An interesting day

I walked a lot between meetings yesterday and had time to look in shop windows and our local mall.

I wrote previously about silver jewellery with eyes, and was tickled to see some new ones – a dog and some frogs.

I also looked around a pop-up shop with NOS (new old stock) from the 60s and 70s. There are popular vintage shops in my area that have carefully curated items from the same era. Those shops awaken huge nostalgia in me because they showcase the best fashion and accessories of those times.

This pop up shop filled me with both fascination and revulsion. It had some really pretty items but was also full of the nightmare things that populated my life in those days.

fluffy soft denim
denim with no stretch at all
nylon
polyester
Crimplene
acrylics
loud checked jackets for the men
Mr Roper style clothes
there was one geniune fur (well, it came from a fur company so I imagine it was)

I can remember how hot those synthetics were, how they did not wick the sweat away from your body, and how once someone got BO smell in the shirts, the smell always returned when you got warm. Polyester and African summers were not a good combination.

It was also striking how much thinner and shorter people were in those days. Granted there may have been a limited selection of sizes in the available stock, but waists were definitely smaller then. If you do buy vintage clothes, you know not to go by the label. A L large then could be S small today.

These were all nylon nightgowns. Some of them were pretty but I just hate the feeling of synthetics. I have always hated wearing nighties because they tend to wrap around me in the night as I roll over. I have always worn a tank top and panties in bed. My mother used to be horrified because nightgowns or pyjamas were the done thing. And bed jackets when you were sick!

This was very seventies.

My mother used to wear these

I had skirts like these when I was a teenager

These were the absolute bane of my teenage life. A girdle with clips for stockings (this was pre pantihose). The back clips of one leg often used to get tangled in the front clips of the other when you crossed your legs and you would look like you were dying to go to the toilet when you tried to get them untangled. I was so glad when my mother allowed me to get my first pair of pantyhose. I always had to wear panties with them though.

The items had original tags on them, which was fascinating because many of them were in inches and none of the young people buying the garments knew how big an inch was.

This denim had no stretch and was fluffy.

This reminded me of my school uniform.

I didn’t buy anything but I loved seeing the school pupils stying their ‘vintage’ finds outside the fitting rooms. One of them had a 70s shag hairstyle and she looked just like a young David Bowie in her outfits.

All I could remember though was the discomfort I used to experience for the sake of fashion in the era of synthetics and non-stretch.

I was kind of sad that the shops did not have jewellery from that era because that I really love.

After that I picked up some jewellery that I had taken in to my local goldsmith for maintenance.

Everything below is silver and 18ct gold. The gold bracelet was replated (it is sterling silver), the gold and silver rings were repolished, as was the seventies silver bracelet. I have a lovely jeweller who gives generous discounts to regular customers.

I like taking in my forever jewellery every so often to be cleaned up and for settings to be checked etc. It is worth it because they always look their best. I have cheaper jewellery that I tend to buy, use, and then resell but my classic favourites always have the best of care.