The start of my vintage love, ca. 1973

I have been looking for vintage clothing since I was 13, in 1973. At that time, those of us looking were finding clothes from the 30s and 40s pretty often, and that shaped our thinking about vintage clothing. This obviously shaped clothing designers at that time too. I loved, studied and sewed Betsey Johnson's patterns in the Butterick catalogue of 1973. I made a number of these patterns several times. I could make them again today, that is how right they still look to me.


I was not an inexperienced seamstress at the age of 13, got pattern magazines and books, and was terribly impressed with the "old styles" being shown.

Simplicity's Let Yourself Sew influenced me for a decade. I think I tried every technique in this book.

Like approximately every girl, I got Seventeen magazine and kept being attracted to the nostalgic 30s and 40s looks shown.

Every day I wake up in love with vintage and this was the era that made me the vintage lover I am.