Mad Men Madness

Its back! Starting tonight! Enough has been said alll over the internet so I'll keep it brief and share a few dresses from my site I think are spot-on perfect for wearing to premier parties or just to look as glamorous as your favorite MM character.

Sweet Betty style chiffon floral party dress from the early 60s....

And a curve conscious, cocktail print Joan look!

A nice homage to the party spirit (spirits?) , a set of 1960s WEISS rhinestone martini glass brooches....

Enjoy the show!

la familia....Draper Style

Last year I was honored to be visited by Betty Draper's real life Mom, Karen Jones...of January Jones fame. She was headed to Chicago to do a taping of the Oprah Winfrey show featuring January Jones and Jon Hamm. Karen tried on several dresses, some "Betty" style and some "Joan" style. You can see the original blog HERE.

In the last few days, promo pics have been released for the upcoming season of MAD MEN. I was immediately struck by this black and gold matellase cocktail dress....

And the similarity to the skirt section of this 60s cocktail dress modeled by Karen here in my shop during her try-on session!

Wish I could say that dress was still available but it sold a while back! Looking forward to the new season....great fashion! And to check out a realllly amazing synopsis of Mad Men fashions past, check out the blog on Project Rungay (dig around on the links on the site to see all the characters get ups). For more Mad Men-esque fashions hit the site and get some 60s glam HERE!. Pass the martini pitcher!

~Ang

Dressing Betty Draper's Mom

Recently I had the pleasure of being the go-to person for vintage wear for the real life Mom of one of the vintage world's biggest screen stars...Betty Draper from AMC's MAD MEN! Betty, aka January Jones, will be taping an episode of THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW this week to be aired the week of September 21st, which of course is the date of the Emmy Awards Show. Mad Men is nominated for 16 awards, and the cast will be making an appearance on the Oprah show along with an entire audience wearing early 60s vintage! Betty & Don decked for cocktails (as an aside, Karen shared that January loves wearing vintage too!)...

January's Mom, Karen, lives here in the Des Moines area and had decided to drive out to Chicago with her sister to attend the show to support her lovely daughter. She contacted me here at the shop about help finding the perfect dress and was gracious enough to let me shoot some pics of some of the pieces she tried on but decided against. Her first choices were to go the Betty Draper route (both dresses available on my website)...

However, we were concerned about the dresses being too pale to be picked up in the studio audience. These were two more options, more along the lines of Joan....

But neither of those was the final choice....you'll have to tune in to the Oprah Show in September to see what Karen finally ended up in! A big thank you to Karen and her family who were along for the second visit and photo shoot. She looks as great in vintage as her daughter!

~Ang

The Psychology of the Shoulder Pad

The padded shoulder is everywhere these days. Popping up (or out) on runways the last year or so, the trend is finally making its way to the mainstream and appearing on celebrities as well as department stores. And while its easy to compare the look to its most recent appearance in the 80s, women have been dressing to create the illusion of having broad shoulders off and on for over 100 years.

In the late 1800s, the architecture of the shoulder in women's apparel reached massive proportions, achieved by using voluminous fabric with tucks and pleats for support....heavier fabrics often had sculpting pads at the seam. The Victorian leg-o-mutton sleeve is a prime example.

Over the next 30 years, shoulders were left natural, often given attention by being revealed with open designs but not exaggerated as before. By the 30s women's apparel had become long, lean and feminine with more attention to sleeves, the back and neckline than to shoulders. But by the late 30s the shoulder started to assert itself again with demure ruffled caps, slight angles and dainty puffed sleeves.

Maybe its coincidence, but at this point as women's fashion was starting to embrace the masculine and empower them a little with a broad shouldered look, globally we were seeing the threat of WWII building. By the time women in America saw their husbands off to war and stepped up to the workplace en masse, the shoulder had reached unusually large proportions. Women dominated the workplace as well as the silver screen and wore the shoulders to prove it.

After WWII Christian Dior reigned in those shoulders and with the lifting of restrictions on fabric, put the emphasis back on the female form in a more traditional sense, exaggerating the bust and hips with nipped waists and massive full skirts. The look became the silhouette of the 50s to mid 60s, when another fashion revolution mimicking the 20s removed the restrictions of the wasp-waist and gave women the freedom to dress without a girdle. By the end of the 70s, the 30s influence became strong again...long, lean & feminine. In the 70s too, women were steadily gaining in the workplace and achieving things unseen before, finding their place in the white collar world long dominated by men. Coincidentally or not, the fashion world once again began to empower women by giving them the big broad shoulders the men they were competing with came by naturally.

