This mod mini in grey wool is everything to love about the 60’s and yet completely wearable today. The only bad thing about it (aside from the normal problems of finding vintage in your size) is that it’s likely to be a workplace distraction — heck, this dress is so fab, it will garner attention wherever you wear it!
Retro Grey Wool Mini-Dress
Tags: dresses, miniskirt, mod, retro, Shopping, vintage fashion
Foxy, brown Coffy Pam Grier in blue suede is a shopping inspiration.
Pam Grier Wearing Blue Suede
Get the look with this blue sueded velour dress by Malouf of Dallas from the 70’s.
REtro Faux Suede Velour Dress By Malouf Of Dallas
Stunning 1970’s blue suede jacket with shearling collar and cuffs.
Vintage Blue Suede Jacket With Shearling Trim
Retro riviteded blue suede go-go boots with star power!
Vintage Blue Suede Go-Go Boots With Riveted Stars
Tags: boots, dresses, jacket, retro, Shopping, suede, vintage fashion
If you love black velvet, but you consider yourself more of a sex kitten, a la Pam Grier or Raquel Welch, how about jumpsuits in black velvet?
Pam Grier In Blacula
Foxy mommas, check out this retro black velvet jumpsuit with sexy fishnet insets and a rockin’ mod buckle at the waist.
Sexy Retro Black Velvet Jumpsuit With Illusion Fishnet Insets
Or play the coquette in this vintage Edith Phillips of Hollywood black velvet jumpsuit with black satin trim.
1940s Edith Phillips of Hollywood Jumpsuit In Black Velvet
Tags: jumpsuits, retro, vintage fashion
I had spotted this fashion shopping spread in that Elle’s Women In Hollywood Issue, and the minute I saw it I was confused.
“Break out the jelly platforms, biker shorts, neon bouclé and juicy bangles for a totally rad ensemble,” it says — for Valley Girl?! That’s not the way I remembered the fashions in the film. So, jumping the que in our NetFlix account, I got Valley Girl (1983) to refresh my memory.
Valley Girl stars Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman in the ultimate 80’s Romeo and Juliet story — with a much better ending, as no one dies. *wink* It has sat in my memory all these years as a great film in terms of capturing and expressing the look and feel of the times presented — not just the decade, but those teen years — projecting it all onto a screen then, and preserving it for us now. (I’m not the only one who feels this way either.)
To be honest, Kleph has an excellent review of the film; I found it while Googling for photos and insist that you read it because I probably couldn’t say it better or add anything, really. Plus, this post is about other things about the film: the fashions in the film. So let’s get to it.
Like I said, I could have been wrong recalling the fashions in the film, so I watched it again to be sure… But I wasn’t wrong. Valley Girl is not full of jelly & neon.
Valley Girls Mall Shopping
This was a period of bright colors, but not neon; think hot pink, turquoise, and yellow, not day-glo colors. The 80’s also had a strong punk influence — black, red, and more black.
Teen House Party In Valley Girl
Overall, bright solids, stripes and blocks of color were predominant. Collars were ‘up’. Patterns and stripes were bold, clear & crisp, not the colorful cluttered-on-black zippered things Elle shows.
Julie and Randy in the Mall Food Court
And Julie also wore quite a bit of the that romantic lacy look that I can best describe as Gunne Sax — not just in her prom dress (or the prom dresses of others), but lacy tops with long sleeves with plenty of buttons.
Lace Blouse In Valley Girl
Julie doesn’t just wear these clothes for the cinematic conveyance of her difference, her ties to her hippie parents, her romantic side, or her nervousness dressing for a party (when her friend has to help her button those buttons on her sleeves); these fashions were strong in the 80’s. I owned and wore several of these sorts of blouses — and my prom dresses were all Gunne Sax.
Posing For Prom Pictures In Valley Girl
I didn’t live in Southern California, but my friends and I dressed a lot like this (the ‘trickle to the heartland’ theory of fashion); one of the reasons that this movie spoke to us all then — and is fondly remembered now.
