Happy 8th Birthday To Dorothea's!

Dorothea's Closet Vintage boutique in Des Moines, Iowa turned 8 years old this week! Some photos from opening day....

And today! More photos on our FACEBOOK PAGE.....

Fred (orig. posted June 11 2006)

I haven't gotten to many letters from her brother, Fred (whom I mistakenly assumed was younger, but is clearly a little older than her!)....I know they're in the stash I have, but I am working through slowly as time permits. I find sometimes I get so caught up in reading about her life I forget I need to WORK! And so I have not "blogged" in a few days, as I've been playing catch up on my vintage selling.

I did find a picture of she & Fred, I had thought I didnt have any of her as a small child but I do have this, and wanted to share it. I'd say it was taken in about 1907 to early 1908....

Hoping to get some pictures of newspaper articles today to get on here soon....meantime, lots of Jean's 40's dresses are at auction and ending tonight & tomorrow night (including that darling with the cherries on the shoulder!) so if you feel inclined, have a look! Ang

A Father's Love (orig. published June 8 2006)

Yep, I already posted today (are there blog rules against 2 posts in a day?).....I'll flout blog etiquette & post again anyway. Just read this letter from Jean's father, Thomas (Tom), written to her on January 30, 1937.....shortly after she goes home to recover there from the back surgery. It charmed me so I had to share.

My Darling Girl-

Well I called Hess this eve and he said the pain in the back of your neck he thot was due more to lack of exercise of the muscles in your neck and shoulders and that the pain resulted from a sustained position and the muscles became strained and sore. He thinks a massage regularly for a while by some competent swedish "massager" or osteopath will get the muscles in your neck and shoulders active and then you will not have the trouble. I would suggest also that you sit down and write out all the facts, etc you can think of and then let Bob put it in letter form to Dr Binger and see what he says in reply. I notice you talk of discouragement over your condition. Well thats clearly out of line of good judgement at this time because you cant expect to feel 100 percent OK for a long time- much longer than 3 months after any operation like yours following too quite a few years of a generally bad condition. In other words you cant tear down for 4 or 5 years then go thru an operation like yours and clean up all aches and pains, get your full strength and good health back in an instant nor even months- so take those SILLY NOTIONS out of your little head and keep up your chin and gradually build up the health and strength thru nature and exercise.

I don't want to hear you refer to discouragement, that is not the thing- you can't win a fight by giving up and taking the count. Get your mind off of yourself . You remember a few years ago when I thot I was having everything in the world- and I didnt get right until I got my head right- did I. I think you are doing fine, just keep on walking and exercising. If you dont want to go to osteopath or someone start exercising your neck and shoulders for 5 min at a time 4 or 5 times a day.. Get all those muscles active and see if the results are not good. In the meantime keep that good old chin of yours UP. Lots of Love & Kisses, Yours......Dad ps Business has been GOOD.

"Ornery" (orig. published June 8, 2006)

"From April 16, 1937....Jean doing better now, well enough to fret over joining the Country Club in Burlington Iowa.

Hello Lambie-

Well I am glad the C Club fellows did not find out what a "terrible" couple you are and also find out about your "terrible" past. Now that you are both undiscovered I hope you will get real enjoyment out there at all times and too you can now get your NERVES settled again. "Fellow Members" I salute you. Poor little dear you have so many nerve racking troubles that DON'T exist, its funny how real troubles don't bother you. Anyhow the best peach in the orchard and the world- so there. Lots of Love & Kisses to my Fellow Members-Always Love- Ornery Dad"

Meet Jean

In Spring of 2006 I was called to a home to view some clothing left as part of the estate of a woman who had recently passed. Inspired by a comment made by Elena in my blog post about Maureen, I decided to delve into my MySpace blogs about Jean and re-publish them here. In retrospect it was truly the turning moment in my career....the buy that enabled me to make selling vintage a full time job and reaffirmed my love of vintage and the stories that come with it. Many of the clothing pieces are long ago sold, with the exception of a few I couldn't part with. All the correspondence and photos stay here in boxes with her wedding dress, hat and shoes...right here in the closet of my office. Jean has become almost like a family member to me and her things will stay with me always.

With that, this is the first of several past blog entries I will be sharing here. This is from May 24, 2006.

This is Jean's Story...As a matter of business, selling vintage clothing, I was recently called to come look at a woman's clothing....a woman who had recently passed away at the age of 99. When I got to the home, it was still in disarray....an entire lifetime of contents, saved by a woman who obviously cared very much about them. The house was simply FULL....doors had been made impossible to open, closets jam packed....an attic, a basement. Memories everywhere.

