Top 5 Laundry Tips

Here are my favorite laundry tips, learned by trial and error since we started our vintage clothing business.

1. Use Biz as a presoak for any protein stain such as blood or gravy. I have found you can use it on almost any fabric, just be careful if it says dry clean only (you probably shouldn't do this then). In a pail, dissolve 1/2 cup of Biz in warm water. Let it cool to room temperature and add the article of clothing, soak for at least 1/2 hour or until stain is gone.

2. Shout Color Catcher sheets for any color, any fabric, anything to keep the dye set and prevent pink undies. It works for towels which often seem to bleed dye forever. I don't know what I did before I discovered these, but I think my things were dingier than I realized!

3. Polyester clothing with discoloration from hanging too long (particularly if there are smokers around) and stains can be cleaned with this "potion": add 1/2 cup of automatic dishwasher detergent and 1/2 cup of non-chlorine bleach to a pail of warm water and soak until the stain are gone, usually best overnight (12 hours). This one is magic!

4. Delicate fibers made from hair are most carefully washed by a gentle slosh in baby shampoo. Wool and mohair are two examples and they can be gently washed and laid flat to fry.

5. Any article with an odor (cat anyone?) including a musty smell can usually be remedied by adding 1 cup of vinegar to the rinse water in the washer. It's cheaper than all the odor remedies!

Bonus moneysaving tip: most laundry can be washed with 1/2 the detergent and additives recommended by the manufacturer. Experiment with the amounts, but mostly the agitation does the work!

NB: I am not compensated for the mention of any specific brand names, nor do I work for any of the manufacturers. These are my opinions on what I have found to work the best.

Pin-ups anyone?

The term pin-up was coined around 1941 to describe pictures of attractive women intended for hanging up like a calendar or poster. Pin-up art existed long before they were called pin-ups. The first pictures like this were drawn about 1890 by Charles Dana Gibson. The "Gibson girls" were thought to be the American standard of beauty. They were pretty, shapely, and youthful. Several illustrators worked for Gibson until the start of World War I. Fashions began to change and the wasp-waisted beauty was not as favored (thank goodness-the corsets needed a rest!) As motion pictures grew in popularity, actresses became popular as pin-up subjects. They were the sex symbols of their day.

One of my favorite early screen stars is Pola Negri. Although there are many others of the 1920's who are better known, such as Clara Bow, Greta Garbo, and Mary Pickford, I prefer the quiet subtle allure of Pola.

and just look at the coat! The '30's brought us Jean Harlow, Gypsy Rose Lee, and Marlene Dietrich along with many other stars of the screen and celebrities. During WWII, the art form really blossomed. All over the globe, GI's hung pictures of their favorites. Pin-ups could be found in many places, including on the planes the military men flew. Nose art on these planes was an art form of its' own.


This picture on a B17 explains a pin-up far better than I can. It was called nose art due to the proximity to the nose of the airplane. It personalized the machine in a special way. For the most part, the military did not approve of the paintings, adding to their appeal.

An artist named Alberto Vargas provided one bridge between these two periods. When he came to this country from Peru, he was quite taken with the beauty he saw in New York City. He began his campaign to glorify the "American Girl". In the '20's, he painted portraits of many of the Ziegfeld stars appearing in the Follies. He worked for various studios including Paramount and Twentieth Century Fox. He also illustrated for magazines, particularly the cover art. He agreed to do paintings for Esquire in 1940, on the condition he changed his name to Varga. The first Varga Girl calendar came out later that year. He parted company with Esquire in 1946, but he continued to paint calendars and portraits on his own (using Vargas again). In 1960, he went to work for Playboy, and the rest, as they say, is history.



Heffy loves all things pin-up, so he has plenty on his website heffyscollections.com
'50's cashmere sweater

I keep coming back to this dress in my blogs, but it is the perfect piece for this subject!
Blakely dress

Catwalk for Charity

Our favorite goalie, Ryan Miller, has announced this year's Catwalk for Charity event. It will take place on November 8, 2009 at the Town Ballroom. This year the theme is the "Fabulous Fifties"! Every year Ryan and the Steadfast Foundation choose a vintage era to focus on. Last year it was the 1920's. Heffy's Collections loves the vintage themes since it's right down our alley.

