over the top

Its hard to imagine Rosalind Russell in any film without an extensive wardrobe of outrageous and stylish 40s tilt hats. The epitome of 1940s glamour, these sweet little hat perched forward on the head, secured by combs, pins or a strap back beneath hair and were often as whimsical as they were dramatic.

You can imagine our delight at finding this hat recently, just added to the website. Pale shell pink sculpted sisal with 2 lucite accents perched atop in the folds...chenille dotted black veiling. Mint condition!

~Ang

In the Hood

Brand new to DOROTHEA'S CLOSET VINTAGE, a true rarity in the vintage world....this divine hooded black crepe 40s evening gown by "Miss America".

There are few who could pull of the glamorous look of the hooded gown better than Little Edie Bouvier-Beale, here in her 1930s white zip front gown re-created and worn by Drew Barrymore in the Grey Gardens remake of 2009.

Watch for it soon!

~Ang

designs in vintage....coming soon to dorotheas' closet vintage

by week's end find this fetching & feminine black silk 50s party dress with pink velvet ruffled neckline and rose accent, by NETTIE ROSENSTEIN....

And this chic bone colored silk 60s jacket with unique button detail in back, by JEAN PATOU....

~Ang

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

Blue Drew

Apparently, all I do anymore is watch awards shows, and apparently, all the celebs I choose to comment on wear blue. At least the last two. And my excuse for sitting and watching said awards shows is simply this......I love the clothes, and its winter here in Iowa so I'm either iced or snowed in anyway! Saturday night the Screen Actor's Guild (S.A.G.) Awards show took place, and while I am certainly chock full of comments about many attendees, the one I actually had to Google to find out whether I was mad or way off on was Drew Barrymore.

Agreeing with the LA Times on her 60s inspired look (up do, pale make up) inspired by Brigitte Bardot & Sharon Tate (read their re-cap HERE>, I still found that on Drew it didn't quite work on stage. I wish I could find a clip (I'll keep looking)....because on the red carpet she looks smashing!.....

Under the lights of the stage the lip definition was lost and ended up washing her out horribly....sad indeed, given the effect it was clearly quite capable of. That said, more inspiration from vintage looks is always a good thing! And seeing Grey Gardens (a movie Dorothea's contributed to wardrobe for) win another award is always a great thing!

~Ang

Blue Rose

More vintage at the Golden Globes! The lovely Rose McGowan (owner of several pieces from Dorothea's Closet Vintage, though this dress is not) in a dress previously owned by actress Ava Gardner, at the InStyle/Warner Bros. party following the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

The screen siren Ava, in Dior....similar dress, though not quite the same.

Gorgeous!

~Ang

Vintage at the Golden Globes

Took a much needed break from the madness of life to watch the Golden Globe Awards last night! Just briefly highlighting some vintage pieces worn on the red carpet....

Vintage Yves St Laurent on Julie Roberts, accented with chunky Van Cleef & Arpels pendant necklace....

Penelope Cruz in vintage Armani Couture....

Carey Mulligan works a vintage bracelet as a glamorous headband....

John Lithgow in vintage Armani tuxedo...

And I didn't hate any of them! Well played.

~Ang

the Hole Thing

A couple of weeks ago Viktor & Rolf showed their Spring 2010 collection, allowing fashion critics and bloggers world wide to rejoice at finally get to mention Edward Scissorhands in a review. I rather loved it, despite the flack they took for taking things completely over the top (isn't that what runway is for?) and blogged about it HERE. Quite honestly I never expected to see any of those dresses again, so was pleasantly surprised to see on GO FUG YOURSELF that one of those magnificent, mind blowing tulle confections was actually worn in public by a a celebrity....though not surprised that it was KATY PERRY, seen at the MTV Europe Awards. Which I missed, because A) I live in the US and B) MTV is utterly irrelevant. Anyhoo.....

Strange that I like the runway model's make up better. Next time go for a mini with the ta's gnawed off, Katy!

~Ang

Its Costume Time!

I've recently added these 2 pieces to my shop on ETSY shop, hoping they find a good home where they will be restored and used again for their orginal intent.....as costumes! These pieces were made in the 1920s for stage, this likely for a Shakespearean affair....

And this a more romantic number, again likely mid 1800s...

Perfect for Halloween to wear as is or for stage use!

~Ang

Vintage Blass at the Paperball

The Museum of Arts and Design celebrated its one year "paper anniversary" recently with a star studded gala in New York City with one of a kind artist-designed paper dresses, accessories and product design available for purchase and allowed guests to preview MAD's newly opened paper exhibition, Slash: Paper Under the Knife. In a vintage origami inspired vintage Bill Blass was lovely attendee Rose McGowan....

~Ang

Dorothea's Closet on Page 1 of the Wall Street Journal!

Read it here!.

I've been lucky enough to have worked with films, cast & crew on films being shot here in Iowa the last year and half, as blogged previously. And now that the program is in jeopardy, the Wall Street Journal came to town to do a story and chatted a bit with me about it! I was slightly disappointed that they didn't print what I said, but the fact remains that this industry is a boon to our economy and I hope things get straightened out soon. A big thanks to the WSJ for the front page mention and for their attention to this story!

