Suit UP!

Every once in a while I find customers in my local boutique have NO idea that the woman's suit exists. They pick up the jacket and are aghast to find it has a matching skirt! Unfortunately, I think the suit in modern times has become equated with mediocre business women. And maybe some modern styles are mediocre. But the vintage suit is far from that!

A well styled vintage suit is every bit as fabulous as a vintage dress. Great textiles and colors available, cuts for all shapes...the boxy Jackie Kennedy jacket, the nipped waist of the classic Lilli Ann. Gorgeous trims from fur to lace to unique buttons. Instant class. And if the matching set isn't the right look for you, consider the jacket and skirt as separates! A great pencil skirt will go with nearly anything, modern or vintage...it's simply a must-have for a basic in a vintage wardrobe! The jacket can be dressed up over a cocktail dress with a statement necklace or brooch, or dressed down over a v-neck tee and denim. The possibilities are endless!

So next time you run across a vintage jacket you love with a matching skirt you don't think you want, don't sell it short as a fun piece to build new outfits around. Some examples from Dorothea's...

Suit Up

A puzzling trend has emerged here at my local boutique. Over and over I overhear customers who, upon discovering a full rack of 2 piece women's suits, exclaim surprise that the jacket they hold in their hands that they very much love has a matching skirt! Its truly stunning how many women come in that seem to have no concept of the idea of the suit for women. Nearly just as often I am asked to sell the jacket separately from the skirt, which I have to politely decline.

The suit is basically a two piece dress. Seen every season in some incarnation, the suit has not and never will go "out of style". These, from Dolce and Gabbana...

And from Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel....

So the suit has not become passe by any means. The suit is not a foreign concept in fashion, in fact quite the opposite. So why the fear? Why the scorn? Is it the matchy-matchy, Garanimals vibe a two piece set gives off to some people? Maybe so. But is it really so hard to imagine taking TWO great pieces of clothing and mixing them up with other pieces? Twill skirt with skinny sweater and tights, belted jacket over cami with jeans, pencil skirt with fitted tee and cardigan, jacket over printed dress (a la Kyra Sedgewick on "the Closer")...

To me, it seems like a slam dunk purchase to buy a vintage suit. Take this pewter 40s suit now offered at DOROTHEA'S CLOSET VINTAGE. A gorgeous "dress" worn together, it also packs loads of potential worn as individual pieces....

Classic design whether 40s nipped waist or 60s boxy cropped cuts, you get a complete look to custom accessorize to taste when worn together AND two great separates to mix into your wardrobe a myriad of ways. Don't fear the suit!

~Ang

spring.

Spring is here and I'm back in the swing of things, adding things to the site as quickly as I can! Some new pieces......

70s plunging neckline halter style swimsuit, new old stock by DeWeese Designs, available in size 6,8 and 10.....

Pink and chartruese lemon print 50s wiggle dress with rhinestones....

50s Mexican print rayon full skirt with sequins and rhinestone accents.....

50s navy silk with rose print....

40s Eisenberg & Sons velvet gown....

50's bombshell illusion lace gown with mermaid flounce hem....

Gorgeous Peggy Hunt cocktail dress....

Last but far from least, a spring floral bouquet shimmering with sequins on this 40s gown....

An estimated 37,680 cases of pancreatic cancer will be diagnosed this year, and the estimated death toll is a staggering 34,290. The outlook for someone diagnosed today with the disease is bleak. I've recently lost my father to the disease after a brave 6 month battle, so cancer of the pancreas has hit up close and personal with me. It is a mean disease that does not discriminate. The recognized color for support of those fighting the disease is purple, and this stunning Alix of Miami dress is just the kind my Dad would have liked to see on a dame. Click the image to get to the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research to learn more or make a donation to the cause.

~Ang

fever.

can't get to the online business, the small one has a fever and general all-around craptastic feelings (and attitude) so with that, i give you miss PEGGY LEE in an ensemble that should make a die hard vintage dress fan yearn for skirts.

like this one. from eBay seller LA FEMME DU MONDE VINTAGE, and with a few minor flaws a very affordable price for an every day kind of vintage skirt with serious summer color in a tropical, Hawaiian-esque print.

PS, the Peggy links to a superb website.

~Ang

Skirting the Issue

My apologies to you if you have awoken to near Arctic conditions, as I have here in Iowa, for even daring to suggest wearing a skirt today!

While it feels as if I'm screaming into (the Arctic) wind, my goal this month is still to tout the value of the vintage separate. The skirt is perhaps one of the easiest ways to add some vintage edge to a wardrobe without commiting wholly to an entire "look". If your personality is a little quirky and outgoing, nothing better suited to it than a novelty print 50s skirt! Not at all necessary to pair with a crinoline as many sellers show online, these skirts look modern and fresh worn without and accented with a simple fitted tee or snug, slimming sweater to counter-balance the fullness of the skirt.

In an amazing collection shown on IMAGE EVENT by collector Cathy Gordon, this skirt epitomizes the kitsch and color found in a 50s circle skirt.

Cats too cute? Go for bold, dramatic color....a skirt perfect all year round worn with simple accessories and brightly colored flats. A superb poppy print by the coveted ASSOCIATED AMERICAN ARTISTS, this skirt is available now on eBay (click picture to get to listing by Cat's Pajamas) for less than you'll pay for an off the rack piece at the Gap....

Why buy vintage when you CAN go to the mall? Because everyone else can go to the mall, too. Don't blend into the crowd!

~Ang

Dress v. Skirt.....Round 1

.............................Reality. Vintage dresses are hot. Worn on the red carpet by film stars, worn IN films by said film stars, spotted on socialites, fashion designers, the coolest chicks in school....the vintage dress is indeed a celeb in its own right. But what if you love vintage, but can rarely find the right color, fit, silhouette or size? What if you love the dress ever so, but have a lifestyle more suited to jeans and a tee shirt?

Thats where the vintage separate comes in! We'd be fooling ourselves to believe that the average woman of the 50s who indeed DID have a fine array of day, cocktail and evening dresses wore strictly dresses 24/7. Even in looking at patterns, many "dresses" are truly comprised of a skirt and blouse! The skirt is one of the easiest ways to add some vintage to your wardrobe without the fit issues of a dress and investing in a piece more versatile than one. Add a modern thin knit tee shirt to a boldly printed cotton 50s skirt.....a snug sweater to a 40s pencil skirt......a cami with a jersey knit 70s skirt.

Just listed on eBay by TRENDSETTERBLUE, this PIERRE CARDIN skirt....

A great designer piece, perfect with a fitted sweater.....simple lines with a decidedly modern yet vintage feel. From DOROTHEA'S CLOSET VINTAGE, a skirt similar in style....handmade in yarnwork with faux fur trimmed hem....edgy and chic!

~Grab a funky print skirt and add some vintage to your wardrobe!

~Ang

JANUARY WEBSITE SALE

........................All separates 20% off during the month of January at DOROTHEA'S CLOSET VINTAGE. Blouses, sweaters, tops, skirts, pants, jeans.....30s through 80s! Email for invoice reflecting the sale price. Newly added items as recent as today....a post with images to come when Photobucket cooperates!

~Ang