The Secret Lives of Dresses tells the story of Dora, a college student who decides to run her ailing grandmother's vintage clothing store.
The Secret Lives of Dresses Book Launch. Thursday February 10, 2011, 6-9pm at Ver Unica, 526 Hayes St., SF.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
The Secret Lives of Dresses Blog has become a book!!!
Google alert just let me know that a wonderful new book is being launched on February 10,2011 by a member of the Vintage Fashion Guild,Erin McKean. She will be at the San Francisco vintage clothing store Ver Unica to launch her very first book - The Secret Lives of Dresses (inspired by her blog, www.adressaday.com).
The Secret Lives of Dresses tells the story of Dora, a college student who decides to run her ailing grandmother's vintage clothing store.
The Secret Lives of Dresses Book Launch. Thursday February 10, 2011, 6-9pm at Ver Unica, 526 Hayes St., SF.
The Secret Lives of Dresses tells the story of Dora, a college student who decides to run her ailing grandmother's vintage clothing store.
The Secret Lives of Dresses Book Launch. Thursday February 10, 2011, 6-9pm at Ver Unica, 526 Hayes St., SF.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Monday, December 20, 2010
First lady Michelle Obama, in a 1950 Norman Norell , and her mother, Marian Robinson, joined some Santa's helpers (Manuel Balce Centa)
The Huffington Post on 12/20/2010 report that our First Lady made Fashion headlines by wearing a vintage cocktail gown to the "Christmas in Washington" Concert which aired on TNT on 12/20/2010. It is believed to be the first time that a first lady has appeared in a vintage gown.
The 1950's black lace dress had a square neckline,sweeping full skirt and was created by Norman Norell, a top American Fashion designer who died in 1972. Ms. Obama purchased the gown from New York Vintage in Manhattan, a high-end store for couture clothing.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Audrey Hepburn: an elegant spirit
There is a new book out about Audrey Hepburn: an elegant spirit by Sean Hepburn Ferrer.
Mr ferrer is Audrey Hepburn's son with actor Mel Ferrer. There are 100 photo of Audrey that has not been seen before by her admirers. There are movie-related photos, family pictures and the children she met in her work with UNICEF. Ferrer will contribute proceeds from the book to the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund.
Mr ferrer is Audrey Hepburn's son with actor Mel Ferrer. There are 100 photo of Audrey that has not been seen before by her admirers. There are movie-related photos, family pictures and the children she met in her work with UNICEF. Ferrer will contribute proceeds from the book to the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Fall’s Best Looks
Now is the time to check out your vintage closet, favorite vintage on-line store, or your favorite vintage shop in your home town to find the best looks for fall. The runway designers are bringing back the tried and true looks for this fall. So it’s time to go vintage hunting!
Look for
Look for
- A camel coat
- Trouser suit
- The new grey is army-issue khaki
- Feathers and lace
- Understated suits, sweaters and simple cover-ups
- Tabards
- A-line tunics
- Stripped-down leathers
- 1950s skirts that emphasize the waists of their wearers and ladylike skirts worn by June Cleaver
- Long hair fur stoles, jackets and vests. The good news for those who prefer not to wear the real thing is that fake furs are just as hot as vest, short jackets and long coats for this season. If just a hint of fur will satisfy you, there are chunky knit sweaters with fur or a scarf edged in fur.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Items lurking in your closet that just gotta go……………………
No matter how much you think that love any of these things; it is time to part company. They make you look frumpy. And forget about keeping them for stay at home time. This is a new fashion season and it is time to examine what’s hiding in your closet. Do you have a fashion mistake lurking in the dark waiting to come out and snicker at you? Do you have horribly dated items in the closet that need to go and I am not talking about true vintage items? Do you just need more space for this season? It’s time to purge.
Do you have?
- Holiday sweaters with the cutest bears, reindeers or Santas, pumpkins, bumblebees or bunnies? Out, Out, they go…
- Grandma necklaces showing everyone how many grandchildren you have. It not a fashion statement, your grand children are not jewelry.
- Did you go on vacation and came back with the souvenir T-shirt? Or do you have T-Shirts with funny sayings. Shame on you for wasting your money.
- Overalls. Have your started farming?? If not then out they go!
- Jeans that don’t fit are painful to wear, acid washed or ripped. Their time is at the end.
- Muumuus. Unless you are living in the South Seas, Muumuus are not fashionable. Donate them to Goodwill.
- Penny loafers. Keep if you are still in elementary school then think twice before keeping the penny loafers. Otherwise let them walk out of your life
- Oversized blazers. Get rid of them they make you look overweight.
