under the big top

yesterday night i went to film forum's last screening of charlie chaplin's "the circus" from 1928. i was pleased to find out that it was a double feature including "the idle class" from 1921. out of all my vintage loves, 1920's masquerade and circus attire has always been my favorite. it's one thing to see pictures and illustrations of such clothing, but quite another to see it embodied and in movement.

this one reminds me of kenneth anger's pierrot character in "rabbit moon" (another must-see!)

wish there was a better picture of this great tammis keefe scarf but it was swiped off of ebay.

crowd pleasin'

like some out there, i am not a fan of crowds and most of the time this translates into road rage: the walking edition. i end up walking on the street to avoid the throngs of tourists near where i live. it seems a little odd that one would want to wear a garment with small representations of our species when they're all around us, but it makes for some rather likeable patterns. these are all from the 30s and 40s.

it's another seersucker! it seems like many children's fabrics were done in seersucker (if anyone knows why, please share)

pretty great to see how kids used to play

robin hood!

big regrets about not bidding harder on this cotton here...

this one just got listed on etsy at ModernBirdVintage's shop in perfect time for this post

good ol' smack

oh! it looks like rain, oh oh!

but i won't complain, no no!

what a break, oh gee!

for baby and me

we're gonna stay home tonight

oh it looks rain outside

so we'll just remain inside

in a big orange chair

the weather is fair

we're gonna stay home tonight...

fletcher henderson- "oh! it looks like rain" (listen to the whole song on youtube)

nothing like floral fabric and fletcher henderson to cheer me up on a rainy day. this one hails from his era, the 20s.

as if the floral wasn't great enough on its own, they had to go in and add POLKA DOTS

what a sweet housedress this would make

only on fabric would a gray rose ever look good

love the printer's primaries color scheme on this one.

grey or gray?

either way you spell it, it's a refreshing color as a background or a monotone composition. today is rather overcast for a july day, but it is a welcome change from the burning sun.

these remind me of licorice!

they said it was going to rain, but it hasn't happened yet.

you had it coming

yes, i am going to make the inevitable cheesy statement: I AM A SUCKER FOR SEERSUCKER. now, behold the glory!

the saturated colors with white are just great (buy it here on etsy)

a simpler palm tree motif

one of the best southwestern themed fabrics i've ever seen

this one's for the kids

i like how the bumpiness makes the stripes look 3D

to the sky!!!

sometimes i feel like i'm a 1950's boy trapped in a girl's body. all i want to be is a SPACE MAN:

i can then visit comets....

ride rocket ships...

and maybe battle some strange machines.

(i lost the ebay bid for this fabric and it haunts me everyday. really.)

i guess these aren't really spacemen, just airmen. but i ain't knockin' skydiving.

for space snot.

lattice top pie

there's just something about them old checked and plaid fabrics that's got me hooked!

how about this crazy feedsack?

time has never looked so appealing.

1930's plaids and checks are my favorite for their unusual compositions and color choices.

this is a 30's polished chintz (buy it here on etsy)

ugh this looks like mint chocolate chip ice cream.

not only is it checkered, it's got wavy bits AND it's SEERSUCKER (which i am a fiend for. but another post for another day.)

i am getting hungry and all of these fabrics are starting to resemble food. on that note, i will be making my first lattice top pie in the upcoming weekend. have a smashing 4th o' july!

hooray for the red white and blue

here is my pre-4th of july roundup of fabrics. for a change, i thought it'd be nice to show prints that don't scream patriotic but are still red, white, and blue.

i especially like this nautical print from the 30's. one of my many ebay heartbreaks that got away.