Vintage Is Always Chic

A blog simply dedicated to the simply elegant fashions of the 1940's and 1950's.

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"My number one message is that you don't need anyone else's permission to create exactly what you want to create. We live in an age where the gate keepers and middle men are no longer relevant. Anyone with a great idea can reach millions of people. Just get out there and do the work and be ready to fail some along the way."

Charlie Todd- IMPROV EVERYWHERE

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What fabulous things adorned the head: 1950's style hats

Growing up, I used to fight against my mother if she dared attempt to put a satin bow in my hair for pictures. As a raging four year old, I would rip whatever abhorrence clung to the back of my head and then cry over the chunk of hair accompanying it. Ribbons were not my thing and neither were hats. Luckily, hats were a much bigger deal in the forties and fifties compared to today...however, I do think the brits might argue otherwise ( Kate Middleton's wedding anyone)? Today, I would like to review some of the common hats from the forties and fifties.  The first hat I would like to mention was called the American 'V' for victory rhinestone trimmed wool turban. Elegant, sheek, and a guaranteed form of disguising any bad hair day, this wool cap featured a very unique 'v' draped shape over the fore head and covered the nape of the back of the neck. Simple, yet classy, this cap was sure to please in its day! The next hat I would like to highlight was called the French Juliet cap, or more commonly known as the burret. This adorable cap was most worn by young children and young women, in the teen age group. Youthful and spunky, the burret offered a touch of youth and childhood to the wearer. Last but not least, I would like to shed some light on the American pancake straw. True to its name, this hat was introduced in the early 1950's and looks like a flattened pancake atop a young ladies head. Literally, this hat looks like a straw pancake. This hat was my least favorite, but a crowd pleaser none the less. Afterall who doesn't want food like items balanced atop their crown... right?

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Thank you inspirationboost.com!

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Women's sizes in the 1950's

Okay, there have been many articles over the years concerning body shape and beauty comparing our standard today with the 1950's. Did you know that the fabulous and beautiful Marilyn Monroe, considered one of the most beautiful icons in film history, was a size 12 by our current measures? It's true. To be exact, her measurements were 37-23-36. Granted, her waist was really tiny, but her frame would have been considered a size 12! Crazy eh? And yet, Kylie bysutti, former Victoria Secret model revealed that as a model today, if you aren't a size O or smaller, you're considered fat. She actually referenced a talent agent calling her a cow during one casting call. It wasn't until she lost an additional ten pounds  that they would even consider her for future jobs. Did I mention she is 5'10 and weighed 110 at the time of the name calling. By the time she practically starved herself, she weighed an astounding 100 pounds. Given her height, anyone could have seen how much of a health risk this girl was at? How have our ideals for beauty changed so drastically? Stick skinny, to the point of starvation doesn't equal beauty in my mind. No. I'm frequently told by many guy friends that they like to see a girl with skin on her bones. Girls, news flash. Dudes aren't afraid of curves. They actually like them. A lot. I personally believe the reason why so many tattooes depict the classic pin up look is because people remember the curvy days and reminisce over them. Even the ancient stone sculptures depicted bodies thicker and far healthier than what I've seen on the runway. Those sculptures were the beauty ideal in ancient societies. Women in the fifties weren't afraid or ashamed of their curves. Actually, they flaunted their curves regularly. When you get a chance, check out a few episodes of Gilligans Island. Watch the women on that show. Marianne and Ginger had major, major curves. Did the camera try to shoot from the waist up? Nope. Not only did the camera men frequently shoot full body scenes, you'll also notice the clothing choices wardrobe picked. The clothing frequently accentuated their curves, celebrated it even. People, it's time we re-evaluate our so called 'beauty standards'. Body hate doesn't equally body beauty. Its time we evaluate our delusions and look back to move forward.

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Check out this old school Skippy commercial!

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1950's style photo shoot for Whimsy Lane Apparel and Boutique

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Love this 1950's video on hair!!!

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'Smile or your teeth will suffocate' -Author unknown

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Peeps, you HAVE to check out this ad for make up. They put Radio active dirt on the models face to show how powerful their product truly is. WOW.

