trompe l'oh no you didn't

Moschino Cheap & Chic, pre-Fall 2012.

Hermes 1952, designed by Herbert Sondheim.

Herbie wins.

~Ang

The Trend is Not Being Trendy is Trendy.

So says InStyle magazine. Via an appearance on the Today show, they have brazenly denounced trends as trends and now say the trend is to go against the trend (which, if you follow the logic they apply by showing several celebrities who "go against" the trend, the fashion industry is pushing this as a trend of its own....thereby making being non-trendy trendy!). In other words, you can't win for losing. Anything goes!

InStyle points to starlets like Tilda Swinton, who has long shunned being a victim of the latest fashion craze and opted for her own unique look. Poor Tilda. Now, no matter what she wears, the very effort to dress as an individual will be seen as trendy! No doubt this troubles dear Tilda...

Another fashion rule to be broken, with the approval of the fashion industry, is to wear sparkling "evening" jewelry during the day (raise your hands if you've been doing *that* for years....hello, jewelry box full of shimmering vintage rhinestone brooches!). Seems that rule was bucked long ago, no? Not according to InStyle! As of today, you may now wear your baubles all day long and not be trendy because the fashion world says everyone is doing it so it is, um, not trendy and not trendy is cool! I'm behind the concept of daytime shine, so while I find their logic unnerving, I'll share a fab sparkler I found on etsy and desire muchly from seller GLAMSTONES, appropriately named.....

(ps, red and pink is the new puce and maize).

Lastly, a trend which apparently (determined by the last 20 minutes of Googling) is *actually* a trend yet if you choose to follow that trend, InStyle says you are actually following the trend of not being trendy....chipped nail polish!

Clicking that pic will take you to an article on Huffington Post written in May, lamenting that chipped nails have become trendy. Somehow this jives not at all with InStyles decree today that because it isn't trendy to have chipped nails that by doing so you buck the trend...yet, quick research shows it is indeed trendy to look a mess. Shocking (thanks, Olsens).

I suggest taking that a step further and knocking out a front tooth! That'll show the fashion elite who's trendy by not being trendy because not being trendy is trendy!

~Ang

UPDATE! Its been pointed out to me by jewelry designer WENDY BRANDES on Twitter (blog at WENDYBRANDES) that the aforementioned segment did have a saving grace, using a jacket by up-and-coming NYC designer FRANCIS NEW YORK! Video, jacket at 2 minute-ey mark. Get the jacket at Bloomingdales while its hot! HERE

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Shop on! Ang

Lets Vogue. Hat News!

Cannot contain my excitement any more over this latest turn of events at Dorothea's Closet! I was recently contacted by VOGUE MAGAZINE requesting use of some 40s hats for an upcoming shoot for the August issue. Its a 40s themed shoot being done by none other than STEVEN MEISEL! That. Is. Exciting. Some of his work...

Yes, that is Madonna. And yes, Meisel is THE Meisel that did her SEX BOOK

So hats went, came back today in a pretty keen box...

and then an email saying 2 hats were used (still have to make editing...so we wait...and wait...and hope...) AND an email asking for more hats for an upcoming shoot for the Sept. issue and a shoot with TIM WALKER!

Yeah. Wow. And also wow. Some Walker work...

So its *likely* some hats available on my site will actually be seen in Vogue! And if so....well, wow and right on. And all achieved by mere years of good old fashioned arse-busting, elbow-grease and prayer to random deities! Pretty cool for vintage to get the modern fashion spotlight, right? Yes. So get yourself a Dorothea's Hat!

~Ang

Black History Month....Fashion and the Black Woman.

With the election of our nation's first African American President, and with that the first black First Lady and family, I've decided to do a series during Black History Month about influential black women. It bears mentioning that I, growing up in the 70s and 80s as an upper middle class white girl and now woman, cannot and would never attempt to try to understand the position that these women found themselves in over the last century (and prior). I can't even claim to have ever been oppressed as a woman, as the fight for women's rights pre-dated my existence...I can vote, I am free to raise a child as a single woman without reproach, I can work, I can wear jeans and skip the restrictive underpinnings. I own my own business and I dare say that a man doing what I do would not necessarily make more than what I make simply because he is a man. I am damn lucky, and grateful to the women of all colour who came before me to fight those hard battles.

