Vintage Style Files

Archive for the ‘Fashion’ Category

« Older Entries

More 1920s Inspired Gatsby Glamour at Blue Velvet Vintage

Thursday, May 16th, 2013

Got a Great Gatsby party of Art Deco wedding to attend?   Just arrived, these flirty 20s inspired cocktail dresses that are perfect for a Jazz Era event.  A classic look that’s  also on trend right now.  Just add ropes of pearls, long gloves, a cloche hat or feather headband, beaded purse and  Mary Jane  heels and head on out to your favorite speakeasy for a night of charleston dancing and chugging the bootleg !  Tell ‘em  Blue Velvet Vintage sent ya!

Dress in black lace over champagne satin,  comes in black lace over teal blue satin as well.

20s inspired Gatsby dress

Get your Gatsby on at Blue Velvet Vintage!

And to help you get into the proper frame of mind to  celebrate the era of  shieks, shebas and Gatsby style excess,  here are some 1920s slang expressions you may want to throw into your party conversation just for fun!

Bees Knees, Cat’s Meow or Cat’s Pajamas-  All mean something or someone really great, fantastic, the ultimate.  “That dress she is wearing is the Bee’s Knees.”  “That handsome guy is the Cat’s Meow”.
Copacetic-  Just fine, wonderful.  “Everything is copacetic.”
Bearcat-A hot blooded, wild girl.
Giggle Water-alcoholic beverage
Get a wiggle on- Get a move on.
Glad rags- Dressy, going out clothes.
Hootch- Bootleg liquor
Hoofer-Dancer
Juice Joint-Speakeasy
Moll- Gangster’s girlfriend
Puttin on the Ritz- Dressing very high fashion, stylishly
Corked, Jazzed, Zozzled, Primed, Tanked-  All words for being intoxicated
Hip to the Jive- Cool
Smarty- A cuter flapper girl.
Vamp-A flirt, seductress.

You may also like this “Swell” little number !

Beaded black flapper style dress

Beaded black flapper style dress

Thanks for visiting!

blog signature

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related posts:

PinterestShare

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Fashion | No Comments »

Happy Customer Dressed for a 1920s Wedding

Monday, May 13th, 2013

Check out this swanky photo of Blue Velvet Vintage customer, Karla, wearing one of our  beaded flapper style dresses as the bridesmaid in her best friend’s 20s themed wedding.  Karla’s husband also got into the spirit looking quite dapper in his 1920s vintage suit and bow tie. Looks like he just stepped out of an episode of Boardwalk Empire.  Nucky Thompson’s got nothing on this guy!

Karla told us, “ At first I wasn’t sure I could pull it off with my long hair, and didn’t want to do a fake bob. But with the feather headband (I got it on Etsy), and curling my hair, I think I pulled it off well. The wedding was beautiful and everyone asked us about the dresses and thought we looked great! I felt lucky to have a husband who was all for dressing up with me.“    

And we couldn’t agree more. They certainly make  a stunning Jazz Age couple! Thanks for sharing, Karla!

1920s theme wedding clothing

Customer Karla and husband are the Bees Knees in 1920s themed wedding attire!

Related posts:

PinterestShare

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Fashion | 3 Comments »

Movie Trivia-Great Gatsby 1974

Thursday, May 9th, 2013

With the release of the Baz Luhrman’s version just around the corner, the Gatsby buzz is everywhere! But who can forget the beauty of the 1974 film starring Mia Farrow and Robert Redford, with its gorgeous scenery and fabulous 1920s fashions? Below is some trivia about Francis Ford Coppola’s version of this great American classic:

•Truman Capote was the first screenwriter for  the film. But  his draft included making characters Nick Carraway a homosexual and Jordan Baker a lesbian.   He was fired and Coppola ended up rewriting the screenplay in three weeks.

•Ali MacGraw was originally promised the role of Daisy Buchanan by her producer husband Robert Evans. But when she left him for her co-star Steve McQueen, she lost the role.

