Happy Halloween from Thrifty Vintage Kitten!
I hope all your little ghosts and goblins have a fun and safe holiday!
(And if you’re like me…you’ll be stealing some of your child’s chocolate later this evening! Boo-ya!)
<3
Christy
Halloween is next week, but there’s still time to order your Halloween costume from Thrifty Vintage Kitten! There are lots of awesome retro Halloween costume ideas out there and the shop if full of dresses to make your costume epic. For example…
You want to go as a Mad Men character…
Vintage Mad Men dress
Or, a 1950s June Cleaver…
1950s housewife dress
Or, Daphne Blake from 1969’s Scooby Doo…
1960s Scooby Doo costume
Or, Marilyn Monroe from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes…
1960s Marilyn Monroe
Or, Olivia Wilde’s character, Suzy Miller, in “Rush”…
Suzy Miller coat from “Rush”
Or, Jackie Kennedy…
Jackie Kennedy costume
Or, a Masters of Sex character…
Masters of Sex character costume
The shop has them all, plus lots of other ideas! All images are linked. Happy Halloween! I’d love to hear your Halloween costume ideas! Post them below!
<3
Christy
Hello! This past week I’ve been busy listing a bunch of vintage baby, toddler, and kids clothes in the shop. Here’s a small glimpse at what’s new. Be sure to visit the shop often because I’m always adding new things!
Vintage 1960s Boys Red Turtleneck
I recently came across the book, Everyday Fashions of the Fifties As Pictured in Sears Catalogs, by JoAnn Olian at my local library.
Side note: To those of you not using your library, you’re totally missing out. Shelves and shelves of books! For free! Genius.
I’ve been wanting to get my hands on some vintage Sears catalogs, but since the thrifting gods have not smiled down on me in that respect yet, here is the next best thing. Glossy pages full of 1950s clothing for men, women, and children all neatly tied up in one book. The book takes you through the entire decade from start to finish. I have a real soft spot for the fifties. There’s something so pure and ideological about that time period. As the author so perfectly states in the introduction of the book, “To leaf through the pages of a 1950s Sears catalog is to be transported into a Norman Rockwell vision of middle-class America with “clean-cut” young men, “ladylike” women, and “girl next door” teens.” I’m much too young to have come anywhere near that decade, yet I often find myself longing for the simplicity of those times.
I’d like to do a couple of posts on this book (I also picked up the 1940s and 1960s volumes), but I’ll start today with 1950s kids clothing. Is there anything more adorable than a 1950s ruffled sun suit, like the one shown below? And the vintage Mickey Mouse? Love.
Suspender skirts! I seem to have a lot of luck finding these for my shop.
Adorable car coats. Still such a classic look.
Those swimsuits! The one with the removable skirt…so chic.
“Walt Disney Official Davy Crockett” So wholesome! A far cry from today’s superhero costumes.
I love the way copywriters wrote back then…”Skillfully made and gaily detailed with all kinds of pretty trimming. Imagine such lavish use of fine cotton at Sears modest prices!”
Denim Dungarees…for, you know, when you need to rake some hay on the farm.
These costumes are so precious. Roy Rogers, western wear, and baseball uniforms. Playtime was so fun.
Aren’t these pages super fun? I love flipping through the past. I wish so badly I could order a few of these things now! Just wait until I post about the 1950s cocktail dresses. Such glamour! What do you think about these clothes? Aren’t they adorable? As always, Thrifty Vintage Kitten is always fully stocked with 1950s kids clothes! You can find items just like the ones found on these Sears catalog pages!
<3
Christy
I get a lot of questions about sizing, so I’m hoping this sizing guide will be a helpful reference for those buying vintage clothing. Vintage sizing for women’s clothing (from 1930-1960) is vastly different than by today’s standards. What is considered a 1950’s size 20, for example, is close to a modern size 14. And in reverse, a 28″ waist by today’s standard falls into a size 6, but by vintage standards is a size 12.
Did you know that while today’s ladies sizing scale starts at 0 or 2, in the 1930s-1950s the sizes started at 8, 10 or 12? This is why there is the misconception that women during that time period were larger than the standard woman today. In fact, the average woman today is actually taller and wider.
The only true way to know if a vintage garment will fit you is to know your measurements. I’ve created two visuals below to show how to measure yourself and how to measure a child. (Let’s thank these paper dolls I had laying around for their mad modeling skills. Bravo ladies.)
When I measure garments for Thrifty Vintage Kitten I place the garments on a wood floor and take the measurements laying flat. I find this to be the most accurate way to get the measurements. Bust, hip, and waist measurements are taken flat and then doubled. I make sure to list all measurements in each garment’s listing, so there shouldn’t be any mystery on whether an item will fit you or your child.
