50s Prints in Fall 2008

By now, I'm sure you've seen several of the looks from Michael Kors Fall 2008 line. I love the prints, but maybe that's because I work with them all the time in my business as a vintage clothing dealer. That's right ladies, these prints come straight out of the late 50's and early 60's. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Kors had authentic vintage prints copied by his fabric suppliers for use in this season's offerings.

If you read this blog regularly, you can probably guess what I'm going to say next. Why not wear authentic vintage instead of new copies that are not as well made nor as charming as the originals?










We've got lots of these darker floral prints coming up in the next couple of months, but the two dresses here are available now at coutureallure.com. Click the pictures for a direct link to the dresses.

1958 Velveteen Party Dress

Velveteen Party Pet $10.95 - Gets all the Glances, Gets all the Dances

This ad is from the October 1958 issue of Seventeen Magazine. Here is the description given in the ad:
"Youre the center of all eyes...in your Party Pet...the line...the look that's new for the season, fun for the Holidays. A tiny waistline clings down to the hips, then swings wide and handsome for the prettiest whirl ever. The princess line is styled just right for you. The ringing of your telephone will tell you it's true. In vibrant velveteen, that does special things for young figures. Yummy Party Red or Royal Blue."

Included in the ad is a coupon to order the dress for $10.95 (!) from Braunstein's in Wilmington, DE.

You probably can't see the details in my scan, but the dress has a full circle skirt sewn flat to a dropped waist. Gathers or pleats would be too bulky in velveteen. I'll bet that bateau neckline drops to a V in the back. The model is wearing short white gloves, a gold chain necklace, and red flats. And underneath, you know she's wearing a girdle to get that tiny waist and a full crinoline or two for whirling and twirling.

I love the marketing in the ad, especially the line in the header about "Gets all the glances, gets all the dances". Later they tell you you're going to get all kinds of phone calls from guys because you've worn this dress to the dance. I'm not sure what's so great about velveteen that it does special things for young figures. But you've got to love a dress called the Party Pet.



Not a circle skirt, but red velveteen from about the same time. This one is available at www.coutureallure.com.

Vintage 60s Mod Orange Coat

I am over-the-moon in love with this coat. It's vintage mid to late 1960's and completely Mod. And it's orange. How could you not love an orange coat?


Narciso Rodriguez showed a bright burst of an orange coat in his Fall/Winter 2008 line. Ralph Lauren, Nina Ricci, and Prada also showed bright orange for fall.



Take a look at the details of that 1960's coat. The strong geometric seams are accented with topstitching. And those buttons? They have hot pink centers. Pair this coat with hot pink tights and you've got an eye-popping and eye-catching outfit that is true vintage but fits right in with today's style trends.

See this coat at Couture Allure on EBay. Click the top photo to see the details.

Vintage 50s Alencon Illusion Lace Dress

Alencon lace: Fine needlepoint lace with designs on a sheer net ground outlined with cordonnet. Named for the town of Alencon, France.

Click the photo to see the dress, available at Couture Allure on EBay.

What is a Trench Coat?

What makes a trench coat a trench coat? The trench coat is a classic style created by Thomas Burberry during WW1. According to "The Fairchild Dictionary of Fashion", a trench coat should have the following style details:

- Double breasted with a convertible collar that has large lapels
- Shoulder epaulets
- Self-fabric belt, sometimes with a buckle, but usually worn tied
- Slotted pockets
- Back vent
- Extra hanging yoke in back
- Extra flap hanging from front right shoulder

Not mentioned in the dictionary, but also usually found in classic trench coats:

- Leather buttons
- Removeable lining
- Raglan sleeves with cuff straps



This 1970's ladies trench coat is fashioned from wool herringbone tweed and is available from Couture Allure on EBay.

Women adapted the trench coat in the 1940's, and it has become a classic style. Do you have one in your closet?

Suit-able for Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich was a major factor in making menswear looks popular for women. She wore a tuxedo and top hat in her first American film Morocco, made in 1930.



She continued to wear trouser suits off screen as well as on. Travis Banton designed many of them, which she would wear with a man's shirt and tie and a fedora style hat. No one but Marlene could manage to look so feminine in such severe styles.



We just listed this 1940's tuxedo style suit at our site. Certainly Dietrich worthy, it will look great with or without that shirt and tie!

See this suit and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion.

I Am in Love with Irving Schechter

And I don't know who he is! This 1940's suit jacket makes my heart swoon. The label says "Irving Schechter Original of California" and I can't find any information about it. But if you know Irving, please tell him I love him.

