Last year I was fortunate enough to purchase this rare collection of 1940's children's clothes and shoes......
Having been packed away in a suitcase for almost 70 years, the shoes are lovingly polished to a conker-like shine.
Scuffed sandles, some with holes where the toes poked through.... It is poignant to imagine who the case of clothing belonged to, perhaps an evacuee sent away from the bombings in WW 2?
Many items in the suitcase have the CC41 Utility labels which are found on clothing issued in the the war.
A tiny pair of leather gloves would have kept a child's hands warm and dry during a bitter Winter.
There is something charming about old clothing labels?
Knitwear has been darned..button holes repaired.
This tweed pinny has been made from an adults garment. Make and mend was a way of life in the war years. In contrast to the much-worn shoes, several hats are in pristine condition. Obviously much hated and never worn!
The little shoes are my favourite items.
There are even sets of reins, complete with a small bell!
I will be taking a selection of Vintage Childrens' costume to The Vintage Bazaar in Devizes on Saturday 8th March. Doors open at 9.30. Admission £2 for adults.
18 comments:
What a lovely collection..I can remember some of those types of things being around still when I was small..just about..probably hand-me-downs through the family. Certainly little smocked dresses and nightgowns, mended and darned knitwear and clothes cut up to make new garments. Love the shoes, and labels!
That lot certainly took me back on a trip down memory lane!
oh Lizzie, they're so poignant. . .especially the little bell on the reins. . .
That was a lovely find
Julie xxxx
Just beautiful, thank you so much for sharing these. I love the little shoes, and the darns and mends in the clothes are just so touching.
What a wonderful find ... if not slightly sad. M x
Thank you for your comments. I agree that it is all rather poignant...finds like these certainly make you think. Lizzie x
My reins had a bell, and when I started Infants School I wore a green and white check Trutex blouse ;)
I too find it rather poignant - with a story and provenance, this could well be a museum exhibit - an evacuee's clothes, as you suggest, or perhaps clothes that belonged to a child who died in the bombing, packed away for ever because someone couldn't bear to use them again or part with them ....
Thanks for sharing it with us.
Like Vintage to Victorian, I too had bells on my reins and trutex blouses - AND a siren suit. I'll wager you know what that is!
Yes, Nilly I know what a siren suit is. I think this case may have contained clothing from a brother and sister, possibly twins as some of the little coats are identical in size, as are the shoes. I will be sad to part with this collection..but cannot keep everything! Lizzie x
What a fascinating and touching post :-)
I have been taken on a lovely slow wander through another era and part of me feels quite reluctant to return to the present...JJ
What a wonderful collection, I do hope there's a happy story behind them. I did enjoy seeing you and being at the Vintage Bazaar fair on Saturday!
I found this little suitcase and clothes very poignant and quite sad. I hope their original owners lived long happy lives and were not cut short by the war...
I agree Vintage knitter. I like to think that they did live long and happy lives and the suitcase was just stored away as a sentimental gesture. Lizzie
Beautiful collection!
Hi Linda, thank you for your comment. Have a great week! Lizzie
thanks for sharing loved that post hx
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