Vintage Vault: The Pits

Summer is nipping at our heels and that means SWEATING for most of us. Here's how to keep your precious vintage goods from suffering as well:

• For white garments, keep the pit stains in check with hydrogen peroxide. Mix half part water, half part hydrogen peroxide and soak the garment in it for a bit. Rinse!
• We love Oxyclean and Borax. FOR EVERYTHING.
• Make a paste of baking soda and water and spread on the stain. Let sit for a bit and then scrub off with a little brush.
• White vinegar is good for most colored fabrics, but be sure to test a spot beforehand if you're concerned. You can soak the whole garment in a mixture of water and white vinegar to freshen it up.
• We've never tried this, but apparently aspirin works well!
• And lastly, spray some lemon juice on the offending stain, and then air dry the garment in the sun. The sun plus lemon should bleach the stain out.

Vintage Vault: Winter Storage

What does one do with all their gorgeous vintage cashmere v-neck sweaters, Irish fisherman knits and rainbow Japanese acrylic scarves in the hot and humid months? Living the apartment life in DC usually doesn't afford endless closet space, so keeping them out and about isn't the most practical option. If you have a storage space or room under your bed, folding the winter gear and putting them away for the season is a great way to go but don't fall into the old cat lady trap of mothballs. These toxic moth killers off-gas in the worst way, and moreover, trap your clothes in plastic.



Storing vintage clothes in plastic is bad for the fibers of the clothes, and the smell is even worse. Cedar naturally repels moths, and eventually biodegrades, so it's the best option for keeping insects out of your vintage goods in the summer. If you have an extra closet where you are hanging dresses (never sweaters), cedar rings are a great and cheap investment. They can be replenished by adding drops of cedar oil onto the wood ever so often or by sanding down the wood. Since knits should be folded and not hung up, Cedar wood balls can be added into the suitcases and shelves your are storing the clothes in.

Vintage Vault: Silk

How do you care for one of the most luxurious fabrics one can ask for in a DC summer?

Don't believe the hype: it's best NOT to dry clean silk garments, no matter what the care tag says. Let's review the steps to washing your awesome silk tap pants from the 1920s or gorgeous silk tank tops from Listopad (our obsession for the summer)--

1. Don't dry clean! Silk is a natural fiber, akin to human hair, that has been used in clothing for a long time. Dry cleaning is a relatively modern invention, so what did classy women used to do with their silk garments? HAND WASH.

2. Harsh detergents (cough, dry cleaning, cough) should be avoided. Woolite or dish washing soap (ideal for most vintage natural fibers) are gentle enough and will get the job done.

3. Don't soak. If the silk is getting kind of dingy, rinse it with some vinegar mixed in with the water. Best to keep the water cold/room temperature so as to not harm the fibers. No bleach either!

4. Don't wring out the garment. Roll it in a towel to absorb excess water and then let it air dry flat on a towel.

For great summaries on the differences between different silk incarnations (chiffon, crepe de chine, etc) check out this page.

Euphemisms

Then: shoulderpads.

Now, via Cathy Horyn: "extreme shoulders."

Full disclosure, y'all - the Cache bodysuit that I got from Listopad has seen the light of day - the light of a huge party, no less - with shoulder pads intact. It's because these particular pads are sharp, literally and figuratively - instead of the puffy, rounded monstrosities that get snipped out of many a thrift-store find, these are small and to the point, and give the shoulders edge instead of bulk. Reasonable iterations of this structural touch do exist.



For example: I love this! Hats off to the styling, of course, but the jacket is doing its own good work: I think the exaggerated shoulders create a lovely counterpoint to the wide leg of the trousers. All this plus a classic white t-shirt and really fucking dramatic headwrap? Yes please! These shoulders are so wickedly pointed that I cannot help but fall in love.



This is fucking badass and you know it. Yes, bulky shoulder, but the nipped waist and tight sleeves reminds you that the Evil Stepmother is still on top of her game. (Full disclosure #2: I have a sweater that is an exact replica of this dress.)

Vintage Vault: Top Serious Offer

Hi. I have found the best product ever for vintage sweaters. Do you have a pile of awesome acrylic cardigans made in Hong Kong that you essentially love but for the horrible piling and all-around hobo-ness of the knit? Did you salvage amazing wool cropped sweaters from your grandma with weird piling near the armpits? Fear not! The Sweater Stone is here. And you can get it FREE. Yes, I got one this week and went to work on all my vintage sweaters which look brand-new now. And it didn't even take them four weeks to send me one. ORDER ONE NOW!!!! Thank me later.

Vintage Vault: Rayon

A lot of the vintage clothes we run into and sell are handmade...whether in a factory or by someone's loving mom. This is why vintage clothing tends to be of higher quality and why it lasts longer than today's "fast fashion" (and why Forever21 dresses will disintegrate after a couple wears). Anyway, because of superior production methods of the clothing of yore, there is not a lot of standardization in a) sizing, and b) labeling for care. We are here to help. Let's tackle washing your vintage pieces.


Listopad Rayon Colorblock Dress

Ah the conundrum of rayon. The first man-made fiber has a colorful history, including the drama of DuPont losing the original recipe in a fire in the '50s. You've probably picked up cool jersey shirts or draped dresses in a vintage store and thought for sure they were part silk or something else non-synthetic, only to find that it puts up with wear and tear better than silk or maybe there might be a little tag that says "100% Rayon or Viscose." Unfortunately, it doesn't tell you how to care for this fabric of the future. It feels way better than polyester, but does it hold up in the wash as well as poly? Not so much. Rayon does not deal well with water and looses elasticity/shape after washing so dry-cleaning is a must. If you are too cheap for that, though, the only thing I can recommend is spot cleaning with natural soap like Dr. Bronner's--don't soak or wet the entire garment, just dab a bit of detergent and water on the spots and try to soak it up with more dabbing of a sponge.

P.S. Modal is a heartier form of Rayon that can indeed be washed in the machine. It's made out of trees!

Vintage Vault

Because we love all things vintage, we're introducing a new column around vintage "education." We want to share the knowledge with all of you regarding all aspects of vintage clothing and accesories...so you can learn to be obsessed just like us ;)

Bakelite: there is no one better equipped to teach you about Bakelite than this obsessive European guy. He's photographed his collection, which he also loans out to museums, for your perusal. Ah, the golden age of plastics, before we hated them for killing us and our planet.








Antique dealers are always hawking the stuff in case you want to start your own collection, and Antiques Anonymous in Woodley Park is a great place to start. Good luck!