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Ads From the Dazzling Fifties

Maybe this is my childhood talking, but I was raised on the classics. Classics like, I Dream of genie, Bewitched, Gilligan's Island etc. And I suppose watching Darrin Stevens and Samantha interact on Bewitched held a certain ideal in my fluffy world, that all men worked in the advertising realm. That's what I assumed growing up anyway. Of course, my now oh-so-intelligent-adult brain knows better thank heaven's, but I did feel a sense of bewilderment as Samantha routinely helped her husband out of one sticky situation or another in the ad world. Certainly such wholesome entertainment would shun modern shows like Mad Men, but I do think the 1950's held a certain innocence when it came to ads. As always, I have another incredible website to broadcast: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com. This website specializes in ad campaigns from my favorite era and shows various examples. Take for example this ad for Tampax. It literally took me about five minutes before I realized this was a feminine hygiene product. Originally, I assumed it was a campaign for potting soil. 

Special thanks again to the lovely folks at: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com

A woman wearing pants? Shocking I know, right?! Ha ha ha, I can hear my mother's words echoing through my brain while typing that. She always reminded my sister and I how lucky we were to have the privilege of wearing pants. When she was growing up, all girls were required to wear dresses to school, rain or shine. She would elaborate on her miserable stints at the bus stop during a snow storm and that her legs would be near the hypothermic stages. 

This is another classic ad for Old Spice. 

And you thought you didn't have any gift ideas for dad. There you have it folks. Nothing says, Happy Birthday Dad, here's a gift as old as you are quite like Old Spice. Not to date myself or anything, but I'm pretty sure they sold the product in the same bottle during the 80's...or maybe I was just looking at a seriously decrepit bottle of Old Spice. I'll never know. 

This is solid proof that women were just as obsessed about their looks then as they are now. I honestly believe the only difference between their generation and ours is the introduction of liposuction and rhinoplasty. They weren't as handy with a knife as we are in the emergency room. Woot! Go 21st century morbidity. Special thanks again to Vintage beauty and Hygiene ads for providing the wonderful ad examples from my favorite era!

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Who Doesn't Love a Dose of Audrey?

http://www.rugusavay.com/audrey-hepburn-quotes/

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The 1950's bride

For those of you following my blog, you've noticed an obvious obsession. I love LOVE love the bridal dresses from the fifties. I recently found a thoroughly addicting website/ blog called http://blog.bridalexpochicago.com. In this website, they discuss all the things I love about this classic era. They discuss the hair, makeup, and the creme de-le' creme the wedding dress. One thing I really enjoyed was their synopsis of the most popular trends. According to the link mentioned above, did you know that Bolero jackets became quite popular in that decade/ true story friends. if there were brides with the bare shoulders, often times, they would snag their handy dandy bolero for all those pesky and cool mornings of photo taking. Take a look at this dress!

Photo courtesy: http://blog.bridalexpochicago.com. Immerse yourself in the delicate tulle and refined lace. I especially adore how the lace hovers over the tulle by almost a foot. I've never seen a feature like that before. In a way, I am better able to appreciate the tuliped lace effect because I see the flat tulle base as a comparison. I like to compare the pairing to peanut butter and chocolate. Both are divine to eat, but are sinfully delicious when paired together. Same thing with tulle and lace...well not exactly. I wouldn't recommend trying to eat it, but when paired together they are shall we say, "Sinfully delicious?"

Okay, ready for another juicy wedding dress? Me too! Me too!

This photo was also used from the site listed above. This picture perfectly details another beautiful feature, knee length wedding dresses. Ah, this was the perfect solution for those extra adventures woman who wanted to run without tripping, the girl who wanted to be glamorous while climbing the nearest tree or conquering the tallest mountain....or maybe not. But, I do love these wedding dresses for two reasons. One, you really are freed from the potential horror of tripping over your own long skirt, and two, these dresses look stunning on the particularly short, or petite bride. I am so pleased to see this particular style of wedding dress making a come back. 

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For an in depth look into the amazing makeup techniques of the 1950's check out this makeup tutorial by: itslittlemissoutcast. Thank you girl!!

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Bring on my FAVE Makeup Product: Lipstick

Ladies, ladies ladies. I know there are the eternal fans of lip gloss. They love the glean, the sparkle or perhaps the flavor within each elongated bottle. Can I be real with you for a second or two? I've never been, nor will I ever be a gloss girl. Nope not in a million years. Don't get me wrong, I know many women that look fantastic in the stuff. I admire the fact that the runny gooey concoction defies the laws of gravity and stays circumvent on their lower lip. I however, was never that fortunate. Nope. One glob of gloss, and it was running a hundred miles an hour down my lip crease, where it would ceremoniously dribble down my chin until a well wishing friend would tell me what was dripping down my jaw line. 

