Over the Shoulder Boulder Holder

Retro Revival’s shower caps continue to be the top seller in my product line and I've sold over 200 since launching my business last summer!  In addition to the 150 individual customers (thank you all!), I now have five retail customers: YOLO Salon & Spa in Orlando, FL; Lady Bug Beauty in Toronto, Canada; Salisbury Pharmacy in Salisbury, NY; Do My Hair Salon in Toronto, Canada and Vanity Spa in Calgary, Canada.  I have a wide array of fabric options for my shower caps but by far, the most popular shower cap design is what I’ve named, “Over the Shoulder Boulder Holder” that I handcraft from this fabric:

This fabric has brightly illustrated bras in lime green, hot pink, sunny yellows and bright aqua blue, along with explanations of bra size.  Looking at this fabric almost every day as I fashion it into shower caps got me thinking about how such a small amount of fabric does so much work…a bra conceals but also entices, enhances or minimizes, flattens or uplifts!

Did you know that going back as far as 2500 BC, women wore bra-like underclothing for support?  In 1893, Marie Tucek patented the “Breast Supporter,” the first garment similar to the modern-day bra that used shoulder straps with a hook-and-eye closure to support breasts in pockets of fabric.

VOGUE magazine first used the term 'brassiere' in 1907 and in 1912 “brassiere” first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary.  (By the way, I borrowed the name, “Over the Shoulder Boulder Holder” from Bette Midler’s song in the movie Beaches.)

Although bras were sold in the United States in the early 1900’s, they were similar to camisoles in that they were constructed with one piece of fabric and offered little or no support -- no surprise they were not worn by many women.  Tired of her uncomfortable corset, Polly Jacob of New York stitched together two pocket handkerchiefs and some ribbon to create a new brassiere design in 1914.  So popular was Polly's design that the Warner Brothers Corset Company acquired the rights from Polly for $1,500.

As the bra continued to gain widespread popularity, the corset finally met its demise in large part because of the U.S. government!  With WW1 raging, the U.S. War Department urged women to stop buying corsets so that the metal could be used for the war effort.  The Department said that corset manufacturers used over 28,000 tons of metal each year to make corsets – enough to build two battleships – and implored patriotic Americans to buy bras instead!

In 1935, Warner’s introduced four cup sizes called A, B, C and D and over the years, bra shapes and styles have changed as different bust profiles have gone in and out of fashion.  During the flapper era, the vogue was to appear flat.  In the 1950s and early ‘60s the “sweater girl” look was all the rage and bra makers sold torpedo-shaped or “bullet” cones that were stiffened into sharp points by circular stitching.

(In this Maidenform ad -- is she also wearing an apron?!)
The bullet bra offered a silhouette for women who longed to emulate the curves of film star sweater girls like Lana Turner and Jane Russell.  Two decades later, Madonna wore a bullet bra on her Blonde Ambition tour:

Memorable bra history was made in 1968 when the Wonderbra was first introduced.   Women inserted padding into the Wonderbra’s little pockets to give more fullness where the bust was lacking.  The Wonderbra became a bestseller all over again in the 1990’s as an alternative to implants.

Today, the bra is not only utilitarian but fashionable and what better way to celebrate its usefulness and beauty than by wearing its illustrations on this Retro Revival shower cap? How fun!

There are so few shower cap sellers today, especially if you’re looking for something that is waterproof, washable, fun and fashionable. Other than my line of caps, I have found a couple of other crafters on Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/) who are offering them including:

Lisa at Vintage Vesta Designs (www.Etsy.com/Shop/VintageVesta) takes prefabricated shower caps and embellishes them with organza and satin:

Nella of Body Glitz (www.Etsy.com/Shop/BODYGLITZ) designs and crafts her shower caps with tulle and sparkle:

So whether you're shopping for bras, shower caps or just about anything else, buy HANDMADE; you can't beat the quality, the durability is long lasting and the beauty and style are unmatched by factory produced merchandise!

REMINDER: If you haven’t already, be sure to comment on this blog or another of my blog postings so that you’ll be entered into the drawing for the February giveaway – the fabulous mink wrap!

The WINNER will be drawn in just a few days on February 28th. Good luck!

TO SERVE AND PROTECT, IN STYLE

I consider well worn sweats and fuzzy slippers comfort clothing, you know, the threads we reach for when we want to feel warm and cozy.  Kind of like comfort food -- macaroni and cheese and meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy – comfort clothing has a way of wrapping me with certain kind of affection.  My aprons also wrap me with comfort and security, whether I’m in the kitchen cooking, cleaning the house, outside gardening or collecting eggs at the chicken coop, my apron is my companion, a convenient place to dry my hands, shield my clothes from cooking splatter, gather weeds and cradle eggs.  The moment I tie on my apron I feel complete, a little bit girly (it’s great for emphasizing my waist!), focused and ready to undertake the task at hand!

For many hundreds of years, aprons were worn primarily by men (think blacksmiths, furniture makers, cobblers and fishermen).  For the longest time, aprons were masculine wear, not feminine, and were purely about function and their color denoted the trade of the wearer: English barbers wore a checked pattern, butchers and porters wore green aprons and masons wore white.

Aprons didn’t really become fashionable and girly until the 1950’s when images of the perfect housewife were projected on TV sitcoms like Leave It to Beaver (remember how June wore her fabulous apron with her even more fabu pearls and heels?).  But by the 1970’s, when I was growing up, aprons had fallen out of fashion and even on TV, they were worn only by “dowdy” housekeepers like Alice on The Brady Bunch. My mother never wore an apron and I imagine it would’ve looked out of place with her “groovy” décor including the plaid orange, yellow and brown patterned wallpaper that wrapped not only the kitchen walls but the ceiling!