But as a Mom with a small child during this last election, and now during this month of Black History, it has been very much at the forefront of my attention to be mindful of the struggles of the African American. Kids say weird things, and are very curious....my daughter has had a myriad of questions in light of all the news-talk about the first "black" president (though she calls him brown, and she's right, but hence the quotes on black) and now the focus on Black History Month at school. Bless her, she has black/brown/yellow friends and literally does not get what the big deal is. Leaving me forced to explain some ugly truths to her about the history of our great country. Try it yourself sometime, and despite your utter lack of contribution to the ugliness, you too will find yourself embarassed and at a loss for words to try to explain what the white people did to African Americans back then (nevermind what they continue to do. If you don't believe me, check out THIS STORY about some racist arsehats objecting to having our commander-in-chief's picture being used at an Air Force Base commisary, and succeeding in getting it removed, with quotes like "He said they're not going to have no black man on the window where he shops,"). Thats the world I'm bringing up a child in, and it makes me sad.

So with that, I give you the woman credited with being the catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement in this country (and try explaining to a child why it took nearly 100 years after Abraham Lincoln's EMANCAPATION PROCLOMATION for there to even be a recognized movement for African Americans to even be recognized as equals. Good luck trying to make THAT make sense.).....ROSA PARKS.

Rosa was a seamstress, remarkably apt for the tone of my trying-to-stay-on-message-vintage-fashion-blog theme. She was born in 1913, and by 1955 at age 42 she became the poster child for the Civil Rights Movement simply by being tired, fed up and over it. She refused to give her seat to the white man (the younger, able bodied white man). And a fire-storm ensued. Quoting Rosa "Back then," Mrs. Parks recalled in an interview, "we didn't have any civil rights. It was just a matter of survival, of existing from one day to the next. I remember going to sleep as a girl hearing the Klan ride at night and hearing a lynching and being afraid the house would burn down." In the same interview, she cited her lifelong acquaintance with fear as the reason for her relative fearlessness in deciding to appeal her conviction during the bus boycott. "I didn't have any special fear," she said. "It was more of a relief to know that I wasn't alone."

Rosa with Martin Luther King, Jr, in a classic white silk dress and pearls....

Her mugshot, as chic as can be despite the weight of a nation....

Rosa being fingerprinted (in what I think looks very like a LILLI ANN 50s suit of ottman slubbed silk, very smart) ....

Watch for more posts on African-American woman in history and a bit about fashion over the next couple weeks!

~Ang

The New First Lady In Vintage

And in vintage inspired! Its going to be a whole new world watching the brand new first lady dazzle the world in designer vintage inspired and actual vintage pieces! Michelle Obama has fantastic taste and the stylists to make sure she looks her best every second in front of the camera...and the world of vintage is thrilled to see her not only wearing vintage inspired pieces but the real deal as well! The blog shares with the world the secret of Michelle's sparkling accent worn at the neckline of her decidedly 60s inspired suit dress worn yesterday at President Barack Obama's swearing in. Michelle likes to mix it up like the rest of us vintage fashionistas! 60s chic with Victorian glamour....in this case, the dress featured an actual Victorian sash pin at the neckline.

On my website, a similar Victorian paste sash pin set in rolled gold, a bit smaller but with all the gorgeous stones intact....

And her gown! I'm reading here and there that the critics are panning it but I loved it. Immediately brings to mind a romantic 50s prom dress but with a grown up, modern edge...

I recently sold a 50s prom dress that well could have been the inspiration for the silhouette of the bodice...

I've added the feed from the blog about Mrs. Obama's wardrobe to the blog there to the right, because I am a geek over the Obama's and also am in love with the fact that she's rocking the vintage!! Viva and go on with your bad self and rock ON Michelle!!! (ps, thank you First Lady Obama, for showing the world how to work the vintage and modern wear and look FABULOUS!!!)

~Ang

Reality V. Palin

Facts.

820 is the number of laws Obama sponsored in the Illinois State Senate.

427 is the current count of the number of bills Obama has co-sponsored in the U.S. Senate.

And the final number, 152, is the most recent tally of the number of bills that Senator Obama has authored.

Yet according the the speakers at the Republican National Convention, Obama has literally done nothing, at all....ever.

Palin at the RNC....

"But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or even a reform, not even in the state senate"

The same types of outright lies were repeated over and over by McCain and other speakers throughout the convention. Apparently the press can't be bothered to use the resources available online to check facts (i.e., factcheck.org, etc) and point out the lies being spread as gospel by the Republicans. Barack Obama gets hammered by the press for "lying by ommission", but the Republicans can lie outright and its accepted as gospel? Strange. And wrong.

