Hehehe...a wonderful Lucy gif =)

90° In The Fall?

Ahhhh Fall...finally! Been trying to get in the Fall-esque mood. It's kinda hard to think about jackets and knits when it's still 90 degrees out- Working my way into the mood, a little black dress always helps =) 

New items on their way...

70's Lilly Diamond evening gown - new with tags

Early 1950's silk style day dress

Early 1950's black wedding party cocktail dress- One of my favorites!

Super FUN - 1950's black crepe cocktail party dress - 11 gores in the skirt! 

Sparkly knit 1960's evening shell tops 

   

1940's WWII Parachute Wedding Dress

1940's WWII Parachute Wedding Dress - Smithsonian Collection

1940's WWII Parachute Wedding Dress 

 Out and about yesterday I came across a 40's wedding gown. One of my favorite eras for wedding dresses BTW. Got me to thinking about one of the amazing treasures I would love to have in my personal collection, a 1940's Parachute Wedding Dress. These dresses were made from the parachutes used in WWII. Because fabric was scarce in the 40's during WWII, the bride-to -be would have her military man bring back the parachute and then the bride would have her dress made out of the chute silk. So romantic! Here is a dress made from a WWII parachute donated to the Smithsonian's Collection...

August 1944-
 Hensinger, a B-29 pilot, and his crew were returning from a bombing raid over Yowata, Japan, when their engine caught fire. The crew was forced to jump. Suffering from minimal injuries, Hensinger used the parachute as a pillow and blanket while  waiting to be rescued. He had saved the life-saving chute and when he proposed to his girlfriend Ruth in 1947, he offered her the fabric to make into a dress. The couple was married July 19, 1947. The dress was worn by the their daughter and by their daughter-in-law before being given to the Smithsonian.

Sneak Peek New Items This week

For sale at: bombshellbettysvintage.com

Some new vintage items being listed this week:

1940's Coco Suede Platform slingbacks...

I'm throwing in a matching wool handbag

Vintage 1950's 1960's Emerald Green Damask Party Dress

Vintage 1940's Raspberry Wool Steel Studded 2 pc. Suit

Vintage Late 1930's to 1940's Black Velvet Gown

What is a Parure, Demi- Parure and a Grand Parure?

Vintage and antique jewelry...
  
  Doing a little bit of drawer cleaning and organizing jewelry made me ponder  the question of what is a parure, demi- parure and a grand parure? Parure is a  French word commonly used to describe a set of three or more matching pieces of jewelry. They became popular in the 17th century to show wealth or status. It was used as a fine jewelry term but is common to be used by collectors of vintage costume jewelry sets. 

• Parure is a matching set of jewelry of three or more pieces
• Demi- Parure is a set of 2 items (necklace-earrings etc.)
• Grand Parure is a complete set of matching jewelry. In the 17th century this usually contained a tiara 

Wikipedia describes a parue as:  "A matching suite of coordinating pieces could include a necklace, a comb, a tiara, a diadem, a bandeau, a pair of bracelets, pins, rings, drop earrings or cluster stud earrings, brooch and a belt clasp that might be worn over a fine dress" ....whew! =)  

Josephine in her Grand Parure

A fun little Lucille Ball collage I made today for fun...

The blonde Lucy is from the 1930's - The black hair was Lucy right before she started filming I Love Lucy. And the last needs no explanation...

Lucy was my babysitter many days of the week. I ♥ you Lucy!

Happy Birthday Pierre Cardin! 

 Pierre Cardin turns 90 today! 

  Pierre is an Italian born Frenchman know for his Space aged designs of the 60's, creating what is known as the "Space Age Look"
  Pierre is credited with helping Dior with his "New Look" after WWII. Christian Dior sent flowers to Pierre when he started his own line in the 50's =) He released his first clothing line in 1953. In 1954 he opened his first boutique. And ended up expanding into muscle car interiors in the 70's. Pierre owns a castle that belonged to the Marquis De Sade in Lacoste, France.

1967

Pierre Cardin auto interior: 1973 AMC Javelin

Vintage gowns... 

I've been in a 'evening gown' mood...but then again, I'm always in a evening gown mood. I'm a total sucker for 1930's and 1940's gowns. My love for them started when I found my first 30's gown at Salvation Army when I was 13, with her layers of ruffles and art deco belt... The floor sweeping beauties always charm me. Cut on the bias ? Yes, please!

  

This week being added to the site...

Victor Costa Black Velvet Evening Gown 

1960's Mad-Men Copper Brocade Evening Gown

Tippi , Alfred, Louis Vuitton and Hermes ...

A photo came across my Facebook from a classic horror group of Tippi Hedren and a raven. Obviously a promotional photo from Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds". I'm a big fan of the film so it inspired me to blog about Tippi and Alfred in the world of fashion...