Over the past several years aprons have been making a stylish comeback, finding their way out of hope chests and closets and onto new TV programs (Bree wears beautiful ones on Desperate Housewives), craft fairs and even museums.  And of course, I’m doing my part to revive the apron by designing and sewing them for Retro Revival.  My aprons are not only stylish but functional and designed to flatter a woman's figure -- what better way to serve (a yummy meal) and protect (your clothing)?!  Here are photos recently sent to me by a couple of my customers:

Yujin (above) models her Retro Revival "Christmas Traditions" half apron, made from a vintage 1950's tablecloth.

And here is Natalie in her Retro Revival "Vintage Roses" apron (another handcrafted from a 1950's antique tablecloth).

Thank you for sharing your photos, ladies, you both look GORGEOUS in your aprons!

Next week is the drawing for the vintage mink wrap so if you haven't already, be sure to comment on one of my blog posts so you'll have a chance at winning!

VINTAGE VALENTINES

I know it’s only February 9th but since I’m blogging once a week I couldn't bear missing the chance to wish you all a Happy Valentine’s Day!  Ooooh, how I love retro Valentine’s Day cards!

My favorite vintage Valentines are the anthropomorphic ones featuring food like this little pickle cutie from the 1950's.  Card makers would take an animal or any non-human or inanimate object, add a couple of uniquely human characteristics and create these sweet valentines.  Anthropomorphic characters are found in everything from arts and literature to pop culture like the M&M candy characters, and capture our imagination, offer a twist on reality and bring a smile to my face.

These remind me of Valentine's days from my grammar school years when my father would take my sister and me to the drug store to pick out a package of valentines to share with our classmates.  I would spend hours in our bedroom selecting the perfect card for each friend, carefully signing my name and working up enough saliva to seal all the envelopes closed!  Then once the exciting day finally arrived, my teacher would give us all a shoe box and a huge pile of supplies -- scissors, glue, yarn, paper doilies, macaroni and construction paper -- to decorate our boxes so that we could store our cards in a special place.  Sure wish I still had one of those boxes full of cards, what a treasure that would be!

Recently I designed a few Valentine-themed aprons as an alternative to flowers and chocolates for your loved ones.  This one is made from beautiful cotton eyelet fabric and features an authentic, 1950's valentine hankie I sewed on as the pocket:

I made this Vanlentine's Day treat from convosational hearts fabric:

And here's a look at my 1940's style apron, again with convosational hearts fabric on a black background:

Hope everyone has a sweet Valentine's Day!  And if you haven't already, please comment on this or another of my blog entries so that you'll be entered to win the FEBRUARY RETRO REVIVAL BLOG GIVEAWAY -- the fabulous mink wrap.  Drawing for the giveaway is February 28th.

I TRY TO WONDER RATHER THAN WORRY

I snapped this picture of our son Davey moments before he shipped off to Iraq six weeks ago.  I think he's so handsome and BRAVE.  Every day I think about the sacrifices made by him and all of our armed forces.  I am overwhelmed with joy when I see a soldier’s homecoming in the news and my heart hurts when I hear about another fallen soldier.  I pray for the physical and emotional safety of my son and his fellow soldiers and I pray for the swift healing of those wounded.

I never imagined my son would ship off to war, even though as a young boy he loved playing in his dad’s Army fatigues.  (He's on the right with a little friend; this picture was taken when he was about 4 years old.)

While I do worry about Davey, I try not to.  A sweet friend of mine, Don Levine, told me something years ago when Davey went off on his first deployment to Korea; he said, “Try not to worry but instead try to wonder.”  For me this was great advice and I try to practice it daily.  I try to think of Davey’s year-long deployment as an adventure for him.  Well, OK, people will be shooting at him but still, I imagine he will have some amazing experiences, and hopefully many of those will be positive.  When I find my mind wandering and worrying about him, I consciously shift to wonder…I wonder where he is today, what he ate for breakfast, if he’s comfortable, just normal “mom stuff.”  Most of the time Don’s advice works and my wondering overpowers my worry and I feel more hopeful and less fretful.

Davey’s called from Iraq a couple of times and he sounds like he’s in good spirits.  I speak to him in my “brave voice,” stilling the quavering in my voice (my will to be positive wavers at times – I’m working on it every day!).  I look forward to his next call and mostly I look forward to seeing him again when he comes home later this year.

From time to time I send Davey care packages filled with all sorts of goodies he enjoys and that he likes to share with his buddies.  Since many soldiers don’t get care packages, or any mail for that matter, I pack Davey’s packages so that he has plenty to share.  If you’re interested in helping boost the morale of our soldiers there are quite a few organizations to help you, including http://www.give2thetroops.org/,

http://www.operationshoebox.com/ and http://www.militarycarepackages.net/.  Wondering what to include in a care package?  Consider packing a care box with these items (good for male or female soldiers serving in the Middle East):
Flea collars (like you'd buy for a large dog)
Wipes (like diaper wipes)
Deodorant/anti-perspirant
Foot powder
Multi vitamins
Body lotion
Ziploc bags
Prepaid international calling cards
Inflatable pillows
Canned air
Playing cards
DVDs
Newspapers & magazines
Slim Jims
Dried fruit
Hard candy
Sunflower seeds
Breath mints
Gum