Blog





Dear.Friends,

After a stop at the Bedford Cheese Shoppe to purchase some sundries for my papa’s birthday, we walked down a few blocks to the wonderful, Beacon’s Closet where I could have spent hours and hours, if we hadn’t already made dinner plans with friends in Manhattan.
Vintage shopping in a time crunch requires focus and expertise, especially when you’re hunting for gems of a particular vintage (in my case, of the 1940’s and 50’s). I made a B-line for the dress racks in the back of the store and then narrowed my focus, simply looking at the material of the dresses; more specifically, I searched for dresses made of cotton and linen—the fabrics of the earlier half of the twentieth century.
I found six that looked promising and headed for the dressing room where I found that several of them fit, but only one was a keeper and here’s the shocking part…it was new dress made in 1940’s style. (No, not as good as an original 1940’s, but hey, if the dress fits…)

Vintage Detail:

*cris-cross back with button fastens
*high waist with a strait skirt
*classic 40’s pockets

I took it home with me and secretly planned on wearing the very next day (which is the best part of buying a new old, or a new old-looking, dress.)
Here’s a video I took while wearing the dress the day of my sister’s baby shower/party:

Thanks for reading and watching!
Sincerely,
Nora Jane

Read More


Dear Friends,

My sister, Abby, is having a baby girl! Last weekend PJ and I traveled to New Jersey for her baby shower and, since we were making the big trip anyway, decided to go a few days early to catch up with friends in New York City and visit the Brooklyn vintage stores I used to frequent when I was a New Yorker.
We went into New York on Thursday afternoon and made a brief stop at the David Gage Bass Shop in Soho/Chinatown where PJ and I were awed by some truly magnificent instruments and some very kind service.

Then we headed to Williamsburg, Brooklyn—Vise-Versa on Bedford was our first stop. Unlike many vintage stores in Manhattan, Vise-Versa keeps it’s prices fairly low (dresses stay around the 15-25 dollar range and shirts and skirts are almost always $15 or less.) While I was hunting through the dress racks, one of my old students, Mario, came over and said hello. I’d not forgotten that his parents own the store, but he looked so grown-up that I didn’t recognize him.

I didn’t find any dresses that were perfect for me this time, but in the past, I’ve purchased some real winners that have become go-to performance wear. I did find a non-vintage item with a vintage aesthetic—a blue and white gingham button down made by H&M—that was marked at $7, but Mario insisted that I just take it. Thanks Mario! PJ found a rockin’ black western shirt with white fringe. Oh yeah.

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,
Nora Jane

Read More





Dear Friends,

PJ and I just returned home to Nashville from our first ever Duo Tour! We played live on Tampa’s radio station WMNF. We also played four house concerts and one bar show. It was big fun and a big success.

One of our shows was in San Antonio, Florida (I bet you were thinking Texas!) at The Garage Mahal, a lovely house concert series hosted by Rochelle and Norman Morris (pictured above).

Rochelle and I share a love of vintage clothing (as well as shoes, jewelry, belts, and other such trinkets.) For this show I decided to wear a vintage floral skirt that was actually mailed to me by Andrea Martin, a lovely woman in Tulsa, Oklahoma who hosted a house concert for my band back in November. She too has a passion for vintage clothing and asked me, via a very sweet email, if I would mind if she sent me clothes!! Can you believe that? Anyhow, Andrea sent me this cheery skirt and our show at The Garage Mahal was it’s debut on stage.

I paired the skirt with an aqua top and a hot pink cardigan and tied it all together with my trust brown woven belt and ballet flats.

What a colorful outfit! It made me happy just wearing it.

The show was so fun. Thank you Rochelle and Norman!

And thanks for reading friends!

Sincerely,
Nora Jane

Read More


Dear Friends,

If you like Western Wear and Western Swing, Nashville is a good place to be.

Last week I was honored to get up on stage and sing with the amazing swing singer Caroyln Martin at her CD release Party at The Station Inn. Her new album, Cooking with Carolyn, is chalk-full of great songs, amazing players, and is just darn good. I was lucky enough to be involved in the project in two ways: Carolyn and I wrote a song especially for the album–a sexy, bluesy number we titled “Skillet Blues”–and Carolyn asked me to sing a harmony part on a great old song, “Yodel Blues”.

The album is great and the show was amazing! Great job Carolyn!

As you know, as the front woman of “Nora Jane Struthers & Her Band” I perform exclusively in vintage dresses (or the occasional skirt and top combo), but for this special occasion I decided Western Wear was more appropriate. When I arrived and saw Carolyn’s beautifully embroidered jacket I knew I made the right choice.

This shirt was a gift from my mom and dad years ago; they got it on a trip to New Mexico and brought it back to New York City for me. I had never worn it until Carolyn’s show. It has beautiful rainbow embroidery and snaps up the front and at the wrist.

Thanks mom and dad and Thanks for reading friends!

Sincerely,
Nora Jane

Read More




Dear Friends,

It’s hard for a girl like me to walk out of a store that has dozens of beautifully preserved vintage dresses empty handed, but it happened yesterday!

La France is a very nice store in Ybor Village, a neighborhood in Tampa, FL. They have a wide selection of apparel from the 1920’s – 1960’s and they even have some brand new dresses modeled after vintage fashions. (This is nice because they are available in different sizes.) They are priced a bit steeper then I like to spring for, so I held myself back. Besides, half the fun is finding the perfect dress at the perfect price.

Hopefully I’ll find a perfect one soon. 🙂

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,
Nora Jane

Read More