Air Conditioning - or Baby! It's Cold Inside!

Air conditioning - ahhhh. In my opinion, it's one of the 20th century's greatest inventions, but only when I control the thermostat. Here in Boston, we've been dealing with hot weather and unusually high humidity the last couple of weeks. I hate hot and humid almost more than the below-freezing artic winds we get in February and March. As long as my AC is set to 75 degrees, I'm happy.

But try going out to a restaurant or to the movies! I swear, corporate and retail America has no concern for the environment with thermostats set at what feels like 65 degrees. I have to carry a sweater or hoodie with me whenever I go out. It makes no sense!



That's why this 1950's dress is just so perfect. Made of lightweight rayon that has the look and texture of linen, it will be cool and comfortable out in the heat. And it comes with a cute matching jacket to throw on when you go indoors, so your shoulders don't turn into ice cubes.

See this dress and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion.

Introducing the New Couture Allure Website!

www.coutureallure.com

We've been working for months on our new website at coutureallure.com, and today we are proud to say, "Welcome!" This has been a true labor of love, and we hope it shows. We've been saving the "best of the best" of our vintage finds for quite awhile in order to offer you a wide selection of hand-picked vintage dresses, suits, coats, and accessories.



We've listened to your requests, and have made each category searchable by size and era. There's a handy Search Box if you prefer to shop that way. We now accept major credit cards through our secure server.



We'd love to hear what you think! Enjoy!



P.S. - That 1960's yellow beaded silk evening ensemble I posted last time? Here it is.

From Hanger to Heavenly

I went on a vintage buy the other day. I found this 1960's beaded evening gown - I've seen what seems like a million of 'em in my time as a vintage seller. Hanging next to it was what looked like a matching maxi vest. It seemed odd and was likely to be really ugly in that designer knock-off "trying too hard" way, but I bought it anyway. Today, I pulled it out and put it on the mannequin.

Did you ever have the experience while shopping that a dress has absolutely no appeal on the hanger, but when you put it on, it was magic? Take a look at this.



That's not a maxi vest - it's a cloak! A gorgeous, sophisticated evening cloak that takes the dress from simple to sensational - from basic to breathtaking.

Here's the hard part. It's not listed yet. But I promise it will be available soon!

Train Your Vintage Eye

Here's another vintage 1950's dress similar to the one posted yesterday in our Vintage Quiz. Can you see the difference? The length on this one is 46" from shoulder to hem and the hem is original. Compare that to the 38" length on the dress posted yesterday. To some people, those 8" don't make a bit of difference, and they'd be very happy wearing the second dress. I prefer authenticity, and in my opinion, a cut hem does affect the value of a vintage dress. How do you feel about it?

See this dress and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

A Vintage Quiz

Here's a little quiz to see how discerning your eye is. What's wrong with this 1950's dress? No, I'm not talking about the missing button. There is something about this dress that is very obviously wrong. Take a good long look at the photo and see if you can find it.

I was thinking about titling this post "DON'T DO THIS", but I wasn't sure how many people would respond positively to that. I could have titled it "What Not to Do", but that was too close to one of my favorite TV shows.

Did you figure it out yet? Hint - the dress has been altered, probably in the 80's.

Here's a cute picture of my dog:



No, Zippy didn't alter the dress! I just needed to fill in some space on this post, so the answer to the quiz didn't pop out before you had a chance to figure it out. He is cute though, no?

Answer: The dress has been shortened about 8" from its original length. What's worse, its been cut off and shortened. DON'T DO THIS!!!! There, I said it. Please, I'm begging you, if you must shorten a vintage dress, leave the original length in the portion that you fold up. That way, the next owner can let the hem back down if she wants. I spend alot of time restoring original hem lengths to 1950's dresses that were shortened in the 60's. Hey, fashions change. Hem lengths go up and down. That's OK. But step away from the scissors.....please!

See this dress and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Shop Early for Best Selection

I've always disliked that phrase, no matter how true it may be. But the fact remains that you can't find a decent bathing suit at the mall when the temperatures finally decide to soar in June. And you can't find a stylish winter coat when you need one in February.

I'd like to tell you that it is different with vintage clothing, but we sold out of bathing suits in March. We started photographing and listing winter coats in May, and many of our best for this year are already sold. Style takes planning!

For those of you who are thinking about your winter coat while sitting on the beach, may we offer these for your consideration?

