Have A Glamorous New Year!

.........................One of the hightlights in the vintage fashion world this past year is actually quite relevant to New Year's Eve. On May 30th, the pink dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the classic film BREAKFAST AT TIFFANYS was auctioned off by CHRISTIE'S to the tune of $192,000....nearly six times its given estimate.

Maybe Christie's was surprised, but fans of Hepburn and the film were certainly not! The pink dress was worn in one of the most moving scenes in the film, on New Year's Eve....whereupon Hepburn's character Holly Golightly discovers her brother has passed away via a telegram. The dress, worn with a pink silk satin jacket, pink rhinestone tiara and bejeweled walking stick, epitomizes Golightly's struggle to reconcile her past with the image she has created of herself amongst the high rollers and society types of NYC's party scene of the early 60's.

Want to look perfect in pink for your next cocktail soiree? Just add a tiara to this gorgeous Lilli Diamond 60's cocktail dress and bring out your own inner Holly Golightly! Sequins and silk in shocking pink, from

DOROTHEA'S CLOSET VINTAGE....

Happy New Year! ~Ang

PS....the perfect gift for the fan of Breakfast at Tiffanys? Get her this....a silverplated telephone dialer, naturally vintage as no one has need for them now (sadly)....she'll know what it means!

Rockin' the Rockettes, Iowa Style

...................Saw the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectactular today, a fantastic Christmas gift from my Mom to my daughter and I. It was the last show of their run here in Des Moines, and while I've nothing to compare it against, I'm sure it was just as amazing as every show previous to this one! My daughter loved it, was in awe the whole 2 hours.....the show is a bigger than life, over the top, glitz glam and dancing extravaganza. And yes, I was in awe too. A little depressed at the lack of body fat on stage, but the way those girls (and the gents from the ensemble) work it, its no wonder they're so fit.

And the costumes!!!! From the opening number featuring the Rockettes as lithe and limber reindeer (in cocoa brown stretch velvet body suits topped off with light-up antlers), to the Little Shop of Horrors inspired poinsettia costumes......the toys in the workshop come-to-life scene boasting a line-up of Raggedy Ann dolls wearing babdoll dresses over ruffly, red crinolines perfect for the subtle version of the French Can-Can dance........to the shimmering snowflake costumes and of course, the sexy Santa suit fur trimmed ensembles.....the costumes were breathtaking.

As well they should be. According to Diane Jaust, Radio City's long-time historian, this season's costumes and staging were painstakingly created to be "a production meant to bridge the quaintly hokey past and the multimedia future" (NY Times). According to Jaust in THIS NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE, "I have been asking Radio City Music Hall for 10 years to get familiar with the material we used in the past and go into the future by new-and-improving it". She shared with this season's director, Linda Haberman, more than 5,000 boxes of photographs, production notes, program and newspaper clippings dating from its opening night in 1932. The concepts that set this show apart in the 30s and 40s were reintroduced in this season's production....bigger than life sets, dramatic special effects and glamorous costuming. This picture from the Rockettes first Christmas Spectacular in 1933 shows how the scale of the set lends a bigger than life feel to the "Coppe'lia" number....

The Rockettes have long been known to sport some of the flashiest, and of course leg revealing, costumes in the industry. In the 30s the dresses were short but the underpinnings more of a trunks length garment, showing leg but no further up than mid thigh. With the revolution of the bikini in the 60s the thighs got a lot more exposure and since then the costumes have become as daring as possible for a family attended event! Read more about the history of the Rockettes costumes HERE. As Vincente Minelli was involved in designing the costumes back in the 30s, its no wonder that some of the costumes reside along side some of Liza Minelli's costumes at Radio City....

And if you want to grab a piece of Rockettes costume history, check out this eBay auction ending in 3 days by COYOTE SURPLUS.....

A superb show worth seeing next year if you get the chance!! ~Ang

New Year's Chic....the MacLaine Look

..................Dressing for New Year's Eve is a very different event than dressing for previous holiday soirees. Christmas parties are often family oriented, subdued and elegant. Dressing for New Year's gives you the opportunity to add a little sass to your party wear! Cocktails or no, the cocktail dress is THE perfect look for New Year's Eve, and no one worked the cocktail dress better than SHIRLEY MACLAINE. No, not known as a classic beauty or a Marilyn-esque bombshell, Shirley had (has) a pretty face and a lithe body, able to just fill out those fitted silk & sequined knee length dresses that epitomize early 60's Rat Pack era glam.

Appropos, no less, as Shirley had a superb role in the film OCEANS 11 along side her pallys in the Rat Pack. The film is about a heist to take place in Vegas casinos on New Year's Eve, and MacLaine's flamboyant personality is perfect for showing off this turquoise sparkler and over the top fur wrap....

Something similar and in every way perfect for New Year's at Dorothea's Closet Vintage on eBay.....

You may not be hanging with the Rat Pack (and if you're sad about that, I'm with you!), but you can look as sassy and sexy as Miss MacLaine for New Year's in a vintage cocktail dress!

Bottoms up!~ Ang

Rockette Chic.............

Received a great Christmas gift this year...tickets to see the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular! Its the first time the Rockettes have ever been in Iowa, and I hear its a fantastic show.

Its long been a dream of mine to acquire the estate of a dancer, be it the clean cut Rockette type or burlesque. The sequins, fringe, ruffles and DETAILS! Nothing says holidays OR glamour like the combination of RED with fur, a combo less easy to find than one would think. I spotted this gorgeous coat on eBay, offered by MAMA STONE VINTAGE....

Click the picture to get to the listing. At DOROTHEA'S CLOSET VINTAGE you'll find a coat just as glamorous....a red poplin 70's trenchcoat trimmed in black fur. Click below to see the coats on the site!