I'm sure in retrospect there will be a reason (other than the predictable cyclical nature of fashion itself) that the large or sculpted shoulder is making a comeback at this time in history. Wars, a new president, the recession....certainly no lack of reasons for women to feel like they need a little help shouldering the woes of the world. Regardless, they're back. Whether you're ready to go large or not, the attention for a while is going to be on the shoulders!

~Ang

Lovely Emily

Did a shoot yesterday to pull together some vintage crossing decades as well as mixing it with modern, inviting my friend and lovely local model (and artist!) Emily Svec to be my muse. Some highlights, the rest on the website on the HOW TO WEAR VINTAGE page.

Victorian with skinny jeans, 70s with Edwardian, modern denim with 40s New Look suit jacket, 70s Gunne Sax with 60s Audrey hat...all it takes is a bit of imagination and fashion sense to bring some vintage into a mall-bought wardrobe!

~Ang

Charlie Brown Called

He wants his dress back.

60s dress with mega-huge ric-rac trim, clearly Schultz inspired. If not, should have been.

Available on the website (pics are linky) tomorrow, which will be July 3.

~Ang

More $50 Dresses!

Click to shop!

A few 50s dresses....

From the 60s, page 2....

More tomorrow!

~Ang

New at ScarletBirdVintage

Just added to my etsy shop...

60s micro mini lace up vinyl dress...

60s beach dress with kitten & butterfly print by Lilly Pulitzer...

Gauzy 70s lace trimmed Mexican dress...

80s sequined tube top disco pantsuit...

70s sunshine yellow cotton mini trench.....

More just added as well as new items on the website, DOROTHEAS CLOSET VINTAGE!

~Ang

The Maxi Effect

I've been selling vintage for almost 10 years now, and without fail every spring the big news amongst sellers is that the maxi dress is "back". And we all get excited and hope we will finally be able to get people to see the value in these fantastic dresses....that people will finally stop hacking them off into minis and appreciate the full effect of a dress actually designed to come to the ankle. Granted, the shorter amongst us often can't pull off the look but you have to respect those that can and have the nerve to go for it.

So every year the word is maxis are hot, and every year the stores get a few, and every year I watch and no one ever wears them or buys them here at the shop. But this year....this year somehow is different. Target has them, Old Navy has them...I've seen girls rocking them shopping at Home Depot. And you know if we're wearing them here in Des Moines, Iowa, the maxi truly IS back.

With that in mind I culled some of my faves and shot them on my friend and model AMBER PIRILLO, who clearly has the ideal maxi-wearing figure. These are available in my etsy shop, SCARLETBIRDVINTAGE...

Maxi skirts....

70s Kamehameha swim gown...

These are available in my new shop on MARKET PUBLIQUE.....

70s gingham halter....

60s poppy print silk palazzos...

70s pink jersey disco dress....

Lastly, I had her put on this insanely fabulous LANVIN 80s one shoulder gown with art print on cotton, with O ring shoulder and loooong side zip to do an ad locally, also available on Market Publique or on the website (click pic)....this dress is the perfect vintage desiger piece for summer!

~Ang

Site Updates 2/27

New stuff added or about to be to DOROTHEA'S CLOSET VINTAGE!

DAILY UPDATES! Note that I've added a Twitter widget to the front page of the site that I will be updating daily as things are added throughout the week, so a quick check there will keep you in the know. Follow me on Twitter as dorotheascloset!

Still winter here so I've added a few coats worthy of wanting even late in the season! 60s wool boucle with scalloped mink cuffs & wedding ring collar....

70s chevron pieced mink trenchcoat with caped back...

A few pairs of shoes....

40s harlequin diamond design in snakeskin and white suede....

40s burgundy peep toes....

40s latticework vamp slingbacks.....

40s babydolls with peaked, winged vamp accents....

30s silver leather dance shoes....

30s gown of baby blue sheer organdy and black jersey rayon....

Merlot silk velvet 30s bias cut gown.....

50s skin tight wiggle dress, surprisingly by Jantzen!....

60s white silk wiggle dress with military inspired popover jacket.....

Metallic gold wool woven 60s dress.....

50s black textured rayon cocktail coat....

Brushstroke print 60s wiggle dress....

50s yellow cotton voile shirtwaist dress by L'Aiglon...

50s salmon pink sundress....

VERA veggie print 60s blouse....

VERA butterfly print 60s blouse.....

60s polka dot ruffled summer dress....

Breathtaking 50s wedding gown....strapless embroidered tulle gown with full length, Victorian inspired lace overjacket, so Grace Kelly!....

Lingerie! Shocking pink sheer chiffon & nylon 50s nightgown by Vanity Fair.....

60s nightgown in shades of coral done in an ombre effect, by Vanity Fair....

Pure French silk 30s bias cut nightgown....

20s silk bed jacket....

Lots of slips!....

Lots of summer dresses coming this week!

~Ang