Fashion In Film Friday - The Flapper

Since the early 1900's when motion pictures were first coming to life, costumes have been the most important element.  Aside from the actors capability to make you believe in the characters they portray, the wardrobe for each character has been just as much an essential element to each film.  For as long as we can remember, the fashions we've seen in the movies we love to watch have had a major impact on our own personal style choices. The very first vintage film that sparked my interest was "The Flapper", a non talkie flick made in 1919. Actress Olive Thomas was 25 at the time she played the role of a 16 year old pretending to be a flapper. Thomas' look in the film was the embodiment of the trends of the approaching 1920's, from the bobbed hairstyles & cloche hats, to the short hemmed fringe flapper dresses that shimmied.

Olive Thomas, born in 1894, was an American silent film actress and socialite who gained her rise to stardom after being hired as a dancer in the Ziegfield Follies.  A vixen in her time, known for being a wild party girl, Thomas posed nude for a Peruvian artist before she went on to sign with an international film company to which she acted in over twenty movies in four years.  Her untimely death at the young age of 26, happened by accident when on a coke binge, she mistook her husbands syphilis meds (liquid mercury bi chloride) for either water or alcohol?  Either way, she screwed up big time and it cost her, her life...

'Flappers' by common definition, were women who were seen as non conventional in that they had no shame in their game and were totally not unopposed to wearing excessive makeup, drinking booze, smoking, driving and most of all had no issues with professing their attitudes towards sexuality which was unheard of at the time!  Sounds like they laid the ground work out for us!
I absolutely am in love with the designs of this era and am convinced that this timeless style will always be 'IN'.  Just this past year we are still seeing designers at the board, creating their unique versions of the 'modern flapper'

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Is It Right To Wear White?

There's always been that age old fashion etiquette rule that's told us white after Labor Day is a 'no-no' but is it really?  It's true that the non hue clothing choice has always been associated with cooler climates, primarily Summer but if we go as far back to the 1920's, white was oftentimes linked to an elite society of socialites who vacationed in the Hampton's whereas the working class spent their time working year round to make ends meet. Some have claimed that wearing white in the Winter reflects light and heat and actually makes the wearer cold.  Who really knows the origin of the no white after September deal & does it really matter in the current day with all of the 'out there' designs & color schemes that seem to have no boundaries?  I would say..."NO"!

Celebrated in the United States, Labor Day is said to be the official mark to the end of Summer as vacations come to an end and children head back to school and throughout history, both Fall & Winter have always been thought of as darker color seasons in regards to apparel.  French designer CoCo Chanel believed 'white was right' year round as it was a permanent part of her personal wardrobe.  She dared to wear her signature white suit year round...

In vintage days wearing white was connected with 'snobbery' & 'keeping cool' but for all intents and purposes, especially in the 21st century, there is really no good reason not to wear white twelve months out of the year. With that being said, it's a personal choice and you're not going to be shunned for it.  For Fall/Winter 2011 we are seeing a lot of white on the front as Yves St. Laurent, Stella McCartney & Calvin Klein are showing us that white can be so right in spite of the idea that we've all held onto for years.

On a more casual & affordable level, white paired with anything is what is trendy for the cooler weather that's just right around the corner. So remember that it's your right to rock the white from here on out!

      


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Fashion In Film Friday - Racing With The Moon

The 1984 film 'Racing With The Moon' starring Nicolas Cage & Sean Penn was a romantic drama set in California in 1942 & centered around the lives of two young men trying to get in their 'last flings' before heading off to war.  The characters played by Cage & Penn, 'Henry & Nicky', work together at their local bowling alley setting up pins.  After work one night, Henry heads off to see a movie and meets Caddie played by actress Elizabeth McGovern.  After following her home and seeing that she lives in a mansion, he immediately assumes that she is a "Gatsby girl" (meaning 'rich').  In reality, Caddie is living there with her mother who is a maid.

The term 'Gatsby girl' originated in the roaring twenties and defined the era that saw women becoming more rebellious (i.e. drinking & smoking) and it trailed into the mid forties gearing more towards defining women who were the 'haves' in comparison to the 'have nots'.  To be a Gatsby girl in the vintage 40's meant they you afford panty hose and perfume in spite of the fact that you were in the midst of the 'great depression' & in the throws of World War II. 

