Bla Bla Blag... Buy Good Vintage for a Good Tomorrow

What is a classic? What is well-made? Why should you care?
What do people wear who don't have a staff? What can a person do who puts on her own makeup, a guy who shaves himself,  that is what I find interesting.
So much of the Street Style, has now, become "What do Rich people wear that other Rich People give them to wear." Honestly, why is it impressive to see that? There is no imagination. And the Rich Bloggers don't blog what they want, they don't wear what they want. They are the Bitch of the Rich.
blah blah blah.
Here is what is interesting to me. And the things funkomavintage buys to sell, is that which is classic, well-made, and often, has a bit of fun, and allows a wearer to put together their own unique style. But of course, some people are just .... sheep.

and speaking of sheep, here is a beautiful pink wool sweater, Made in Japan in the 50s, still in excellent condition. I just washed this and it is gorgeous wool that kept its shape and dried sweet and fluffy.

1. Sweaters. you know it, if you have shopped at the Gap, Old Navy, Target, Macy's, even venerable Nautica, and brands like that, that should know better, and etc. in the last 10 years, that clothes are made of crap. 
You wear them once or twice, and they start to pill. A LOT. Buttons pop off. Seams pop open. Hems sag. Zippers split. Crap.

Life is Good brand ... not so much for the workers in Peru. For the corporate officers of LIG, sure! Lotsa cash, big fancy homes, new fancy cars, no worries brah! For the garment workers of Peru... no. Here is a simple Google search about the garment workers of Peru. Fuck yeah, Life Is Good. What typical corporate hypocrisy horseshit.

This degeneration of quality is the fault of the corporations that make clothes. They could make quality clothes, and they used to, but they don't anymore. I've been buying clothes since the 60s, and I have purchased tens of thousands of vintage items, and I have watched the crap take over.


That there is a picture of the Tacoma Mall in the early 70s. Lots of middle class workers, lots of Union jobs paying high wages, so the average American family could actually go shopping and buy quality clothes. And that, my friends, is why we have good vintage. It was made to last.

I remember shopping at Trade Fair in Napa, which is now the site of WalMart. Trade Fair was a big discount department store, just like WalMart. My favorite dress in the 8th grade, in 1967 was made in Hong Kong. It was an acetate knit print, and that sucker lasted me a long time and still looked cute for years. The fabric was sturdy and the shape held well.
Try that with anything you buy at the WalMart today. Crap.

So, it isn't that clothes come from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or other craphole places....it's that the CEO's of clothes-making companies, have chosen to skimp on fabric, design, buttons, zippers, thread, and closed down US factories, disband the Unions, and pay shit wages to 3rd world peasants, and then, take all the profits and stick them in their big fat corporate pockets.
And what are we left with? Crappy clothes that fall apart in less than 3 months.

And this, my friends is why I sell vintage.

Vintage Was Made To Last, and It Was Made With Quality Ingredients.
Yes, there are a few excellent companies left that take pride in workmanship and design, but no one with a store at the average American mall, has that pride in workmanship.

 Here is a link to the sweaters at funkomavintage website....for men and women. Adding more daily!

and here is a clicky link to sweaters currently listed in our Etsy shop. Gals and Guys!

Here at funkomavintage, you will always find quality sweaters, excellent jeans, vintage Levis, Vintage Lee, and Vintage Wrangler, Vintage Irish Fisherman knits, Scotland's Harris Tweed, Vintage L.L. Bean, Vintage Filson, Vintage Pendleton, and top quality vintage clothes of all types.

If it's crap I don't sell it. Maybe once a year, I'll put something up that is kinda crappy, but it has to be cute!

To Remember Soldiers, is to Respect Them and Question the Necessity of War

Newly added to my very casual vintage women's military collection,  I was thrilled to acquire this from an WAC officer who joined up in 1950s. She was sent to train at the Women's Army Corps, Ft. McClellan, Alabama.



here 





here



She  held on to this sweet little cotton sweater, and now it is mine!
It's a simple cotton sweater, not part of a uniform as far as I can tell.....a memento.

