Hi, my name is theuppitywoman & I'm a vintage fabric addict!

I've found the most divine (& addictive) online vintage fabric store! Retro Age Vintage Fabrics carry stock from the 1940's to the 1980's; not reprints, the real deal, & it's all fabulous!

My latest obsession

I've recently acquired a number of lovely antique postcards; oh dear, I feel the start of another collection!

Rather than just buying any image which catches my eye however, I'm focusing on humorous romantic images which can be read in a number of ways. I think of them as my Potentially Polyamorous Postcards.

These are the first two, which I bought from the lovely bananastrudel on Etsy. The caption on the one with the two ladies on the gentleman's lap which was posted in 1910, says 'I feel at home here'. The other one, posted in 1907 says 'Helpless'; I think the gentlemen are far more helpless than the lady here!

The handwritten message on the back of that one is fascinating too;

"Will you be mine said the gallant gay
to be by your side for ever and ever
and the maiden pondered yea.
May this question you want to Answer".

Fashion History

For all those Vintage & Antique fashionistas out there; I've found the most amazing site!

Fashion History Costumes & Eras is hundreds (yes, hundreds) of pages of fashion drawings, history, trends & information from way back in time up to the present day.

Definitely worth a look; like the previous site I mentioned though, I take no responsibility for the hours of time you may spend gazing at past beauties & learning all you ever needed to know about the fascinating history of fashion!

Dating Vintage Sewing Patterns

If you're anything like me, you probably have a stack of vintage sewing patterns somewhere. Ever wondered exactly how old each one is? I have, & I found this wonderful site How to Date Vintage Sewing Patterns detailing dates for a huge number of commercial patterns; mostly American brands, but still a great start. Warning though; it is easy to lose hours of time just looking at all the pattern envelopes on the site!

Vintage Car Lust

Just bought myself a lovely white 1974 Triumph 2500 TC, they look like this:

Mine needs work to get on the road, but it 's not too onerous so it shouldn't take long.

Not quite my dream car, but I've mildly lusted after one of these for a long time so I'm pretty excited!

Vintage, sleek & powerful; sigh...

Butterfly corset

My latest creation, for a party over Easter; the butterflies are strung on 4 separate threads so I can remove them easily if I want to wear the corset plain. It's a two coloured raw silk (light & darker teal shades; lovely when moving; only the lighter shade is really showing in these photos) on the outside with twill cotton strength layer & boning casings on the inside. There are 10 panels, 18 bones (4 flat & 14 spiral plus the wide steel busk) & the waist fully laced is 32".

The butterflies are transparent plastic in lots of shades of teal & are absolutely gorgeous, they are only attached at one point so they move & catch the light too. I bought them from Clear Cut Crafts in Melbourne, whom I highly recommend!

Ask & You Shall Receive!

So further to my search (in the previous post) for information on the instructional bandage. I took a chance & asked a question on a British Medical Museum's website, not expecting any response at all really. I mean, why should a museum in another country have the time or interest to answer a question from an ordinary person, right?

Wrong! I received a lovely, helpful detailed reply from a real person at the museum, here's most of it:

'The Thackray Museum does indeed hold one an almost identical example
of these triangular bandages in its collections. The one in the museum
collections includes an illustration of the pima cotton plant with the words
'Registered Trade-Mark Gossypium Barbadense' added just below 'After
Esmarch'. The Registered (Design) Number 647071 in the lower right-hand
corner indicates that (a) the bandage's design was officially registered in
England and (b) that it was registered in 1915.

This means that the bandage itself cannot date from any earlier than 1915;
it could technically continue to be manufactured with that design for years
afterwards, but realistically I doubt very much that it was made much later
than 1918. The museum library holds illustrations of other Esmarch bandages
that both predate and postdate 1915.

The fact that both our bandages are so similar suggests to me that they were
probably produced by the same company, albeit possibly at different times.
Unfortunately, I'm not certain which company used the image containing the
image and the words 'Registered Trade-Mark Gossypium Barbadense'. I don't
think it was Vernon & Company but unfortunately I don't have the time at
present to properly research the holder of this trade-mark.

