A vintage haul

I'm home in Wales for the weekend, and spent yesterday morning having coffee with my best friend, before we hit the charity shops. I've been quite luck the last few times I have been home in picking up bits and pieces in the charity shops, and this time was no exception.

My first find was the fantastic 1950s/1960s (I think, based on the illustrations on the box and in the instructions)  Adjustoform dressmaking model, with original box, instructions (thankfully) and nearly all the bits. The body part is made of a stretchable wire mesh, in two halves. To fit it to your size you first put on a 'structured basement garment' and then button the two halves of the dummy over your body and stretch or press the wire mesh so it fits your shape. It sounded a bit odd, but having tried it yesterday, it does work and would also make an interesting fancy dress costume!

Here is the adjustoform on its rather nice wooden stand. The only pieces missing are a couple of springs, which can be easily replaced, and the stretchy jersey cover that goes over the mess, which I should be able to replace.

I also found a rather lovely Gor-Ray skirt, again probably 1950s/1960s. The label informs me it is 100% sail cloth, it is certainly some fairly sturdy fabric.

I need to put a  new zip in the skirt, and move the button on the waist band, if I want to be able to breath, but I think the skirt is just fantastic.

Finishing off with a pair of pinking shears, all in all it was a rather successful haul.