PALLAS ATHENS, insignia of the Women's Army Corps.

here

Fort Des Moines, Iowa, was selected as the site of the first WAAC   (Womens Army Auxiliary Corps) training center in 1941.

  The Women's Army Corps School was founded at Fort McClellan on September 25, 1952.   In 1954, it became the first permanent home of the U.S. Women's Army Corps Center. Fort McClellan remained its home until the Corps was disestablished and its flag retired in 1977. 

In May 1955 at Fort McClellan, Alabama the Women's Army Corps (WAC) Museum opened and remains today. It showcases the history of women in the Army in modern times as active soldiers. 



 
 here




here

"At the WAC museum at Ft. McClellan....
Margaret Corbin, from the American Revolution, Dr. Mary Walker from The Civil War and Cathay Williams, Buffalo Soldier, depict the rich history and contributions of women in service to their country."




"Over 150,000 American women served in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War II. Members of the WAC were the first women other than nurses to serve within the ranks of the United States Army. Both the Army and the American public initially had difficulty accepting the concept of women in uniform.


However, political and military leaders, faced with fighting a two-front war and supplying men and materiel for that war while continuing to send lend-lease material to the Allies, realized that women could supply the additional resources so desperately needed in the military and industrial sectors. Given the opportunity to make a major contribution to the national war effort, women seized it. By the end of the war their contributions would be widely heralded."





1968 recruitment poster

here  

According to the Government Publication Office this book "Chronicles thirty-three years of WAC history from V-J Day 1945 to 1978, when the Women's Army Corps was abolished by Public Law 95-584 and discontinued by Department of the Army General Order 20, with the WAC officers assimilated into the other branches of the Army (except the combat arms). "

Measure Up!

Several times a week I get emails about Measurements! I think most people don't know their measures and only choose clothes by the tag size. The problem is that every manufacturer uses different measurements for each company to describe  each Number on the size tag. And some makers use numbers like 0, 1, 2 ...

Modern clothes makers have charts online...Penneys,  Sears, LLBean...so you can check it before you buy.
The most important rule is Know Your Measurements!!!
If you shop for Vintage clothes online you really need to know that! Vintage clothes have tags, but they mean nothing! With vintage clothes, you need to know about measurements, and how different styles were cut in that era.

Generally, the difference between the bust and waist is 8" - 10", and from the waist to the hip, it is more often 10" - 12".
Before the 50s, measurements were closer together because the style was looser.  You see alot of 36" - 30" -  40" ratio.
The 50s saw the rise of girdles and corsets under the clothes, so the waist shrunk and clothes got tighter! You see a lot of 36" - 26" - 40" ratio.
This is important stuff to know... ;-)
The 60s emphasized  slim hips, especially in Junior sizes!  The 70s brought about a more casual fit and attitude...except for those tight high waist jeans!
The 80s....big. mostly big! 

So relying on a number size is not gonna work! And....size numbers are completely different from 70 years ago.......to 50 years ago, to 30 years ago......

AND...if that wasn't confusing enough.....misses sizes (made for mature women), and junior sizes (made for teenage girls) are also different!
A misses Small is more like a Junior Medium, because misses sizes have larger busts, larger waist and larger hips as a ratio. Junior sizes have smaller busts, smaller waist, slimmer hips as  a ratio.
I describe vintage clothes as a S - M, for instance....and that is why. That, and personal preference.

Now, we don't have Half-sizes like in the 30s - 70s....half-sizes were meant for the "mature" "middle-age" woman who was petite. I think of this old-fashioned size range as "Northern European peasant"...in other words, My People! They were short, about 5'3", and weighed more than the average woman, and had very large breasts.

The shape of the garment is important to consider also. This 70s oversize dress has a very casual fit, and can work for a few sizes depending on how tight or loose you want a dress to look on you.

But .....this strapless dress is fitted......knowing your measurements, and paying attention to the measures of the dress is more important....

The average woman size today is taller and thinner than in years past. Over the centuries, people have become taller because of better nutrition and greater access to education and government public health programs. Changes in societal tastes in women's body shapes is a long long Doctoral Dissertation...that I won't go into right now....but if we look at Fashion...we can see that Boobs...or Butts...or Cleavage...or whatever...comes in to fashion and women diet, women corset up or corset down....

Both of these pictures are from the mid-50s. Boobs, and tiny waists were in vogue! so, corsets and tight long line bras, Merry Widows, and Girdles were worn to create the look.

In modern times, we generally have a more casual attitude about body shapes....but I think what a society wants, and what we really look like are gonna be in conflict.
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So, let's measure ourselves. Once you know what you measure, you can choose clothes over the internet. Now I know most BIG ONLINE shops have a very generous return policy...Because they can afford to lose money. If you buy from a tiny shop, an independent person, who has a passion for vintage clothes, returning clothes for no good reason is not fair.

Let's avoid disappointment for everyone and take a few minutes to watch some cute videos and read up on this topic.
I know a lot about this....I've been making my own clothes for decades....I've been sewing for other people for decades....I can draft a pattern for anything.....so I can offer professional advice.

3 Basic Rules.
1. Add about 2"  inches to your personal body measurements, then compare to a garment you like.
Think about the style of the garment....is it meant to be loose? or tight? or is it a knit with stretch?

2. If a garment is  a bargain, or  if it is for a special occasion, you should consider having a tailor make it fit you like a glove! Vintage garments are made of quality materials, (generally) and will last a long time, so they are worth the extra expense, and a vintage garment is a rare thing....You may never see it again!

3. Ask questions if you are unsure. A professional seller will tell you if the garment won't fit you or will not be returnable for fit issues. No professional seller wants to disappoint a customer...we want you to be happy and we want you to come back! 
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Ease? What is that?

Ease is the extra room added to the body measurement of a human, so when the garment is being worn,  you can move your arms, lift your legs, and breathe! then, the style of the dress or blouse, might need more room....pleats, gathers, wide sleeves......
Here is a blouse with a lot of ease...for style. Even though the bust measurement across this blouse is close to 50", it isn't for a 50" Bust! It's made for a bust about 40" and the gathers are for style.

To take the bust measure, put your tape across the chest about 1" down from the sleeve underarm sleeve, if the blouse isn't an oversize 80s style, but a normal blouse/or dress.
Notice I didn't stretch out the gathers to get an accurate bust measurement. This measures 19" at rest, and double that for 38". This blouse will work for a 36" to 42" bust at the most if you like a more snug fit. I can't make that decision for you...that's personal preference. All I can do is give you the facts, and you decide.

When I listed this blouse, here is how I described it--- size S to M -
Bust - 38" - 42"
Waist/Hip - 46" (best up to a 44")
shoulders - 16"
sleeves - 24"
cuffs, when snapped - 9"
length - 28"

The sleeves are measured from the sleeve seam, if it rests at the absolute shoulder (not an oversized, dropped sleeve style like from the 80s) all the way down the center to the end of the cuff. This measure is nearly 24".

Another important measure, especially for a fitted top, is the back shoulder measurement.
This goes across the top of the "angel wing" bones on your back. It is taken from the sleeve seam across the back to the other sleeve seam. This measures 16".

The length is made from the shoulder seam just 2" away from the neckline (generally, depends on the width of the neckline), and it goes to the hem. This blouse measures 28" long.
Since the blouse goes to the hipbones, I took the measure of the hem, at the hips so you will know it will fit there too.


 Pants----- oh boy.  high rise. low rise. medium rise. Let's stick to a basic pair of pants.
To measure the hips, lay the pants with the legs gently separated. Measure from side seam to side seam at the crotch. This pair is 36" wide, when doubled.

At the waist, when the elastic is relaxed, measures 24", and then you can pull it all the way open and measure. The relaxed elastic measure is very important, and should only be  about 1" - 2" smaller than your waist because the pants need to be snug but not tight, so they will stay up!

Here's another How To Measure Video from Sandy Mendoza of Debutante Vintage clothes!