Stay warm and be glamorous! ~Ang

Merry Christmas!

.................Hope your holidays are great, back to vintage wear tomorrow!

Find the perfect glamorous holiday dress for Christmas or New Year's Eve at Dorothea's Closet Vintage by clicking the picture below at Dorothea's Closet Vintage

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~Ang

Happy Vintage Holidays!

................Time to head out of town and take a break from being online and focus on family. I've been looking through a large stash of vintage greeting cards that came from an estate I aquired last year (Jean's estate, check my ARCHIVES PAGES on the website for some clothing pieces that belonged to her) and wanted to share a few!

Thats one angry looking reindeer!

Happy Holidays!~ Ang

MARLENE DIETRICH, In The Round

..........I'm in love. Not exactly with MARLENE DIETRICH, though she was an amazing beauty and rumor has it she showed up once to FRANK SINATRA'S place whilst he was in the middle of a poker game and merely looked at him, he left the table to join her in the boudoir, and then she left. That's Rat Pack era hot. Digression....I haz it. Anyway......got my lamp today, and I am smitten. Behold.

Click to get to Paul's store on ETSY, and see his other creations! It heats up and SPINS! Marlene, in lingerie, spinning through glorious 20s & 30s designer paperdoll ensembles.

This lamp brings together the sentimental happiness of my childhood spent watching spinner Christmas tree ornaments on my Grandmother's Christmas tree, as seen here (and going for some big bucks on eBay, no less)...

and my love of glamorous chicks/vintage apparel.

Marlene! Paperdolls! Vintage dresses! The glamour of smoking! Heat-up spinner dealies! Atomic lighting! I'm spent from the gid. Check out Paul's other lighting creations and enjoy. And dig some Marlene while you're at it.

...~Ang

A FORTUNY WOMAN

............Another of the great designer pieces recently sold at KERRY TAYLOR AUCTIONS, this Delphos gown in sky blue was designed in 1907 by designer Mario Fortuny (read more about him in the designer and label resource at THE VINTAGE FASHION GUILD ).

Done in silk and finely pleated, these gowns simplified the classical look and revolutionized fashion in the early part of the century. Easy to wear, they came with different sleeve styles in a range of gorgeous hues.

At DOROTHEA'S CLOSET VINTAGE, get a similar look in an updated textile.....soft, draping jersey knit in deep persimmon with a wide obi-style sash, by designer DONALD BROOKS....

Be pleat-perfect in vintage!

IF THESE PANTS COULD TALK....

.............The very definition of "hot pants", and ankle length at that! The recent Kerry Taylor Auctions may have featured loads of over the top, high end and couture designer vintage clothing but one of the stars of the auction was an unlabeled pair of plain cream slubbed silk capri pants.

Why would a pair of non-descript 60s capris sell for nearly $8,000? One word. MARILYN.

Few women could define a pair of plain capri pants like Marilyn Monroe, who used her hourglass figure and sex appeal to maximum effect to create a look wholly her own. Platinum hair and a pink snug top (and of course, being Marilyn Monroe) were all it took to take a pair of plain pants from bland to bombshell.

In the vintage world, pants and skirt strangely get passed over in favor of the dress.....something I see daily in my shop and on the website. Separates are certainly easier to incorporate into a modern wardrobe, less hassle where fit is concerned and often easier to accessorize. At Dorothea's Closet Vintage on eBay you'll find this 60's glam lounging set....aqua blue matelasse capri pants with a loose, yet sexy tunic top. Made in Hawaii no less! Exotic and glamorous.

Vintage separates....why the snub? The above pants come as a set, no less, giving the wearer the option of wearing together or separately. Add a tight sweater and heels to the pants, a cami, a blouse and flats. The top (not shown) would look smashing with a pair of jeans. Don't pass up those pants, skirts and tops out there. Glamour doesn't have to be defined by a dress! ~Ang

MOOD MUGLER

...................Its easy to dismiss the 80’s as an era of ridiculous neon colors, big hair and shoulder pads. But while the proportions of those shoulder pads grew, so did the design career of THIERRY MUGLER (info thanks to the Vintage Fashion Guild VFG)......creating pieces as over the top as any 80’s piece could be, requisite shoulder pads intact and in charge. The recent auctions by KERRY TAYLOR AUCTIONS, several of his pieces performed amazingly well, giving older vintage dresses and gowns a run for their money.

Mugler’s style was iconic 80’s. Sculptural, bold and dramatic....like this leather suit dress...

Another cutwork leather jacket....

And my own favorite, this 2 piece suit dress with Seuss inspired green silk and sequined detailing.....

At DOROTHEA'S CLOSET VINTAGE, I'm offering a piece that is genuine 40's doing 80's! Which is to say, a piece far ahead of its time and clearly the look that inspired the types of pieces above by Mugler and his ilk. A fantastical 40's dress with wide, dramatic lapel angled across bodice and layered with crepe rayon and faille, adding dimension without distracting.

Designers look to the past for inspiration.....and if you love vintage, its no surprise! ~Ang

The KERRY TAYLOR AUCTIONS ended recently, and in the vintage clothing realm, the final prices were nothing short of amazing. Rare designer pieces like this 50's ball gown by Madame Gres fetched 5 digit figures....and just looking at it, its no wonder why. This gown is exquisite in every way.....the colors, the layering of textiles, the silhouette....and those breathtaking flowers.

If only I had the resources to buy that AND the event to wear it to! For me, its the flowers that make it......bold, sculptural and romantic. At DOROTHEA'S CLOSET VINTAGE, a gown without the pedigree but with a similar approach to adding some flower power to an already smashing piece, this 30's black taffeta boasts large, vividly colored velvet roses front and center.....

And a with bit lower price tag! Gowns=glamour....and there is no rival for a gorgeous vintage gown.