• Other stars who were rumored to be considered for the role were Candice Bergen, Natalie Wood, Fay Dunaway and Cybil Shepard.

Mia Farrow as Daisy Buchanan on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post

Mia Farrow as Daisy Buchanan on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post

•When F. Scott Fitzgerald’s daughter spotted Mia Farrow on the set of the movie she was quoted as saying, “The New England summer sun was hitting her face under this lilac chiffon hat and she looked just like my father’s Daisy Buchanan should look .”

•Marlon Brando turned down the role of Jay Gatsby because producers wouldn’t meet his salary demands. And Warren Beatty lost the part to Robert Redford.

Daisy's fabulous flapper fashions - vogue December 1973

Daisy’s fabulous flapper fashions – Vogue December 1973

•Ralph Lauren assisted costume designer Theoni Aldredge with the film’s wardrobe.  Three time Tony award winner, Aldredge, produced hundreds of costumes for the film in two weeks time and also incorporated authentic 1920s dresses. She won an Academy Award for her work on the film, but failed to mention Ralph Lauren’s name during the ceremonies because she was a bit miffed over the fact that he had been trying to take credit for the designing of Robert Redford’s clothes himself.

•The popular 20s  fashions from the movie inspired a clothing line that was available at Bloomingdale’s.

•Art deco jewelry supplied by Cartier was used in the movie and it is rumored that the producers purchased over 5 million dollars worth of the baubles worn by Mia Farrow and Lois Chiles .

Mia Farrow as Daisy Buchanan in the Great Gatsby 1974

Mia Farrow in romantic 20s attire. Great Gatsby 1974.

mia farrow gatsby flapper

Mia Farrow and her fab flapper look. Great Gatsby 1974.

•A Gastby-inspired line of sportswear, whiskey, beauty products and even cookware were introduced around the 1974 premiere. The Paramount Promotion Director at the the time said “The idea is to Gatsbyize the entire country.”

Ballantines Scotch Ad - 1974

Ballantine’s Scotch Ad – 1974

…and Gatsbyized we are once again! Can’t wait to see the new version – out this Friday , May 10th.

And if you’re inspired by these fashion looks from the 1920s, then please check out the lovely beaded flapper dresses and romantic 20s inspired party dresses on the Blue Velvet Vintage website. We’ve got what you need to get your Gatsby on in style!

Thanks for visiting:)

 

alison

 

 

Related posts:

PinterestShare

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Fashion | No Comments »

The Mermaid Gown-Iconic “Old Hollywood Glamour” Silhouette

Monday, April 29th, 2013

If you’re looking to make a big  ” Old Hollywood” style splash at your next special event, then consider the classic mermaid hem gown. An iconic silhouette,  mermaid style gowns can make any woman feel movie star glam!  A  Jayne Mansfield signature look  and favorite of  many other actresses in the 1950s,  these gowns  have a figure flattering, curve hugging fit  to the knee, with a full flared hem below. And often have a sweetheart bodice to show off the decolletage.  With just the right mix of sexy and feminine , this style can flaunt the curves you have ,  or even create the illusion that you do, even  if you don’t!

Though the mermaid gown was very popular with starlets in the 1950s, it was actually  originally introduced to the fashion world in the 1930s by French designer  Marcel Rochas , whose trademark hourglass styles were  his tribute to the female form.  He also invented the “waspie”, which was a waist cinching corset, perfect for accentuating a woman’s curves.

This  timeless look is  perfect for a vintage themed wedding or prom because it really captures that classic glamour vibe that will make you stand out from the crowd.  And don’t forget the opera length gloves and red lipstick!

Marcel Rochas mermaid gown, Iving Penn photographers

Marcel Rochas mermaid gown, Iving Penn photographer

The gorgeous Jayne Mansfield’s signature look. She could really rock a mermaid dress!

