Posted in Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged antique hats, big hats, Easter bonnets, Easter holiday, Easter style, fashion history, hats, spring hats, vintage fashion, vintage style on March 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »
A change of season means a change of hats. It’s time to don our pretty bonnets trimmed with flowers and ribbon.
I have enjoyed the cold and wet winter we had in my part of the world, but I’m excited for spring and all that it brings – sunny skies, colorful flowers, and spring fashions.
Happy spring and if you celebrate, Happy Easter.
Posted in Arts, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged Angelina Jolie, experimenting with fashion, fashionable quotes, playing with style, teenage fashion, teenage style, unique style on March 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »
I was quite dark when I was young. I was a punk, not the popular kid – going to thrift stores, cutting things up, burning little teeny cigarette holes into things. That was me as a teenager, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Maybe that part of me wants to push back.
Angelina Jolie – American actress.
This quote is from an interview with Jolie in Vogue magazine, November 2023.
Adolescence is a time when we have the space to experiment with style and clothing. I know I did! I played with color and unexpected layering; for example – blue bobby socks underneath pink Capezio stirrup dance tights. I was excited about vintage clothing and started collecting 1940s jackets. A regular at Macy’s makeup counters, I favored purple eyeshadow with gold eyeliner and “opalescent” lipstick by Borghese (that’s where a lot of my babysitting money went).
I wasn’t the only one experimenting, we all did in different ways and you could see it in school hallways, classrooms, and on the street. But I don’t see any fashion play these days. I see packs of kids that all look alike – jeans or leggings or pajama bottoms, t-shirts or sweatshirts, and sneakers. No color, no pattern, no originality within the clothing, certainly no experimenting.
One theory as to why this might be is that kids (and others) now live on their phones. Social media is what counts, not real life. Dress up for your TikTok pics. Also, for girls it’s all about makeup – that’s where the experimenting is happening.
I’m with Jolie; I wouldn’t trade my teenage years for anything.
Posted in Arts, Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged British Vogue, fashion history, fashion icons, fashion journalism, fashion journalists, fashionable quotes, Plum Sykes on March 18, 2024| Leave a Comment »
I somehow persuaded the managing editor’s office that Issie needed my help with shoots, and spent a blissful six months working for her. I would arrive at 10, dressed in my uniform of black jeans and a black polo neck (all I could afford then), and sit in the dark corner Issie had been allocated in the spacious fashion editor’s room (her ebullience distracted the other editors, who placed her as far away as possible). I would start organizing what we were going to do that day … Invariably the phone would ring about 11, with Issie on the line saying, ‘Darling – could you come round to Elizabeth Street? Had too much gin last night.’ I’d grab a black cab, head over to Belgravia, sit by Issie’s narrow four-poster bed taking notes, and spend the rest of the day executing her wishes.
Plum Sykes – British fashion journalist.
This quote is from the article, Goodbye Vogue House, in Vogue magazine, December 2023. The British Vogue magazine headquarters (called Vogue House) is relocating after decades in the same Mayfair building. Three former staff members, including Sykes, chimed in on their memories of working at British Vogue.
Sykes was at Vogue in the early 1990s working for the dynamo fashion icon Isabella Blow (Issie).
Posted in Arts, Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged Alameda Masonic Hall, Art Deco fashion, Art Deco Society of California, Bonwit Teller, Kiss of the Wolf, period clothing, period costume events, vintage accessories, vintage fashion, vintage fashion event, vintage style on March 13, 2024| 1 Comment »
Earlier this month my partner and I attended the Art Deco Society of California Member Mixer at the Alameda Masonic Hall. This is the first ADSC event for us since just before the pandemic shutdown in 2020 and what fun it was to get back into the swing (donning masks).
I had three vintage outfits put together, but it was the weather that would decide it. As it turned out to be a cold and rainy day, my wool dress was the winner.
When creating vintage outfits I like to mix it up a bit. I’ll wear a simple silhouette from any era and add vintage accessories. This time I paired a royal blue 1960s A-line long sleeve dress with a blue 1920s cloche hat, which defined the era of the look. Since it was chilly and wet, I wore cream colored tights and waterproof suede Oxford shoes by Clarks. A vintage pearl cuff bracelet picked up the color of the tights. I carried a blue fabric satchel handbag that I found at a London antique market and my guess is that it dates from the 1960s, but it’s timeless. A blue crinkle silk scarf from Kiss of the Wolf and pair of vintage leather gloves completed the ensemble.
The star of the outfit was a red Bakelite picture hat brooch that I wore on the shoulder to pick up the red crisscross accent on the dress. It received a lot of attention.
I plan all my outfits, but it’s extra fun to put together something like this for a period event. We had such a lovely day catching up with other ADSC members and touring the Alameda Masonic Hall, which was built in 1927. I look forward to more Art Deco events in the future.
Posted in Fashion, Mom's Closet, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged Fashionable Favorite Things, knit sweaters, knitting, Lesley Evers, Mom style, Mom's Closet, sweaters, vintage fashion, vintage style, wearing dad's sweater, wearing Mom's sweater on March 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »
I have always loved sweaters; they are cozy, comforting, and an easy layering piece. I have quite a few sweaters including a navy blue cashmere that was my father’s. It’s almost a dress on me, but I pair it with a slim skirt and a wide belt.
One of my favorite sweaters was a black wool cardigan that belonged to my mother. What we both really liked about it was its sailor flap in the back, which “took it out of the ordinary” as Mom would say. Since it didn’t have pockets at some point she knitted a square in thick black yarn and sewed it on, making her own pocket.
Eventually she gave that sweater to me, as she did many of her clothes, and after years of wearing it I managed to lose it. I have no idea what happened. It was there at my desk at work and then it was gone. I looked everywhere possible – all over my office, my car, I tore my apartment apart, I even went to my local cleaners thinking I might have brought it in (and forgotten), but weeks later I had to accept that it was gone for good. It remains a mystery.
That was about eight years ago and ever since I have looked for a similar sweater with no luck. Until recently when I found a wool cardigan at Lesley Evers in Oakland. It’s navy blue, not black and it doesn’t have the back flap, which I can’t do anything about. Nor did it have pockets, but I could do something about that. I took a page out of Mom’s fashion book and knitted a square and sewed it on. Presto – a pocket!
You know that magical purchase that is just right in every way? This is one of those. I love this sweater almost as much as Mom’s and having added the pocket, it feels like hers. I’m so happy it’s now a part of my sweater wardrobe.
Posted in Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged Advanced Style, fashion designers, fashion icons, fashionable quotes, Iris Apfel, vintage fashion, vintage style on March 4, 2024| 2 Comments »
More is more and less is a bore.
Iris Apfel (1921-2024) – Designer and fashion icon.
If anyone could pull off the idea of more and more and more, it was Iris Apfel. She was a fashionable independent spirit. RIP.
OverDressed for Life 