New at Couture Allure - Vintage Suits and Sweaters

New at Couture Allure this week are loads of fabulous vintage dress/jacket sets and sweaters for your fall wardrobe.

1960s Jacques Tiffeau pink plaid dress/jacket set.

1960s Pauline Trigere dress/jacket set.

1970s Adele Simpson dress/jacket set with original belt.

1960s James Galanos blue wool dress/jacket set.

1950s Pringle pink lambswool sweater.

1950s beaded cashmere sweater.

Weekend Eye Candy - Jeanne Lanvin, 1966

Love this wool suit by Jeanne Lanvin, 1966. 3 button plackets descend in stairstep fashion down the front of the jacket and skirt.

Photo by F.C. Gundlach

Friday Charm School - How to Stand Like a Lady

Welcome to Friday Charm School! Today's lesson is about simply standing like a lady. Even the way you stand when not in motion should be planned to make you look graceful and elegant.

Here are the basics for a proper stance:

- Stand tall with your best posture. (See last week's lesson)

- Place your feet about 2 inches apart. Place the toe of the right foot even with the left arch.

- Rest most of the body weight on the front (left) foot.

- Raise the heel of the right foot so that only the ball of the foot is on the floor. Bend the right knee slightly.

- Rotate the right heel in toward the left foot until it is at a 45° angle. The heel of your left foot is now almost touching your right instep.

- Shift your weight comfortably back onto your right foot so that both feet support you. Your weight should be evenly distributed on both hips.

- Check to see that your hips are turned slightly in the direction that your right foot is pointing. Keep your shoulders and head facing forward.

If you prefer, reverse the above steps so that your right foot is in front. One side will feel more comfortable than the other, but practice both so you can change your stance from time to time when standing for long periods.

What do you do with your hands while standing? Always keep your elbows in close to your sides. Press the forearm of one arm lightly against your waist with palm up and fingers relaxed. Allow your other arm to hang freely at your side.

Or extend both forearms gracefully across the waist, resting the thumb of one hand in the palm of the other. Curve your fingers into a relaxed position.

Thirdly, you can allow both arms to hang easily at your sides with your wrists just brushing the body.

If you are fidgety, put your hands behind your back clasping one hand in the other.

At first, these positions may feel contrived and unnatural, even uncomfortable. But with practice, they will become easy and you'll be on your way to a more graceful appearance!

Vintage Corsets - 1935

It's 1935 and clothes are slim and body conscious. Bias cuts reign, which means your dress clings to every curve, bump, and ripple. What's a gal to do?

You wear a girdle, of course! One piece girdles or corsets with attached bras were in commercial production with the aid of a new latex yarn called Lastex, which slimmed and supported the figure without the use of heavy boning.

Low cut backs in dresses called for ingenuity in the design of corsets. This one, without garters, was advertised as being wearable under evening gowns and swimsuits.

Here we see another low backed design and the attached ribbon garters used to hold up one's stockings.

In 1935, Warner's introduced better fit with 4 different cup sizes - A, B, C, and D.

Many evening gowns of the 1930s were daringly low cut, sometimes backless, with tiny straps. Now, what's a gal to do?

This ad for lingerie by Maguerite Sacrez solves the puzzle. This long line girdle extends up to just below the breasts. Also shown in the ad is a separate bra that could be worn with the girdle, if desired.

Party Hairstyles - 1966

It's never too late to start planning your look for your next big event. Be it a wedding, a ball, or a formal holiday party, here are some ideas for evening hairstyles from 1966.

In the days before extensions, these looks were accomplished with the use of falls and wiglets (and maybe a little wire).

And lots of hair spray!

My question is, how does one ride in a car with hair this big? Do you have to lean forward all night?

And do you get sued if you poke someone's eye out with your hair?

It might be easier to just cover your own hair with a cool wig.

Mad for Plaid - 1950

The Fall-Winter 1950 Simplicity Pattern magazine is loaded with plaid looks for sewing projects. Care to be inspired for your own home sewing for fall?

Above: Green topper coat, Simplicity 3327. Red vest, Simplicity 3298. Plaid skirt, Simplicity 3027. Add a little Louis Vuitton and you're set to travel! Oh, and a sealskin purse.

Plaid wool blouse with velvet collar and cuffs and co-ordinating tuck front skirt, Simplicity 2624.

Left: Plaid and solid wools make a smart suit, Simplicity 8157.

Right: Bold checked wool jacket, Simplicity 8208.

3/4 swing coat belted at the waist, Simplicity 8188.

A plaid vest makes a statement with a suit, Simplicity 3298.

Taffeta plaid full skirted evening dress, Simplicity 3139.

Add Flowers to Your Look

Even though summer is on the wane, it's not too late to freshen up your tired wardrobe by adding some silk flowers to your look. You can find plenty of gorgeous flowers to use at your local fabric or craft stores. It's easy to pop the flower heads off the wire stems and apply them to your garment with hand stitches. And they're easy to remove again when you want to go back to the original look! Here are some ideas from 1951.

Above, Christian Dior uses pink rose to adorn his white silk tulle gown.

Pierre Balmain fills the neckline of a gray suit with palest pink carnations.

Maggy Rouff fills the bustline of her silk organza gown with a bouquet of miniature spring flowers.

Cover your chignon with a bouquet of violets.

