Tales From A Vintage Wardrobe

Vintage Uniform

Tom Brady likes vintage...who knew?

It's Okay, Tommy, We Still Love You!

Safe & Sound

Before we possibly lose power for who knows how long, I just wanted to send my best wishes to my readers who will be affected by Hurricane Irene hitting the East Coast, especially those in NYC, as it seems you will, for certain, be targeted by this crazy storm.  Be as safe & sound as you possibly can be, see you on the other side.

(image courtesy of New York Traveler )

 

Serendipity: an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

So what do you do when the telephone rings 4 days before leaving for a vacation that's been planned for a year only to learn that the house you had rented was flooded and will not be available?  Generally, you call your travel agent/realtor and they find you a place to stay.  Generally.  When said house is located on Martha's Vineyard and the week you booked is not only "Fair Week" but "The 150th Anniversary Fair Week", there are 14 in your party and the President is coming, that simple feat becomes a bit like the Bermuda Triangle of vacation planning.   Packing (everything but the kitchen sink) came to a screeching halt, and that special bottle of cognac that was saved for "The Vineyard" was unpacked to keep us company as we sat anxiously by the phone and computer, our week of sun, sand & sea hanging in the balance.  Tick Tock.  Tick Tock.  Two days went by, two long, frustrating days.  But sometimes, when things go very, very wrong, as they did, they turn out very, very right. 

This is the lovely house we had the privilege of calling "home" for a week.  A restored 18th century farmhouse on 8 acres of lush island land.  Owned by a young, very talented family man who calls himself a carpenter, but I would call a craftsman.  I cannot begin to imagine the hours of painstaking work that went into restoring and creating this beautiful estate, but I am quite certain it was a labor of love.  I actually got goosebumps when my friend, who had arrived at the property first, escorted me through the door.  I still have them a week later.  As the days passed I kept pinching myself, half expecting to see Jane Austen walk through a doorway at any moment.

While days passed and we sat at the shore, survived the wild surf of South Beach with bruises to show for it, saw the fireworks at Oak Bluffs, spent an afternoon at The Fair, took in the spectacular views from Gay Head, played 18 holes at Farm Neck (in spite of getting bumped from the original tee time because Mr. President wanted to play), bumped into David Letterman at Morning Glory Farm, consumed insane amounts of seafood and libations and even jumped off "The Jaws Bridge" at sunset, the best part of this vacation was that we spent it in this beautiful home.

Serendipity.

 

Newport Vintage Dance Week 2011

If you happen to follow the Facebook page of my blog/site, you may recall I mentioned quite awhile back that I had been invited to attend "The Newport Vintage Dance Week" after one of the sponsors came across my post about Vintage Tailgating.  It was one of those moments when, upon learning of this event, I again thought to myself:  "How is it I have never heard of this?" 

(photo courtesy of The Commonwealth Vintage Dancers)

Newport is less than an hour away, and although my days of hanging out at The Black Pearl, The Pelham & The Red Parrot have been long laid to rest, I do at times feel the urge to head to Newport, but on a far more grown-up level.  I now tend to head there "off season", when traffic has slowed, parking is available & the weather is much more conducive to enjoying the coast with a wicker basket picnic or dining outdoors sans staring tourists with cameras and drunk prepsters who are trashing yachts Onassis couldn't afford to own.  I suppose you can consider yourself a grown up when you'd rather be "un-seen" than "be seen" in such a place as Newport purports to be. 

  
(photo courtesy of 12 Meter Charters)

Although still the lovely "City By The Sea", when you watch films shot on location in or about Newport such as "The Age of Innocence", "The Great Gatsby", "High Society" and "Mr. North", you have to wonder where all the charm, the grace, the manners and propriety that was once associated with and demanded by those who swam the circles of Newport's social seas has gone.  The glamour once associated with the glamorous likes of Doris Duke and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy has all but disappeared and been replaced with a much less refined sense of entitlement and entertainment.

 

While I cannot tell you (in a simple blog post, anyway) where those days have gone, I can tell you there is a troupe of rather talented, aesthetically concerned persons who wish to reclaim, revive, and at the very least recall the grand days of yesteryear.

