Hattysattic
VFG Secretary
what i collect is easy, but 'why'? hmm. i have no decent excuse!!
i suppose i particularly like formal and bridal wear as a lot of the time it will be purchased from a family member that can tell you a little about who it belonged to - and you can just imagine the excitement and romance that must have surrounded it.
i have a particular fondness for 40's fairisle too.. years ago i had a cardigan (can't find it now for the life of me!) that was so completely multicoloured, and so heavily but meticulously darned that it just shouted of 'make do and mend', and i could almost see the owner sat there in the evening painstakingly repairing it as it meant getting at least one more months wear out of it. and that was why i loved that, because of the historical element but on a personal level.
i don't exactly have one single large collection, more like hundreds of small ones (vintage clothing of course but 1930 - 70 mainly, 40's suits in particular, 30's brentleigh ware vases and assorted 1930's teasets, art deco anything).
the other thing is that i am basically steptoe (will members outside of the uk get that?). i am reknowned for 'giving old things a home' and am constantly being donated items, usually by people of similar tendencies whose partners have had enough and are forcing them to part with their junk.
"i'm supposed to take this XXXX to the tip but thought i'd see if you wanted it first as i don't really want to throw it away". or my mum will phone and say "so and so has asked your dad if maybe harriet would want their old aunty mabel's wardrobe, and the clothes too?"
i pretty much always say yes, occasionally it really is a load of junk but sometimes i really feel as if i've succeeded in saving something that i would consider important or interesting. and if i can't give it house room i usually find someone that would be more than happy to!!
i think the real reason 'why' is growing up in a household where i saw it as perfectly normal to have outbuildings full of random 'acquisitions' from the past. the majority of these in my dads case would be vintage car parts, cars, bicycles - all pre war. this obsession came down in turn from his father, and for years my grandad and dad used to race vintage cars every spare minute, and when i was little every weekend was club meets, race meets and other stuff. and unsurprisingly vintage costume came into it, as they did tend to get dressed up for special events; which is where i first got interested in vintage clothes! and of course i was never discouraged..
now i get to join in, i've driven the austin 7 tourer in muddy winter trials/hill climbs (although i daren't go in any of the race cars on a circuit!)..and occasionally supply the costumes for my father's friends! :D
the root cause of my fascination with the past! (borrowed this image as i have no digital pics of ours, exactly the same model but dad's tourer is brown and black - and not always so shiny):
i suppose i particularly like formal and bridal wear as a lot of the time it will be purchased from a family member that can tell you a little about who it belonged to - and you can just imagine the excitement and romance that must have surrounded it.
i have a particular fondness for 40's fairisle too.. years ago i had a cardigan (can't find it now for the life of me!) that was so completely multicoloured, and so heavily but meticulously darned that it just shouted of 'make do and mend', and i could almost see the owner sat there in the evening painstakingly repairing it as it meant getting at least one more months wear out of it. and that was why i loved that, because of the historical element but on a personal level.
i don't exactly have one single large collection, more like hundreds of small ones (vintage clothing of course but 1930 - 70 mainly, 40's suits in particular, 30's brentleigh ware vases and assorted 1930's teasets, art deco anything).
the other thing is that i am basically steptoe (will members outside of the uk get that?). i am reknowned for 'giving old things a home' and am constantly being donated items, usually by people of similar tendencies whose partners have had enough and are forcing them to part with their junk.
"i'm supposed to take this XXXX to the tip but thought i'd see if you wanted it first as i don't really want to throw it away". or my mum will phone and say "so and so has asked your dad if maybe harriet would want their old aunty mabel's wardrobe, and the clothes too?"
i pretty much always say yes, occasionally it really is a load of junk but sometimes i really feel as if i've succeeded in saving something that i would consider important or interesting. and if i can't give it house room i usually find someone that would be more than happy to!!
i think the real reason 'why' is growing up in a household where i saw it as perfectly normal to have outbuildings full of random 'acquisitions' from the past. the majority of these in my dads case would be vintage car parts, cars, bicycles - all pre war. this obsession came down in turn from his father, and for years my grandad and dad used to race vintage cars every spare minute, and when i was little every weekend was club meets, race meets and other stuff. and unsurprisingly vintage costume came into it, as they did tend to get dressed up for special events; which is where i first got interested in vintage clothes! and of course i was never discouraged..
now i get to join in, i've driven the austin 7 tourer in muddy winter trials/hill climbs (although i daren't go in any of the race cars on a circuit!)..and occasionally supply the costumes for my father's friends! :D
the root cause of my fascination with the past! (borrowed this image as i have no digital pics of ours, exactly the same model but dad's tourer is brown and black - and not always so shiny):