Retro Fashion Eye Candy

When I was seven or eight-years old, my mom made my sister and I matching shirt & short sets out of teal Noah's Ark fabric (it was the 80's if you couldn't guess). We thought they were the coolest. What was even cooler - the coordinating pillowcases. Haven't you always wanted to match your bed linens? In all seriousness, I loved that outfit and I loved that my mom made it for me. (Love you, Mom.)

Making my own clothes is something I wish I could do, but I really just can't. Not enough time, energy or talent to go around. Maybe that should be part of my retirement plan. Until then, I just admire those who can whip up a skirt, hat or baby booties on the drop of a dime. Brianna Showell of Reina Style Consulting is one of those people. I've talked about her before. She's from the Midwest like me; when we met five or six years ago, we hit it off immediately. A few weeks ago I went to her place for our weekly girls' night and she handed me a super heavy Trader Joe's bag. It was chock full of old patterns and sewing magazines. She's a sewing junkie so her grandma handed off all of this stuff to her and she wanted to share the wealth...with me! I love retro illustrations (anything printed and retro, really) and there are some real gems in these books; hence the reason Brianna thought I might be interested in her overflow. Here are just a few of my favorites.

(Don't they kind of remind you of hi, friend?)
Thanks for sharing, Brianna! Cheers to fashion, crafty skills and matching your pillowcase.