Jayne Mansfield mermaid gown

Jayne Mansfield rocking a mermaid gown

 And here’s a selection of classic style  mermaid dresses available at Blue Velvet Vintage!

Mermaid gowns at Blue Velvet Vintage

Mermaid gowns at Blue Velvet Vintage

1. Champagne tulle silver sequin dress $215.00  2. Black sequined tulle dress   $229.00   3. Silver tulle gown   $165.00 4. Gold tulle gown  $165.00

 

Thanks for visiting:)

 

 

alison

 

 

 

 

Related posts:

PinterestShare

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Fashion | 4 Comments »

Dressing like a Lady in Downton Abbey Style

Monday, April 22nd, 2013

The popularity of the Downton Abbey series has been making inroads into the fashion world, and I must say I’m pleased and relieved!   Just check out this  article/ slideshow via the Washington Post,   showing designers’ interpretations of  Downton Abbey inspired fashion.  If  this ladylike look  has hit the runway, then hopefully we’ll be seeing a trickle down effect into mainstream fashion. The more period dramas  like  Downton Abbey, Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire influence women to dress in a more classy manner the happier I am!

In this era of  muffin tops, G-strings sticking out the top of  low rise jeans and miniskirts and dresses that cover less than what they  give you to put on in the exam room at your doctor’s office, it would be refreshing to see a little more modesty.   In my humble opinion, when it comes to flesh exposure, less is definitely more!   A  little mystery is so much more interesting and enticing  than throwing it all out there at once.

Which brings me back to this whole  turn of the century style resurgence. Now it may not catch on in a big enough way for these looks  to show up in all the cheesy fast fashion chain stores. But I’m hoping we do see more alternatives for  ladies and girls looking for something different and classic.  And  these types of silhouettes would be flattering on a variety of figures.

Here are a couple of photos of the ladies from Downton Abbey. Lovely!  Now of course, these are photos of more formal type dresses. But you can find more casual  fashions that are in the spirit of these feminine fashions. Over at the New Noblewoman blog, she has a post with some nice suggestions for everyday wear!

Downtown Abbey fashion

Downtown Abbey fashion

Laura Carmichael, Michelle Dockery and Jessica Brown Findlay

But since my business specializes in dressing women for vintage themed special events and weddings,  I put together a dressier look that would be perfect for a Downton Abbey inspired garden party or informal wedding.

Downton Abbey inspired party dress

Downton Abbey inspired party dress

 Dress $175.00. Also available in ivory and sage green.  Lace gloves $10.99, T strap heels  $59.95, crystal drop earrings  $24.99, beaded purse  $49.00, hat 54.00.

What do you  think of this  more modest ladylike look?

Thanks for vistiing:)

blog signature

 

Related posts:

PinterestShare

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Fashion | 2 Comments »

50s Style Wedding Dresses for the Alternative Bride

Monday, April 15th, 2013

If you’re a non-traditional gal who is about to get married, may I suggest a fabulous alternative to the long, trained wedding gown?   How about a 50s  tea length wedding dress?  A growing trend is toward more creativity in planning that special day. And vintage themes are on the top of the list because they’re so fun!

Going by our own 50′s wedding dress sales, the 1950s is definitely one of the more popular eras for a wedding theme. Whether it’s rock and roll, rockabilly, Las Vegas or vintage Hollywood theme there is a perfect 50s wedding dress or 50s inspired dress that will complement your vintage dream wedding!  Because the fashions from that decade are so classy and timeless, this look also works well for second weddings, garden weddings, town hall ceremonies and destination weddings.

The 50s look is a great option for brides looking for something more informal, but still very elegant and glamorous.  The fit and flared silhouette is flattering on pretty much all figures.   Even though finding a one of a kind, authentic vintage 50′s wedding dress can be very exciting, they are pretty scarce. So you need to allow lots of extra time to find the perfect one, as many are in very tiny sizes or not in pristine condition. Luckily there are new reproductions that will give you that same fabulous 50s look!

