Ellen Kate's Closet NEW on Etsy

Yellow White Band & Button Cake Hat

A few weeks ago a dear friend and I got together to go through her mother's closets.  We discovered vintage treasures hidden away for years in boxes tucked away under the roof eaves.  I had to literally smash my body down in to a troll like position to crawl in and pull out a few stacked teetering hat boxes.  It was truly a fun weekend exploring clothes and accessories from the 40's through the 90's.

Cream Vintage Opera Gloves.

Currently I am listing Ellen Kate's wonderful fashions online in my Etsy Vintage Shop, ForsythiaHill.etsy.com.  Of course Shannon saved some treasures for herself like the super funky 60s hat that looked like a white trellis Top Hat with a floriferous explosion of violets coating it (we got a big laugh out of that hat).

The cute Beaded Polka Dot and Cream Hat

We set up a photo shoot of Shannon wearing her mothers fashions.  We were trying to get as many hats photographed as we could because we were only in town for the weekend, both of us driving some distance to her family home.  I am so happy to have recorded a mothers clothes being worn by a daughter, fashions and family preserved in time.

Stylish Ellen Kate in 1954.

Fortunately, there was a box of old newspaper clippings from the 30's through the 60's that showed Ellen Kate wearing many of her hats.  Remarkably, we did not discover the hats shown in the photos but we still had more closets to explore!  As my mother says, during that time a proper lady did not leave the house without her hat and gloves (and actually I've never seen a photo without her purse either).

A Sea of Hats, 1952 at the Va Fed of Woman's Clubs Meeting

Born in 1918, Ellen Kate was a very fashionable woman who was involved with many Ladies and Professional Business Clubs during her lifetime. She even ran for Town Council in the 1950's when no other woman had ever served on council (and lost probably because she was a woman). She lived a busy vibrant life raising 3 young children on her own after her husband passed away early in their marriage. She was always interested in politics, an avid swimmer, healthy eater, and party goer. Her closets contain shoes, hats, gowns, and gloves worn to business functions or weekend parties. Most of her items were worn very few times so condition of her items is very nice. All hats are in original boxes as are the majority of her shoes. 

Shannon clowning around wearing my fav hat!

Old friends sharing fond memories together after many years of separation.  It was a great weekend and the photo shoot was incredible.  Shannon is a performer in New York and I knew she would make a great model.  One of my favorite parts of selling vintage are sharing fun photos with YOU.  So check out my shop and ENJOY.

All of Ellen Kate's items will be noted in the description as such.

-Rebecca