They are The Commonwealth Vintage Dancers and their mission is rather admirable and most noteworthy.  Voted two years in a row one of The Top Five Most Memorable Events of 2010 by Bill Cunningham of The New York Times (additional photos here) , the upcoming 24th Annual Newport Vintage Dance Week (30 July - 5 August 2011) is, rather obviously, the place to be.

"Travel Back in Time to the summer playground of the Gilded Age.
 Perfect your dancing skills with classes taught by leading experts on vintage dance.
 Experience the breathtaking opulence of America ’s finest ballrooms as you dance in Newport’s famous mansions.
 Let yourself be immersed in a bygone era as you sip tea by the shore..."  (courtesy of TCVD website)

(photos courtesy of The Commonwealth Vintage Dancers & C. & P. Montrie)

The week kicks off on Saturday, 30 July 2011 at 5:00 pm with a Polo Match (Newport vs New York), a Dinner Buffet & Welcome Dance to be held at The Newport International Polo Grounds at Glen Farm in Portsmouth, RI and includes private box seating in the Subscriber's Enclosure for excellent viewing of the match.  Registration for the event will begin at 1:00 pm to allow plenty of time for settling in, mingling and enjoying the lovely grounds of this Rhode Island landmark. 

I am honored to have been personally invited by Nicole Carlson of The Vintage Commonwealth Dancers to document through photographs, brief interviews and personal observation The Newport Vintage Dance Week Events.  This is the first year that events can be attended as a "Per-Venue" Event for a very reasonable fee.  Please visit the website for more information or direct inquiries to Newport@VintageDancers.org. 

 

The Top Shelf Flea Market III Sunday 22 May 2011

 

 

It's that time of year, again....RSVP here. and save the date!

 

A Girl Has To Dream...

 
 

Highly Recommended: Kiel James Patrick

You know my penchant for old things borders on obsession, so when my "own private (vintage) Idaho" crosses paths with another living in their "own private (vintage) Idaho" .....it's like being introduced to a rib eye to go with my potato.  (If you're not getting my little story, click here.)

Meet Kiel.  He makes a living sewing on this antique Singer sewing machine.  I know, I know.  Yes, he is/was a model, but let's focus, ladies.  Take a good look at his studio...amazing, isn't it?

This is the cool stuff  he creates in his studio.

Croffix Sailing Belts.....

Vicker Leed headbands  ....it's hard to choose a favorite.

Another great reason to love Rhode Island....KJP.... inspired by classic New England Style. 

(All images courtesy of Kiel James Patrick official site.)

NEWS BULLETIN: The Top Shelf Flea Market II

It's official~~Giuseppe over at  An Affordable Wardrobe  has once again taken up the task to bring together some rather fabulous vintage & classic/preppy clothing at The Top Shelf Flea Market II.  Need some convincing that the classics/prep are back?  Check out this rather interesting press on the CBS Early Show....and here's a video from that very segment to convince you further:

(Pause the Victrola in the sidebar before you press PLAY)

The high heeled exotic dancer duck boots are probably one of the scariest things I've ever laid eyes on, but the overall trend of looking back to the classics to inspire modern fashions is a comfort to those of us who never strayed.  And if you're searching for the real~thing and not a modern makeover of the original, then The Top Shelf Flea II is the place you want to be. 

 

The Top Shelf Flea Market II
Sunday October 24, 2010
10~4
George Dilboy V.F.W. Post #529
371 Summer Street (Davis Square)
Somerville, MA

 

The first one was a smashing success and this one promises to be even better...so save the date and come spend a Sunday afternoon this fall shopping in Beantown~you won't regret it!  Stay tuned for more details~~don't tell anyone but I've heard rumors of live jazz & best dressed contests....

TABLE OR BOOTH?

This post has been swimming around in my mind for a few weeks now, as it has taken me that amount of time to absorb the wonderful events that transpired one glorious, sunny afternoon...

My sister invited my mother and I to come to Connecticut to spend the day and "do lunch"~~she had somewhere special to take us.  Knowing my sister and her refined culinary taste, I knew we would not be disappointed.  Little did I know there was far more than lunch awaiting us...

Tucked away in Northeastern Connecticut, in the sleepy little town of Brooklyn, is a wonderful place called The Golden Lamb Buttery, opened in 1963 by Proprietors Robert & Virginia Booth.

