When I was a young teenager, and without a regular income, money was tight. In order to purchase clothing I would shop at the Sally Ann, Goodwill and second hand stores. This was how the vintage bug began for me as I would often find something that was just so different which happened to be 40 years old!
My first vintage purchase was a WWII fitted army jacket. I was surprised at the time how small it was - at first I thought it was a child's jacket. In a sense it was, as the man who wore it was most likely just a teenager himself. The thought of a soldier's piece of clothing in my hands was almost eerie...I was fascinated, but also very emotional. What happened to this young soldier? Did he die in the war? What was his position? The jacket looked like an aviator's jacket...was he a pilot?
I was holding in my hand a little piece of history and immediately felt a connection to this young soldier. Feeling an obligation to preserve his memory, I bought the jacket and kept it wrapped and protected for years. I also wore it a few times and each time I wore it, I thought of this person and hoped I was helping his memory. I was immensely proud of this purchase and my heart felt happy.
I would love to hear about your first real vintage purchase. Did it evoke an emotional response? Why did you buy it? Do you still have it? Tell me in your comments below - let us all know! I'll leave this post up for a few days -- I think it will be interesting reading!
You'll think I've gone to the birds when I say that today's blog features duct tape! This incredibly strong and sticky stuff was invented in 1942 by the Johnson & Johnson company. Its original use was to keep moisture out of ammunition cases. Because of its waterproof qualities, people dubbed it "duck tape". The name may have also derived from cotton duck which was one of its components. People in the military learned quickly what a versatile tool this tape was, so they used it to fix their guns, jeeps and even air crafts. After WWII, it was easily adapted into the booming housing industry by connecting heating and air conditioning duct work together. Soon the colour went from army issue green to the grey we see today, to match the duct work, so people started referring to it as 'duct tape'. The 1970's brought new life to duct tape with the collaboration of Manco Inc. The tape was shrink-wrapped into small rolls for ease of use and it became available in different grades and colours. 
