Shoes, glorious shoes


Shoes, glorious shoes!
Pumps, spike heels and sandals!
While we're in the mood,
high heels and platforms!
Swing laceups and cowboy boots!
What next is the question?
Rich women all have it, gals
Shoe fixation!

Whatever your shoe fixation Born Too Late Vintage has what you're looking for!


Vintage 1970s Red, White Blue Souvenir Sandals Size 7AA


Vintage 1950s White Black Gray Net Peep Toe Stilettos Size 8



Vintage 1970s VLV Tan Springolators by
Footworks size 8M

For the best in vintage clothes on the go check out Ruby Lane Vintage. Nothing is better than a playsuit to keep you cool and comfortable through the dog days of summer.


Vintage 50s 60s Kahala Hawaiian Playsuit -- Size S - M - L

from Catseye Vintage Estate Collection



NWT Vintage 60s Button Lavender Pinup Sunsuit Playsuit Romper~ VLV

from VINTAGE PRETTIES Lingerie, Clothing & Accessories




Vintage 1950s Kahala Hawaiian Blue Floral Play Suit B32 W26 H34"

from Born Too Late Vintage


So don't forget to check Ruby Lane for all your vintage apparel needs and a whole lot more!

Who says there's no plus size vintage clothing out there? Have you checked out Specialist Auctions Vintage? We have lots and lots of plus size vintage just waiting for you!

So what are you waiting for?? Let's go shopping

So have you found your dream outfit yet? No! Well come on over and take a look at what the wonderful sellers at Specialist Auctions have for you! They cover the 1920s all the way through to the 1980s! If you want it they've got it. Looking for something you don't see listed? Then sign up as a member of the site (free) and tell us what you're looking for!

Now here's just a smattering of what we've got to get your mouth watering!


Red Box Vintage


ROSE PRINT Vintage 50's RED Roses HALTER Party Dress



ORGANZA ROSES *Vintage 50's ILLUSION Bubble Party Dress


Alley Cats Vintage



Vintage 1950s Blue Butterfly Rockabilly Shirtwaist Dress by L'Aiglon B 40


Vintage 40s Navy Blue Rayon Swing Dress B 40


Nelda's Vintage


Halvor McGarth Vintage 1950s Dress



Vintage 1950s Black Net Dress



Fuzzylizzie Vintage


Vintage Early 1950s Strappy Sandals



Vintage 1950s Black & White Print Gathered Circle Skirt


So check out Specialist Auctions for the best in vintage wear! You'll be glad you did!

Today we are continuing to explore the life and times of Helen Bond Carruthers with her grand niece, Jenifer Klier. So onto the second of our interviews!

Viviene: Did your aunt make the entire sweater herself (i.e. knit or crochet them) or did she purchase sweaters and then apply all the embroidery, appliqué work and beading?

Jenifer: No, she did not knit them herself. She purchased the un-embellished cashmere sweaters, if I am not mistaken, from a company named Bergdorf Goodman in a variety of colors. After the designs were applied (which was a multi-step process) she added a lining and her label, and changed the buttons. They also shortened the sleeves before applying the design. I can still see the vast amounts of boxes of sweaters, thread, fabric, buttons (of incredible variety of size, shape and color).

Viviene: Do you have sweaters your aunt made for you and if so would you be willing to share the story behind them and also photographs of them as well?

Jenifer: Yes, I do have six of her sweaters, but she did not make them for me, as I was only a child when she died. In fact, by the time I came along, she was more of an “overseer” of the whole thing than an actual designer. I have no doubt that any sweater made it past the design stage without her approval, but she did have several employees at that point to do the actual work (whom she personally trained, of course). I am a relative technophobe, so I’ve enlisted the help of my daughter (Kelly, age 22) in getting some digital photos to you.

Viviene: Knowing that your aunt started out making her sweaters as a hobby, did she ever feel pressured once the sweater making turned into a business for her?

Jenifer: As I mentioned in the beginning, by the time I came along Auntie’s business was well-established and she had a large staff, including a secretary, to assist her, and I was a child and would probably not have picked up on the more subtle nuances of running a business. My memories of her are of a happy, confident woman who was devoted to her family and community. My fondest memories of her are of her reading to us or scratching our back for “hours” on end, telling us stories about when our dad was little or when we were little, or designing beautiful dresses for her seamstresses to make for us (unfortunately, all three alike). She was an incredibly talented and dynamic woman, who made a name for herself in the days before it was “acceptable” for women to do that, and I still miss her, even though I am almost fifty years old—she was an extraordinary influence on my life in many ways.