That Elle might get the fashions wrong is sad… It’s not just that I want the staff to be old enough to remember Valley Girl (though that would be nice!), fashion was a huge part of the film. As Kleph wrote:
That’s partly because Coolidge understood the distinction was a fallacy to begin with. The valley kids define themselves through what they buy while the Hollywood kids do it by what they don’t - but they still show their allegiances via what they wear. And it’s important that, in Valley Girl, when Julie and Randy first see each other - first become interested in each other - it’s at the beach when they are not in the usual garb of their tribes. It’s also no accident the film starts inside a mall but ends outside it.
Valley Girl is an iconic film which preserves fashions of the time as much as it uses them for a point, yet in pushing the return of such retro 80s fashions, Elle gets it all wrong. For the fashion mag to get the fashions so wrong isn’t ironic; it’s a tragedy.
Josie Cotton Performing In Valley Girl
Tags: Films, magazines, retro, reviews, vintage fashion
It’s impossible to avoid the return of 1980’s fashions. From the latest shots of Kim Cattrall & Sarah Jessica Parker 80’s re-do in the filming of the next Sex And The City film…
Kim Cattrall's 1980's Flashback For Next Sex In The City Film
Sarah Jessica Parker On Set For Latest Sex In The City Movie
To the coverage of retro English punk in the November issue of Marie Claire…
Marie Claire English Punk Re-Do
(It’s interesting to note that as American’s jumped into the punk scene, they dropped the more dramatic graphic of the English flag — I say it’s a better fashion graphic and offer the fact that it was not replaced with the US flag as proof of my statement — and the term “Punk” was replaced with New Wave.)
As the spread of retro 80’s fashions comes ever-closer, I now will get off my arse and look to see what few items I saved from the 80’s have survived the various downsizings with each household move. (You know how you desperately dry to lighten and compact those boxes!) If I find anything worth noting, I will share it here. Threat or promise? *wink*
Tags: retro, vintage fashion
Kreative Blogger Award
Fuzzylizzie of Fuzzylizzie Vintage Clothing just gave me an award!
I believe I’m now supposed to select Seven Exceptional Blogs & tell you Seven Things I Love… But what I think I’ll do (and I don’t think it’s cheating!), is select the seven blogs and, for the “things I love” part, show you a specific post that illustrates why I love the blog I’ve named.
(You’ll likely also notice that there is some overlap between my list and Fuzzylizzy’s… I do believe that blog award rules, like fashion rules were meant to be broken — or at least altered to fit one’s needs *wink*)
Lulu’s Vintage: A great vintage fashion blog you probably already know about — and have been wondering why it’s been absent from my sidebar. All I can say in my defense is that sometimes my intentions are thwarted by my own actions; in this case, too busy reading & shopping to get myself over here and make a link. Shame on me? Yes, but it’s kind of Lulu’s fault for showing me such grand stuff! Like Lulu’s Vintage Awards.
Speaking of Lulu’s awards, this next blog/blogger continually wins them: Couture Allure. Sure her finds are stunning, but no matter what your life style, how little is in your piggy bank, you can dream and learn with lovely long posts that show you pretty photos and fill you with fashion facts.
Bobbins and Bombshells is a blog that found me — well, the blogger found this blog and posted a comment (Yup, that really works!) and ever since, I’ve been smitten with this vintage inspired creative kitten. It’s one part vintage fashion adoration, one part DIY, and one part newsy dish. (The blog is now on the sidebar.)
Tales From A Vintage Wardrobe (you might know it as The Red Velvet Shoe, but that’s really the owner’s vintage shop’s name) is another new discovery for me that’s so good, I’m adding it to my sidebar. The Romper Room post typifies what I’m lovin’ about this blog: lots of photos, things to think about — and she’s brave enough to model for photos she uses at the blog!