Check out these photos of Liz Taylor and Audrey Hepburn for some vintage wedding fashion inspiration!

Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face

Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face

Elizabeth Taylor in 50s tea length halter dress.

Elizabeth Taylor in 50s tea length halter dress.

And here’s a little collage I put together featuring “The Sweetheart”, our  50s style wedding dress from our Classic Dame line,along with pretty blue purse, shoes and hair flower that I think would look lovely with it!

Classic Dame 50s style wedding dress

Classic Dame 50s style wedding dress

 

Thanks for visiting:)

blog signature

 

 

Related posts:

PinterestShare

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Fashion | No Comments »

Vera Signature Scarves coming to Target!

Wednesday, April 10th, 2013

Get ready to spruce up your spring wardrobe, ladies! Just found out from reading Retro Renovation, one of my favorite blogs, that The Vera Company has joined up with Target to release reproduction ‘Vera’ scarves in 17 different prints on April 28th. Perfect timing for Mother’s Day!

Vera Neumann was a designer and artist whose charming prints graced everything from wallpaper to pants and most popular – her signature ‘Vera’ scarf.  Her scarves all include her signature, just  like a painting,  and most also have her trademark ladybug.   Many of  her authentic vintage scarves are very collectible, so keep your eyes open for an original – popular with Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe.

Or you can just pick up a reproduction at Target at the end of this month . The scarves will be 19.99 and available as long as supplies last .   So don’t wait,  because I’ll bet these classic beauties are sure to fly off the shelf!

Vera Neumann scarves for Target

Vera Neumann scarves for Target

 

alison

 
Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Related posts:

PinterestShare

Posted in Fashion | 2 Comments »

RIP Lilly Pulitizer – The Queen of Preppy Chic

Monday, April 8th, 2013
Lilly Pulitzer dress ad 1962

“Style isn’t just about what you wear, it’s about how you live.” -Lilly Pulitzer

Lilly Pulitizer (November 10, 1931 – April 7, 2013) passed away yesterday at her home in Palm Beach, Florida at 81 years young. Her bright and bold prints of sunshine yellow, poppy pinks, and citrus greens always made me smile and were enough to transport anyone to a tropical island!

“I designed collections around whatever struck my fancy – fruits, vegetables, politics or peacocks!” -Lilly Pulitzer.  The wealthy socialite begin her sassy chic empire with… a fruit juice stand! She opened a juice stand on her husband’s orchard land and was tired of ruining her dresses with juice stains so she designed a bright, printed shift dress that would hide any spills and splatters. Palm Beach’s elite women took notice and the cheerful little dresses began to sell better than the juice!

But it was when Jacqueline Kennedy was photographed for Life Magazine wearing a “Lilly” dress made from kitchen curtain material that the brand really took off. Today, the company named  “Lilly Pulitizer” still brings us colorful floral, flamingo and sailboat prints.  Let hope they continue to bring us clothing and textiles inspired by this talented lady!

Jacquelin Kennedy wearing a "Lilly" on vacation.

Jacquelin Kennedy wearing a “Lilly” on vacation.

Lilly at her first shop in Palm Beach, Florida.  Photo via Lilly Pulitzer website.

Lilly in her first shop in West Palm Beach. (1962)

Lilly in her first shop in West Palm Beach. (1962)

 

 

Related posts:

PinterestShare

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Fashion, Memorable people | No Comments »

Lesser Known Label-Jerry Gilden and his Pretty 50s Dresses

Friday, April 5th, 2013

I can’t tell you how excited I get when I happen upon a  50s dress with a Jerry Gilden Spectator  label, as they are getting harder and harder to find, especially in good, wearable condition.   He may not have been a big name designer, but Jerry Gilden manufactured some very pretty, very nice quality dresses in the 1950s.   His  cotton floral print dresses with their fit and flared “New Look” silhouettes are my favorite.   According to  the Vintage Fashion Guild label resource he started his business in 1945 and within 10 years became one of the top 5 producers of women’s dresses in the US!