Viviene: Your aunt traveled and did trunk shows. Were you ever able to accompany her on any of these trips?

Jenifer: Sorry, I think she had probably stopped doing that by the time I was around. My mom did find a few things, but no trunk show announcements. She did say that the shows were almost always associated with racetrack meets (all over the country). As you probably know, the tracks are only open for (live) racing for a few weeks out of every year, with the times depending upon what part of the country they are in. For example: Keeneland and Churchill Downs, here in Kentucky both have meets in the spring and in the fall (not concurrently, but one after the other), whereas Belmont Park in NY meets in June (and maybe another time—I’m no racing expert). I’m sure places like Hialeah, in Miami, are open in the winter.

Viviene: Did any of your family members apprentice with your aunt to learn how she made her sweaters?

Jenifer: Sadly, no, none of us were old enough to appreciate the legacy she left us at the time…although I believe my daughter has the passion and talent to carry on Auntie’s work, she never saw anything except some vintage sweaters…which she adores and has worn, by the way…

Viviene: Did anyone other than a family member ever apprentice with your aunt and then go out on their own to make custom sweaters.

Jenifer: I don’t believe there is anyone alive who worked with her.


So in closing this installment of our interviews we’d like to again share another beautiful sweater that Jenifer has inherited made by her grand aunt. Keep checking for our continuing blog about Helen Bond Carruthers.

Today we are announcing the running of a series of blogs about Helen Bond Carruthers, the name for vintage sellers and aficionados that brings to mind breathtakingly beautiful sweaters in all manners of colors, needlework and appliqué work.

We have had the pleasure of interviewing Mrs. Carruthers’ grand niece, Jenifer Klier, whom is embarking on an entrepreneurial endeavor of her own. Jenifer has been a registered nurse for 24 years working mostly in Labor and Delivery. She has recently become a certified legal nurse consultant (assisting attorneys to win their cases) and is working hard to get her business off the ground. Certainly the apple did not fall far from the tree as Jenifer states of her grand aunt, Mrs. Carruthers, “She was an incredibly talented and dynamic woman, who made a name for herself in the days before it was “acceptable” for women to do that, and I still miss her, even though I am almost fifty years old. She was an extraordinary influence on my life in many ways.“

To start us out Jenifer has kindly provided us a little background information about her family. Some questions can’t be answered as the people who could answer them are no longer living, however, I do believe there will be valuable information provided that has not been discussed before.

Jenifer told us, “Helen was actually my grand-aunt (my father’s father’s sister) and the oldest of four children. The only one of these four siblings to have children of their own was my grandfather (James Edward Bond or “Jim Ed”), and he only had one child (James Edward Bond, Jr.—my father, and no, I am not kidding about the name). My dad is, literally an entire generation all by himself! So Helen, whom I always called “Auntie,” never had any children of her own, but had three great-nieces (me and my sisters!), upon whom she doted, spoiled and helped raise.”

Another point that Jenifer made was, “You need to understand that Auntie passed away when I was about twelve years old (and I am the oldest of the three of us). So, although we spent a large part of our time with her and have lots of memories, they are mostly from a child’s point of view. That said, I can tell you that I remember every step of the process by which her sweaters were made, but failed to appreciate it at the time it was going on. I had no idea of their popularity—then or now, until very recently. Of course a lot of local people had them, but I thought it was just because they were close, were her friends or more likely, didn’t really think much about it at all. I certainly didn’t know that celebrities were wearing them! I grew up in the sixties and seventies, when material possessions were scorned and so were shoes, and I most certainly wouldn’t have been caught dead in one of those sweaters! My mother had a few, but hardly ever wore them, and I never owned one until Auntie’s last remaining sibling (my Aunt Jessie) died and my sisters and I divided what was left. I don’t think I even imagined ever wearing one; we just couldn’t part with them for sentimental reasons. However, styles and tastes change (thank goodness!) and I have actually started to wear them now and then and always get many complements and am surprised at how many people know exactly what they are! There was even a local showing of many of her sweaters about a year ago, which was highly advertised and that I managed to miss, if you can believe it! (I was working twelve-hour night shifts at a hospital at the time; I’m an RN)."

Of course we are closing this installment with a beautiful sweater created by Helen Bond Carruthers just to whet your appetite for more information on this inspirational designer of wearable art. All the sweaters that will be featured in my blog are owned by the Carruthers family members. Check back often as we provide more never before known information about Ms. Carruthers’ work.