Memories that there was no one left to cherish. Jean lived a long life.....outliving her husband, Robert, by 25 years. Twenty five years she lived in that house, alone. With all the things that she and Bob loved.....and now, there was no one to care.

Jean never had children....had one brother, Fred, who married yet also had no children. There simply was no family left at all. And so, while a business move indeed to just buy ALL of the clothing (and what wonderful things there are!), I also have taken on one couple's lifetime. The very fiber of their lives is quite literally in my possession. As I began to go through the things.....dresses, blouses, hats, skirts, shoes, lingerie, handbags, belts.....mens ties, shirts, suits, hats....I began to really sense their prescence. I began to get a rough outline of who they were, what they liked, what they spent their time doing. What colors they liked, what fabrics they chose....what era's were times they went out & socialized....what they were comfortable at home in.

And in doing so, I started to find myself wanting to know MORE. So I asked the people running the estate liquidation for pictures.....started with a few, went back for more. I found pictures of Jean in dresses I have....coats I have, shoes that are here. I found pictures of them having great Halloween parties in the 40s.....outings with their folks....travelling in the 30s.

My fascination, and sense of needing to make sure these people were not simply FORGOTTEN, drove me back to the house again to ask for the letters.....SO many letters and cards, boxes and BOXES in the attic! Which were, of course, going to be thrown away. I came home with perhaps hundreds....and have more coming, as well as Jean's diaries.

Perhaps one of the most special finds... a puzzle put together.....has been a beautiful late 20s brown velvet suit dress with a lace blouse. It was stored in the attic in a small steamer trunk, with the matching shoes & small cloche hat. It wasnt until I started going through some things destined for the dumpster that I found a newspaper article about Jean & Robert's wedding, in 1929....and in it, Jean is described in that very ensemble. Soon after that, quite by accident, I came upon an actual invitation to the wedding.. one given to Robert's parents! Its is lovely and classically Art Deco. Moreover, it is lovely that all these things found their way back to each other....and into the hands of someone who cannot bear to see them be forgotten by time.

I intend to document the process of getting to know Jean here....to share the experience, to make sure she matters. My page is pretty well devoted to vintage fashion....it is my business and passion. What I share will often be geared toward clothing, but just as often not. I hope people who stumble upon this, that love vintage clothing, also have a respect for the lives and the people that wore the clothing before found it. I will showcase pieces I wont be selling, and some I will........pictures of Jean, her family, snippets of letters.....who knows what I will come across!

And so, this is Jean's story. Jean Thayer Boone....a life lived stylishly.

515Magazine Video Interview at Dorothea's on Vintage!

Check out the new 515Magazine available here in Des Moines (at my shop among other places!) for a fantastic photo essay on wearing vintage clothing and click the link above to see a video interview with the models! From the home page scroll to the pic of the wedding cake and click the text link to the vintage fashion video. A pdf file of the print story is linked from the bottom of the page as well!

Thanks to Nikki Omundson from Drake University for using clothing from Dorothea's Closet to do her article and to the models for making it look so damn good. The vintage....it sparkles!

~Ang

Missing....Vintage Tee.

Missing, the polite way of saying "stolen".

To the young lady who stole this tee shirt from my shop (shown here modeled by the lovely Emily for a listing on etsy, who would never steal)...

I hope you come back into my shop someday, because I know who you are and you will not have a pleasant shopping experience. At. All.

Perhaps your ignorance comes from your age and lack of life experience. Perhaps your parents never taught you that stealing is illegal. Perhaps you are an idiot. But I would like to let you know what stealing from me means.

I am a single Mom, and all of the merchandise in my shop has been purchased outright by myself on my own dime (not credit). Let me explain to you how being a grown up with a privately owned small business works.

I invest in inventory with the faith that it will one day sell at a profit. That is how I make money! That is what I call my "salary". As a single Mom when you steal from me, you take away my ability to pay medical bills, my car payment, my rent, my utilities, buy gas and groceries, my insurance on myself and my 5 year old daughter.

Now, one tee shirt does not cover much of those expenses by any means. But the idea that you, as a care-free, parent-supported naive and irresponsible teenager would steal from someone like me really chaps my arse. You got a free shirt and got your laughs at mine and my daughter's expense, which is despicable.

Lastly, if anyone in Des Moines sees someone wearing this (very rare) tee shirt, please let her know how I feel and ask her if she is so brave as to steal, if she would also be so brave as to stop into the shop and have a chat with me about it. I'll bet she's not so brave after all.

~Ang