Kitsch Slapped: Not always about fashion, not always glamorous, not even always vintage — but totally worth a daily visit. If you love vintge & retro stuff, pop culture, and some occasional (feminist) ranting, you’ll love to be kitsch-slapped! I won’t even tell you what this Kitsch Slapped post is about — one should just be surprised with what they discover at Kitsch Slapped. *wink*
Jersey Girl (of Dandelion Vintage) is another blog that’s not always about vintage fashion — it’s more of a vintage lifestyle blog. But that isn’t a slight (it’s on the list, isn’t it?) because sometimes I just go there to get in the mood… The days I do, my pocketbook usually suffers for it, because I’ll be dreaming & twirling in my head & then need to find just the right skirt or accessory… Just like she does. *wink*
Speaking of getting in the mood… If you’re looking for ideas for films (which may put you in the mood for fashions), check out Vintage Meld — Cliff will show you a good time. Mainly ‘the meld’ is all about collecting Hollywood memorabilia, old magazines & other ephemera, but he does offer film reviews and information about films & stars of the past — including the occasional field trip, like to the Ava Gardner Museum!
One last bit of business before you go off & visit all the award winners… Please check your readers, bookmarks & blog sidebars to make sure you are linking to Here’s Looking Like You, Kid correctly. Many of you are still using the old URL and that doesn’t work anymore! Be sure you’ve got the proper one: http://www.twolia.com/blogs/heres-looking-like-you-kid/ Thanks!
Tags: collectibles, Films, memorabilia, retro, vintage, vintage fashion, vintage glamour, vintage style
The trouble with girls & young women today is they just don’t know enough about fashion history.
Overheard at the mall (and no, dear daughter, I wasn’t listening to you & your friends; I heard this while waiting in the food court for you), a group of teens discussing the 80’s fashion comeback. They apparently, if my teen-to-adult translator was working right, were disappointed to find that stores weren’t selling “classic 80’s Madonna, like from her Desperately Seeking Susan days.”
Desperately Seeking 80s Madonna
“Where,” they snarkily commented, rather than asked, “are the short skirts, the wild boots?” — “That stuff was rad original and iconic!”
Clearly these girls didn’t know that Madonna had ripped-off — or borrowed — from Joan Crawford, so how could I tell them that pretty much everything from Madonna’s “rad original & iconic look” (save for the neon colors - ugh) was the vamp revamping past fashions?
Sure, they might have guessed that the “granny booties” were a version of antique boots or Victorian shoes — daringly paired with short skirts. But clearly they didn’t have a clue that this had been done before too. And with cuffed (decorated, even!), slouch, calf-height boots yet.
Movie Makers: Short Skirts & Boots (1919)
Even the disheveled hosiery can be traced back to someone else… Now that’s old school!
Marie Prevost with Stockings (One Over The Knee, The Other Rolled Below The Knee) And Cuffed Slouch Boots (1918)
If those teenagers would have listened to the creepy old lady who rambled to them at the mall — or if they visited here and read this post — and got back to fashion schooled, can you imagine the “No way!”s? *wink*
If you’re in the mood for some boots inspired by 1980s Madonna, 1910s Marie Prevost, et all, check out Jimmy Choo’s ‘Jinx’ Cuff Boot & Jeffrey Campbell’s ‘Us’ Ankle Bootie.
Jimmy Choo's Black Cuffed (With Grommets) Boot
Jeffery Campbell Black Studded Ankle Bootie
Tags: history, retro, Shoes, Shopping, vintage fashion, vintage style
Continuing the story of the circle skirt… The story began with a simple skirt Juli Lynne Charlot made for a Christmas party (not the actual circle skirt shown here, but how cute is that?!) and the skirts were quickly transformed into a multitude of novelty themes.
1950s Christmas Themed Circle Skirt
Fashion legend says that at some point it was suggested to Charlot that she put animals, including poodles, onto her skirts and that when Charlot did so, the popularity of the circle skirts increased greatly — which has led to the skirts being called poodle skirts.
In fashion reality (or at least by my own personal definition), poodle skirts are different than novelty circle skirts… And fit a different market or fashion niche. As we shall see.
While adult women did wear novelty circle skirts, especially in the beginning,the heavily petticoated novelty skirts (what I call poodle skirts) quickly became not only de rigeur for girls, but seen mainly as a fashion trend for the youth.
