Posts with tag vintage

If you're trying to incorporate some vintage appeal into your daily style, you might luck out and have pieces that were handed down to you from grandmothers or aunts. Or, perhaps you have a talent for shopping in thrift stores and have found a few authentic items that you just love. But some of us aren't so lucky or talented.

Out of 3,000 people polled, a list of the top 10 best red carpet dresses of all time were chosen. Some of the classics, such as Aubrey Hepburn in her 1954 Givenchy Oscar dress made it onto the list, but you're bound to be surprised when you find out what the number one red carpet outfit is.

In case you haven't noticed, we're all about finding subtle ways to introduce fall into our wardrobes. Some of you might live where it's cold enough to don a scarf and coat already, but some of us live in areas where we'll still be wearing tank tops at Christmas.

Magazines, we love them. We've cleared off three whole shelves just so our collection of fashion glossies could have enough room to breathe. Normally, we diligently lurk eBay every chance in order to find past issues that have been alluding us as of late. But it appears now our journey to fashion editorial glory may have just gotten that much easier:

Weardowney, an online boutique of sorts that plays hosts to all kinds of fashion memorabilia, currently has an "immaculate" collection of Vogue magazines dating from 1946 to 1967 available for auction via sealed bid.

There are 277 issues of for grabs, so you have much better chance of walking away with your piece of fashion history. Start saving now. The site launches mid-October.

[via Vogue UK]

Some days you feel pretty and strong, and other days you need a little help. On those days, we recommend Superhero jewelry, necklaces that will:

• protect you from harm
• attract people to you, and
• create magic in your life

Andrea, the designer of Superhero, creates the line in color families with upbeat and descriptive names like tropical, champagne, and joy. Each piece is a handmade mix of modern and vintage glass beads and vintage lucite beads, with sterling silver findings.

The variety in the beads makes every item unique, which is great for the gal who's not into having the same Tiffany's charm necklace as everyone else. We also love Superhero's beautiful and diverse models, who make the jewelry look that much more magical.

Check out the gallery and see for yourself how gorgeous these glowing glass necklaces are!

We were all excited when we heard that Dita Von Teese is partnering with Wonderbra to create a line of lingerie inspired by 40s and 50s underwear styles. It will be available any day now, and the suspense is killing us!

Dita knows a thing or two about anticipation, and keeping the fires stoked. In this video (pretty much safe for work) we catch a couple of glimpses of her wearing the new line, and swinging on a giant black bra (it will make sense when you see it.)

Even more exciting for us, she talks about someday maybe bringing out a line of vintage dress reproductions based on her fabulous personal collection. We would stand in line for days to get our hands on a copy of that green dress she wore to The Changeling premiere at Cannes. And if she does shoes, too? Thunk! (That was the sound of us swooning.) Even if they were wicked expensive, we'd sell our plasma if necessary! Please, some designer out there, do this with her!

In the gallery, a few of her gorgeous in gowns.

They just don't make shoes like they used to. Unless, of course, you order a pair of handcrafted, custom made shoes, like these amazing 1930s inspired derbies. The shoes are made to fit your personal foot measurements and tracings, and since they're custom made just for you they can be modified with different options such as other colors or toe shapes. More custom shoe styles are also available.

$500 from zerkahloostrah

Jewelry, like a car or a house, is an investment. Which is why it's so important that it stands the test of time. Sophie Aarons' online shop, Precious and Rare Pieces, offers dozens of items that fit that bill.

Aarons, a second-generation antiques dealer, carries an impressive collection of estate and vintage baubles, from Georgian-era jewelry to vintage David Yurman pieces. I first heard about the site from a friend-of-a-friend, and quickly realized that I'd been let in on a great secret.

My favorite item for sale is this 1920s engagement ring, featuring a .87 carat diamond surrounded by a white-gold filigree. Good luck finding a stunner like that in a modern, mega-jeweler's showroom.

With cooler weather coming just around the corner, we've noticed that all of the conditions are right for a sweaterific fall and winter for men's fashion. Cardigans, turtlenecks, and yes, even the nerdiest of all -- sweater vests -- seem to be turning up in all sorts of fall collections. While the sweater vest is an easy way to add some colorful layers to your wardrobe, we kinda have to wonder if men are really going to embrace the sweater vest this season -- or if that's just wishful thinking.

From what we've gathered, this year's sweater vest look is all about the pattern -- and the nerdier the better. Forget solids or pinstripes, its all about checks, argyles, or a bold houndstooth. Basically, anything reminiscent of an ugly retro sweater that your parents dressed you in as a toddler. We like the depth that a SV can bring to an outfit, but we don't expect to see many on the street. What do you think? Is the sweater vest going to be a hot item this fall?

We love all of the amazing independent designers out there and we wanted to find out more about what makes these creative types tick. If you do too, check out more of our Indie Designer Interviews.

If you long for the days of the mixed tape and prefer a well-loved boombox to the ubiquitous iPod, then today's featured indie designer is right up your alley. Meet Debbie Kelly of Custom Ink, an Edinburgh, Scotland based line of cassette tape belt buckles, kitschy accessories and original artwork perfect for the 80s child in you.

Finding a vintage knit in wearable condition is hard. Moths get to yarn, colors fade, and odors...well, they linger. Not to mention the tiny sizes they wore back then. Still, the draped silhouettes of the 30s, 40s and 50s are irresistible, so we kept pawing through odd racks at the back of vintage shops, hoping for that one lucky find.

We did finally get lucky, but what we found was a book, not a sweater. Vintage Knitwear for Modern Knitters by Lise-Lotte Lystrup is filed with exactly the kind of knit jackets and shrugs that Joan Holloway or Betty Draper would wear on Mad Men.

We can't deny that we love watching a college football game and seeing the stands filled with school colors and pictures of mascots -- it creates this amazing feeling of team spirit and unity, and we're complete suckers for it. However, it's really unfortunate that so many college tees seem to cram as many images and words and ridiculously bright colors onto the front and back of each shirt as possible. Spirited, these shirts might be, but they are also ugly.

If you're opting to wear a t-shirt representing your school, find one that stands out. The old-school mascots and vintage tees are still very in, whether it was your mom's shirt from the seventies or you just bought it new.

We love all of the amazing independent designers out there. In order to find out more about just what makes all of these creative types tick, we present to you an ongoing segment called Indie Designer Interviews.

Today's interview is with jewelry designer Ashley Marcovitz of Ariel Telsa Designs. Ashley's designs are vintage-inspired, combining found objects and salvaged trinkets to create one-of-a-kind wonders.

Vintage touches are one of our favorite things. We love pieces that look old enough to have a story about them, like, "Over 150 years ago, my grandmother's grandmother had to sell all of her jewelry in order to keep the estate, but this was her favorite ring, and her favorite housemaid kept an eye on who bought the ring, got a job there, and stole it back! Can you believe it?"