Lillian Bassman

As much as I love vintage fashion itself, I think the photography behind it is, sometimes, even more beautiful and eye-catching to the viewer.  The way photographers captured the sharp lines of dresses, the wide angles of hats, and the slender curves of women against scenery of the age really draws one back into a time of classic elegance.

I recently stumbled across the works of Lillian Bassman, a fashion photographer for Harper's Bazaar in the 40s through the 60s.

Her use of high contrast between the black and white, the placement of the subject, and the almost glowing auras of her stand ins give her pictures an angel-esque feeling that could almost be a sketch transfer verses film itself.

During her almost twenty years of fashion photography, she captured many subjects and was considered one of the last great women in fashion photography, until she decided to pursue her own, private work, and actually threw out the majority of her negatives and originals.  Twenty years later, a bag of forgotten work was found and all was brought to life again.

Photo Source

Teal

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One of my favorite colors is teal and variations of it.

Maybe it's because I don't like wearing lighter blues or greens, but I love any tone of teal or turquoise. 

Personal preference, I guess, but here's a sampling of teals in the shop right now.

Review: Vintage Menswear

For Christmas this year, I received the book Vintage Menswear, a comprehensive source to rare suits, military uniforms, and classic sportswear.

The book is beautiful on its own.  It has a nice cover with a texture to it and hundreds of pages of glossy prints of clothing you would normally only see in a museum.

The clothing is detailed, highlighting the tears in the fabric, the tags of the designers, and the beauty of the garment, accompanied with a blurb of when the piece is from and its use.

Full page pictures, half page details, and close up shots occupy the pages as you flip through, leaving your eyes darting back and forth and pausing to take it all in.

Most of the garments are work-related, meaning uniform or military, so every day clothing like shirts and trousers aren't highlighted, which I would say is the biggest downfall of the book, but I have a fascination with military uniforms, so I loved the book nonetheless.

Also, there's some pretty great leather jackets featured, which is another one of my favorite things, and overall the book is stock full of gorgeous images you'll love, but if you're looking for what people wore to church or a party, it's not what you're looking for.

All images are scans from the book itself.  Buy it here!