trompe l'oh no you didn't

Moschino Cheap & Chic, pre-Fall 2012.

Hermes 1952, designed by Herbert Sondheim.

Herbie wins.

~Ang

halter necks and bias cuts

A book review! Just received a copy of Maria Costantino's book, "Fashions of a Decade:the 1930s" for the holidays and decided to share some here with you. So more of a pictorial review than written. With pieces from the 1930s what more do you need?

"Style and Home", Germany, 1932....

Dress by Jean Patou of Paris...

Styles for men from "Simpson's Magazine", 1938.....

Patriotic styles by House of Jaeger.....

1939..tightly belted waists, wide brim hats....

Morning and afternoon wear...

Lucille of Paris, 1932.....

1933 mid calf length....

Lingerie in modern textiles....

Artificial crepes for the new "cinema frock"....

1935 beach wear in Krepe-Tex from Charnaux....

Winter 1935, low backs, bias cut gowns....

Elsa Schiaparelli's "Tear Dress" with cape, 1938....

Schiaparelli 1936....

Mainbocher, 1939.....

Motoring and sportswear, 1938...use of suede, leather and tweed...

Panty girdles in Lastex by Kestos Company of America, ideal for clingy bias cuts....

A lovely book chock full of info and eye candy!

~Ang

new york, new york

congrats new york!!

now get busy planning those weddings! (ps, go vintage, it's not only fabulous but eco-friendly!)

the legend of zelda

One of my holy grails in dealing/hunting vintage is to own, if only for a moment, a piece by ZELDA WYNN VALDES. When we think of the silhouette of the glamorous songstress of the 1950s, the look is definitely hourglass....and the hourglass definitely the signature look of a Zelda. Her dresses were as strong and powerful as she was.....the first black woman to own a business on Broadway in the 1940s and a favorite of talents like Dorothy Dandridge, Ella Fitzgerald and Gladys Knight. I've read she often had to be on hand for dressing her clients for stage to sew them into their form fitting gowns!

Who better to design the first costumes for the scantily clad Playboy Bunnies? Though tame in comparison to today's bunnies (or for that matter, for today's realty TV stars), the look was all Zelda....waist whittled, bust lifted, hips accentuated.

Her pieces are few and far between in the world of vintage collection, but worth appreciating if only in pictures!

~Ang

Shop Shots

While the website is probably better known by followers of the blog, I do run a real-world vintage shop right here in Des Moines, Iowa! The shop offers a huge range of vintage apparell and accessories with price points as low as a few dollars on up to a few thousand.....a perfect fit for any budget and any style! You can find a full on period-correct look, pieces to mix with a current wardrobe to get a cutting edge, runway look or accessories to glam up any ensemble! And with vintage you know you're getting one of a kind (let everyone else shop the mall!) for a completely unique look. Some images from inside....

Even menswear! Cool tops, jackets, robes, denim...

And hats...

Pics link to shop info...we're open Wed-Fri 10-5:30 and Saturdays noon to 4. Currently running a HUGE $10 vintage sale as well as select hats at 50% off and summer vintage half off as well! Stop by and say hi!

~Ang

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

Shiny Shiny

Its a post & run blog but couldn't help noticing KRISTIN CAVALLARI on the red carpet at Sunday night's VMA's in a vintage (read 80s) strapless dress in shiny aluminum silver. Thats Kristin on the left with Katy Perry....

Something positive in spite of Kanye West's pathetic behaviour that night!

~Ang

When Vintage Looks This Good....

Why shop the mall and wear what everyone else is? On a nearly daily basis I hear people express that they "can't" wear vintage or don't get how to wear it without it looking like a costume. Well, here's how. And swing by the site to check out a page devoted to showing you other WAYS TO WEAR VINTAGE....either head to toe, mixed eras or pieced into a modern wardrobe. Its hot AND eco-chic!

40s appliqued skirt with an 80s sequined tube top and 30s velvet corset lace dirndl with an Edwardian crocheted bonnet...

Here, a red rose print chiffon 50s dress with 70s belt, red velvet cape from the 1930s, 50s bottle green scarab beetle brooch and 40s feathered cocktail hat....

Early 1920s very Mary Pickford babydoll style wedding dress with organza ruffles and silk ribbon worn with a hat from my line, SUGARLIDS designed from a vintage fox pelt & millinery pieces....

We could mix it up all day, but these shots give a great idea of how vintage can be worn with a very modern attitude!

~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