   Tippi started out as a model in 1950 and was selected to wear one of the most fabulous dresses inspired by Hermes. The painted dress was crafted by Herbert Sondheim- New York, New York, 1951. The LIFE print ad  was photographed by Gordon Parks, who was the first African American staff photographer and writer for Life magazine. http://www.gordonparksfoundation.org. 

Tippi for Herbert Sondheim

 

Ok! Back to Tippi and Alfred...Louis Vuitton has also been inspired by the pair, using a vacant train station as a homage to the film Marnie, with the opening sequence of a lone woman. I get two different dates on when the print ad was released by Louis Vuitton (2003 or 2006?) Not even sure if this is the print ad being referred to...I do see a resemblance but I'll let you decide from the images if it was inspired from the film...

Alfred Hitchcock- Marnie-Opening scene

Louis Vuitton print ad 2003?

Marnie opening scene

It wouldn't be complete without Tippi and the birds...

Andre Courreges    

After picking up a newer suit by Andre Courreges,  it got me to thinking about his impact on fashion which of course, was big! To me he's what the 60's MOD was all about. I love his Eskimo glasses that were released a little after his line in 1964. 

Andre Courreges made his Eskimo glasses
right after the launch of his line in1964

Vintage 60's sunglasses

Missing yard sales this weekend got me to thinking about my dad the past couple of days...I should share some of my dads weird ways and our misadventures in our hunt for treasures. As I wash my dishes I can't help but think of him thanks to this vintage doorknob for my collection (yes, I collect antique doorknobs) still sitting on my counter

Found the photos of my Mary Quant suit! The MOD master of fashion

Write-up coming soon...

Elsa Schiaparelli and one of my all-time favorite dresses...

Elsa Schiaparelli and one of my all-time favorite dresses...

A little about Elsa first...Couturier Elsa Schiaparelli was well before her time with her avant-garde style.  As an artist and a dreamer, she created amazing collections such as ‘Musical Instruments’, ‘Butterflies’, ‘Pagan Collection’, ‘Astrological Collection’, and the ‘Circus’. Clowns, skeleton bones  and trapeze artists decorated her garments with sayings like ‘Attention à la peinture’ (wet paint). With her anything was possible and the sky was the limit with her creativeness.  It was Schiaparelli who started  ‘ready-to-wear’ clothing and designed  ‘boutique’ clothing and accessories.

Schiaparelli gathered ideas from the world around her setting her apart from the Art Deco fashion scene. In the 1920s, she started helping design sportswear for women and then went to bold day and evening wear. By 1935 she was a leader in haute couture

She also had lines of jewelry, scarves, handbags, belts, buttons, hats, shoes and perfume.

Her artistic and original ideas attracted artists Jean Cocteau, Bébé Bérard, Salvador Dali , Vertès and Van Dongen.  Movie stars desired to wear her clothing such as, Katharine Hepburn, Claudette Colbert,  Marlene Dietrich and Lauren Bacall.  Mae West posed for a statue that Schiaparelli used as a model to create costumes for her. The statue was the inspiration for her perfume bottle design for ‘Shocking’.

In 1938 she designed her 'Circus' collection and my favorite, the 'skeleton' dress. She and famous artist, Salvador Dali, had become good friends and he had helped in designing some of the prints for her clothing line: 

Elsa's skeleton dress from the 'Circus' collection 1938

Silk crêpe, trapunto quilting, cotton wadding - Made in Paris

Elsa coat 1938 'Circus' collection

1938 Circus collection 'Tears' print by Dali

Elsa Schiaprelli showroom 'Circus' collection 1938

 

Summer coming...With Summer on the way and Hawaiian prints bringing on the Tiki parties makes me think of one of my favorite artists...Josh Agle, better known as 'SHAG' (jo-SHAG-le). His art retrogresses to the mid-century modernism ideal of swank pads, exotic vacations and cocktail parties all in vivid color. Looking at his art takes you to another time and place.

Ekahi - Ekolu - Elua

deaths unending vacation

 

The roaring 20's styles are making a comeback this year for Spring? 

New York Fashion week trend reports from Harper's Bazaar predict floral and 20's elegance will be here for Spring 2012. Comparing the 20's new look to Daisy Buchanan in 'The Great Gatsby' Many designers are jumping on the 20's bandwagon with some interesting variations like Marc Jacobs and his over-sized plastic sequins.I think Ralph Lauren and Oscar De La Renta nailed it! Ralph with a beautiful 'Evening at home' styled gown and Oscar with a feathered number that is ready for a fabulous dinner. I would take any one of these dresses...even Marc Jacobs weird plastic flapper dress, he's wonderful anyways! I see a touch of the 1930's in some of these...What do you think?  

Marc Jacobs

Ralph Lauren

Oscar DeLaRenta

Derek Lam