When Is A Scarf Not A Scarf?

Today there are 96,012 listings for vintage scarves on Etsy.  Without the 'vintage' filter, there are thousands more.  There's so much more competition now than when I began in 2008.  A major problem are all the off-shore "handmade" scaves and blatant fake designer scarves that Etsy turns a blind eye to.  I don't have nearly the success that I once did, but it's a category I love and I can't help myself.

My friend Sunny of Luna Junction Vintage works her model's ass off with styling her garments and accessories.  She has inspired me to *attempt* to style my scarves in different ways to be more eye-catching.

For this extra long scarf,  I used a brooch as a scarf clip.  I gathered the scarf loosely and arranged the brooch at the shoulder being careful to not put holes in the silk fabric.


Then I played around with draping the scarf and came up with several more different looks.

  

This small Burmel scarf has a zebra theme.  

I folded it and threaded it through the pin back of another brooch and really like the effect.

Then I intertwined the scarf with a string of white beads and came up with a couple of different looks.

This large square Christian Dior scarf became a knotted belt.

A long, colorful Perry Ellis scarf became a sash.

An oversized square polyester scarf became an obi belt.

These are several more attempts at making necklaces.

Lastly, my attempt to turn a really large square scarf into a halter top.  I think I may need more practice!

A scarf doesn't have to be a boring piece of fabric that you stuff in a drawer and forget about.  It's one of those wonderful things that can be re-used, re-purposed, re-styled, re-imagined, and re-invigorated.

How Vera Neumann's Scarves Came To Be

In the early 1940s shortly after they married, Vera Neumann's husband George encouraged her to transfer her artwork to fabric with the idea of using the fabric for home decor.  Together they built their first silk screen that was so small it fit on the top of their dining room table.  This led to the launching of a small printing company which they named Printex.  Table napkins and placemats were small items that were easily produced on the small silk screen.  Since they transferred the designs from Vera's original paintings with her signature on them, that's how her signed textiles began.

The war effort dried up easy access to the linen and cotton fabric that they used and during one of Vera's searches, she found excess parachute silk in an Army surplus store.  This parachute silk became her new canvas and her silk scarf business was born.  Once again her signed artwork was used for the scarf designs and this was the beginning of the 'signature' scarf.

Her first scarf was sold to Lord & Taylor in 1947.  The first designs were simple and monochromatic.  Many of the scarves featured allover designs of a single object.  One of Vera's favorite motifs was botanicals; leaves, ferns, and other flora that captivated her imagination as a child.

Her earliest scarves were also smaller, almost handkerchief sized, than her later scarves as they were still using a small screen print.

Having a love for estate sales, I've managed to collect several of her earlier scarves.  The green scarf with the leaf design is one of her earliest, I believe, which may date from the late 40s to early 50s.  The scarf doesn't have the handrolled hem that her Japanese scarves do.  Instead the fabric has stitching almost like a satin stitch around the edges of the scarf.  The attached tag also says the scarf is designed and handscreened in USA.  

No matter what the subject matter, I love Vera scarves!  I'm happy that they're still easy to find...and collect.

  

Happy Birthday To Past Pieces Vintage

Past Pieces turned 3 years old on August 6, 2011.  Only this year have I devoted most of my time to nurturing it and treating it as a full-time pursuit instead of a diversion.  It has evolved since then and probably will continue to evolve as I devote even more time and effort to it; to decide in which direction I really want to go, although that’s pretty well settled.  Today.

When I started Past Pieces, I was a full-time caregiver and wanted something to distract me from that day to day business.  I wanted a venue in which to sell some of the vintage dinnerware and bits and pieces that I’d collected.  It was a way to gently divest myself of my treasures before I was labelled as one of the currently disturbing darlings of the reality television shows…the hoarder.  Having a Goodwill store open locally didn’t help my malady, and soon the garage became a repository for the steel shelving I bought for my “inventory.”  Hence the need for an online shop.

Wonder of wonders, once I opened my Etsy shop, I sold a few things.  There’s nothing headier than making money and I was on my way.  It languished for the first two years, but I sold an item every now and then, but I was too distracted by other things to put my heart and soul into it.  Now, I have the time, and a bit of heart and soul, so we shall see what happens.

As I mentioned, my direction is changing from the original dinnerware and collectibles to what I plan to become a place for vintage clothing and accessories.  Add some vintage lingerie and linens and it’ll be an eclectic brew of various decades.  

Will it keep evolving?  Yes.  Will it keep growing?  Yes.  Will my interests keep changing?  Yes.  Do I know where it all will lead?  No.  

Vera With the Ladybug

It started with that tv show about hoarders. You know the one. It makes you take a long look at yourself and you snort and feel all superior and you declare......"No! I couldn't possibly be tha-a-a-a-t. I'm a collector. Big diff." Ummmm yeah. Sure.

One thing led to another; another led me to the garage. Cliff Notes version of the story: 6 boxes of books went to a favorite thrift store. Six shopping bags of clothing went to Salvation Army. I'm reeeeeally feeling superior now! It always helps to make room for the stuff that will inevitably be dragged home.

When I dropped the books off, I felt guilty about dropping and running, so I felt I should be polite and browse. Which I did. In the bottom basket at the end of the men's pants row are the scarves. And there was my latest Vera scarf. It's polyester, but the condition is terrific and the pattern's groovy. I love the color combination of pink and olive. The paisley pattern is classic and can never go out of style. It feels so rich and has a beautifil drape. I haven't taken the time to date it, but I wanted to share!