1940's Emerald Princess Coat:



1980's Pauline Trigere Coat:



1960's Tapestry Coat with Fox Collar:



1950's Black Velvet Swing Coat:



See these coats and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

The Sheer Wonder of it All

We just listed a fabulous collection of vintage peignoir sets, including this 1950's Shadowline set in girly pink. Girly - that's exactly what these are. Fluffy, poufy, and sweet as candy. Wearing something like this just makes a gal feel pretty.

So I'm taking pictures of these peignoir sets, and BAM! I put this long white gown on the mannequin and I can see right through it! This thing leaves nothing to the imagination! "Wait a minute", says I. "I know this thing is 50's, but I never wore anything this racy, much less anyone from my mother's generation!"



Then, this black one went on the mannequin. If anything, it's even sheerer than the white one. Wow!



This begins to unnerve me. My imagination starts working overtime as I picture moms all over 1950's middle America, the same moms who baked apple pies, hung laundry outside to dry, and spent the afternoon ironing dad's shirts. I picture those moms running around at night nearly naked in sheer nightgowns after the kids have gone to bed, doing unimaginable things that don't involve washing dishes. It can't be! An email to my mom is definitely in order to dispel these nightmarish visions.

To my relief, mom confirms that no, she never owned anything like that. And though she longed to wear one of those girly pink sets like the one up at the top of this post, with a young family, she couldn't afford it. In fact, when my brain calmed down, I remembered mom wearing something more like these 1950's Barbizon pajamas.



Whew! So who was wearing those sheerest of sheer nightgowns? Maybe this image from a 1956 Frederick's of Hollywood catalog will help clear up the mystery.



The Frederick's catalog! The catalog that fed the fantasy life of moms all across Middle America! The catalog that made us wonder if we too would be magically transformed into that exotic creature when our order arrived in the mail. But I'll never tell. And I know my mom won't either!

See all these lingerie items and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

The Cloche Hat - Through the Years

From Fairchild's Dictionary of Fashion:

Cloche (klohsh) Deep-crowned hat with very narrow brim or brimless, fitting head closely, almost concealing all of the hair. Worn pulled down almost to eyebrows.



The cloche hat first became popular in the 1920's. Although cloches are most often linked with flappers, they actually started appearing in high fashion as early as 1917. Coco Chanel started her career as a milliner and is said to have invented the cloche style in the teens, although that distinction has also been given to milliners Reboux and Lucie Hamar. Cloches complimented the bobbed hairstyles of the 20's.

During the 1950's, cloches again made a brief appearance as cocktail hats. Most often made of satin with sparkling decorations, they also fit closely to the head and were soft in construction.

Cloches made another appearance in the late 1960's and early 70's, although they now most often had a small brim.

How do you tell if the cloche you're looking at is from the 20's or 60's? Almost all cloches from the 20's will be fully lined in lightweight silk.

Later hats will have no lining and an inner hatband of grosgrain ribbon.

If you see a cloche hat advertised as 1920's or flapper and it isn't lined or has an inner grosgrain hatband, be careful! You could be buying a 60's hat!

Hats Still Hot for Fall

From Paris to Milan to New York, hats were still showing strong on the runways for Fall 2008. Shown above are looks from Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabanna, and Marc Jacobs. Hats are a great way to update your look without spending a lot of cash. And choosing vintage hats will give you lots of options. We've just added a great selection of vintage hats to our store - there's sure to be something right for you!

1970's Frank Olive cloche

1950's Lampshade Hat a la Audrey Hepburn

1960's Jockey Style Hat

1980's Riding Style Hat

See these hats and many more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Davidow

We're headed in to our first heat wave of 2008 - 4 days of temps over 90 and high humidity. Ugh. But it won't be long before the winter winds are back, and with that in mind, we're working on our collection of vintage coats for this year.

While best known for their ladies suits, Davidow also made wonderful coats in classic, timeless styles. This one is from the late 1960's, and we're in love with this vibrant pink and purple boucle plaid wool.

Davidow was best known for the details in their designs. Here, the pockets have been cut on the bias. Those flaps are faux. The actual pocket opening is a slit on the side, which is much easier to get into. Also note how beautifully the plaid is matched, especially on those raglan sleeves.

See this coat and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .

Luis Estevez

In a Life magazine article dated April 2, 1956, designer Luis Estevez said his wife was his inspiration for his feminine designs. "She likes her dresses to have sharp lines and to be as sexy as possible within the boundaries of good taste."

I wish I could have met Mrs. Estevez and perused her closet. I like a woman who knows how to look sexy without being blatant. And another thing I wish? I wish my husband could design dresses like this early 1960's Estevez!

See this dress and more at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion .