Thursday, January 17, 2013

Vintage Millinery Finds and More


Sister Lynn and I have been discovering lots of treasures
 in her home as we clean out the corners and nooks and crannies...wrapping and packing everything in sight.


But I did not expect to find boxes of vintage hats
 with lovely millinery flowers! 


Now, Lynn loves pretty things and appreciates vintage treasures...especially if they were passed down within our family.  She is not, however, the hoarder collector that I am.

These pretty hats were discovered by a friend of hers many years ago up in the attic of the home she was living in.
  The friend gave them all to Lynn, a teacher...
for the "dress up" corner in her classroom.


...those blue velvet leaves are soooo pretty! 



Do you remember Marshall Field's?
After all....we are in Chicago here.


Lynn opened the pretty white box
 with the Marshall Field's logo...
...and separated the tissue paper with their gold seal.



...and there it was!
  In all its purple heavenlyness....


This, Lynn said, belonged to Sadie Arlene Auman....
my brother in law's grandmother.



Oh me...oh my!


...such gorgeousness!!!!


Lynn has offered her collection of beautiful vintage hats to me...
...all but this spectacular bonnet...as it was Sadie Arlene's.


I surely don't blame her!



Sigh...
 

...and then we unearthed this!
Lynn's wedding gown from 1975!
Isn't it lovely?!
  She was such a beautiful bride!


Such pretty lace!

This is a surprise post...
 ...as I did not expect to be back at Paneras so soon! 

Until next time!
:)

38 comments:

The Feathered Nest said...

Oh Laura...what treasures!!!! Millinery flowers always, always make me swoon!!! I can't get over these ~ they are all so beautiful. I hope you are doing so good and that your new year has started wonderfully! hugs and love, Dawn

Anonymous said...

oh my gosh what treasures, the purple hat is a creation of loveliness, its a amazing!!!

Unknown said...

Those are amazing finds! Such gorgeous beauty! What a fun day you had! Hugs and Tweets!

The French Bear said...

Wow, that must have been exciting to see them in person, they look amazing in the photos...love the blue and the purple berry ones!!!
Hugs,
Mags
xx

Sea Witch said...

scrumptious. Love that purple hat.

Dar said...

My, what treasures. Every one with it's very own character...I'm in awe. And of course, Lynn kept the one worn by Sadie...and her dress, so lovely.
BlessingsToYouBoth

The Polka Dot Closet said...

Now those are treasures, there won't be any kids playing dress up with those!!!

Carol

Sherry at The Rusty Pearl said...

Just a beautiful post and what treasures that you have ....... Blessings ............

La Brocanteuse said...

Inspiring to say the least! i shall go up into the attic today..
Thank you for sharing Laura, sending you best wishes
Colette x

Unknown said...

all wonderful, they are true treasures
Elena

Maison Beldecor said...

Hi my dear Laura,

first of all I like to wish you a wonderful year 2013, shame on me, but in the moment I don't have so much time to come around and leave some comments.
I can imagine how amazing it was to discover such wonderful hats, and the wedding dress is so great, love the stunning laces.
A wonderful weekend to you!

Bine

Unknown said...

Oh goodness, these are so beautiful, what an awesome find! Those hats belong in museum don't they? They are in such perfect condition! Sharon x

Kathleen said...

These are stunning pieces.
Kathleen

Curtains in My Tree said...

As us collectors, hoarders say OMG

Love those hats !!!!!!!

what a treat to see such beauty , I never see beautiful vintage ladies hats hardly ever, I have one that I think is as pretty, but never wear it LOL Oh well that was so fun
and yes her wedding dress is beautiful

Gail said...

The purple leaf hat had me breathless. Stunning. I have begun collecting vintage hats the past four years. One never knows when an opportunity arrises to show one off.

Carole said...

How nice of Lynn to pass on her vintage hats. They are all lovely but that purple number is incredible. I hope she can pass it on to someone that will treasure it someday too.
Looks like you guys are getting in a lot of fun shopping also. Wish I could tag along.
x
C

Anne said...

What beautiful flowers!A treasure indeed!Your stair case look so much like mine! I live in the Chicago area too and I remember Marshall fields.I do miss them!Frangos just are not the same!
xx
Anne

KKvinneblogger said...

Love these hats :)

Susy said...

