Vintage Miscellany – February 15, 2015

On one of the coldest days of the year, I thought we could warm up with Betty in Miami, August 10, 1942.

Or just stay inside with a cup of something hot and the latest news…

*   In preparation of the Savage Beauty exhibition starting next month at the V&A Museum, much is being written about Alexander McQueen.  How has our view of him changed in the five years since his death?

*  And there are also McQueen books to be read.

*   The Sacramento (California) Public Library will soon be lending sewing machines, along with other tools.

*   Those of you in the UK have another great exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum, Thea Porter: 70s Bohemian Chic.

*  Where does one make a happy-looking hat?  In a jolly workroom, of course!

*   And another reason to visit the UK this spring is at the Imperial War Museum.  Fashion on the Ration features the clothes of WWII.

*   Is Patagonia the world’s most “authentic” brand?

*   And finally, here’s a story that is almost painful for me to report.  Someone pulled a vintage 1940s West Point athletic sweater that had belonged to Vince Lombardi from the Goodwill bins in Asheville.  It is now up for auction on the Heritage Auctions site, and it will end live on February 21.  I have a lot more to say about the reporting of this story, which will be posted later in the week.

This morning I read that the mystery of the sweater ‘s origin has been solved. The widow of a colleague of Lombardi lives in this area and was cleaning house. The sweater ended up in the donate pile.