Mmmost's Old-time Stuff and Vintage Threads

1930s and 1940s Sewing Patterns

mmmost — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:42:13 +0000

I recently went to an estate sale in Fort Collins where I found several vintage sewing patterns from the 1930s and 1940s. What I found amazing was that none were ever used. They are uncut and complete in original factory cuts and folds with the instructions. I loved the illustrations of these classic dresses. I have them listed on eBay now, the auctions end on November 29. I added a gallery of each pattern on my Facebook page, find the link on the right side of this page.

How to Clean Old Gunky Residue from a Perfume Bottle

mmmost — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:33:49 +0000

I tried all the suggestions on the internet to clean the old gunky perfume residue from a Lalique crystal perfume bottle. Vinegar, dish soap in warm water, rice, CLR – nothing worked. They loosened the residue, but seemed to make it stickier. Plus, the bottle was made so I couldn’t scrub the inside with a pipe cleaner or bottle brush. Here’s how the bottle looked:

Desperate for a solution, I tried gasoline. It dissolved the residue within 30 minutes and did not harm the bottle! After removing the gasoline, I added dish soap and warm water and let it soak for a few minutes. Then I let it air dry. There is no gasoline smell and it’s pristine clean inside. Take a look at the results:

This is the first old perfume bottle I have cleaned this way, but I feel confident enough to use this method again.

Click HERE to see my photo gallery of Antique and Vintage Clothing and Accessories, including Perfume Bottles.

Look at this Brassiere that Edwardian women wore in the 1910s

mmmost — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:56:57 +0000

This is a cotton and lace brassiere, circa 1914…The ad was found in the company’s catalogue found here:

http://www.archive.org/details/corsetwaistsbras00hwco

…It is the same one as in the ad…It looks like it might have been tea stained to make it darker…Nowdays, this could be worn alone instead of hidden under a dress!

Victorian Scrapbooks

mmmost — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 19:30:30 +0000

I found two beautiful Victorian scrapbooks at an estate sale last week. They contain 100s of trade cards, calling cards, greeting cards and die cuts. All are little works of art. I added a gallery of each page on my Facebook page, find the link on the right side of this page.

Amazing hand embroidered vintage 1920s Flapper Dress

mmmost — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:50:17 +0000

I found this beautiful vintage 1920s dress at an estate sale in Colorado Springs last week. I looks like a typical cotton day frock of the era until you get up close and inspect the hand work. It is completely hand embroidered and smocked. But what really impressed me was the openwork stitches in the fabric to form the leaves. Whoever made this dress had an enormous amount of time and really good eyes to create this masterpiece! Click on the pictures to enlarge to see the detail. I am selling it on eBay, auction number 390324456049, ending June 26, 2011.

Now on Facebook — MMMOST’S Old-time Stuff and Threads

mmmost — Fri, 20 May 2011 02:58:48 +0000

Check out my new gallery of Vintage Clothing & Accessories on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mmmosts-Old-time-Stuff-and-Threads/198283003540150?sk=wall

My Favorite Sale entry

mmmost — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 19:06:28 +0000

The best estate sale company in Denver – Colorado Estate Sales – had a contest to celebrate their 20th year in business. You can find them on Facebook. We were asked to submit a letter describing our favorite sale. This is my winning entry:

To be sung to the tune “HELP” by the Beatles:

Help, I need some pretties,

Help, not just any pretties,

Help, you know I need some pretties, help!

When I was younger, about 10 years younger than today,

I went to your Mitten Gates’ sale in Denver’s Bonnie Brae,

It was my first estate sale, I wasn’t so self assured,

Now I find I’ve changed my mind and patiently wait at your doors.

Help me if you can, I’m feeling good,

And I do appreciate you being ’round.

Help me, keep those sales coming ’round,

Won’t you please, please help me?

Thanks to that great sale, I was addicted right away,

I made some money and it started me on the way.

Even if this sale is gone, I’m much more self assured,

Now I find I love your sales and still wait at the doors.

Help me if you can, I’m feeling good,

And I do appreciate you being ’round.

Help me, keep those sales coming ’round,

Won’t you please, please help me?

And now my life has changed in oh so many ways,

My independence has reappeared since those early days,

I dumped the jerk and built a great new career and life,

I know that I just need you like I’ve always needed before.

Help me if you can, I’m feeling good,

And I do appreciate you being ’round.

Help me, keep those sales coming ’round,

Won’t you please, please help me, help me, help me, oh?

Check out this beautiful 1967 Cougar!!!

mmmost — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:09:03 +0000

No, I am not the Cougar, but I drive one! This beauty was purchased new by my Grandma in March 1967. The original bill of sale is still in the glove compartment. She paid $3412.75. She was 71 years young at the time. She was literally the little old lady in a small Nebraska town who drove it to church, the store and for drives in the country to see her family farm. In 1987, she couldn’t drive it any longer, so my Uncle Wally took care of it. Then, last weekend, he gave it to me. I drove it to it’s new home in Colorado. It now has only 65800 miles and drives like a dream. It is mostly all original including the paint. The original Dealers Sales Brochure on the passenger seat reads “1967 Mercury — The Man’s Car”. The red leather keycase on the console is the original one from the dealer. Grandma, I promise to take as good of care of it as you and Wally did.

Vintage 1920s Evening and Daytime Dresses

mmmost — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 18:09:42 +0000

I took my mother to Omaha last weekend to visit her sister, so took advantage of saleing in a new territory. I found a fabulous estate sale north west of Omaha in the newspaper, so we left Loveland early Friday morning and drove straight through. We made it to the sale at 4:30 with one hour left to shop that day. I was surprised the selection was still wonderful after having been open 8 hours already. I commented on that and she explained that most of their customers are regulars and know that at 8:30 the next day, all items under $50 are half price. So they gamble that what they want is still there. I thought about coming back the next morning, but realized I would be one of a herd of people, rushing inside to find the same things I wanted. Chances are I might not have gotten to my items in time. So, since the prices were good to begin with, I bought all the items I wanted, probably disappointing many who waited. My favorite finds were some fabulous vintage 1920s evening and daytime dresses. They had been packed away all these years. A couple show some wear and damage, after all they were worn, but even so they are an interesting study in silhouette and fabric of that era. One of the gals must have been rather zoftig, because a couple are large sized, but still very stylish.

Unique vintage clothing from Denver estate sale

mmmost — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:45:30 +0000

I find the majority of my things to sell on eBay at Denver estate sales. I live about 1 hour north of the city, so have to get up very early on Thursdays and Fridays, drive down I-25 and put up with rush hour traffic to get to the sales. This all starts at 4:30 in the morning. I have to get to the sales early enough to get my name on a list. I try to get in the first 20 to have the advantage of being the first group to see all the stuff. But some days I turn off the alarm. I did this last Thursday. The emails and ads about the sales didn’t sound that good, so I decided to skip the trip. Since I am a sale junkie and the thought of missing something good over took me, I decided to go after all. I got to one sale about an hour after it opened and thought all the good stuff would be gone. Apparently, no one likes to buy or recognizes vintage clothing. At this sale, I found an early 1930s men’s Jantzen swim suit, a va-va-voom pinup swimsuit from the 1950s and a Paris couture 1920s beaded chiffon print dress. At another sale I found a Hattie Carnegie fur trimmed cape and a fun marabou feather bed jacket from the 1940s. Also found was a 1960s mod sundress with matching cape by Baba Kea of Honolulu. This designer is noted for designing the mod flight attendant uniforms for Aloha Airlines in the 1960s. I’m thinking maybe I don’t need to get up so early! Here’s pics of some of my finds that are on eBay now.