sitcom that centred around the Anderson family, including its friendly and loving patriarch Jim (played by actor Robert Young). Did dad always have the right answers or solutions when it came to dealing with the everyday sort of situations encountered by his wife and three children? Naturally, no, he didn’t, but Anderson was an even-handed, thoughtful dad who generally knew what to say or do to help ensure his family was happy.




{Ben Cartwright}
Widowed not once, not twice, but three times, Wild West dwelling, ranch owning father Ben Cartwright (portrayed by actor Lorne Greene), was the sort of man who knew how to rustle cattle and raise his three sons without missing a beat. From 1959 to 1973, Bonanza brought the Old West into living rooms everywhere and made Ben Cartwright into one of the best know single TV fathers to come out of mid-twentieth century.



{All photos found through Google Images. Click on a photo to be taken to each show’s respective IMDB page.}


While many TV dads – from Cliff Huxtable to Michael Landon’s portrayal of Charles Ingalls – have become household names over the decades, on the third Sunday in June I always find myself thinking nostalgically of the of men of the atomic era who proved to be television roll models – or at least entertainers – for generations fathers to come. Who are some of your favourite TV pops of any decade?

Wishing all the dads, grandfathers, and men who take on the role of being a papa in whatever context, a wonderful and relaxing Father’s Day!