The hat is a treasure, and must have been very stylish in its day. I have my mothers wedding dress hanging on the back of the door of the guest bedroom. What does one do with such things. You can't get rid of them ~ I think it's against the law. (**. At least that's what I tell my husband.

Junkchiccottage said...

Laura,
I love what you found. What lovely treasures. I hope you could find some of those shops and areas I emailed to you. I miss Marshall Fields so much. Just not the same now that they are Macy's. The Marshall Field hat boxes alone are worth alot so hang on to those babies!!!! Hope you are enjoying your stay here in Chicago.
Kris

Judy said...

The hats are simply beautiful and quite stunning. I would love to examine every detail of them! Such treasure of an art gone by. Marshall Fields!, I remember my first visit there, it was magical. Nothing can ever replace it. The wedding dress is dreamy and is very much like my wedding dress from 1979! Save it forever and ever! Thanks for sharing all of your fabulous surprises.

Kristie said...

I am a big fan of vintage flowers. They are so pretty. I remember when I was a child watching "women of a certain age" (actually ladies in their mid 70's and 80's) wearing their hats, some with veils and some without. They were so colorful as were the ladies donning them with their rouge colored cheeks and red lipstick.

I imagine its like taking a walk down memory lane packing things up and finding treasures you forgot you had. :)

Have a wonderful weekend.

Unknown said...


What a great post to enjoy on this Winter's day... I have been busy with some decorating and craft projects this week and behind on reading my emails and posts. So glad I stopped in to enjoy your site!

Thanks for sharing!
God bless....Brooke

http://creativecountrymom.blogspot.com/
My home and garden site...

http://brookekroeger.blogspot.com/
My Vintage Art and Printables site...

Sandi~A Cottage Muse said...

You lucky girls...they are beautiful!
Bet you had fun trying them on!

Gracefully Vintage said...

How Lovely are all those hats- those touchs that made the outfit way back in when.
Such a Fan of your blog-&loving you on Pinterest.
Karryann

Heaven's Walk said...

How fun to discover those beautiful hats, Laura! Lately I've been obsessed with vintage millinery flowers. I adore the history that goes with them all. :) I find myself looking forward to the fleas this summer and nabbing some!


xoxo laurie

Bohemian said...

Oh, how Special was that to help your Sis unpack and reveal all of this Loveliness! And then to give so much of it to you since you are the "Keeper Of The Past" in your Family! (ie: Collector slash Hoarder as my Clan would say to me... Winks) I Adore Millinery too so it was a Treat to have you Share these Images with us here in the Land of Blog.

Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian

Evi said...

these are very special, and it was so nice of Lynn to give them to you. They will be in very good hands.Old millenery flowers are getting harder and harder to find.
It would be nice to see more women wearing pretty hats today. I guess you would have to move to England.
Talk to you soon.
Love,
Evi

Donna OShaughnessy said...

Those photos...amazing. As is this blog. Reminds me to spend time shopping at home. Thanks for sharing. Think i'll add some barn shopping finds in my next post on my own blog

LizlovesVintage said...

These are so special!! I wish I had my Grandmother's hats. Will you display them? I have several but, decided they will eventually go to my etsy :)
Have a relaxing night,
xxx Liz

Anonymous said...

Such a pretty hat. Purple must have been such a popular color, because I have seen several beautiful purple hats.

Cindy said...

Lovely treasures indeed! I love the hats! I wish women would wear more of them. My grandmother never went anywhere without her hat and gloves..
Beautiful photos, as usual!

Anne Lorys said...

You hear that sound???
That is me gasping and swooning!!!
LOVE.

XOXO,
Anne

June said...

The dress is beautiful Laura! As are those lovely hats. Your sis is so sweet to give them to you (all except the purple beauty). It sounds like fun to spend this time with your sister.
hugs from here...

Marissa said...

Beautiful treasures I love the wedding gown just such a treasure!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh Laura,
Such gorgeous hats!!! I adore the blue and purple!!
And your sister's wedding gown is stunning!!!
Your collections are always so fantastic!!
Have a lovely night.
Sincerely,
Melinda

Anonymous said...

These hats are gorgeous! I´d love to see them worn, especially the blue and the purple one. And - they have to be on display, it´s to sad when they´re stowed away not to be seen.
Thanks for sharing - you and your sister sure had a great time in all this work, didn´t you?
Best regards from
HansensGasse
where hoarding is understodd as a serious profession ;o)

Anonymous said...

Love the lace. Collection from the past are truly priceless. fascinators