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I’m a sucker for fussy floral stuff. I’m not exactly Chintz Nation, but you give me a black dress covered in doily-decked pink and yellow nosegays and I’m in the clouds. We’re talking Bespinian proportions here, probably because nosegays and doilies remind me of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. So when I first saw Bernie Dexter’s fabulous Sweetheart dress in the floral doily print, I just about died.
Continue reading “Happy Valentine’s Day: Bernie Dexter’s Sweetheart dress in doily print”
This week, something new! A great review of a beautiful 20th Century Foxy brand dress by my friend Jasmine of Betty LeBonBon, purveyor of fine custom vintage-style skirts and much more! This dress reminds me so much of the beautiful green piece worn by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1959 film Suddenly Last Summer that I’m hoping to get one of my own. Thanks, Jasmine!
Broadly speaking I’m a prints lady – I love my dresses with a quirky, unique print, or bold florals on unexpected base colours. You can let the print speak for your personality, and I find them quite easy to wear as the print will dictate how to accessorize and what colours to choose. Easy!
But I recently reached a point where my wardrobe was so print-saturated that I found myself longing for a few simple block colours – if only so I could try out a few patterned shoes or ornate brooches. As much as I love a beautiful print, it can be hard to work a pair of printed shoes with a printed dress, or to choose a really fussy, ornate brooch as inevitably the detail will be lost against a printed dress.
I spotted the 20th Century Foxy ‘Taylor’ dress at Miskonduct Clothing. At first, the dress doesn’t look like much – a simple green dress with a matching belt and a full skirt. Normally I wouldn’t even stop for a second look, but being a fair-skinned ginger I’d already decided I was looking for something green. And this dress was green. A good start! I was convinced it would go beautifully with simple accessories like gold or silver, perhaps even blue accents – and it would play beautifully with a nice floral printed shoe (think Iron Fist or Irregular Choice), should I finally decide to invest. Sold!
Continue reading “Guest Review: Jasmine on the 20th Century Foxy Taylor Swing Dress”
Things are thawing out like crazy here in NorCal, which means Spring is on the horizon. When Voodoo Vixen UK offered to send me some samples of their beautiful clothing, I Immediately zeroed in on the perfectly pink Roxy swing dress and mint green Eleanor cardigan. Both are uber-girly without being too frilly and the colors are light and Springy without being too pastel.
When I requested Roxy, I expected a lightweight cotton fabric with a pretty pink print. I got a rich-looking brocade in a GORGEOUS light salmon-pink with cream accents. Seriously, this fabric looks it comes from a robe à la Francaise straight out of Marie Antoinette’s wardrobe. It’s that lovely. Roxy is fully lined and it’s short, but not indecently so, coming to just above my knee (I’m 5’8″ plus). The shawl collar and decorative oversized buttons down the bodice give the dress a nice 1950s effect and a little belt finishes off the look. The belt is made of the same lightweight fabric as the lining, though, which may not be sturdy enough for you. In the pictures, I wear the Roxy with both her own belt and my white Deadly Dames belt for contrast.
Continue reading “Review: Voodoo Vixen Roxy dress and Eleanor Cardigan”
I’ve wanted to try Steady’s retro-inspired, made-in-the-USA “Vintage Classics” designs for a while now, so I jumped at the chance when a rep for this Southern California institution contacted me about taking some samples for a spin. I chose the Vicky dress in charcoal, the Sparrow Lush dress in red, and the Velvet Diva dress in black, all in 1x for my 42-32-48″ frame.
I love kitschy, tiki things and my favorite fashions are mid century designs inspired by Polynesian and Asian art. After falling in love with a pretty blue Alfred Shaheen last year, I recently obtained another, very different Shaheen style this month!
This one’s a strapless mid-1950s dress with a pleated shelf bust and full skirt. I’m not usually a fan of brown, but the fabric on this one is gorgeous! It’s a rich, cool brown Polynesian texture with gorgeous, creamy white blossoms. The pleated upper bodice is a nice, sharp white that contrasts nicely with the brown texture of the main dress.
Continue reading “Outfit of the Day: More vintage Alfred Shaheen”
I didn’t end up doing anything for New Year’s Eve, but I had plans. Even a nice dinner out deserves a special dress, and this time around I chose Trashy Diva’s new Lena dress. She’s a gorgeous 1950s halter dress with a circle skirt and very festive Swarovski-style crystals and glass beading on the bodice and halter straps. The dress was intended for the holiday season, but it’s actually rather seasonless and the color flatters many skin tones!
The bodice is beautifully pleated with a nice “shelf” detail that pulls up into the halter straps. For those who hate the neck-pulling that happens with many halters, this one’s worth trying. The bodice is very structured and form-fitting, which takes some of the pressure off the neck. The halter buttons at the back of the neck, too, which alleviates the pull that often occurs with halter ties.
I got the size 14, which fits a bit closer than the stated measurements on the Lena size chart. At 43-32-48″, the bodice fits perfectly without a bra.
Continue reading “New Year, New Year’s Eve Fashion: Trashy Diva’s Lena Dress”
This spring’s Pantone Palette for women is half brights, half pastels. Pantone claims this is emblemmatic of designers’ and consumers’ interest in establishing “equilibrium,” whatever that means. There are three blues, four if you count “Paloma,” a light blue-gray.
The “Freesia” yellow would make a pretty halter dress. “Dazzling Blue” screams accessories to me. And minty, pastel greens are always pretty, so “Hemlock” would work for just about anything.
I’m not sure what I think. What do you think?
Now that I’m back from the barfs, it’s time to share some of my Black Friday purchases from Pinup Girl Clothing and Trashy Diva!
My favorite of the lot is the Laura Byrnes Madeline dress in plaid taffeta, a dress I desperately wanted last fall but never got around to ordering. Since the piece didn’t drop until after the holidays, I didn’t have an immediate reason to buy it when it first came out. Another big reason for the delay is the cost. MSRP for this number is $200, and that’s not factoring in the additional $76 for the matching bolero (which is kind of necessary to complete the look). Throw in the fact that several of the gals who first purchased the dress back in January mentioned the odd fit provided by the elasticized side panels on the bodice and I was skeptical.
Continue reading “Black Friday holiday dresses: Madeline, Grace, Honey, Erin, and Jenny”