Save the maxi dress!

Every now and then I crusade to save a particular style of vintage clothing or accessory that seems endangered. Right now I am crusading for the long (aka maxi) dress. Long dresses keep finding a place in fashion, sometimes for eveningwear as smoldering as the temperature here in the Northwest, sometimes for the sweetest, coolest or most artistic day dresses. Far too often these are getting cut off instead of enjoyed for their obvious charms. Here's a sampling of those I've sold:


1930s




1940s







1950s





1960s









and of course, the 1970s, especially by Gunne Sax and Young Edwardian













Finally, a real 50s look from Victor Costa in the 80s

A greener wardrobe

It's the Earth's Year...everywhere you see signs that people are getting that we are in for it big if we don't change certain habits and change them rapidly. Heck, it's Earth's year forever, don't you think? Let's be nice to our Mother.

Vintage and used clothing is recycled clothing, and so all those who love old clothing can feel smug as well as gorgeous in their new/old finds!

(Of course, check out the best vintage clothing from the trusted members of the Vintage Fashion Guild first.
...and naturally I don't mind if you check out my items especially: denisebrain)


Here are some sites I found today that talk about reused, recycled and sustainable clothing.

Treehugger is great to explore, and this list gets you started thinking:
How to Green Your Wardrobe

Have you ever thought of having a clothing swap? It's great fun to get together a bunch of people and all their clothes they no longer want or can use, and everyone dives in!

Here, some creative people are obviously working with their finds to make some unique, cool clothing:
Swap-o-rama-rama

Here is an organization dedicated to swaps:
clothingswap.org

Oh, and while on the subject of swaps, Makeup Alley has a swap for makeup/beauty products:
Makeup Alley swap


There are a couple of outstanding organizations you might consider donating to, one that can help make a girl the belle of the ball, another that can make the difference for a woman working to get a job and a future:
The Glass Slipper Project
Dress For Success

Here's an interesting piece about what happens to clothing you donate to a charity/thrift store (you might be surprised!):
Seattle Times article

If you need to dry clean items, you might want to check to see if any of the new "green cleaning" businesses have reached your part of the world. Here is a straight ahead article, as to be expected from Consumer Reports:
Greener cleaning choices

There's always remaking clothing or reusing its fabric. I make bags out of reusable vintage fabrics: Material Girl Bags

There are so many DIY sites out there, instructing in everything from remaking t shirts into underwear, to making the most complex and beautiful bags out of used juice boxes.

Got a favorite site? I'd love to see!

Getting carried away here

This month at denisebrain, I'm just doing the usual: GETTING CARRIED AWAY WITH VINTAGE!