 

"Virginia Wagoner Booth, known as Jimmie Booth, studied printing and engineering at Syracuse University. An engineer with Pratt & Whitney during World War II, she entered the fashion world as a bridal consultant at G. Fox in Hartford in 1945.
In 1952 Dorothy Shaver, of Lord & Taylor, hired Booth for the Hartford store and asked her to develop and manage The Country Clothes Shop in the 5^thAvenue store in New York. There, Booth collaborated with and promoted such American designers as Clare Potter, Bonnie Cashin, and Claire McCardell. Booth also worked extensively with European designers.
Married to Bob Booth of Hillandale Weavers, Jimmie promoted the use of both American and European hand-loomed fabrics by her designers. She frequently modeled the fashions herself. Her casual, yet elegant, style is the epitome of "the American Look" still popular today.
In 1998, Jimmie Booth, Dorothy Shaver, and other creators of The American Look were saluted in the exhibition, "Designing Women: American Style 1940-1960"at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford.
In addition to her design work, Booth was a violinist with the Hartford Symphony in the 1940s, and later became the chef at the Brooklyn, Connecticut, Golden Lamb Buttery, which she and her husband, Bob, own and operate."
(Courtesy of Archives Center, Smithsonian,National Museum of American History)

 
(Virginia Booth featured in The New York Times~Courtesy of
The Golden Lamb Buttery)

Robert Booth was the great grandson of William Booth, founder of The Salvation Army.  His father was textile mogul Henry Booth (1895~1969).

"In the early 1940s, (Henry) Booth came up with the idea for the PhotoMetriC camera system to be used in the custom tailoring industry. The system consisted of a specially-designed arrangement of nine mirrors. Eight mirrors reflected separate views of the customer and one mirror reflected the customer’s name and other information. These angled mirrors allowed a photograph to be taken which showed the customer from the front, back, side, and top. A slide of this photographic measurement would be sent, along with the customer’s garment order, to the manufacturer. When the order arrived, the tailor would project the customer’s image on a special screen which facilitated the taking of certain physical measurements. With the aid of the PhotoMetriC calculator, the tailor translated the measurements into specifications for a customer-specific garment. When finished, the garment would be mailed directly to the customer’s home. According to testimonials in the collection, the garments fit perfectly the first time, every time. The PhotoMetriC system both saved the tailor money and relieved the customer of the inconvenience of having to return to the tailor again and again for time-consuming fittings, alterations, and adjustments.
The PhotoMetriC system made its debut in two Richard Bennett stores in New York City on May 17, 1948. It was subsequently licensed to other select retailers such as: The Custom Gentleman (Englewood, NJ); Nathan’s (Richmond, VA); The Golden Fleece (Point Pleasant Borough, NJ); and Joseph’s (Terre Haute, IN). 
Hillandale, a Brooklyn, CT farm which Booth purchased about 1940, was later used to produce hand woven wool fabrics. These fabrics were used extensively by various PhotoMetriC retail outlets. Henry Booth’s son, Robert (b. 1924), took over farm operations circa 1960 and opened a retail outlet on the premises which featured a PhotoMetriC fitting room which provided custom tailoring until the mid-1970s. "
(courtesy of  The Lemelson Center, Smithsonian,National Museum of American History)

 

 
(Courtesy of Hillandale Handweavers Farm Estate)
 

As we walked into the stable, which is the restaurant, my eye was drawn to this:

 

Please bear in mind I did not have the advantage of the family history I have provided for you, dear reader.  As we stroll the length of the stable, the walls are covered with such a variety of art, artifacts, sketches, photographs, and paintings that my Art Gallery OCD begins lurking it's ugly head, I am overwhelmed.  I cannot seem to correlate the wonderful smell of horse & hay, the un~even barn board floor, the smell of fresh herbs & simmering pots of deliciousness wafting through a secret doorway, and this constant thread of couture fashion that seems to run through the vast estate.

 

 

 
 (a quiet table for two, the most requested in the house)
 

Suddenly Katie, granddaughter of Mr. & Mrs. Booth, arrives.  She escorts us to the veranda for cocktails...a delightful idea.

  

The view from the veranda.