- Mommy Robes. If you have more them one then toss them. It is okay to keep one for when you want to frump out in private.
- Granny undies. You know the ones that are stretched out and baggy. Remember what your mother always wear clean underwear in case of an accident. But add to your Mom’s statement always wear clean sexy underwear.
- Short shorts. Oh please unless you are a size zero and gloriously tanned, and young, give it up.
- Cargo pants. No one needs that many pockets. That is why the fashion goddess made handbags.
- Stockings with reinforced toes. Have a pampering pedicure and get the sheer stockings.
- 3 piece suits with vests. I know the 80’s are back in style but it was not the greatest fashion statement in the 80’s. A woman needs to look feminine not corporate.
- Backpacks. No woman should wear a backpack during a regular day. The only time you should use a backpack is when you are hiking, camping, or mountain climbing. Ditch them for everyday.
So how fast can you get them out of your dresser draws and closets and on their way to Salvation Army, Goodwill, or any local Charity thrift store? Oh, don’t forget to get a receipt for tax purposes.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Yves Saint Laurent Exhibition: Where Genius meets Haute Couture
Thanks to France’s first lady and former model, Madame Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and in association with the Foundation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent; the YSL exhibition ( http://www.yslretrospective.com/) is the first retrospective of Yves Saint Laurent’s 44-year long reign in fashion.
The exhibit consists of over 300 haute couture and prêt-à-porter models, with a selection of unique pictures, sketches, and films making this one of the finest the exhibition in fashion history. The exhibition takes you through forty years of wearable art that empowered women with bold, self-confidence and an unapologetic sense of sensual freedom. He was known as the “Prince of Fashion,” but he was the king when it came to haute couture.
The exhibit opened in March, but there is a two-and-a-half hour wait even if you have your ticket. The exhibit will be there until August if you care to jet over to Paris to see it. Whether you’re a lover of fashion, film, or art, or whether you just appreciate the beautiful things in life; Yves Saint Laurent was able to inspire, ignite, and titillate for over 40 years through his unique and masterful fashion creations.
Bruni-Sarkozy, who wore and modeled his creations wrote, “He created an inspired, vivid universe that overturned conventions and conformity. With Saint Laurent, art became fashion — and fashion an art.”
The exhibit begins with his career with Dior in 1958, where in his first year as art director, he was able to make Dior’s iconic “new look” appear old fashioned by contrast with his liberating “Trapeze” collection. A replica of his studio is there with original furniture on loan. It is here you see his love affair with art and the mutually beneficial relationship they shared: He took inspiration from the great masters of art, while giving back masterpieces of his own art to the world.
Mondrian, Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh, were not his only inspirations. His bold exotic collections inspired by faraway lands turns the exhibit into a section from a museum of the ages. The famous Mondrian shift dress that was featured on the cover of Vogue in 1965 and on the wish lists of girls from Paris to India, stands in the corner of this haute couture room, next to his first African collection (1967) and his “Lalanne” dresses that are abayas with head scarves, embellished with a bust and waist sculpture of galvanized copper (1969) and inspired by his favorite vacation spot, Morocco.
Saint Laurent was able to change fashion and set trends. For Fall-Winter 1965 Saint Laurent created a line of Piet Mondrian and Poliakoff inspired dresses. In an interview regarding his collection, the designer said he was flipping through a book of Mondrian when he predicted 1965 fashion. “I suddenly realized that dresses should no longer be composed of lines, but of colors. I realized that we had to stop conceiving of a garment as sculpture and that, on the contrary, we had to view it as mobile,” said Saint Laurent.
This ability to revolutionize fashion was apparent in his Le Smoking collection. This collection takes the male tuxedo and reinterprets it for the female form. This forever altered the conventions of formal eveningwear by introducing pants into the female wardrobe and blurring the lines of gender. . Saint Laurent often played with the male evening suit and his iconic safari jacket of 1966 that was seductively redesigned from classic safari attire.
One section of the exhibit is devoted to the wardrobe of actress Catherine Deneuve, who wore Yves Saint Laurent religiously, both on and off screen. Deneuve was even the face of his perfume, “Opium”. Luis Bruñel’s provocative film, “Belle de Jour,” (1966) showcased his flair for sophisticated bourgeois fashion with the precise tailoring of his envy-inducing black ciré trench coat.
You will see ornate evening gowns that range all the way to his last collection in 2002 showing his muses of Hollywood glamour (Marylyn Monroe), European sophistication (Duchess of Windsor) and American androgyny (Marlene Dietrich and Lauren Bacall).