Ladies, I have always been a lipstick girl. My first encounter came when I was five years old. I remember sneaking into my mother's coveted makeup stash and flipping the lid to see the flaming red and flamingo pink lipsticks common in the good old 90's. Using my mother's compact mirror, I glamorously applied layer after layer of the flashy red coating, until I could lick the layers off my teeth. Thus my love affair began and continues to spiral today. 

Did you know the term "lipstick" was first coined in 1915 by a gentleman by the name of Maurice Levy. Neat eh? I learned this information from an awesome website I highly recommend, "The History of Makeup." Google this website, and I promise it will be well worth your time. Check out this awesome quote from http://glamourdaze.com. "In 1915 Maurice Levy designed the first American lipstick in a sliding metal tube. Before then – lip colors were sold in pots, on tinted papers, or in tinted tubes. The first lipstick containers to swivel from the case were patented by James Bruce Mason Jr, in 1923. Named the ‘Mason tube, the lipstick had a decorated screw at the bottom of the case that was turned to dispense the stick." My world was forever changed by that remarkable man. The website goes on to explain that the 1920's ushered in an era where multiple colors were introduced. It wasn't until the 50's that lasting or almost -smudge proof lipsticks were introduced.

Ah the joys of benefiting from our makeup pioneers! 

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Ladies and Gents when you have a moment, you should check out this awesome youtube video on the Vintage Hairstyle: "The Beehive". Special thanks to PinupDollAshleyMarie!

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What made the dress? Check out the support!

Hello again all! As I've had the pleasure of highlighting the poodle skirt and other fashions from the 1950's, I realized that I had completely forgotten one of the parts of 1950's fashion that created such a beautiful silhouette of the wearer: the under pinnings. Or shall I say, the ladies unmentionables? Underwear. Under clothes, whatever term you'd like to use, each curvy frame wasn't complete without the right undergarments to support it. Spanx, eat your heart out, I am referring to the creme de le' creme, the girdles, and corselettes.

How did the women from that era create such a shapely frame? I'm telling you now, one big mac and a large fry later couldn't get me into a tight little number from the 1950's if my life depended on it. However, with the help of the said corselette, I think the look may be possible. Okay, let me take a step back, there are those who are probably saying, "what in the world is a corseladge, is that how you say it? Or a girdle...that's a type of vegetable from South America I think." MMmmm yeah, not even close. To give you a good idea, view picture below:

scandalous, I know. men avert the eyes. *ahem* I'm waiting. For the website that this image was conjured, check out: http://www.fashion-era.com/1950s/1950s_5_corselettes_girdles.htm. This particular girdle was perfect for an evening dress with a major plunging neckline. No  white showing, and no fuss.. I love it! The image above even has the clips for the pesky nylons that might slip to your ankles if you weren't careful (embarrassing!) I love the seamless-ness of the lines and the overall contour. One thing, that I am certainly NOT a fan of are the super pointy-Madonna-esque bras women sported in the middle of the 1950's. See below: 

Okay, can anyone say terrifying? This same illustration was provided by the website I referenced above, thank you fashion era.com for this unorthodox view into the 50's. As a woman, I honestly wouldn't relish the idea of hugging someone and secretly fretting over the possibility of stabbing their rib cage at the same time. Yikes. Oftentimes, the bra above would be made using a number of materials: Cotton, metal wire, boning, etc. Whatever the fashionista needed to make this gravity -defying freak of nature a reality, they would conjure. Moving on, I think I can feel the nightmare's creeping in. 

The last undergarment I wanted to highlight, ahem, sir I asked you to avert the eyes remember? Sigh...oh you were looking for a restroom...oh. yes, down the hall and to the left. Yep, anytime. Okay, sorry for the interruption. the last undergarment of the evening is the corselette. Doesn't the name sound frilly by nature? Related to the earlier corsettes dawned by women around the turn of the century, this is a slightly more humane version of it. 

Ladies, I'm telling you the 1950's was an era where support was celebrated!