 

 

The aromas coming from the kitchen entice us to our table...the menu is simple but wonderful.   Zucchini Bisque and Duck Salad for me, my Mom and sister try the chilled fresh berry soup (which looks like a delicious dessert!), the Shrimp Salad & Crepe Du Jour...divine.

 

Long, leisurely lunching is encouraged, if not required.  A wonderful change from the harried restaurant experience that has so sadly become accepted today.  So linger we did.   Just as we finished our lunch, the delightful sous~chef Betty arrived at our table, and the story telling began...

It was from her we learned all about Mr. & Mrs. Booth and their fascinating love story.  Mr. Booth's father (of Hillandale Handweavers)  made frequent trips to NYC for business and it was there his path crossed with Ms. Virginia Wagoner.  He returned from NY and told his son "There is someone I want you to meet."  The rest is history.  Ms. Wagoner became Mrs. Robert Booth, left the big city and moved out into the beautiful, but very quiet town of Brooklyn.  She went straight to work in the haberdashery with her new husband and father~in~law; her experience in the fashion/clothing industry proved extremely valuable to the family business.  Bespoke suits were the order of the day~~clients arrived from all over . . . and would return multiple times a year, either for fittings or for something new.

As time passed, Mrs. Booth, being of an engineering mind, realized that if their clients were willing to travel from all over to this quiet country town, they would need a place to dine.  Alas, there was no such place for miles and miles in any given direction.  In 1963 The Golden Lamb Buttery was born.  She renovated part of the barn across the street into a quaint restaurant, where weary travelers could find refreshment.  The menu was simple but with fresh ingredients from the farm & prepared by Mrs. Booth's loving hands~delicious!   Visitors were encouraged to linger and relax, to enjoy the beautiful view and the peaceful serenity of the farm which stood in stark contrast to the cities from which most had come.

This wonderful marriage of bespoke tailoring and gourmet food continued into the 1970s.  In 1971, The Golden Lamb Buttery began offering dinner... just as the custom tailoring part of the business was slipping away.  Ready~made clothing & synthetic fabrics had become the more fashionable choice for the masses and this wonderful old~world haberdashery eventually closed it's doors for good. 

In 2008, Mr. & Mrs. Booth's granddaughter, Katie Bogert,  accepted her role in the family legacy and began as hostess & proprietor of The Golden Lamb Buttery.  A large order, but one I greatly admire & respect.  To have such a young lady (perhaps in her late 20s, of course I couldn't ask!)  realize the wonderful heritage she has been granted and to do her part to keep it alive is practically unheard of today. 

Well advanced in years, Mr. & Mrs. Booth have since retired, but their presence is strongly felt everywhere, from Mrs. Booth's beautiful sketches to her hand~written recipes still used in the kitchen.  Some of the very first patrons are still coming to "The Lamb" some 40 years later to enjoy the experience.  Paul Newman, Glenn Close, Carol King & Alec Baldwin are just a few of the celebrities who made the journey to this quiet little corner of New England.  

That day will be a day I will always treasure...being just 15 miles or so from my grandparents dairy farm tugged at my heartstrings...how very much Mrs. Booth reminded me of my grandmother in so many ways.  The only thing which could have made this day any more perfect would have been the privilege of meeting this fascinating couple, Mr. & Mrs. Robert & Virginia Booth.  

At The Golden Lamb Buttery, you don't have to decide between a table or "Booth"~~you can enjoy both at your leisure...just be prepared to linger.

 

Post Update/20 July 2011:  
The Golden Lamb  has also added a new country gift shop called "The Primitive Creek".   Staying within the country decor, the gift shop carries local artisans with items such as hand knitted scarves, knitted and felted wool purses, pottery, jewelry and Gourmet Chocolate Truffles just to mention a few.  For the folks with a taste of more modern flare they also carry Murano, Italy Glass, vintage/antique window glass in every color of the rainbow and much, much more.  Tami Hamel, a Folk Artist of acrylic painting, is the owner/operator of this wonderful gift shop added to the already enchanting establishment.  (See comment thread for more information provided by Ms. Hamel.)

 

 
This post is dedicated to
the Memory of
Virginia Wagoner Booth 
20 June 1922 - 9 January 2011