You'll note I've never blogged about politics before....I'm not a fan of discussing my politics where my business is concerned. But I am disgusted, saddened and disappointed in what is happening....lies, being accepted and going unchallenged by the press and the public. I have a small child and the very idea of someone with as little experience making (or even discussing, even THINKING about) decisions in regard to national healthcare, national economy, women's reproductive rights, gun control, the role of religion in politics....and quite importantly, the war on terrorism (where Obama has been involved in many hours of study, discussion & votes)....the war, Iraq & Afghanistan, frightens me for my child's future. A VP should be ready to step in and command the government of this country and all of its branches from day one. Palin is quoted as saying "I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq". She has since announced our work in Iraq is a "task from God".

Hasn't focused on the war, and its a "task from God". We can only surmise she would be looking for cues from God in how to handle the war she hasn't "thought much about" should something happen to McCain and she is left running the enourmous military machine we have in place in the Middle East (a place she's never even been). I'm quite honestly not at all comforted by the thought of that scenario.

AS for slagging community organizers....Palin wouldn't even be where she IS without community organizers. No, they don't have the responsibility of running a political office. And as an aside, Obama didn't go from being a community organizer to running for president...he's spent just a bit of time going to law school, being a lawyer and consequently an actual politician with *responsibilities* since then. But its worth noting that Susan B. Anthony was a community organizer. So was Jesus. So were our founding fathers. Its not a dirty word and can often have more impact on lives than a mayor or governor can.

I could go on and on. I'm mad....no, disappointed and disgusted. Disappointed in the humanity of the Republicans who insult the average American, parading Cindy McCain around in outfits worth more than most of our homes (as reported by VANITY FAIR,
"Oscar de la Renta dress: $3,000

Chanel J12 White Ceramic Watch: $4,500

Three-carat diamond earrings: $280,000

Four-strand pearl necklace: $11,000–$25,000

Shoes, designer unknown: $600

Total: Between $299,100 and $313,100". Republicans who expect me as a woman to forget that I owe a debt of gratitude TO community organizers for allowing me to live in a free America, vote, work, voice my opinion, make my own decisions regarding my own body....etc. Republicans who expect me to accept lies as truth as they desperately try to distance themselves from the party that catapulted them to the limelight, who expect me to turn a blind eye to how passionately they have embraced the extremist views of their base.

I owe it to myself as a woman and to my daughter to speak up.

By the way (thanks, LIBRARY OF CONGRESS!), for a man who's never authored a single law or reform, at this very moment Barack Obama is listed as sponsoring (which means, was involved in AUTHORING) 129 bills. Currently. Right now. And McCain? 38.

~Ang

Style in the Sky......A Collection of Designer Airline Apparel

Its not the first time this collection has shown up on eBay for the asking price of $250,000 but worth taking a look at in case it does indeed sell (90 pieces translates to $3000 a pop!). Click HERE to see the listing, and really....its worth it just for the eye candy value alone. And a good read! From the text, the collection was "Amassed by a former Braniff flight attendant who flew with the airline for 20 years, the collection includes 18 complete uniforms designed by Pucci or Halston along with a host of matching shoes, handbags, luggage, and other accessories."

For some fascinating reading and fantastic pictures regarding the stylish and chic Braniff International airline, click HERE. You can't pay me to get on an airplane (phobia), but maybe if they tried a little harder to be fashionable I'd re-think that!

From the site...

A page from the in-flight magazine featuring a Pucci design...

From the personal collections of photographs, a attendant gets her wings (wearing Pucci)...

Some highlights....

The iconic "Space Bubble Hat" by designer Emilio Pucci, designed to keep the flight attendant's hair from being affected by wind and rain....

PUCCI wildly printed tights and tunic dress....

Pucci bag....

A Halston set with trademark "H" print....

Coincidentally, and for kicks, check out the house HALSTON grew up in....just up the street from my apartment!

As for the collection....while it is a steep price tag, I believe part of its value is the fact that the pieces have remained together all these years. If I had the money to invest to aquire it AND open a museum (ok, seriously, if I had that much money I wouldn't be sitting here writing a blog, would I?) I'd do it JUST to keep it all together. So I appeal to whomever finally does splurge on this....keep the collection intact! And then call me, we should hang out.

~Ang