The 1940's Gatsby girls were modest yet still had the ability to produce a valid amount of sex appeal. Skirts/dresses were knee length or longer and necklines were modest & button down sweaters were 'in'. Maybe it came more from their attitude than from their clothing style? Either way, they made it work!  Maybe it was the allure of 'innocence' that was at an all time high from that point thru to the 50's?... 

pics: freecodesource.com, au-cinema.com, forgottenflux.com, mooninthegutter.blogspot.com, thisislondon.co.uk.com, cultureandthrills.com

Nylons/Pantyhose...Who Wears Them Anymore?

It it just me or does everyone else notice that it seems as though pantyhose/nylons are becoming extinct?  I swear, I rarely see anyone wearing them anymore.  They've been around since the 1920's when skirts started getting a bit shorter in length, at least to the knee of course.  Vintage hose were first made of silk, which made them expensive and because of the delicate nature of the spun silk material, they ran quite easily.  My mom told me that her mother used to put them on with gloves on her hands in an effort to keep them in tact. The early hose were thigh highs worn with a cumbersome garter belt to keep them from falling down.  They weren't conveniently elasticized like the ones we see today.  

Women have been wearing hose,thigh highs,tights, for years for many reasons. Number one being that they give the allure of slimness & firmness to the wearers legs.  Coming in various styles and colors they have definitely been a fashion staple for as long as they've been around and have evolved with the times with expanding styles.  Nowadays their is an amazingly wide variety to choose from in regards to patterns, colors, weaves, fishnet, smooth, sheer to waist, control top, etc...

Pantyhose had definitely went off the fashion scene for the past what seems fifteen years, for whatever reason?  Maybe it's because they're somewhat confining? At least that's my opinion.  Or maybe it's because we tend to dress more informal in the 21st Century? Regardless, I think women were opting for a more natural look and feel trading off hose for tanned bare legs.  It's all the talk in Tinsel Town that the new Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton is bringing the popularity of wearing hose back in style.  Known for being a trend setter, Middleton's panache is not due to her haute couture or hats, but rather for her choice in wearing delicately sheer stockings.

So, I guess they're back 'in', for now & I suppose that there is a time and place for them for instance when going on a job interview or when dressing for a formal occasion.  I'm not a big fan of them myself, are you?  Care to share your opinions on the subject of... "To hose or not to hose?"  


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Fashion In Film Friday

The 1959 movie 'Some Like It Hot' starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and the legendary Marilyn Monroe was a controversial film for it's time due to the fact that it ended up being banned in several states, Kansas, Memphis & Tennessee.  This was due to the lead male characters played by Lemmon & Curtis, wearing women's clothing which in turn sparked an 'adult entertainment' restriction because of the idea that it was promoting cross dressing.  That was not the case at all as the plot centered around two struggling musicians in the 1920's, on the run from the mob hiding out with an all girl band, disguising themselves as women to fit in...

The movie showcased an amazing costume wardrobe of styles beyond befitting the vintage days of the roaring 20's.  One dress in particular worn by Marilyn pushed the boundaries of that prudish era of what was allowable on screen, when in one scene she wore a dress considered so 'barely there' that it was said to have been her first on screen nude scene!  The dress was made of sheer chiffon and the bust was adorned with two appliques placed appropriately to hide certain parts of her anatomy.  Isn't it amazing to think this was considered risque?  

Besides Marilyn's questionable fashions in this film, 'Some Like It Hot' was said to have been a movie that inspired or promoted rather, cross dressing.  If you look back in history, cross dressing in film as they refer to it, or rather men dressing as women and vice versa, goes back to the early 1900's with silent films.  Truth is, there is always going to be an air of taboo where the subject of gender bending on any level is concerned but I don't really think that movies or music for that matter really has anything to do with promoting that degree of change in anyone and the idea that it can or does, is pretty much ridiculous!  What do you think?...   

: shotsyvintage.wordpress.com , vintagehllywood.virbcom , post-gazetteorg, moviepostershop.com , diaryofacelluloidgirl.blogspot.com , blog.dressvintage.com 

Handsome Girl

Women have been trying to wear men's clothes for ages and seriously, how many of you have found it extra cozy to slip your man's tee shirt or hoodie on?  And what about the boyfriend jeans style for ladies?  Or how about when it was popular to wear the top to your guys pajamas?  James Brown sang "It's A Man's World" & I guess he was on to something, as women have been trying to incorporate the power status of their male counterpart's attire into their wardrobe since the 1920's when vintage silent film star Marlene Dietrich frequently wore tuxedo's & suits and thus began the birth of sexual ambiguity in regards to the usual 'boy/girl' social norms regarding clothing.  