The Steadfast Foundation was established by Ryan to help provide for the psychosocial needs for families dealing with cancer, particularly in children. We feel this is an especially worthwhile event. It also gives us an opportunity to show off some of our '50's clothes-and we hope they may make it to the event!
First two little black dresses perfect for any occasion:
black sweater dress from Janzten
a dress by Pavelle

Or an entirely different look in a classic shirtwaist:
beautiful floral dress

yummy strawberry shirtwaist

Separates work well too, like these pin-up sweaters.
mock turtleneck

cashmere soft

And two random pieces to round out the fifties:
Amana cardigan
gorgeous sheer rose skirt

We hope to add more soon. If you would like more information on the fifties, check out Heffy's earlier blog, Fifties Fashions.

We're Two!

It should say TO Heffy's Collections! We reached our 2 year mark on July 25th. We have undergone a lot of changes since our inception and a few recently (somewhat related to the lateness of this blog).
Heffy's Collections continues to operate our website at heffyscollections.com and we have added Specialist Auctions and our newest endeavor is on Bonanzle. We continue to add new (usually vintage) items. Here is a collage of some of our latest:























Becky is working 3 jobs now, the latest is training horses and riders at Butch Bokman's. She loves it and we are hoping to find a new place with enough room for horses and a vegetable garden. Preparing to move has kept me away from this blog (or allowed me to procrastinate more!). We continue to tend to our customers and provide the excellent service they expect. One recent customer left us this wonderful feedback:"Great communication, item and quick postage even though overseas!" And a bit ago, another left this: "This item was perfectly described and was exactly what I was hoping for. Shipping was fast, and this was a very positive shopping experience! I received very personalized care and attention from the seller while they went out of their way to ensure that it arrived in time for me to include it with a Christmas package to my sister. I will definitely shop with heffyscollections in the future."
So come see us and participate in the Heffy's Collections experience!

The Flowers of Summer

Here are some of the current offerings from Heffy's Collections. You can find us at http://www.heffyscollections.com , www.specialistauctions.com , and www.bonanzle.com !

Heffy's Collections has a New Marketplace!

Heffy's Collections has added one more way for you to browse and buy our cool vintage and retro clothes and accessories! We are now on Bonanzle in addition to specialistauctions.com and our own website, heffyscollections.com. Check us out at any of our online locations:
http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/heffyscollections

http://www.specialistauctions.com/shop.php?userid=114929

http://www.heffyscollections.com/

We have new items and are adding more all the time-please check us out!

Here's Becky's latest teaser to entice you to take a closer look:

Vintage Newsmakers

It has been way too long, so I am struggling with way too many thoughts for one blog. Guess I'll have to get my mojo workin'. Vintage clothes have been hitting the news recently, on several different fronts. First the celebrities: Penelope Cruz wore a gorgeous vintage Balmain gown to the Oscars. It was a spectacular white strapless gown and she was smashing in it. One of our Canadian neighbors, singer Melissa McClelland, wore a dress from Caberet Vintage in Toronto to the Juno Awards. Other frequent vintage wearers include Kate Moss and Julia Roberts. So for those of you already touting vintage style, you're in popular company.

News items regarding vintage clothing include many things I have mentioned in previous blogs: it's green (eco-friendly recycling at its best), it's economical, and it makes your style uniquely you. The "credit crunch" has been making a lot of news lately and it's hard to avoid it with all of the bailouts and big league bankruptcies. An unlikely source (at least I thought so), was an article in Better Homes and Gardens on how to save money on clothes. The article mentioned saving last year's shoes by adding shoe clips. Or taking a blouse and adding lace or ruffles. If you're clever, these are really good ideas, if not terribly new. I've been reading hints like these to save money for a long time. I thought it would be better to take the idea one step further. Part of my reasoning was cost-the shoe clips shown started at $25. The lace at $4 per yard is economical enough, unless you have to pay someone to sew it on. One outfit was reborn by the addition of a $59 necklace. Whew.

My idea is that for these prices, you could go to your local thrift store and practically buy them out for that much! Not really, but if you had $60 to spend, you'd most likely come away with more than one outfit. And accessories like costume jewelry (a personal favorite), can be inexpensive. Or you could go online to a shop like Heffy's Collections and shop without leaving your chair.

Guaranteed not to break the bank:
$2.99 at Heffy's Collections

$3.99 for vintage Czech chic

A timeless shift for $19.99 and it's adorable!

Becky has made our home page a collection of items for under $25 that you could have a real good time with and save money too! Check it out at heffyscollections.com