Janis Martin's Rockabilly History Lesson

IN the course of looking for material for my Masters thesis on Janis Martin and Lavern Baker, I found this wonderful video of Janis Martin explaining how integral Ruth Brown is in the history of Rockabilly music. Apparently the video was recorded to be used in a documentary "Rebel Beat: The Story of LA Rockabilly" but the director couldn't get rights to the music. In the clip, Janis first sings a Ruth Brown song called "Long As I'm Movin'" and then demonstrates the similarities of how the main lick from that song translates into the standard Rockabilly lick used in "Good Rockin' Tonight," which she also performs. This is such a wonderful clip to me and really shows how invested Janis was in spreading Rockabilly music and its origins.

1912 Titanic Sewing Project

I have joined a new exciting sewing project sponsored by the Vintage Pattern Lending Library. With the upcoming 100-year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, VPLL is tackling one of the Library’s archives largest projects- the scanning and digitizing of the patterns and magazines of La Mode Illustree – once France’s foremost publication of fashion.

We will be starting with the April 1912 Issues, which are the ones closest to the Titanic date.  Afterwards, we will be working through the rest of issues in the hopes of completing the full year by the end of 2012.Participants are split into groups and given random patterns to create using original instructions.

For more information, visit the project blog- http://vpll1912project.org/.Visit my 1912 page for updates on my projects.

Fabulous Vintage-style Wedding Dress on Sale

I haven't posted a vintage wedding post in a while, so I thought I'd make it up to you by posting about this lovely Sweetheart Corded Dress by J. Peterman. It is on clearance right now for $148 and they have all sizes available as of today, up to an 18 (43" bust- 35" waist). Isn't it adorable? Pair it with a cute bolero and it would work any time of the year!

Vintage Style Pom Pom Hat Tutorial

I just LOVE this adorable pom pom hat featured on Grosgrain! The tutorial is easy to follow and very visual. I am thinking that there are so many other materials one could use for this. Perhaps tulle or chiffon for a more elegant feel? Or maybe recycled sweaters?

Washing Vintage with Va-Voom Vintage

The absolutely charming Brittany at Va-Voom Vintage just posted a very thorough and informative blog post about washing vintage, including a breakdown by fabric. Do yourself a favor and visit the post here!