Come into My Room....

and have a look around!

I've been thinking about doing a post like this for a while, and then yesterday Sarah Misfit provided the motivation by putting out the challenge to show how I store my clothing and accessories.

The nicer end of the room. I'm pretty much the neat and organised type, aided by the fact that I have more space at the moment than I've had for some time. Space for clothing, that is, not for collectables (refer to my last post).

A hook on the front of the wardrobe is for things that need to be kept out temporarily, at the moment it's holding a dress I haven't worn yet that was sent to me by Vix.

This wardrobe has only vintage items hanging in it. The only time I don't wear vintage these days is when I'm at home fixing/cleaning/restoring, so all that boring shorts and t-shirts stuff goes in drawers. No shoes or anything sits under my clothes, otherwise clothes get squashed along the bottom, also it allows air to circulate. Oxidation is often a problem with vintage clothing, so it needs to be aired well and stored clean. Dirty clothes are a magnet for insects (i.e. silverfish) so you need to be especially careful to have your vintage stuff clean when you put it away.

A couple of belts have their own weeny hangers, next along is a hanger full of scarves which I pretty much only wear on my head. I like to have things hanging so I can see what I've got quickly and easily.

I have 3 dressing tables in this room, this one holds my peacock feathers which I sometimes use at fairs, they're so delicate I think this is a good way to 'store' them. Being a vintage hat seller, I naturally have quite a few headforms, so I keep a couple in my room to hold my best and favourite hats, this way I get to enjoy them and they are kept in shape better too. If you don't have headforms, store hats stuffed with firm, scrunched-up acid-free paper to keep the shape, then put them in a hatbox. As with vintage clothing, vintage hats are best to have a bit of air circulation, so if possible don't put too many in one box.

The 2 bakelite boxes hold some favourite jewellery.

Dodgy flash photo sorry, this is my latest favourite 50s hat, a striking velvet cocktail number.

I love these bedroom chairs, terrible seat cover colour though, so I'll replace it when I find one I like better. And for the avid readers among us, this is my current.

 

Dresser no.2, you've already seen quite a few things from here. It holds my main jewellery box, which looks like a photographic case and is fully insulated in the same way. It doesn't match at all, which really bothers me, but I can't bring myself to get rid of it.

A few of the bits inside. You'd think I like jewellery seeing all this, but actually I'm not mad on it and almost never wear it (except for bakelite and bangles). I've had most of this silver stuff for many years, and some are heirlooms from my great grandmother.

Elume brand candles, these are the best I've ever found, I highly recommend them, sitting next to a 40s (I think) hair remover thingy given to me by a co-seller, they are crazy, like a soft emery board for the legs!

 

On the third dresser is one of those jewellery stand thingys that you see everywhere now. All my hair flowers are clipped around the skirt, and a headscarf and hat sit on top.

 

From the side you can see the stand better, I like to look after my belongings and make them last, so I keep little delicate items like these hairclips out so they don't get squashed and damaged.