A large flower at your waist is very eye-catching and a great way to change your look!

New at Couture Allure - Vintage Dresses and Separates

New this week at Couture Allure are several vintage designer pieces including dresses and a marvelous Yves St. Laurent jacket that can be definitively dated to 1971.

1970s Vera Neumann graphic print dress.

1970s Adele Simpson wool knit dress.

1970s cashmere sweater with ostrich feathers and matching skirt.

1971 Yves St. Laurent gray velvet jacket.

1960s Irish wool tweed suit.

1952 Pauline Trigere original showroom sample gold sequined dress.

Weekend Eye Candy - Versace, 1991

From Gianni Versace's Spring/Summer 1991 collection. Crepe georgette jumpsuit completely covered with hand stitched glass beads and rhinestones.

Photo by Irving Penn.

Friday Charm School - How to Walk Like a Lady

Last year, I did a week-long series of posts on how to move like a lady. The posts were so popular that I promised you more. Here it is, a year later, and I've yet to get back to it. Starting today, I will be posting a lesson each Friday in a series that will probably last several months. These lessons, adapted from a 1962 book, were learned by our mothers and grandmothers as a regular part of growing up, but since the 1970s, they have been lost. May I present "Friday Charm School".

The way you move, stand, sit, use your hands or place your feet silently communicates to the world. A woman should express her beauty not only with her physical features, but in the way she moves with poise and grace.

Poise is not accidental. It is learned. Once you learn how to move with ease, you'll project an inner confidence and elegance that will result in your standing out from the crowd.

Let's start with your posture. Posture is the magic key to a more graceful you. Good posture can make you look regal while wearing a potato sack. Bad posture can make you look frumpy in ermine and velvet.

Grab your camera and have a friend take a photo of you from the side in your normal stance. How does your posture measure up? Check the following:

- Head erect with chin parallel to the floor. You should feel as if a string extends from the top of your head to the ceiling and is pulling the top of your head up.
- Shoulders back and dropped into a relaxed position.
- Chest high.
- Stretch long through the waist with stomach in. Don't let your weight settle down on your hips.
- Tuck buttocks under by tipping the pelvis slightly forward and up.
- Knees relaxed, not locked.
- Elbows slightly bent, palms turned in.

How does your picture compare to the one above? Good posture may feel awkward at first, but with practice it will become relaxed and natural. Become acutely aware of how you are standing and learn to remember a proper stance until it becomes second nature.

Now you're ready to learn how to walk like a lady.

A beautiful walk is the sign of a graceful, poised woman. Start in your good posture stance and follow these steps:
- Lift your thigh slightly. Don't lead with your shoulders.
- For a feminine walk, the space between your steps should be about the length of your foot. Too long a stride is masculine, too short is mincing.
- On each step your heel should touch the floor first, then quickly shift the weight forward to the entire foot as you take the next step. Keep your feet close to the ground when you lift them.
- Arms should hang relaxed at your sides with palms toward the thighs as they swing forward to the front of your body. Shoulders should be relaxed and elbows close to your sides.
- Keep your toes pointed straight ahead and place your feet directly to the side of an imaginary line running down the center.

Clothes, make-up, jewelry...nothing makes an ordinary woman as beautiful as a proud carriage and a graceful presence. Practice your standing and walking in front of a mirror until your muscles learn the correct way to move.

Here are some examples of common walking and posture faults you should avoid. Are you moving like this?

1. The Sway Back - The tummy is thrust forward and the derriere back. The result makes the walker appear back heavy. She waddles and looks shorter, stockier, and awkward.
2. The Off-Balance - She carries too much weight on one side and rolls like a boat in a storm.
3. The Ungainly Stride - She galumphs with large steps, her torso and head behind.


4. The Bird - She walks with an out-thrust neck, sometimes looking down. She looks off balance.
5. The Bouncer - She rises on her toes and drops down on her heels. She moves forward with a rising and falling action, like a bunny hopping down the street.

Try noticing your posture and how you walk to day. Do you walk like a lady?

Tweeds and Woolens - 1963

Fall is on the horizon and many of you are dreaming about the change of season and the resulting change in your wardrobe that will soon take place. In 1963, the fashion forward woman was adding a suit or two to her closet. Tailored to perfection, these suits were fashioned of wool tweeds that were woven with chunky threads in a myriad of colors and textures, or of heavy solid wools that held their shape. The suits were made to last, and they are far superior to anything you can buy today. A suit like this was an investment, and women would often wear them for several seasons.

This Monte-Sano and Pruzan mohair tweed 3 piece suit was available at Bergdorf Goodman. Their in-house milliner, Adolfo, made the matching tweed tam.

Ben Barrack houndstooth check suit in brushed mohair and wool. Came with a black silk peau de soie top and scarf. Sold for $145.00 in 1963 (about $1041.00 in today's dollar).

Monte-Sano and Pruzan black and white wool tweed suit. The jacket buttons up the back and has an attached scarf. Sold for $290.00 in 1963 (about $2082.00 in today's dollar).

Bardley suit in chunky wool was matched with a tweed coat with a stand-away collar. Set sold in 1963 for $215.00 (about $1544.00 in today's dollar).

Handmacher wool melton suit with coordinating cape. Note how the jacket is styled like a polo with a button placket. It pulls on over the head. Set sold in 1963 for $130.00 (about $933.00 in today's dollar).