Vintage Shopping in Washington DC

As implied in my last post, here is my review of a few of the vintage clothing shops in DC (of course, with some show-and-tell of my finds!)

Meeps Vintage Fashionette

Selection: Moderate-Varied.  The picture on the website will give you a pretty good idea of how big it is.  Mostly spans the 40's to the 70's, and about a third of the items have dates.  LOTS of accessories and jewelry, and also quite a good collection of mid-century slips.  Clothes are sorted into small/medium/large size groups. 

Service: The woman who was working when I went was laid back, but still helpful enough that I didn't feel neglected (I was there with my mom, so I didn't need too much advice).  

Price:  Moderate. Willing to negotiate a price on items that haven't been marked yet, and I got a 10% discount on a skirt that had lost some buttons. (They don't take American Express)
What I found:  A navy hounds-tooth skirt that I'm 95% sure was home made in the 30's (metal zipper, no maker's tag, poorly hemmed) 

Please excuse the non-matching shoes, I seem to have left most of shoes at school. 

Close-up of the buttons and pleats

A white skirt, probably 70's.  Originally it had white buttons, but some of them has fallen off, so I replaced them with navy ones.

Mercedes Bien Vintage Clothing and Decor


Selection: Varied.  Plenty of 70's dresses, but also lots of things from the 30's to the 80's (I even saw a pair of late Victorian open drawers!).  This place also has a couple of great 50's crinolines.
Service: The owner was VERY friendly and eager to help you; it was a bit intimidating for an introvert like me.  She clearly knows a lot about textiles.  This would be a great place to have a big shopping spree.
Price: Moderate-High.
What I found: How awesome is this: I found an 60's stewardess' tweed skirt that was manufactured by Airways Industries (possible Airway Industries, I'd check, but I'm wearing it right now!)

junction


Selection: Limited-Moderate.  Not as many things and mostly 70's with some 40'-60's. Really great scarves though.
Service: In between Meeps and Mercedes Bien. She gave good advice on things I tried on, but didn't run around finding things I might like. (This was perfect for me)
Price: Moderate
What I found: 70's polyester dress

Gloves part 6

I've finally managed to get my act together and retake the pictures of the last pairs of the gloves that I lost previously. At least one of these pairs belonged to my mother before she was married (the ones with K. Krafft written on the inside). There is another pair with just "Gohn" written on the inside, which could belong to my mother after she was married, but she was only married in 1988 (and the 80's and 90's are not known for glove-wearing), and I believe the gloves are too small for my mom's hands, so they're probably my paternal grandmother's, Lucille Gohn (aka "Mammaw").

This knit pair definitely belonged to my mother.

For embellishment the seams from the outside of the index finger and pinkie continue down the length of the glove.

There is a seam in each gusset with the allowances turned in, while the allowances of the gussets are turned out.

You guys know what to expect now; this glove is pretty basic.

Detail of the scalloping

This knit pair probably belonged to my paternal grandmother.

It seems to have gotton pretty dirty on the left hand.

It looks like the original seam in the gussets ripped and was later mended by hand.

I think that this pair is so cute with its embroidery and scalloped edge.

Gloves part 5

Wrapping up the leather gloves:

This first pair is pretty much the standard leather glove, so I'll let you enjoy the pictures without my rambling.

This last pair is notable because it's, well, bad. Some of this is due to wear and tear, but some of it is due to poor materials and sloppy construction.

The holes that the needle made when creating the pin-tuck effect on the back have stretched, so that now they lie flat.

The fingers are very crooked. This could just mean that they don't fit my hands, but considering that these were the same woman's gloves and all the others fit at least adequately, that is unlikely.

The thumb has also stretched out so that it is much longer than any human thumb.

Tearing at the gussets.

Stretching along the cuff. A lot of the gloves have this, though, so I can't blame the glove-makers too much - BB must have just pulled too hard on her gloves.

Gloves part 4

The rest of the gloves in the box were left loose, so I have divided them into groups of leather and knit. For this part, I'm back at college, hence the change of background color and the annoying shadows. Here are the leather pairs:

This pair is of quite thick greyish tan leather, suede side out. All the stitches are on the outside, and it has about the same pattern as the first pair of gloves (the black ones) in this series.

It has a unique decoration: two rows of pin-tucks going around the bottom and a short section just on the outside center. These are not always evenly spaced; it seems like perfection is often ignored in glove-making.

The stitches are not quite as large as the ones on the long black pair.

The usual wedge piece in the gusset.

The two gussets and front and back all meet at a point.

Printed on the inside there seems to be "Daurevy," but the last few letters are quite obscured.

The inside of the left glove gives the size and style, and another print from the manufacturer. The top line in illegible, though it looks like it begins with an "F" and ends with a "d." The bottom line is "Haute-Couture."

There is another stamp from the manufacturer; I think is says "WASHABLE SKIN," however, I can only read the first two letters of the top line.

This pair had become too stiff for me to put on. It is interesting to note that the leather around the heel of the hand and base of the thumb remained fairly soft and pliable.

That gusset we've come to know and love.

This is unusual: there is a seam in the gusset, but it is not turned to the inside. Instead, one side overlaps the other.

The cut of the thumb is much less angular than you normally see.

I've seen this on a couple of other pairs: the side of thumb is sewn with the back-side overlapping the palm-side, but for the tip, both sides are turned in.

Overlapping side seam.

A number, probably 10, althought it could be 70.

The size: 7 1/2, and the word "LAVABIL" probably the maker of the glove.

Another random number.

This pink pair has several anomalies. The leather side is out, suede side in.

All the seam allowances are turned in and appear to be done by machine.

Both a wedge and a seam in the finger gusset (that one's not so strange.)

The front and back pieces meet, cutting off the gusset (and getting quite dirty. It seems like these may have been a favorite pair and were used more.)

Here's something crazy: they're lined! with a synthetic knit. This was probably necessary because the leather of the gloves in extremely thin.

Both layers are turned in the sewn together for the side seam. You can also see a little hole that appears to be burned, but it doesn't show on the leather layer.

And the size: 7 1/2.

The rest of the leather gloves will be up soon.