MOD Monday - Missoni For Target Collection

The Italian fashion house Missoni, famous for it's colorful patterns and unique knitwear is reaching out to us 'common folk' and creating a collection exclusively for Target.  Missoni has been around since 1953 and was most definitely trend worthy in the 60's with it's flair for geometric chevron & striped prints, as well as bold florals.  These pricey designs that hail from Varese, are going mainstream and quite affordable as we will be seeing pieces ranging from $19.99 to $54.99 at the popular retail store, that are all set to go for this Fall 2011. 

Their clothing styles are definitely staying true to the vintage MOD vibe that captured the essence of the 1960's proving that everything in regards to fashion revolves back around decades after they were once popular.  My question is... "Will today's youth opt for this overtly edgy fashion fare?"  I'm thinking probably not and that this will be more revered by the late 30's to 40 something crowd, because these pieces are definitely in the same form as they were over forty years ago as pictured here in this vintage Missoni swimwear ad...  

The dish is that there has been a limited supply since they hit the stores on September 13th and once they're gone, they're gone so you can either purchase them direct or online until October 13th.  

I love all things MOD however, I'm not quite sure that I would personally go to this extreme with the pairings shown above.  In my opinion, I would worry that someone would mistake me as dressing up for Halloween as a hippie or a character from the Austin Powers flick ya know? Maybe one or two Missoni accessories would suffice, but as a whole, these styles are just too busy for my taste!   


pics: ladychirpsalot.com, thebohemianluxelife.com, maggiemaggio.com, missoni.com

MOD Monday - Jackie Kennedy

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was the wife of our 35th President, JFK.   Born in New York, she went on to serve as 'First Lady' from 1961 until Kennedy's assassination in 1963.  Being frequent in the public eye, she always maintained an air of style and grace with her personal fashion choices.  The infamous double breasted, strawberry pink with navy trim, Chanel wool skirt suit she wore on November 22nd 1963, quickly pushed her to fashion icon for the 60's status and became a symbol of the era that everyone remembers her for.

Current First Lady, Michelle Obama is obviously fond of her predecessors vintage style as she was a sure fire fashion doppelganger in the Maria Pinto, pink tweed suit that absolutely channeled Jackie O's signature 60's design.

The late Princess Diana, was even on board with this style as Gianni Versace designed for her, his version of Kennedy's two piece pink suit.

As recent as 2008, the Jackie Kennedy inspired look continues to inspire designers as Princess Maxima of the Netherlands was seen wearing this timeless style...

Since the 60's there have been many variations and alterations to the original cut of this popular suit however, there will always only be the 'one' worn by Jackie.  It has been said that at the request of her daughter the dress not be displayed and understandably so with all due respect to the dismal history behind the garment...  


pics: flickr.com, refugeesunleashed.net, suite101.com, buzznet.com, thesweet7.com

MOD Monday

If you're 'mad for mod' and want to achieve this retro vintage look circa 2011, one important thing to know is that going 'MOD' will require more than acquiring the proper clothing.  It's also about the hair & the makeup styles that were popular in the 1960's.  

The most sought after hairstyles were the pixie and the fringe cuts, brought to light as a trend at that time by Twiggy and Edie Sedgwick.  The pixie was boy'ish and sexy feminine whereas the fringe was a more messy take on the same style. Called the 'fringe' because of the choppy wispy bangs.  

The basic 'cat eye' liner sometimes accentuated with white shadow on the lids along with big faux eyelashes to give your eyes the appeal of a doll is how you too can achieve the makeup vibe of that era.  The doe eyed Twiggy was known for painting lashes underneath her own with eyeliner which is a bit extreme!  If you're digging this and want to learn how to create your own mod style make up, check out YOUTUBE where you will find a great deal of helpful tutorials...

After you've achieve the hair and mod make up, you should consider beginning to incorporate some mod'ness into your wardrobe and the first item you might want to purchase is a basic mini skirt.  The mini is vintage and versatile and completely perfect as a starter piece and the bonus is, it has and never will go out of style!

Happy MOD Monday! 


pics: whatever.losito.com , hipstermama.com , retrotogo.com , collegefashion.net

It's MOD Monday Baby!

It's MOD Monday here again at Retro Threadz and this week we're discussing the origin of the 'baby doll dress' since it was a fashion staple of the 60's.  The baby doll style started out as a sometimes sleeveless, comfortable, usually nylon fabric, short, loose fitting night gown that shortly thereafter migrated into a dress.

The name given for the garment style 'baby doll' was popularized by the movie of the same name in the late 50's which portrayed the title female character as a young and sexy nymphet and the whole idea of that set off the garments popularity amongst young women.

Both Twiggy and Goldie Hawn were most associated with the baby doll style of the 60's...

The style faded a bit through the late 70's and 80's but made a resurgence in the 90's when grunge goddess Courtney Love gave it a new spin and the birth of the punk rock style called 'kinderwhore' was born!  Basically it's a baby doll dress that has been torn, ripped up or cut low in the front paired with platform Mary Jane's.

     
The trend had died down again a bit but popped up in the 'here and now' as  designer Julien MacDonald fashioned up quite a variety of baby doll dresses circa 2011 as he showed his collection at the Spring Fashion week.  

If you notice, there hasn't been too much evolution regarding the shape of the style with the baby doll dress, just a lot more variety where color and textures are concerned.


pics: eliakazanmovies.blogspot.com, corbisimages.com, hubpages.com, fashiontheory.umwblogs.org, threndsandtreats.wordpress.com

MOD Monday!

We've decided here at Retro Threadz that every Monday we're going to be doing a flashback of popular vintage fashions or fashion models from the era of the 60's because seriously...we 'love love love' the fab & funky mod styles of that era so with that being said, when it comes to mod, "what goes around comes back around" as this colorful, versatile style isn't going anywhere soon!

Mod fashions and the models who wore them were brash and daring and definitely ahead of the times!  The styles of the 60's were owned by England but it wasn't too long before Americans hopped on board!    


The term 'Mod' is derived from the word 'Modernist' and is defined as...
mod ¹  (md)

n.

An unconventionally modern style of fashionable dress originating in England in the late 1950's & early 1960s.

adj.

1. In or characteristic of this unconventionally modern style.

         2. Fashionably up-to-date, especially in style, design, or dress.

In and around the 60's, two youth subcultures became ground breaking for mod fashion; the bongo beating bohemian beatniks with their berets and turtlenecks...

And the Teddy Boys with their spiffy dandy narcissistic style that made a man having interest is fashion socially acceptable...

From the mid 60's and on, the term mod was used to describe anything that was thought to be 'popular' & the 60's will always be known as defining Mod as the 'cult of the super cool'.  Today's fashion trends still continue to incorporate that concept into designs.

There is a bevy of 60's styles, fashions, fads, icons and trends to cover and we look forward to bringing them all to light for you... So make sure you stop by next week for our MOD Monday 60's retro rewind!  

Browse our 60's style digs!

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