Her idea, borrowed from the boys staples (i.e. fitted jacket, trouser slacks, neck tie & maybe even a fedora) has trailed into present day designs as women seek to continue the attempt to feminize men's styles.  The style is now called, the 'handsome girl'...

Designer's such as Yves St. Laurent & COCO Chanel have been tailoring suits for women with a dude appeal for decades...

Back in 2008, the eccentric designer John Galliano touted that if YSL can put women in men's suits, he was going to go out on a limb and fashion a man skirt and not just for the Scottish bros!  I don't think it took off as well as he'd expected.  There's just some instances when gender neutrality in fashion has a cut off point dont'cha think?

: sodahead.com , hijabi-girl.blogspot.com , dejourmagazine.com , nymag.com 

Vintage Maven Shareen Mitchell's Run On New Reality Show

The queen of second hand clothing and owner of 'Shareen Vintage' located in both New York and Los Angeles, is soon going to be featured on the Discovery Channel's spin off Planet Green's new reality show 'Dresscue Me'.  The show is set to run for eight weeks beginning on April 19th at 10:30 p.m.

Each week,  'Dresscue Me' will follow the self taught vintage fashion maven on her quest to change women's lives forever by connecting them to style.  The show will also get up close and personal into the behind the scenes of the vintage fashion business.  Before there was ever a 'Shareen Vintage', Shareen Mitchell was a self proclaimed jack of all trades and did whatever she had to in order to make ends meet.  This included everything from cleaning houses to babysitting round the clock for neighbors.  She even tried her hand at being a thespian for awhile, and has a lengthy resume on IMDB as a bit part actress on quite a few t.v. series.  In 2003 she decided to go into vintage retail and began her search for rare clothing finds as her passion for fashion grew.  She opened her shop Shareen's Vintage in a warehouse in downtown L.A. and set it up like a home with furniture which rendered a comfy vibe to the aesthetics.  A lack of dressing rooms is the reason she put a 'No Boys Allowed' sign in the front shop window...

   

In Shareen's vintage warehouse there are no two pieces alike and the really good stuff is said to get ripped from the racks rather quickly.  Everyone wants first dibs on her one of a kind gems! She hand picks each new 'old' piece and brings it back to life by cleaning, steaming, mending and sometimes altering to bring each find up to par with current trends. I was really surprised after visiting her website online at www.shareenvintage.com  to see that even given her cult status as vintage fashionista extraordinaire, her goods that range from the 1920's to the 1990's are extremely affordable!


Being proprietors of vintage couture, all of us here at Retro Threadz are looking forward to the first episode of 'Dresscue Me'!  Make sure you check it out!       


: planetgreen.discovery.com , stylecheckupla.com , thedelicatedish.wordpress.com 
   

Hats Off To Spring!

Women have always been in love with hats as a fashion accessory.  In the 1920's the cloche hat was one of the first modern styles of the 20th century.  Cloche is the french word for 'bell' as these caps were form fitting to the head in that shape. These hats were considered 'sexy & mysterious' because the hat sat right above the wearers eyes...

In the 1930's there was a trend in the U.S. for wearing hats when Spring was in bloom and they often did so with a sense of rivalry involved as to whose hat was the biggest and the best! In the midst of the great depression, a new hat at Easter or a refurbished old one was a simple luxury for most women...

There's also a rich history of African-American women and hats, in that the act of covering your head during worship has its roots grounded in scripture.  It has since become a firm tradition for many women who want to show respect for God while adding pizzaz to their presence!

The 1950's saw a decrease in the popularity for hat wearing in general by women, and were no longer a 'must have' for every outfit but have since regained popularity in the 21st century since this is one of the most flexible times in fashion history and everyone is pretty much following their own impulses, especially when it comes to what they're topping off with.


Remember the floppy colorful shade hats in the 70's? We're starting to see them again... 

When talking about 'hats' you cannot forget to mention the huge hats women have been parading around in at the Kentucky Derby for ages. Styles of course have changed so much throughout the years that now the Derby event is more like a red carpet who's wearing who and what!

Just like everything...'what goes around comes back around' and hats of pretty much every style are being seen worn again these days.  Here at Retro Threadz, we pride ourselves in selecting only the most quality of vintage hats for you to choose from so make sure you stop by the shop regularly as we are always stocked with a variety of beautiful vintage styles ranging from the 1940's to the 1980's.

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