Vintage Party Dresses - 1966

The year? 1966. The look? Sparkle, shimmer and shine with sequins, beads, metallic fabrics or a combination of any or all. Or jazz it up with fur and feathers. The occasion? Party time!

John Bates dress in white devore silk velvet over pink taffeta lining with a white rabbit fur hem.

Anne Fogarty dress  with a flirty, flared hem and covered in silver paillette sequins.

Geoffrey Beene dress in white devore velvet trimmed in white ostrich feathers at cuff and hem.

Malcolm Starr dress in black lace covered in silver cording, beads and paillettes.

To wear over any or all of the dresses shown here, a pink and red metallic brocade evening coat trimmed in touches of mink.  This coat by Leslie Morris for Bergdorf Goodman was custom made to order only. 

Weekend Eye Candy - Geoffrey Beene Coat, 1965

Are you thinking about a coat for this winter yet?  If so, today's Eye Candy is sure to make you swoon.  This Mod era coat by Geoffrey Beene dates to about 1965.  The wool gabardine fabric is printed in a design that references the work of French artist Jean Dubuffet.  Simple black buttons down the front don't distract from the design.  This coat is part of the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection.

Geoffrey Beene for Harmay, 1956

Geoffrey Beene worked at Harmay from 1950-57. By the time this ad appeared in 1956, he was being credited with his name in small print under the "y" in Harmay. This navy and white silk taffeta dress has a chemise back to the bodice, but the belt keeps the waist tiny. I really like the way the blouson gives way to a flyaway panel at the back of the skirt. Interestingly, Harmay fired Beene in 1957, as they felt the loose chemise looks he was designing were not right for their customer.

Geoffrey Beene - Fall 1966

After working for Harmay and Teal Traina in his early years, Geoffrey Beene started his own label in 1964. He was an immediate success. For Fall 1966, he showed several pieces in black and white check wool. All three of these photos appeared in the same issue of Harper's Bazaar.

This is Beene's own ad showing a suit with a swingy jacket and slim skirt worn with black gloves, opaque tights and Mary Jane shoes. Look how the houndstooth check on the pocket flap is perfectly matched to the check on the jacket behind the flap.

Here, a nearly identical suit by Beene in an ad for The Wool Bureau. This ad tells us that the jacket buttons up the back and it features slash pockets and a high funnel collar. Worn with a matching hat and black gloves.

The editorial section of the magazine featured this Geoffrey Beene dress with a similar swingy feel. It sold in 1966 for $185 (about $1217 in today's dollar). Shown here with a matching Lilly Daché hat, Wear-Right gloves and earrings by Sandor Goldberger. The model wears a long braided hairpiece by Mr. John Wigs.

Which do you like best?

Why Don't You....

...take a bit of sequined lace and use it as a scarf to wear around your head? Andi McDowell works the look to great effect with her curly hair, shown here in photos by Eric Boman for Vogue 1984. Hair by Sam McKnight.

Or, why don't you wear a heart-shaped rhinestone brooch on your sleeve?

Black wool jersey top and skirt by Geoffrey Beene closes with rhinestone buttons down the front. Set sold for $1195.00 in 1984 (about $2452.00 in today's dollar). Match it with Beene's floor-length rain slicker that sold for $510 in 1984 (about $1047 in today's dollar).

Weekend Eye Candy - 1967 Geoffrey Beene Dress

...or the bottom half of one. 1967 - Geoffrey Beene, native Louisianan, fashion spark of American ingenuity, throws a hundred million sequins into a mirror miracle of a shape; scatters neon flowers at random, then garlands the hem. I want to see the rest of the dress, don't you? And how about those silver vinyl thigh-high boots?