~Ang

Dorothea's Closet Vintage Goes Glossy

This weekend was the big unveiling party for DSM MAGAZINE'S WOMEN'S ISSUE, and Dorothea's Closet Vintage was honored to have contributed to not only the runway event Saturday night (pics as they are available) but also to the fashion spread within this special issue. What resulted was a superb example of how well vintage pieces can serve to add a dash of individuality to a modern wardrobe! Collaborating with local boutiques offering brand new designer pieces, vintage from Dorothea's meshes perfectly.

60s autumnal floral print velvet dress with modern leggings & heels,

Dorothea's vintage necklace and bracelet make perfect accents to modern pieces.

DCV vintage umbrella and boots.

Dorothea's Closet adds a vintage touch with a 70s leotard and 80s fishscale metallic belt.

~Ang

Honey, I Shaved Your Prom Dress

50s prom dresses get the razor from Viktor & Rolf for Spring 2010, with a mean dash of 80's asymetrical geo shaping. Brilliant.

~Ang

Plush

Its fur season, whether you prefer faux or genuine, and the look this season is far from the ladylike mink stole your grandma wore. The October Vogue takes an edgy approach to traditional pelts.....

We recently shot an 80s foxtail mantle on model Amber Pirillo over a brilliant emerald green 60s cocktail dress, fox mantle available at DOROTHEA'S CLOSET VINTAGE on the coats page.

Fox fur hat, designed by myself for SUGARLIDS on etsy

1932 2 tone fox stole by Patou (I'd love to see this recreated!)....

~Ang

Serious Statement Jewelry

"This all started when I was ambassador at the U.N. and Saddam Hussein called me a serpent," she says. "I had this wonderful antique snake pin. So when we were dealing with Iraq, I wore the snake pin."

Turns out you really CAN make a statement with jewelry! Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is making news with the revelation that the brooches she wore when working with foreign leaders and to meetings at the White House were carefully selected to convey her feelings and intents. Take a look at MADELEINE ALBRIGHT'S JEWELRY and listen to the NPR story about the book...excerpts included on the page as well. I'd love to see the whole collection....and I hear it includes a bit of vintage!

Hollywood Vintage

Iowa is currently a hot bed of Hollywood activity (I know, who'd have ever thought?). Tax incentives put in place in the last 2 years have been bringing film crews by the dozens to Iowa to shoot....in small towns, cornfields, farm houses and right here in Des Moines. The battle over whether to keep those tax breaks in place at a government level is a topic for another blog, but for small business owners like me it has been not only fantastic for the extra dollars it brings in as well as the attention it brings to the state to draw both tourists and new residents. That said, I hope things get straightened out soon!

As for how its played out in my vintage shop, I've not only worked with wardrobers on films ("Peacock" with Susan Sarandon/Ellen Page which will feature many vintage pieces from my shop, "Fertile Ground" with Leisha Hailey) but also seen a great many cast and crew members come in to do some vintage shopping. The last several weeks have brought in Forrest Whitaker, Leisha Hailey, Amy Smart and Rose McGowan, all fans of vintage! All a delight to work with, and all happy with their experience...so much so that Rose McGowan even talked about it (and other Iowa related experiences) on her TWITTER PAGE! Looking forward to seeing pics of her, Amy & Leisha in their vintage dresses from the shop (and Forrest in his ties!)...

While its been great for me its been great for Iowa as well, so here's hoping Governor Chet Culver gets this back on track!

Grey Gardens for the Win

It should come as no surprise to any reader of mine that I was rooting for Grey Gardens to sweep last night's Emmy Awards. Two years ago I was contacted by the wardrober about a few pieces from my website they were interested in using for the film, and when it finally aired on HBO this last Spring I was thrilled to see a 1930s dressing gown I'd sent them appear on Jessica Lange (as Big Edie Beale).

Unfortunately there weren't 2 awards available for best leading actress in a movie, as both Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange gave superb performances as the Beales and both deserved the win. Jessica won and looked stunning in a teal green...

And Drew channeled the young Little Edie in a pale pink 50s inspired gown by MONIQUE LHUILLIER and carried a handbag designed by RAVEN KAUFFMAN, aptly named "Drew" and created after the designer saw Drew play Edie Beale in Grey Gardens.

Lhuillier made quite an impact on the red carpet last night, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was impressed by her vintage inspired romantic designs. Emmy winner Toni Collette in a brighter pink...

And Mila Kunis in a cocktail length deep red Lhuillier...

So many gorgeous dresses. Dorothea's has officially dressed an Emmy winning actress for an Emmy winning film! Thats pretty thrilling to be a part of. And speaking of award winning, I'll be watching today's OPRAH SHOW to see the dress from my website worn by JANUARY JONES' Mom, Karen! Read about it HERE from Sunday's Des Moines Register. Hoping she gets the camera coverage she deserves!

~Ang

Hattery!

Thanks ever so much to Malie at VINTAGE SHOPPING GUIDE for her blog post about the vintage hats from DOROTHEA'S CLOSET VINTAGE being in the September issue of VOGUE MAGAZINE and her lovely write up about my own line of hats (designed by moi), SUGARLIDS. You can read her blog HERE!

And a couple of the newest lids....