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

Silver and Gold

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This week and last saw an influx in listing the vintage jewelry we have in the shop to online.  I have actually had quite a few people say they love our jewelry selection and wish we put more online, so here you go!

Clip On

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Oddly enough, I don't have pierced ears, something I continuously get questioned about from people, for whatever reason.

Not that I never had pierced ears.

When I was in elementary school, all my friends had pierced ears, but I didn't.  I begged and begged my mom to let me get them, and, finally, for my birthday present in fifth grade, she took me to Corey's Jewelry and had it done.  I was so excited, then, like most things in my life at that age, I was over it quickly.  I kept the studs in just to keep my holes open, and went through a brief period of time in tenth grade where I changed my earrings every day and wore hoops and funky shapes in my ears, then just took them out and forgot about them.

Needless to say, the holes closed up in the back, and I have no desire to get them repierced.

Nowadays, I have an excuse to not wear pierced earrings because I have access to so many beautiful clip earrings from the 50s and 60s that are more beautiful than any other thing that's sold in the stores, so there's no dilemma!

Here's a sampling of my favorite clip earrings we currently have in the shop, but you can check out more here!

Kodachromes of Women in the Workplace

I have a sister, not a brother, which meant that, while growing up, if anything needed to be done around the house, we had to help my dad do it.  He was a carpenter by trade, so we were always helping with the numerous home improvement projects around the house or we would take nails and pieces of scrap wood while he was building something and put them together to create little works of art.  I remember I once made a plane-looking thing, and he helped my put a working propeller on it.  I was beyond happy.

Because of this upbringing, I am fiercely independent (and slightly pigheaded when it comes to asking for help), and can do basically anything when it comes to renovations.  Paint, yeah, no problem.  Hang drywall, sure, why not?  Re-tile a floor or put down lamenent, of course!  Gardening, mowing the lawn, cleaning up this, shining up that, we did it all in terms of construction.

Looking at these photos, I think of how grateful I am that these women paved the way for me to be able to do these things and not be seen as a "wild woman."  As much as I love wearing dresses and makeup, I like to feel useful and have no time to wait around for a "man" to change my lightbulbs.  I'm sure these women felt the same way, even if they were seen as "rebels" of their time.

See more of the photo collection here.

Shop Update || Buying Trip

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 Last week, we were closed for a couple of days because our stairs up to the shop had to be replaced, so me and my intern Darby went on a buying trip.  This was her first trip out, and I was really pleased with how easily she picked out great things without any coaching.  She's great and really smart, but I was glad to see that I had actually taught her something.  Made me happy.

Dior's New Look

The post-war world of the 1940s called for something new and exciting to happen for fashion.  Women were tired of looking like uniformed civilians in their war-rationed fabric suits and were longing for something feminine and beautiful, something different and new to put on.

Over in Paris, a designer by the name of Christian Dior was designing what women wanted.  Almost mocking the ideals of rationing, he was using bolts of fabric to create full, elegant dresses that would hit the runways and be dubbed as, "The New Look," for fashionistas everywhere.

The dresses in The New Look were meant to accentuate a women's natural shape and curves.  Each one had sloping shoulders, a tiny waist, and full bust and hips.  Dior wanted to idealize a woman's body, as well as draw on past eras of femininity, such as the Victoria Era, to give charm and grace to his designs.

However, Dior used his own little tricks to really give the look some flare.  The dresses had shoulder pads to create sloping shoulders, a "waspie" corset to create a thin waist, push up bra cups to accentuate the bust, and a padded petticoat to give the wearer full hips.  His dresses could practically stand up on their own with all the boning and padding he added to them to make them have this shape.  Women who were trying to get the look, but couldn't afford the design were encouraged to sew a "waist-liner" (a strip of muslim with boning sewn into it) into their dresses.

Though his designs were popular with celebrities and socialites and copied and produced for the all-American housewife, the dominance of The New Look in fashion ended shortly after Dior's death in 1957.  One could blame the complexity and restrictiveness of the layers and corsets for the end of the look, but the changing ideals of women and fashion probably had a lot to do with it, as well.  No matter the reason, the basic idea and silhouette of the look continues to show its face in fashion, constantly being replicated in design with each passing decade.

Sources

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What a Waist!

The waistline of a dress is your key to solving fit issues.  Many different waistline styles can fit the same person, yet some are meant to stay away from.  Depending on your body type, where the waistline falls can help accentuate your bust, make your torso and legs seem longer, and hide your hips.  However, choosing the wrong cut can do the exact opposite.

Below are the five basic waistline cuts for garments, highlighting what each emphasizes and diminishes and how it will look on you when you wear it, as well as which decade the cut was most prominate in.

Natural Waistline

The waist is the skinniest part of a person's torso, falling just below the belly button between the ribcage and the hips.  If a dress is cut at the natural waistline, it falls right on this line for a person. 

This look is perfect for hourglass figures, as it provides a balance between the bust and the hips.  However, whose midsections are as wide or wider than the hips will want to stay away from this look, as it will just bring attention to the midsection's thickness.

Most popular:  1950s

Drop Waist

A drop waist features a waistline that falls at or below the hips, creating a lengthening effect for the torso.

Perfect for:  Slim, boxy women as it gives the impression of having an hourglass figure.

Stay away:  Long torsos will appear even longer.  Petite girls will look like they have even short legs.

Most popular:  1920s. Repeated in the 60s till today in fashion.

Empire Waist

A gathered waistline that sits just below the bust.  Gives a long, slender look due to the draping of the fabric caused by the gathering.

Perfect for:  Everyone.  Adds curves to smaller framed women.  Hides the hips and stomaches of heavy-set and pearshaped women.  Enhances the bust on all. 

Stay away:  Larger busted women, as it will draw even more attention to your chest.

Most popular:  Jane Eyre times.  And the 1970s.

Basque Waist

Generally starting around the natural waist, this waistline dips about 2-3 inches in the center to create a u-shape or v-shape (also called the v-shaped waist or the Antebellum waist).

Perfect for:  Those with notable curves.  Petite girls as it elongates the torso.

Stay away:  Boxy shaped figures (equal waist to hips) as it will make the wearer look even boxier.  Pear shapes as it will draw attention to the lower belly.

No Waist

A-line silhoutte dresses contain no waistline.  This cut creates a long, slimming look to the wearer as it does not cut the body at any certain point. 

Perfect for:  Boxy, hourglass, petite tall.

Stay away:  Pear shaped (large hips).

Most popular:  1960s.

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