Flashback Summer

Flashback Summer I’m Emileigh! I’m sharing my vintage lifestyle with an intercultural twist!📍Alabama ➡️ New Mexico next!

Flashback Summer is a vintage lifestyle blog with an intercultural twist. The blog hits on aspects of vintage lifestyle, especially clothing and old-fashioned hospitality, along with discussions on cultural issues, traditional clothing, and controversial subjects relating to fashion, race, and culture.

06/01/2026

Thousands of unseen hours—worth every minute!

I love the slow, awkward, frustrating, exciting process of learning a new way to create something. Over years of effort (and failures!) I now have more tools in my belt to make what I imagine!

Follow along to see my next projects! In the coming months, I’ll be working on:
🧵 Heirloom sewing
🫟 West African Batik printing/dyeing
👗 Vintage knitting & sewing patterns

What are you working on these days? What’s your newest skill you’re working on?

05/31/2026

(on Instagram) always has the best 1940s hair too! 😍

I’m still living out of a suitcase and wearing the same few outfits, so let’s talk about the power of plain, solid-colored garments in a vintage wardrobe. They’re so versatile, and any solid color can be paired with any other solid for endless combinations. Sometimes you can even pair shades of the same color, like light blue and navy, or eggplant and lilac.

Some 1940s-appropriate color combos would be:
♥️💙: red and navy
💛💚: golden yellow and spring green
🩷🖤: hot pink and black
🧡🤎: burnt orange and brown

Follow Elizabeth on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/elizabethliherbert?igsh=MXZlYnIyeXJ6bnQ4ag==

05/24/2026

A big part of a sustainable, budget conscious vintage wardrobe is buying pieces that will LAST.

It feels counterintuitive at first, but buying high-quality jeans that cost $100 every 5-10 years is way cheaper than buying fast fashion jeans for $30 and having to replace them every year. (That’s $150-$300 for the same time period!)

Pieces like these reproduction jeans from Freddies of Pinewood will last and even age beautifully as the thicker denim gets broken in and washed. The non-stretch denim is easier to mend as well, if it comes to that down the road.

Anyone else have Freddies that have been in your closet for years now? Are they still going strong?

05/24/2026

My previous reel described what heirloom sewing is, and here’s what I’m going to do with it! This will be my first heirloom sewing project, and I can’t think of a more sew-worthy person than my ruffle-loving daughter!

Thank you to the ladies at The Sewing Room Birmingham for all your assistance and getting me set up!

05/20/2026

It’s time to start *heirloom sewing*! I can’t wait to start on this project for my daughter!

Those of you that have done heirloom sewing, what do I definitely need to know? Any tips or tricks to make things easier and more precise?

👗pattern: “The Lace Dress” by Ginger Snaps Designs/ Nancy Coburn (bought at The Sewing Room Birmingham)

05/17/2026

As I’m looking for some healthier swaps for my nighttime snacks, these dessert teas from Plum Deluxe fit the bill!


I have this thing where I need teas to actually taste like the names they are given. 😆 3/4 of these really do have dessert flavors that match, and the one that doesn’t quite fit its name will still be a good black tea I’ll drink anyway!

I did kinda forget how loose leaf black teas can get bitter a bit more easily than the lower-quality bagged teas, so if you find your black teas tasting a bit bitter and making a dry feeling in your mouth, here are some tips to help:
☕️ That bitter taste is from tannins, and they’re present in all brews that come from a tea plant (Camellia sinensis). You can reduce or increase the amount of tannins in your brew by how you prepare your tea.
☕️ The darker the tea, the more tannins. (Black teas vs white/green teas)
☕️ The longer you steep the tea, the more tannins will be released. Squeezing a tea bag or squishing the leaves also releases them.
☕️ Higher water temperatures release more tannins as well, so if you want a less bitter taste try lowering your water temperatures to just at or below boiling. (You can even cold brew as well!)

05/10/2026

(on Instagram) looking super cute in this 1950s look!

Despite popular belief, you don’t have to perfectly match your shoes, bag, gloves, and hat to have an authentic look. A really great way to pair multiple colors of accessories is by having 1-2 pieces that are multi-colored (a floral hat or printed shoes, for example), then pull a color from that for the rest of your accessories.

Shauna looks great, doesn’t she?! 😍🙌

Follow her here: https://www.instagram.com/midcentury_girl?igsh=MTYxaDB4ODQ0emlrcA==

Back as requested with the next decade in this series! First I covered the 1920s, and here is the 1930s next!I LOVE the ...
05/09/2026

Back as requested with the next decade in this series! First I covered the 1920s, and here is the 1930s next!

I LOVE the 1930s. It’s so quirky while also having the extremes of Old Hollywood glamour and Depression-Era ingenuity. Women were asserting themselves in new areas like aviation and motor races, so you can find a huge diversity of fashion styles accommodating all kinds of life activities in the 1930s.

Another feature of 30s fashion I love is the trend for cutting garments on the bias, cutting across the grain of the fabric in a way that allows the fabric to drape and cling without being tight. It also creates “stretchy,” size-versatile designs that can be more adaptable to size changes.

What are your thoughts on 1930s styles? Are there any tricks or tips you’ve discovered in making them work for yourself?

For me, being creative keeps me resilient and helps me be my best. I’ve noticed a direct correlation between making thin...
05/05/2026

For me, being creative keeps me resilient and helps me be my best. I’ve noticed a direct correlation between making things and my mental health (a chicken and egg situation though, to be sure!). Finding little pockets of time to do things has become my go-to in this stage of life, and it’s also why more mobile crafts like knitting and journaling have become my staples while sewing projects are a bit fewer and further between.

👉 Don’t wait for conditions to be perfect before you take time to be creative. The chores will always be there when you get back. 😆 The children can amuse themselves for a bit. The work emergency can wait until after lunch. Take the time and you’ll find yourself more ready and energized to tackle the other things.

05/03/2026

Is three times too many to visit Gee’s Bend?

NOPE! 🙌 Every time I’ve visited I’ve learned more and deepened my appreciation for this creative community!


I visited for the first-ever Spring Yard Show where quilters displayed their work at their homes. It was pretty awesome, because how often do you get to go to an artist’s yard, see the place that has inspired them, and talk shop? (And—gasp—even touch some of the quilts!)

I also stayed at an original 1930s Roosevelt House, toured the River Gallery, drove the Gee’s Bend Heritage Trail, and visited the Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy.

🧵 If you had nothing stopping you, is there a particular quilter you’d want to meet, or a certain place in the Bend you’d like to visit first?

👉Learn more and plan your trip at Visit Gee's Bend!

Thanks for sponsoring my trip Souls Grown Deep, Alabama Black Belt Adventures and Sweet Home Alabama!

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