Friedrich von Esmarch (born 9 Jan 1823, died 23 Feb 1908) was a German
surgeon who was the first to introduce a first-aid kit and triage on the
battlefield. He introduced first aid training for both military and civilian
personnel. His handbooks of military surgical techniques were used
extensively as the best on the topic. The Esmarch bandage is a triangular
piece of linen or cotton, with a long side about 4 ft. It can be used folded
or open, and applied in 32 different ways. Esmarch insisted that every
soldier carry one in battle for temporary dressing and field-work. Esmarch
also invented an apparatus, using a narrow hard rubber tourniquet with a
chain fastener to control bleeding in tying off an extremity in such a way
that it is made bloodless. When used during amputation, being bloodless made
it easier to operate on a limb."

Thank you very much Jim Garretts of The Thackray Museum! I highly recommend their site if you're at all interested in the history of medicine & a visit is probably worth making if you're ever in Leeds!

So, got any good Medical History resources?

I recently acquired this fascinating instructional bandage. I think it's probably World War One era, judging by the type of drawing & the methods explained, but I really don't know for sure.


After searching the web & my history books (which admittedly aren't medical specific, Australian history is more my specialty) & finding absolutely nothing on this particular model & very little on similar ones, I'm stumped & looking for clues.



It says 'MADE IN ENGLAND' on the bottom right hand corner, 'REGISTERED.NUMBER.647071.' on the bottom right hand corner & FIRST-AID BANDAGE. (After Esmarch.) in the top corner.


I've found photos & references to Esmarch Bandages with German text, & American ones made by Johnson & Johnson, but the British one is nowhere to be found, I've only seen mention of it here McPheeters Antique Militaria which claims they were made by Vernon & Company but I can't find anything on that company either. Any ideas where to look for info would be greatly appreciated!

Vintage Patterns Ahoy!

Etsy Buy Handmade theuppitywoman

My latest corset creation

This is the corset I made for some lovely friends of mine as a birthday present for their partner. She has 12 panels, 18 bones (6 flat steel & 12 spiral steel), fully laced up the waist is 22 inches & the busk is an antique one I had in my stash. she's a really gorgeous black satin & the lining is a thinner satin with 'the lady is a vamp' printed in rows all over it. Not the greatest photo unfortunately; my camera decided to die right when I wanted to take this, so I only got one shot. The pillow model also doesn't quite have the hips to fill it out, so it looks a bit wrinkled where it actually isn't.

I made her a bit differently to the way I've done previous ones, by interfacing the outer fabric & inner strength layers separately & then flatlining them together & sewing them as one layer. The lining is separate again. I like the result & the way it came together & will be using the same method in future.

I hope the intended owner likes her.

Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal

There have been horrendous fatal fires this week here in Victoria, thousands displaced, entire towns gone (no exaggeration, gone), death toll 181 & expected to rise, just unbelievable devastation.

I'm fortunate to be in one of the few rural areas of Victoria not currently on fire. I have registered as a fundraiser with Red Cross Australia & am raising funds through sales from my two Etsy stores Light And Shade Art & The Uppity Woman Vintage . I have also donated 5 items to the Australian Sellers' Etsy Team Bushfire Appeal Store which have already sold, with 100% of those going directly to the appeal.

So how about making a purchase for your present stash now & give to a worthy cause at the same time? Thanks.

My New Etsy Store Is Open!

I've bitten the bullet & put some of my treasures up for sale on Etsy, here's a sneak peek at my store stock.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade theuppitywoman.etsy.com

New Glasses Frames!

I received my latest Ebay purchase in the mail today, from the lovely Mellaspike!

These great glasses to add to my ever growing collection of cateye lovliness! They're the same as my navy pearlised ones which always get a positive response, so I guess the shape suits me well. The new ones are a really interesting shade of bronzey green with beige in the leaf shaped cutouts & beige diamantes. They're in great condition too!