All of his creations come alive and the movement is apparent on the still, white mannequins. By the end of the fifteen-room exhibition, you will become enchanted by opulent craftsmanship and innovative foresight of probably one of the most talented designer/artist who has ever lived. From tunics and pea coats, to jumpsuits and tuxedos, he is the man behind every cut or sketch in fashion. Yves Saint-Laurent once famously stated, “I’ve always had the highest of respect for this profession, which isn’t an art form per se, but which needs an artist in order for it to exist.”
Please visit http://www.yslretrospective.com/ to soak up all of the vintage glamour if you can’t jump on the next jet to Paris. It is a trip that you will not want to miss if you love vintage clothing and excellent craftsmanship and innovative vision
The exhibit consists of over 300 haute couture and prêt-à-porter models, with a selection of unique pictures, sketches, and films making this one of the finest the exhibition in fashion history. The exhibition takes you through forty years of wearable art that empowered women with bold, self-confidence and an unapologetic sense of sensual freedom. He was known as the “Prince of Fashion,” but he was the king when it came to haute couture.
The exhibit opened in March, but there is a two-and-a-half hour wait even if you have your ticket. The exhibit will be there until August if you care to jet over to Paris to see it. Whether you’re a lover of fashion, film, or art, or whether you just appreciate the beautiful things in life; Yves Saint Laurent was able to inspire, ignite, and titillate for over 40 years through his unique and masterful fashion creations.
Bruni-Sarkozy, who wore and modeled his creations wrote, “He created an inspired, vivid universe that overturned conventions and conformity. With Saint Laurent, art became fashion — and fashion an art.”
The exhibit begins with his career with Dior in 1958, where in his first year as art director, he was able to make Dior’s iconic “new look” appear old fashioned by contrast with his liberating “Trapeze” collection. A replica of his studio is there with original furniture on loan. It is here you see his love affair with art and the mutually beneficial relationship they shared: He took inspiration from the great masters of art, while giving back masterpieces of his own art to the world.
Mondrian, Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh, were not his only inspirations. His bold exotic collections inspired by faraway lands turns the exhibit into a section from a museum of the ages. The famous Mondrian shift dress that was featured on the cover of Vogue in 1965 and on the wish lists of girls from Paris to India, stands in the corner of this haute couture room, next to his first African collection (1967) and his “Lalanne” dresses that are abayas with head scarves, embellished with a bust and waist sculpture of galvanized copper (1969) and inspired by his favorite vacation spot, Morocco.
Saint Laurent was able to change fashion and set trends. For Fall-Winter 1965 Saint Laurent created a line of Piet Mondrian and Poliakoff inspired dresses. In an interview regarding his collection, the designer said he was flipping through a book of Mondrian when he predicted 1965 fashion. “I suddenly realized that dresses should no longer be composed of lines, but of colors. I realized that we had to stop conceiving of a garment as sculpture and that, on the contrary, we had to view it as mobile,” said Saint Laurent.
This ability to revolutionize fashion was apparent in his Le Smoking collection. This collection takes the male tuxedo and reinterprets it for the female form. This forever altered the conventions of formal eveningwear by introducing pants into the female wardrobe and blurring the lines of gender. . Saint Laurent often played with the male evening suit and his iconic safari jacket of 1966 that was seductively redesigned from classic safari attire.
One section of the exhibit is devoted to the wardrobe of actress Catherine Deneuve, who wore Yves Saint Laurent religiously, both on and off screen. Deneuve was even the face of his perfume, “Opium”. Luis Bruñel’s provocative film, “Belle de Jour,” (1966) showcased his flair for sophisticated bourgeois fashion with the precise tailoring of his envy-inducing black ciré trench coat.
You will see ornate evening gowns that range all the way to his last collection in 2002 showing his muses of Hollywood glamour (Marylyn Monroe), European sophistication (Duchess of Windsor) and American androgyny (Marlene Dietrich and Lauren Bacall).
All of his creations come alive and the movement is apparent on the still, white mannequins. By the end of the fifteen-room exhibition, you will become enchanted by opulent craftsmanship and innovative foresight of probably one of the most talented designer/artist who has ever lived. From tunics and pea coats, to jumpsuits and tuxedos, he is the man behind every cut or sketch in fashion. Yves Saint-Laurent once famously stated, “I’ve always had the highest of respect for this profession, which isn’t an art form per se, but which needs an artist in order for it to exist.”
Please visit http://www.yslretrospective.com/ to soak up all of the vintage glamour if you can’t jump on the next jet to Paris. It is a trip that you will not want to miss if you love vintage clothing and excellent craftsmanship and innovative vision
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