Welcome to the HATS OFF TO THE VFG Fall Fundraiser!! New incentive & contest!!

While you contemplate the year of Maggie's photo, here's a little update: We have had two more wonderful donations, one from a member, and one from a non-member—and we have breached the $900 mark!
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Thank you and please keep it coming!

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Maggie, you inspired me to go into my family photos, because I grew up in an era when ladies definitely wore hats, especially if they went to church on Sunday, as these ladies did. I don’t know why they seem to be sharing a toast in the church hall, but they look like they are having fun. Those look like what they used to call highballs, which were rarely consumed at social gatherings.
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I have already made a donation, but I will add another $10 if someone can guess which lady is my grandmother, and what year this photo was taken.
Lovely photo. 2nd from left and 1963?
 
My guess- 1929, great grandmother
OK then, how about another challenge? tip my hatI'll throw in another $10 if you can accurately guess what year this photo comes from, and what relation am I to the woman standing to the left, head turned.

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Nope and nope. You're probably closer on the date. Hint: This is in Minot, North Dakota, but they are fairly stylishly dressed for the time.
 
We have just two days left of this fundraiser, and I am about to sweeten the deal.

I am offering this hardcover copy of Constance Talbot’s 1943 book The Complete Book of Sewing. Anyone who donates $10 or more in the next two days will be entered into a drawing for the book, shipped free via media mail anywhere in the U.S.
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It is one of my all-time favorite vintage fashion reference books - luckily I own two copies, because I would never give up mine. You can read my review and see some of the wonderful illustrations in my blog HERE.
 
1928 - Your great great aunt.
Closer, and closer! One hint: You are right about the 'aunt' part!

Very cool item to offer Maggie!! ❤️

We are almost to the half way mark, and I believe it is fair to say that unless we have some sort of huge, unexpected help, we might just break $1,000 by midnight tomorrow, not reach our goal. And you know? That would still be wonderful!! We have had many generous donations from our members, and some from non-members too, and I'm sure we have created some awareness for the VFG. So we'll be celebrating no matter what!

The latest video I've shared, and the spiel to go along. You're most welcome to share! (click to view)

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The VFG continues to offer a wealth of information for the benefit of the public. This is what we have chosen to do, sharing our resources for the greater good, but our technology expenses are growing and members' dues do not cover them.

If you think the VFG deserves a tip of the hat for what it offers, please support our mission with a donation at the following link: bit.ly/vintagefashionguild

Our fundraiser will end on November 19 at midnight, and we have only raised half of our $1900 goal. If you can't make a donation, will you please share? Many thanks!

Please note that the VFG is a 501(c)6 nonprofit and as such, donations are not tax deductible.
 
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Maggie, it looks like your book has been adopted by our most recent member donation!

Still waiting for the year of my photo! And anyone care to take another guess at my relationship to the woman standing on the left?
 
Great great aunt, 1927
Maggie, it looks like your book has been adopted by our most recent member donation!

Still waiting for the year of my photo! And anyone care to take another guess at my relationship to the woman standing on the left?
 
Abraham Lincoln's Top Hat
National Museum of American History

At six feet four inches tall, Lincoln towered over most of his contemporaries. He chose to stand out even more by wearing high top hats. He acquired this hat from J. Y. Davis, a Washington hat maker. Lincoln had the black silk mourning band added in remembrance of his son Willie. No one knows when he obtained the hat, or how often he wore it. The last time he put it on was to go to Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865.
After Lincoln’s assassination, the War Department preserved his hat and other material left at Ford’s Theatre. With permission from Mary Lincoln, the department gave the hat to the Patent Office, which, in 1867, transferred it to the Smithsonian Institution. Joseph Henry, the Secretary of the Smithsonian, ordered his staff not to exhibit the hat “under any circumstance, and not to mention the matter to any one, on account of there being so much excitement at the time.” It was immediately placed in a basement storage room.
The American public did not see the hat again until 1893, when the Smithsonian lent it to an exhibition hosted by the Lincoln Memorial Association. Today it is one of the Institution’s most treasured objects.
Transfer from the War Department with permission from Mary Lincoln, 1867

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