Vintage 60s Mod Scooter Black Aztec Dress

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Vintage 1960s Rhinestone Mod Black Dress

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MOD Monday - Julie Driscoll

In the 60's, music had a huge influence on the fashions that shaped the 'Mod movement' and British singer Julie Driscoll was definitely in the realms of those who inspired people to dress a certain way.  Hailing from London, England, she started out staking her claim to fame by covering a Bob Dylan original titled "This Wheel's On Fire" and soon thereafter became instrumental in defining the psychedelic era that was British music.  In her teens, Driscoll was the prez of the Yardbirds fan club.  

As she progressed on through to the 70's she focused her musical talents in the genre of Jazz and since then goes by the name of Julie Tippet's, having taken on her married name.  In the late 60's, Julie's bohemian style became truly representative of the vintage mod fashion scene.  

The bohemian 60's was different from the hippie 60's in that it wasn't about baring your feet and wearing flowers in your hair.  It was more of a flowy maxi skirts, floppy hats, boas, faded torn blues and cheese cloth blouses that you can see through (I know because my aunt had one!) were what boho was all about. The mod mix in of course was the pixie hair do that was being duped by everyone from Twiggy, to Mia Farrow!

This Fall 2011, we've been seeing a resurgence of the vintage mod styles in stores everywhere!  Mod boho is one of the simplest to emulate with just a few simple additions to your wardrobe.

My fave Julie Driscoll tune is "Season Of The Witch" which was originally put out by the artist Donovan.  In her time, she was totally a hipster chick!



pics: tumblr.com, psychedeliclion.blogspot.com, polyvore.com, broadcast090511.cocolog-nifty.com 

The Sixties Fashion Trend Revival For Fall 2011

Every fash mag I've read so far is pointing in the direction of a sixties fashion trend revival for this Fall season 2011.  Mod lined pieces, shift dresses, pleated minis and structured knits are back in full swing with a modern day flair of jewel toned hues and pop-art prints.  Make no mistake, the 70's styles are still in, but the era that brought us Twiggy & Edie Sedgwick is now more popular than ever!  Geometric shapes and patterned fabrics (plaids, argyles, checks & gridlocks), clean lines (meaning, ditch the frills & ruffles, play it simple), saturated colors (primary hues of red, blue & yellow) and last but not least short hemlines (that can be accentuated with tights for the colder months ahead).

Whatever vintage style you're trying to recapture, be it the Mod Squad, swinging 60's or channeling Twiggy, you can't go wrong because this decade is making waves once again in the wide world of fashion!

pics: urbanmodernista.com, bubblespop.com

MOD Monday - Mia Farrow

If you're in my age group, you very well know who Mia Farrow is because as a kid you saw the cult classic horror movie 'Rosemary's Baby' and often confused her for the popular mod icon of that era known as 'Twiggy'.  Like Twiggy, Farrow's signature hair do was the short coquettish pixie and they were both fair and thin which often caused them to get mistaken for each other.  Farrow first began her acting career on the old vintage classic soap opera called 'Peyton Place'.  She gained her celebrity status however because she was the wife of crooner Frank Sinatra for a brief time & later became the wife of the quirky actor/director, Woody Allen.

Both Twiggy and Mia, made the cover of Vogue in 1967...Their resemblance to one another is uncanny!

After her career catapulted, she went on to star in over forty five films, winning numerous awards and aside from acting, modeling became her forte.  In the 1967 spy film, "A Dandy in Aspic", Farrow wore/modeled the mod designs of Pierre Cardin.

In her later years, along with adopting about 15 children, Mia Farrow has become an activist and is a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.  Her focus is primarily on advocating for the refugee children of Darfur Africa.  She still acts, however only in bit parts these days.  She's also an avid writer on the subjects that are dear to her in regards to her humanitarian efforts.

Mod styles are very much still alive and kicking in the current trends, as we are seeing newbie stars attempting to emulate the once popular 60's hairstyles of Farrow & Twiggy.  Michelle Williams, Carey Mulligan and Emma Watson.

There's always going to be a 'new version' of an 'old fave' and with that being said, I for one am making sure I never get rid of anything that was once popular because you just never know when it's going to be back in style again?


pics: goldenlondon.blogspot.com, tumblr.com, cinebeats.blogsome.com, celebritylifeandstyle.com  

Linda Morand - MOD Monday

Linda Morand from Long Island, New York, was one of the top fashion models of the mid 60's to mid 70's.  She was was originally discovered by Eileen Ford (Ford Modeling) and graced the pages of Vogue, Glamour & Mademoiselle as well as many international fash mags.  She was considered to be the favorite model of designers Betsey Johnson & Vidal Sassoon and was one of the first ever American models to be booked from New York to work the runway in Paris.

   
She had an uncanny resemblance to Jacqueline Kennedy when she was younger  and even had the opportunity to meet her doppelganger at P.J. Clarke's in Manhattan in 1971.  Her modeling career was more successful in Europe than in the United States as she was the muse to Pierre Cardin, Karl Lagerfeld and Paco Rabanne.  She was well versed in her craft that took her on travels through Paris, Milan, Munich and Barcelona.   She was one of the most photographed models of the MOD era, who was just like her contemporary Twiggy, was an 'it girl' who set the standard of style for her generation...

Her career was short lived and only spanned a duration of one decade as she retired in 1975 to raise a family.  She did however, open a small exclusive modeling school as well as an international photography studio. At present day, the vintage haute couture model spends the majority of her time trying to get a two hour television special off the ground...'The Supermodels Hall Of Fame'

Now in her 60's, Morand could still pass for mid 40's as this once super model, super chick of the 60's is still on top of her game which totally diminishes the usual stereotype of today's supermodels with their eating disorders and heroine chic look and totally gives rise to the old adage that 'they just don't make em' like they used to'!    


lindamorand.com , minimadmod60's.com, hamptons.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

Sorry Janice Dickinson...You Were NOT The World's 1st Super Model!

A few weeks ago I happened to catch the end of Celebrity Rehab on VH1 and this years season featured the self proclaimed 'World's 1st Super Model' Janice Dickinson. Obviously she wasn't aware that the term 'super model' was already known in the 1940's so this prompted me to delve a little bit into the subject to see if there was any validity to the label.

Regardless of the fact that the writer Judith Cass used the term in 1942 for her article in ‘The Chicago Tribune’ which headlined…”Super Models Are Signed For Fashion Show”, Janice states claim to coining the phrase in 1979 when her manager, concerned that she was working too hard told her, “You are not superman” to which she replied..”I am a super model!”.  She obviously didn’t know what she was talking about being that the term had already become popular in the 60’s which was way before she was working the cat walk. 

That's "your bad" Janice for not schooling yourself on the history of your craft because anyone who's into fashion both vintage & current knows who Twiggy is and also knows that at just 16 she became the first prominent teenage model best known for her signature boyish hair style, long eyelashes and thin build.  She was modeling worldwide and was named ‘The Face of 1966” by the Daily Express.

There have been many since Ms. Dickinson who were referred to as super models such as Cheryl Tiegs, Christie Brinkley and the infamous wild child Gia Carangi however, the facts remain that on March 21^st 1967, The New York Times referred to Twiggy as the first super model & Glamour magazine did as well in 1968.

I don’t know about you but whenever I’ve pondered the words fashion and model, I’ve always thought of Twiggy…

Sorry Janice…J

source: images.fanpop.com , wikipedia.com , s3.hubimg.com ,  thehollywoodgossip.com . thebeat.ilyn.com

I go GA GA for G0-GO

Here is a fun mod 60s treasury I made