Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Vintage 1923 Ribbon Art: How to Make Hundreds of Dainty and Practical Things of Ribbons

This morning Casey of Casey's Elegant Musings was jumping up and down and squealing over her weekend find: a Spring and Summer 1944 Sears Catalog.

I don't blame her for being excited!  These old catalogs are so hard to find at a price that won't cost an arm & a leg.  And for some reason, I've had an especially tough time trying to get my hands on a department store catalog from the 1940's.  So if you've got one you want to get rid of (for some silly reason) please keep your new blogging friend from St. Paul, Minnesota in mind.  ;-)

Today is Tuesday...and for me, that means Twenties TuesdayAnd I've got a weekend find to share that had me jumping and squealing almost as much as Casey!   I found an original vintage 1923 copy of Ribbon Art:  How to Make Hundreds of Dainty and Practical Things of Ribbons.


You might not be familiar with this 48-page magazine. I wasn't either.  But after I found this at an estate sale and started researching it, I discovered that the 1986 reproduction is everywhere!  But nobody that I've run into so far seems to have the real thing.  And I do!

Now if you're not into the 1920's like I am, this might not make your heart sing as much as mine.  But bear with me as I share some of the illustrations inside.

My temptation is to share it all at once, but I think I'll just give you a taste of it this week with more to follow on future Tuesdays.  I always think that when something is really good, it's better to savor it slowly - don't you?

I love the little "flapper baby" on the front cover.  Isn't she sweet, with pink ribbons from head to toe?  I think I'm going to have to incorporate her permanently into my blog somehow, and give her a name.

This past Sunday, I shared with you a couple of photos from a corner of my bedroom, and my new vintage drapes.  Well, if I had my druthers (and a little bit of money), I would completely redo my bedroom to fit my 20's-leaning personality. And this is the bedroom I envision myself in:


 

And here's what the other side of my new bedroom would look like:

Do you see the ribbons everywhere?

And every day, I'd get dressed in a ribboned gown and chapeau - and would always look fresh as a daisy...

 And I would spend my afternoons eating bon-bons and creating boudoir luxuries like these:






The hat in the first photo was called a hair band - the middle one, a boudoir cap and the last one, a head band.  Which is your favorite?

Good night!  Hope you'll stop back again soon...

6 comments:

  1. Wow, wow, wow!!!! I love the photos! swoon!

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  2. How divine, I adore the pictures they are wonderful. It's sad we can't live in pictures, we can dream though.....

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  3. Debi - So I guess you can see why I was excited when I found this little treasure! I was swooning too.

    Foxglove - Yes, we can dream... I suppose you could tell that I was a little caught up in my dreamworld when I wrote this. My real life bedroom has a bit of charm - but it's so messy all the time with my antique purchases everywhere!

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  4. Hi there! I have a copy of the repro "Ribbon Art" book. It's fabulous! I'm dreaming of creating lovelies from the book, and maybe end up with a beautiful 1920's inspired bedroom too! By the way, I love your blog, I'll definitely be back soon!

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  5. Thanks Mitzi, I love your blog too! You probably noticed that I stopped by today, completely fascinated with that "psychedelic" Art Deco illustration you posted.

    If you ever do make any of the pretty things from the Ribbon Art book, I hope that you will share with us!

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  6. Great Post! We have Satin Ribbon with 196 colors and 19 sizes for your choice! Have a try here?

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