This Solid Black Lace Bib Sophia Apron has all the elegance & flirtation of a little black cocktail dress!

Vintage Styled Glamorous Full Apron With Black Lace

Thanks to Deanna’s drooling over it, I not only discovered it, but found out that I could win one too! To enter, get yourself to the contest at Blommi.com and follow the rules. Or don’t. Because I really really want that glamorous, sexy black apron!

How about a Lucite purse from the 50’s in a root beer color? This vintage tortoise shell box purse has brass fixtures and rhinestones — like little glittering ice cubes in the root beer! lol

Vintage Root Beer Colored Lucite Purse With Rhinestones

The elegant and elaborate lace shawl is a glamorous accessory many think of only for holiday dressing — which is probably why Valentino’s Sequin Lace Shawl is on sale at Neiman Marcus (sale found via Shop It To Me Sale Mail).

Sequin Lace Shawl By Valentino

But the shawl really knows no season, nor is it limited only to black-tie events. It’s just a bit of glamour you throw on with any old thing, right Myrna Loy?

Myrna Loy & Lace Shawl

(Myrna Loy autographed photo via MovieTreasures.com.)

Vivien Leigh agrees.

Vivien Leigh Lace Shawl

Looking for some super glamorous gloves for New Year’s Eve? Burlesque performer and costume designer Catherine D’Lish created these glamorous opera length satin gloves trimmed in ostrich feathers for Faire Frou Frou.

Opera Length Satin Gloves With Ostrich Feather Trim

The gloves can be made to order in Black, Ivory, Navy, Red, and White. And when you’re done with glamorous dressed-up evenings on the town, consider wearing the gloves to spice up your states of undress at home *wink*

With Ralph Lauren’s cashmere-and-wool-blend fisherman’s cap you can get the feel of Greta Garbo aboard her yacht while skipping the silly look of The Skipper, Captain Subing — or worse yet, Hugh Hefner. *wink* (Sale found via Shop It To Me’s Sale Mail.)

Wool-Blend Fisherman's Cap

Seafaring Greta Garbo

The first means of carrying personal items were pockets (not always one sewn into the clothing, but often a flat envelope pocket was belted beneath the skirt) or chatelaines (items on chains fixed to a belt). Then, in the Regency period, when skirts hung straight to the ground and bulk simply would not do, there was the reticule bag.

The reticule, a small drawstring bag still generally attached to belts as chatelaine, became an “indispensible”. The reticule does in fact get it’s name from the French ridicule, which likely has something to do with left-over sentiments regarding the over-indulgent Regency period in which the bags were born — as well as the fancy embroidery, beading and other adornment of the bags themselves.

Reticule Handbag With Asian Theme Embroidery

These bags were small, as ladies really only carried about their handkerchiefs, calling cards, some smelling salts, etc., makeup was not en vogue — and certainly ever applied outside one’s bedroom.

Antique French Beaded Reticule Bag

When skirts resumed their width, some continued to use reticule bags, but they were not high fashion and you rarely see them in fashion plates until about 1870.

Though made as early as 1820, it wouldn’t be until the late 1880s that the more modern handbags with frames were in popular use. This is when those fabulous hand beaded bags on metal frames with carrying chains were made; followed not long after by the incredible slinky metal mesh handbags.

Women typically made their own bags as well as for friends and family, but quickly making beaded purses became a respectable way for a lady to make money.

As a cottage industry in the United States, women would make the purses at home — mindful to place a single white bead in a particular area of each bog (on both sides), so that the store owner could identify the purse maker and so properly pay her the commission she was due.

Single White Bead On Antique Beaded Handbag

From Somewhere In Time:

If you don’t find a white bead in a beaded bag, you can assume that either the bag was made solely for the use and enjoyment of its’ maker, or that the bag is from a European country, where even if the bag was made for the tourist market, there was another type of arrangement, perhaps outright purchase, between the beader and the store which sold it.

I told you I was sick and stuck looking at a bunch of magazines… If anyone thought that looking at the marked pages later would temper my responses, they were wrong! I am trying to move past the rants (and the 1980s) as quickly as possible, but here’s an upsetting thing from November’s Marie Claire that I could not ignore:

Rebecca Minkoff’s leather bracelets. Inspired by the strap on her handbags. Biker meets Barneys.

Is Rebecca Minkoff a big fat liar? A picture’s worth a thousand words — so here’s a picture of two of my own leather bracelets that I still saved from my days and nights in the 80’s:

I’m not going to say that these leather bracelets are a pure invention of the 80’s; they owe inspiration to the 60’s — and heaven knows who and where before that. Somethings go far so back, it’s nearly impossible to give proper credit. But to intimate that a current designer is responsible for or invented a look is maddening.

Marie Claire staff may be as young as Minkoff, and so maybe not one of them wore one of these ‘back in the day’, but shouldn’t someone recall seeing these before? They were everywhere in the 1980’s. If they forgot that mom, the cool babysitter, etc., wore them, then how about seeing them in glossy fashion magazines? Maybe even in their own publication, say September, 2008 — or the competition they peruse. Everyone’s talking about the 80’s (even though they might be doing poor jobs of matching looks), so how on earth does anyone miss these facts. (Period, cuz that’s rhetorical.)

OK, so maybe calling Minkoff a liar is a bit much… But let’s not act like she — or any of the plethora of studded and adorned leather bracelet designers out now — were inspired void of any knowledge of these accessories, of the styles and designs which came before them.

Designers who replicate the past and do not acknowledge such inspiration annoy me to no end; magazines who pander & promote such inaccuracies will get smacked in the nose by their own rolled-up glossy-page publications– just like a dog who pees on the carpet.

These vintage Whiting & Davis mesh bags with the faces of screen legends enameled on them are really the ultimate in film meeting fashion!

These and other stunning pieces up for auction at Collect.com (starting November 23, 2009 through December 12, 2009), rare vintage mesh bags from the LaMothe Collection; found via Deanna’s Collectors’ Quest post on vintage Mandalian mesh bags.

Whiting & Davis Charlie Chaplin Portrait Mesh Purse

Whiting & Davis Enameled Mesh Clark Gable Purse

The December issue of Marie Claire features some fabulous hair accessories in their Free For You, Strike Up The Bands feature:

Marie Claire: Strike Up The Bands

I love the sparklies, of course! Who wouldn’t want the Billie Barrette comb by Stella Accessories? Sorry, couldn’t find this pretty comb or any hair comb, actually, on the site — but there’s always vintage combs with rhinestones!

I’d prefer to win the incredible Jennifer Behr Double Crystal Headwrap!

Jennifer Behr Double Crystal Headwrap

I have nothing like it, but I have pinned rhinestone necklaces into my hair every now and then… Mostly for holiday parties, but not exclusively so.

To enter, you’re supposed to go to marieclaire.com/freeforyou — but that page is still featuring November’s giveaways — so you’ll have to wait a bit, yet, to enter. (Doesn’t mean you can’t enter the other ones while you wait!)  If you’re impatient, just go buy these pretty hair accessories now — my guess is they’ll be plenty picked over by holiday.

Stunning vintage 1920’s monkey and sheared beaver fur capelet:

Vintage Monkey Fur Capelet

The capelet is especially stunning against the royal blue. Below, Gloria Swanson wears a whole lot more monkey fur…

Gloria Swanson Wearing Monkey Fur

However you feel about fur, please remember, this is vintage; the crime was committed long ago.

Need a flashy and fabulous fashion accessory? Don’t want to spend to much money? Have no fear, go online and find affordable chic jewelery.
Everything from bracelets to loose diamonds.