It was perfect! From the cotton candy pink poodles, to the round collar and the mid calf length skirt the dress was demure enough to lull Uncle Ian, Uncle Bob and Uncle Simon into thinking she would be safe from the clutches of all those young bucks. Of course her aged uncles had no idea about the hot pink corset she was going to be wearing underneath to make the most of her assets or the creamy white crinoline with the pink bows and lace edging peaking out from the hem of her dress.

To take the edge off her nervousness she snuck out to the kitchen and had a couple of sips of red wine. She was careful to bring the bottle back up to the same level lest her uncles discover her indiscretion and of course chewed some Sen-Sen to mask the alcohol fumes.



After a quick peck on the cheek for each of her uncles she flew out the door in her Capezio flats which Claire McCardell had made so popular and jumped into the back of her friend Sara's 1954 Chevrolet Belaire 2 door Sport Coupe.

Once inside the car she quickly slipped off the Capezios and donned her Ferragamo 4 inch high stilletos which her friend had hid in the trunk of her car for her. She arrived at the dance with her friend, Sara, and there she became the belle of the ball. Her dance card was filled within 2 minutes of arrival. The fast dances went by with a whirl as her dance partners snuck a quick peak at her legs that wouldn't stop which were showcased when she whirled in a circle. The young bucks all pressed against her while they danced to the slow tunes and the chaperones were kept busy all evening making her and her dance partners move further apart. She realized the age old power women have over men and in doing so also realized why her uncles were so concerned and why they were so protective of her. Understanding that made her cherish their love all the more.

It also made her more determined than ever to find out the exact facts concerning her birth, the death of her mother and the subsequent disappearance of her father, who had never married her mother. All she knew was that her three aged uncles had raised her from the time she was born. It was time to find out more and find out she would!

This lovely estate dress is available for your collection or for your vintage wardrobe whichever you prefer at Specialist Auctions!


Vintage 1950s Rockabilly Poodle Print Dress B 36 W 28

Today I decided to talk about bathing suits. Bathing suits have been around since the Greeks. Actually the bikini is very similar to early Greek bathing suits. How we got to those minimalist suits from Ancient Greece to the cover it all up wool suits of the 1890s I'll never know.

As time marched on bathing suits became more and more brief. I'd hazard a guess that most of us remember seeing pictures of Betty Grable in her pin-up bathing suit or Esther Williams in her swimming movies all dolled up and looking great.

Bathings suits give a woman or for that matter a man a way to show what they're made of. Suits of the 1940s and 1950s had modesty panels across the hip area in lots of women's swimsuits. Two piece suits were available but nowhere near as brief as the bikinis of the late 1960s to the present. And of course there was the famous monokini designed by Rudi Gernreich in 1964 that let almost all of it hang out.

So whether you're a let it all hang out type of guy or gal or the type that likes to leave a little more to the imagination, Born Too Late Vintage has lots of bathing suits to fit the real you.

1950s



Vintage 1950s Kahala Sexy Pin-Up Green Swimsuit Bathing Suit



Vintage 1950s Paradise Sexy Swimsuit Bathing Suit



Vintage 1950s Kahala Sexy Pin-up Blue Bathing Suit


1960s



Vintage 60s Jantzen Flower Power Bathing Suit Dcup



Vintage 60s Roxanne Water Lily Bathing Suit D cup



Vintage 60s Roxanne Spider Mum Bathing Suit D cup



Vintage 1960s Gabar Flowered Sexy VLV Swimsuit Bathing Suit


1970s



Vintage 1970s Purple Blue Flower Swimsuit Bathing Suit B40C



Vintage 1970s Blue Sexy Pin-Up Swimsuit Bathing Suit Sz S


So what are you waiting for?

Start shopping NOW!

Over and over I hear there are no large size vintage items out there. What's a bodacious buxom babe to do? Well you can shop at Born Too Late Vintage for a change of pace. We're loaded to the ceiling with plus size lingerie, dresses and of course we have hats and shoes as well as jewelry.

Why not try this plus size Vintage 1940s BLUE ROSE Swing Dress B50 W42 H56 NOS



with this 1950s Asymmetric Blue&White Pancake Beret Petal Hat


or maybe this Vintage 1950s Black Rayon Cocktail Dress Plus Size B44 NOS



with this Vintage 1950s Asymmetric Pancake Beret Winged Hat


or maybe you'd like this Vintage 1960s NOS Blue Roses & Cream Dress Plus Size 20 B 44



with this Vintage 1960s Gene Doris Navy Blue Straw Hat


We have lots of things for ladies and gents of all sizes and eras so come see us at Specialist Auctions where vintage is new again!

It's said that history repeats itself and nowhere else is that more apparent than in fashion. Whether it's wiggle dresses from the 50s re-emerging in the 80s or slim fitted 40s suits re-surfacing in the 70s, fashion always comes around again.

Even for the male of the species fashion is cyclical. Is world famous footballer David Beckham starting a fashion trend? If a cravat is posh enough for David, wouldn't you love to follow that trend?




In my vintage travels I came upon these two wonderful cravats circa 1950. The cravats were made by Tootal and have not seen the light of day in 50 years. What a wonderful addition to a mans wardrobe. The cravat is more forgiving than a tie as it is loosely tied and gives one the appearance of a dashing man about town who knows his fashion and knows what he likes.

Both of these cravats are available from Braccles7 at Specialist Auctions. Simply click the photograph and you will be linked.

This is a Vintage 1950s MOD Tootal Yellow Paisley Rayon cravat in a wonderful pattern of black and red on a light yellow background. The cravat is just over 41 inches in length.



Or this Vintage 1950s MOD Tootal Red/Black/Grey cravat made of rayon in an unusual regular pattern in dark red & black on a light silvery-grey background. The cravat is about 42 inches in length.



This handsome devil certainly seems to know his way around a cravat and dare I imagine a few other things as well!

Check out Specialist Auctions where vintage clothing is new again!

Today I'm writing about a friend named Chris. Chris' vintage store is called Alley Cats Vintage. Now Chris has a wonderful plan. She is attempting to buy all the Fred Perlberg dresses in the world and become the Fred Perlberg queen of the universe.

So today I'm featuring Chris' Perlberg dresses. You can also find loads of other delectable dresses in Chris' stores, hats, shoes and many other great items at very reasonable prices. I say this with the utmost confidence because I've bought things from Chris and you'll never find another vintage seller who cares about her customers more.

On a personal note, Chris is retiring. Tomorrow is her last day. To my friend Chris I wish a joyful retirement full of doing the things you enjoy so much like gardening, going to the auctions on Friday and the opening of your new collectibles store. We big business women need to stick together!

So now onto the Fred Perlberg extravaganza!

First we have this breathtaking celery green liquid satin formal evening gown from the 1940's. There is gathering on the shoulders. The front has a high V neckline with a lay back collar which drapes around the back of the gown. The waist dips into a long V. There is a small bustle which lies flat just below the waist in the back. The gown closes with a side metal zipper plus hook & eye. The skirt is full and the dress can be worn with or without a crinoline. The fabric is heavy rich satin in a definite celery green color.



Next we have this stunning pink satin Fred Perlberg 1940's evening gown. The fabric is high gloss liquid pink, very true to what you see in the photographs. The construction and details are extremely beautiful, from the rear bustle treatment to the piping around the curved and pointed waistline. The inside is labeled “Fred Perlberg” who designed fabulous evening gowns starting in the 1940's. There’s a side closing metal zipper which works perfectly. The fabric is very dense and heavy.



Not to be outdone by the 1940s Perlbergs Chris also has this dazzling 70s era evening gown designed by Roger Milot for Fred Perlberg. The fabric is a sheer metallic weave with little loose strands of gold raising up, completely lined with a lime acetate blend. The sleeves are sheer and puffed with snaps on the cuffs. The waist has a double looped thick cord made on band and adorned with 4 cris-cross rhinestone pins. All the rhinestones are pink but one small stone is missing on the front. With all the glitter no one could possibly notice.



I'm very partial to champagne and what better way to fill that need than this Fred Perlberg exquisite liquid satin champagne/antique white satin evening gown. The fabric is very heavy satin. The bodice is bone with a wide cuff around the top and tiny cord shoulder straps. This can be worn without the straps. There is a side metal zipper closing. The skirt is full with a circumference of 128 inches. The condition is excellent, only having a pin hole where a corsage was pinned.



And last but not least we have this gorgeous Fred Perlberg classic pink satin party gown which was so popular in the 1940's. It is made with a fitted waist. It is
sleeveless with 21 satin covered buttons up the front. There is a little round peter pan collar and an attached matching satin belt. The gown closes with a side metal zipper. The skirt is full sweep and is shown with and without a crinoline. The inside is labeled “Dance Originals by Fred Perlberg” who designed fabulous evening gowns starting in the 1940's. The fabric is very dense, heavy and in almost perfect condition.



Chris has several store locations where you can purchase some of the best vintage items I've ever come across. She is located at:

Main Street Vintage

and

Specialist Auctions

From undergarments to dresses to swimwear Born Too Late Vintage loves plus size gals!