I hope you’ve found this guide helpful! Let me know what you think. Any tricks you’ve learned that you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you!
<3
Christy
The Brady Bunch showcasing their love of polyester
I doubt there’s anyone alive that hasn’t heard the phrase, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!” In 1969 The Brady Bunch found their way into the living rooms and hearts of many American viewers. While the show was only on the air for 5 years, it managed to cement itself into popular culture forever, spawning a number of TV specials and a couple of movies.
The Brady Bunch was one of the most fashionable shows of all time. While by today’s standards the outfits look a little ridiculous…polyester, pointed collars, mini skirts, and platform shoes were all the rage.
Wearing a Brady Bunch-inspired costume this Halloween is fun and easy! Thrifty Vintage Kitten has a bunch of really great Brady dresses. Check out some ideas below! The link for each garment is shown below the image.
This concludes my week-long series on retro Halloween costume ideas for the vintage fan! I hope you’ve enjoyed it! I had fun putting all these ideas together. Halloween is such a fun holiday! Be sure to keep checking Thrifty Vintage Kitten! I list new items weekly! (and sometimes I even get on a good streak and list new items daily!)
<3
Christy
How awesome is that yellow and orange floral head wreath?
The flower children of the 60s made undeniable fashion statements. And their presence made a huge impact on our culture. They influenced music, art, fashion, and even politics. The height of the hippie was probably during the most notable concert in history. In August of 1969, The Woodstock Music and Art Fair was held in New York. More than 500,000 people came to hear what would become some of the most iconic music known today. It wasn’t long though before peace, love, and maxi skirts faded out of popularity to make way for disco and punk.
So to honor that legendary era, I present you with some of the best finds my shop, Thrifty Vintage Kitten, has to offer. Putting together a hippie costume is super fun! Braid your hair, throw on some peace signs, and nab up one of these far out garments, and you’ll be nothing short of groovy, man.
1. Here 2. Here 3. Here 4. Here
7. Here 8. Here 9. Here 10. Here
Have fun channeling your inner love child! Peace!
I’ll be back tomorrow with another installment of Halloween costume ideas for the vintage fan! Stay tuned!
<3
Christy
James Stewart and Grace Kelly in “Rear Window,” 1954
I’m back today with more great retro Halloween costume ideas. This time I’m focusing on the 1950s. The 50s had some really iconic TV show characters stemming from shows like, Leave it to Beaver, The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy, and Father Knows Best. And as far as movies go, films like, Rear Window, Some Like It Hot, A Streetcar Named Desire, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Dial M For Murder offer up a bunch of really incredible costume ideas. Leave your ‘sexy cop’ costume for someone else. These demur 1950s frocks are classy, classic, and guarantee a best costume contest win.
Let’s start with a 1950’s TV mom. TV moms of the 1950s did it all! They kept their homes tidy, were always available to offer comforting hugs and helpful advice, and put dinner on the table every night–all while wearing a dress. I wonder how they’d feel about the yoga pant invasion of today? (I have to be real for a moment…how do you scrub a floor in a dress? Thank god for leggings.)
Donna Reed in “The Donna Reed Show”, 1958
Each day this week I’ll be posting a collection of vintage costume ideas from my shop, Thrifty Vintage Kitten!
My husband and me as Don and Betty Draper, Halloween 2010. This was the very first vintage dress I bought!
It’s October 1st and by the looks of all the Halloween decorations popping up on the houses in my neighborhood, I’d say it’s time to start Halloween costume shopping! Thrifty Vintage Kitten is stocked FULL of vintage dresses that would make awesome Halloween costumes. I know back in 2010, before I even owned a vintage clothing shop, or actually even really knew what Etsy was, I was on a hunt for a vintage 50s housewife dress so I could go as Betty Draper. I searched high and low through every thrift store I could find, but I came up empty handed. Little did I know all the best stuff I was looking for existed right on Etsy! I ended up finding a pretty dress (shown above) but I did overpay. You won’t have that problem at Thrifty Vintage Kitten! My shop has great prices and an incredible inventory.
So to start off this week’s series, I present you with Mad Men-inspired looks. (Or have you seen the new series from Showtime, Masters of Sex? Whoa. All I can say.) These garments would all fit into that era perfectly!
1.Here 2. Here 3. Here 4. Here
8. Here 9. Here 10. Here 11. Here
Tomorrow I’ll be back with 1950s costumes! Want to go as a character from Leave it to Beaver? A Hitchcock film, maybe? Or The Honeymooners? I’ve got you covered!
<3
Christy