The poodle skirt craze among teens is often attributed to those new rock n roll dances; teens found the big circle skirts enchanting while dancing. But it’s quite probable that mom & dad preferred their Kitten to wear a longer full skirt that hid at least part of her figure (especially when stuffed with crinolines and petticoats to prevent anything more being seen) to the more fitted along the hips structured fashions; watch Kitten’s skirt swing, not her hips sway. *wink*
(Of course, the irony was that fuller skirts looked like fuller, more womanly, hips and that boys dreamed of ladies’ underthings, so…)
But let’s not overlook the marketing machine in all of this either…
10 Year Old Girl Wearing Poodle Skirt, Christmas, 1954
During the 1950’s, companies began to court the youth market as they never had before. This shift in attention to teens had fashions, like the poodle skirts, forcefully marketed to young girls rather than the former long history of marketing fashions to adult women. The proof of this can be seen in the ephemera trail which shows that ads for poodle skirts in magazines published for teens clearly outnumbered those in publications for women (which focused on less voluminous circle skirts).
There were other factors for the popularity of poodle skirts for teens too.
In the 1950’s you also had less of an emphasis on sewing as a skill for women. More ready to wear, priced more affordably, began to edge out the need to know how to sew. Girls still took the sewing classes, but they knew far less & had less interest in sewing as their mothers did. (The difference between my grandmother & mother’s ability to sew may only seem anecdotal; but I assure you, it was happening all over the atomic 50’s suburbs!)
However, the ease of making a circle skirt, and the influx of printed novelty fabrics that allowed one to make a circle skirt without even having to sew on appliques, tempted those teen girls… She could save a few dollars by making her own skirt rather than buying one — do that a few times, and Kitten ends up with more skirts for the same amount of Daddy’s money. *wink*
Also, speaking contextually of women’s lives and fashion at the time, it’s easy to see how such full, un-tailored skirts would seem unfamiliar — perhaps even ill-fitting — to a woman wearing more traditional fashions at the time. Even the full skirted New Look fashions had a more tailored, refined look about the hips (and either had shorter crinolined skirt lengths, or longer skirts with voluminous folds or a softer “outness”), indicating the more mature woman’s sophistication and duties in life as compared to their whimsical, dancing daughters.
Mother & Daughter, Wearing Different Fashions, Waving Goodby To Daddy In The 1950s
Of course, this lack of tailored appearance was part of the design; if circle skirts had required more seams, Charlot never would have made one! (Nor would the idea of circle skirts have been so readily snapped up by the Mexican souvenir making market, which realized a full skirt with a simple waistband, zipper or no, was not only easier & cheaper to make, but required less actual sizes to be made than tailored or more accurately sized skirts — another reason why such souvenir circle skirts with novelty prints or details are still made today.)
1951 Wide Wool Skirt (And Jeresy Top) Ad
All of these things created a schism, of sorts, leaving poodle skirts and circle skirts with more flirtatious petticoats a far more fashionable dress for teens & young women than for their mothers & grandmothers.
In short, the poodle skirt was one of the very first “too young for you” fashions.
Of the authentic vintage circle novelty skirts that remain, the waists are typically smaller & hems shorter; percentage wise what’s left indicates that the fashion was a marketplace primarily for teens and younger women. What this means for vintage fashion collectors and the fashionistas who covet authentic 1950’s poodle skirts & vintage novelty circle skirts is that it’s slim pickings on the full skirts with novelty prints, appliques, embroidery & other details.
Vintage Embroidered Circle Skirt
But the good news remains that circle skirts are in fact very easy to make. You can purchase a circle skirt pattern, old or new — and don’t overlook making them in Charlot’s original manner either: Just cut a circle from fabric, make a hole in the waist, and decorate!
Still to come… How to wear circle skirts!
Vintage Butterick Circle Skirt Pattern
Tags: circle skirts, collectibles, feminist fashions, history, retro, sewing, Shopping, vintage fashion
The only thing more fun than vintage & retro novelty print dresses are circle skirts — you may know them as “poodle skirts,” even if the themes haven’t all gone to the dogs.
