Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Vintage Vogue

Almost 10 years ago, my grandparents made the decision to move to the nursing home and sell the house that they had built and lived in for 38 years.  They left the majority of the sorting and packing to my parents, and as you can imagine it was a huge task because my Nana kept everything.

If you've read this blog for a while, you may remember me sharing some of the trinkets that had belonged to my Nana.  Well, this past weekend my daughter was home for a visit, so we decided to dig out the vintage dresses that Chantelle had picked out at that time and kept here for the past decade.  She thought it would be fun to try them on and take some pictures.  So we got out the camera and decided to have a vintage fashion show to share on our blog.

I got the job of stylist/photographer... my Nana was quite a bit bigger in the waist and bust than Chantelle, so pretty well everything needed to be altered.  Out came the clothespins, and I used them to temporarily take in the dresses where needed.

While looking through the pics we had taken, I decided to have some more fun by experimenting with a new program I heard about called PicMonkey.  It lets you try all different effects, borders and text with your pictures - plus it's free and really easy to use too!  (Not to mention addictive!!)

Here's what we came up with... the first photo being the original, and the second one with an "enhanced"  look.  Enjoy!!

This dress belonged to my Aunt Dorothy which she wore as a bridesmaid in 1956.  It has a matching bolero jacket which we didn't show because this dress couldn't be zipped up... Chantelle was holding it closed as she posed.

This dress was the one my Nana wore to my Mom and Dad's wedding in 1960.



My parents have a picture of my Nana wearing this in the late 60's, with the length being mid-calf on her at the time.  Fast forward 45 years and the length is just perfect now for her great-grand-daughter. 

One of my favourites... hard to see in the picture, but there's a bow just above the waist.

Early 70's???


What a ball we had!!  Chantelle is hoping to find someone who will be able to alter these to her size.  I'm sure Nana would be so happy, knowing that the dresses she enjoyed wearing back so many years ago, are finding a new home in her great-grand-daughter's closet today.

Tracey

7 comments:

Laura said...

Ohhh! Every one of those dresses is so cool!!!!! And your daughter looks absolutely gorgeous in all of them!!!! How fun!!! Thanks for taking such cool pics!

Dirty Martini Queen said...

So very Mad Men styling and she looks amazing in all of them!

Bonnie said...

You two must have had an absolute riot!!! I told you Chantelle should model. Mad Men comes to mind as well as Ann Tainter vintage shots. The dresses look fantastic on her. Love it. Can't wait to try out the picmonkey program Great post.

jayne@~an eye for threads~ said...

What a time bomb. Chantelle should be on a runway.
Thanks for sharing this with us, it goes to show you that covering up is NOT a bad thing. Be always in stitches.

Anonymous said...

Wow what a great post!

Lovely dresses and Chantelle is stunning.

Loved the photo effects, thank for the Picmonkey link.

Chantelle said...

Thanks for the comments everyone! Mom and I sure did have a lot of fun :) I am so extremely grateful to have these beautiful (and meaningful) dresses.

For those of you saying I should model, I do fairly regularly in Toronto - freelance, mostly alternative/pin-up type stuff. And Jayne - I'm going to be on the runway for the first time next week! http://fashionarttoronto.ca/

Anne said...

Wow! Your Nana was so stylish! My Nana is too!! Nana's are the best aren't they :D Chantelle you look divine in that first burnt orange silk dress!!! Very Mad Men in the second photos!!!

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