He originally hired a designer named Giselle whose designs were responsible for making his clothing line so popular.  But after she died in 1952 he partnered up with Abe and Sayde Weinberg and Sayde became his head designer until the company closed in 1960.  The really puzzling thing is,  though Sayde was an extremely talented designer, designing all manner of fabulous clothing for the Jerry Gilden  label,  she is relatively unknown till this day.  I did find an article on Sayde Weinberg by Lizzie Bramlet on the Vintage Traveler blog.  Lizzie actually got in contact with one of Sayde’s  family members and was able to shed some light on this talented women’s background. She was from a family of sixteen children and started work at 13 years old at the Blum Store in Philadelphia,  eventually working her way up to buyer.  She was also a design consultant for other companies before she and her husband teamed up with Jerry Gilden.   For more interesting facts about this creative lady,   I highly recommend Lizzie’s article if you enjoy fashion history.

A lot of designers back in the day also designed patterns for ladies who wanted to sew their own designer inspired fashions.  Here is a photo of one of  Sayde Weinberg for Jerry Gilden patterns.  This sailor style is so cute and I actually have an authentic Jerry Gilden pink sailor dress available on the website right now, and it’s in a larger size!

Sailor dress pattern by Sayde Weinberg for Jerry Gilden

1950s Sailor dress pattern by Sayde Weinberg for Jerry Gilden

Jerry Gilden even had the famous model, Dovima, showcasing his clothing in many ads.

Jerry Gilden dress 1954

Jerry Gilden floral print full skirt dress 1954-Model Dovima

 

A Jerry Gilden ad from 1947. Faille  peplum suits and rayon gabardine wrap dress. I’ve yet to come across any 40s clothing by Jerry Gilden. I guess those are quite rare!

Jerry Gilden Clothing ad 1947

Jerry Gilden clothing ad from 1947

Jerry Gilden printed cotton dresses for “dancing-spinning-whirling into summer”
Kaufman’s Dept store ad from 1955

Jerry Gilden dress ad 1955

Jerry Gilden dress ad 1955

And here are two Jerry Gilden beauties that we currently have for sale on our website.
If they were my size I’d be keeping them!  Because they’re not, hopefully some vintage loving ladies will give them a good home!

Click on images for more information.

1950s Jerry Gilden pink sailor style dress

1950s Jerry Gilden pink sailor style dress

1950s jerry gilden spectator rose print dress

1950s Jerry Gilden Spectator pink rose print cotton dress

 

Were you ever lucky enough to find a pretty Jerry Gilden dress? If not, then this is definitely a label to look for when out searching for vintage dresses from the 40s and 50s.

 

Thanks for visiting, and if you like this article please feel free to share:)

blog signature

 

 

 

 

Related posts:

PinterestShare

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Fashion, Labels to Look For, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Happy Bride in our Vintage Inspired Wedding Gown

Monday, April 1st, 2013

We always love to hear from happy brides!  Jennifer Hathaway purchased our vintage inspired  beaded tulle mermaid dress for her wedding. and was kind enough to contact us through Facebook to tell us

I was finally able to wear my beautiful wedding dress on March 23rd! It was bought a year and 1/2 ago. It looked amazing!

We have to agree! Jennifer not only looks amazing in the gown she purchased from us, but her husband looks positively debonair and the children are simply adorable!   And the white, blue and black  theme  is very classy color combination.  Well done!

 

Jennifer Hathaway wearing beaded tulle mermaid gown from Blue Velvet Vintage

Jennifer Hathaway wearing beaded tulle mermaid gown from Blue Velvet Vintage

Jennifer Hathaway wedding

Jennifer Hathaway wedding

Many, many thanks to Jennifer for sharing photos of her wedding day with us and for giving Blue Velvet Vintage the opportunity to be a part of it:)

 

Related posts:

PinterestShare

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Fashion | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Copyright © 2005-2012 Blue Velvet Vintage  Site Map