Vintage Red Poodle Skirt
What you may not know is that the credit for the circle skirt, or at least its popularity, is attributed to one woman, Juli Lynne Charlot. A woman who described herself as “unable to sew” in an interview in a UP article, Girl Who Couldn’t Sew Booms Into Business With Circle Skirt, published in the Toledo Blade, February 25, 1953.
Five years before this article, in 1947, 25 year old Juli Lynne Charlot made a skirt to wear to a Los Angeles holiday party by cutting a big circle of felt with a hole in the middle to fit her own waist and appliqued “whimsical felt Christmas tress” to it to wear to a Los Angeles holiday party. According to that news article:
I cut it out of felt, because I didn’t know how to sew, and that was the only material I knew wide enough to cut a complete circle skirt without any seams.
(Also worth noting, I think, is Charlot’s description of her own appearance. As was the norm in newspapers, from fashion pieces to crime stories, the clothing, hairstyle & appearance of those featured in the stories were greatly detailed. In this case, the now 30 year old Charlot “counters” what the reporter sees with a visual description of her 25 year old self, saying she was “a big girl — I was just plain fat and frumpy when I made that first skirt.” Why is this worth noting? Well, for one it serves as a reminder to read old magazines and newspapers for clues to what was actually worn rather than trusting the ads; two, it suggests that circle skirts are flattering on any figure; and three, it shows Charlot as a rather self-deprecating woman — at least as a young designer.)
Anyway, just one week after the holiday party, Charlot sold her Christmas circle skirt because she needed the money. From there, demand grew. Charlot put herself in “designing school to learn how to sew” as well as managed to save enough money to start her own factory.
Juli Lynne Charlot Label
Charlot had orders, but her business struggled to pay the bills. “I can’t do arithmetic. Mother hocked her diamond ring three weeks in a row to help me meet the payroll,” she said in that 1953 interview. Charlot & her factory struggled until, the story goes, an unnamed New York dress manufacturer visited Charlot, found her in tears, and invested in Charlot’s factory, allowing the designer to more successfully continue to make her whimsical & constantly changing felt designs applied on felt (in winter) and poplin (in summer) skirts, like this stunning Parisian themed circle skirt.
Vintage Circle Skirt With French Theme By Juli Lynne Charlot
Just one year prior to this 1953 newspaper article, Juli Lynne Charlot designs were so successful that one of them appeared in a national ad campaign for Maidenform bras.
I Dreamed I Went To The Races In My Maidenform Bra Ad (1952)
Part of Maidenform’s famous & iconic “I Dreamed…” ad campaign, this 1952 ad shows a Juli Lynne Charlot race horse themed circle skirt on a model who has dreamed she was at the races.
In what can only be described by me as a “Holy Crap!” fashion moment, the skirt shown in the ad was available for sale at AntiqueDress.com.
Vintage Juli Lynne Charlot Circle Skirt
Speaking with the lovely Deborah Burke, the owner of AntiqueDress.com, I confirmed that the iconic Juli Lynne Charlot horse racing circle skirt sold two years ago for $665. I can only imagine the delight of owing such a special skirt… It’s exactly this the sort of thing that keeps me searching for vintage fashions.
Come back, because I’ve got more to the story of circle skirts comin’ up next week!
Vintage Horse Racing Circle Skirt Featured In Maidenform Ad
Tags: circle skirts, collectibles, designers, Fashion, history, retro, vintage, vintage fashion
Swingin' Chicks Of The 60's
Swingin’ Chicks of the 60s, by Chris Strodder with foreword by Angie Dickinson, is “a tribute to 101 of the decade’s defining women.” A large claim, but Chris Strodder really knows his ladies!
An over-sized paperback done more in a mod magazine style than a traditionally slick coffee table format, it’s full of beach girls, blonde beauties, Elvis girls, models, television stars, singers, American, British & international movie stars, as well as cartoon chicks.
You get photos (because some of the photos were from private collections many of them were new to me), information on each chick’s reason for fame, her style and a bio. I particularly liked the ‘Bonus Swingability’ sections which share little known facts, such as who was up for what roles and the information on official websites.
Swingin’ Chicks of the 60’s is as much of a thrill for those who remember these women as it is for those who are new to them.
Recent Comments