The Romantic Lifestyle
Sunday, March 13th, 2011
Silk Paisley Brocade Dress with Jacket
This is an adorable circa 1962 emerald green silk paisley brocade dress suit with jacket. Even more amazing it is new old stock from the prestigious San Francisco store I. Magnin, which means it was never sold and never worn and still has the original tags on it!
Backview
It is perfect! A real gem!
Beautifully Fitted Bodice
Sunday, March 13th, 2011
In the spirit of Saint Patrick’s Day a fantastic pair of green evening sandals that lace up the leg and tie. These are made of green metallic leather with silk chiffon ribbon ties. I will give a couple of views as they were a bit difficult to photograph! Especially without a model!
These were made by BCBG Max Mara and seem just the thing to wear with a Green Greek Goddess Style Evening Gown.
They are designed to wear crossed over, laced and tied at the ankle like a ballet slipper. Very very sexy shoes!
I found these while vintage shopping and they were not my size! They were a size 9 and 1/2 and I wear a 7 and 1/2 But they were fantastic and in great condition.
From the Front & Center
I had to buy them and I kept them around for a while as pieces of art, then, trying to edit down my shoe collection I sold them on eBay. My criterion being that they didn’t fit me so I should probably part with them.
As usual the woman who bought them got a great bargain and really loved the shoes. And as usual, I miss them! I’m glad she appreciated them though!
I always feel bad when I sell things on eBay and take a total financial loss. These were amazing because of the color and the design. And they have 4 inch heels. They are yummy and precarious and very dangerous to wear! No part of the shoe hugs the foot so there is nothing structurally designed to hold them on. They are what my brother calls danglers, the kind of shoe you wear to the opera and simply dangle your feet in the aisles to be seen for the pleasurable sensual and visual effect. Do not try to walk far or on uneven surfaces, run or dance in them. Because you could get easily hurt! But they would be lovely for a photo shoot! These definitely fall into the category of shoes as primarily art pieces! That is their highest and best use as shoes. And a perfectly justifiable use I might add!
Saturday, March 12th, 2011
Green Gaberdine Suit Circa 1948
This is an amazing opportunity that comes around once a year to get out the gorgeous green vintage items from the 1940’s and 50’s when the exact right color of Irish green was popular for suits, hats, and dresses.
I have some amazing pieces in my collection and I think posting them in my blog during the week before St. Patrick’s Day is the perfect way to show off several! And inspire people to plan the right special green ensemble in advance of March 17th!
Here is a beautiful late 40’s suit worthy of any Hollywood heroine! It is the epitome of femininity! There is no label in it so I do not know who designed it.
The structure of this suit is just beautiful! Note the princess seamed bodice, wide lapels, shoulder pads of just the right proportions, nipped in waist that tapers to a point in the back elongating the lines of the torso, and the graceful peplum. It is made of wool gaberdine and is lined in rayon crepe of the same green. The skirt is unlined as was customary of the times because women wore half slips under their skirts.
It has hand sewn self-bound buttonholes and black shiny buttons which are probably bakelite. I think it would be perfect worn with black suede pumps and a little black suede box purse and, of course, the perfect little black hat. I think Lauren Bacall would have worn this on Saint Patrick’s Day!
The A-line Skirt
Detail of Peplum Jacket
Detail of Jacket Tailoring
Back View of 1940's Green Suit
Saturday, March 12th, 2011
Christian Dior 1957 - Ultimate Elegance
On FLOWERS, in his dictionary of style, Christian Dior said,
“After women, flowers are the most lovely thing God has given the world.”
“But being so sweet and so charming they must be used with care. A flowered hat may be lovely or ridiculous. A flower in your buttonhole or in your belt or in your decollete may be extremely nice… but choose a variety of flower and a color to suit your personality. ”
“Flowered prints I think are wonerful…silk prints in beautiful colors are lovely for afternoon suits, dinner frocks, or cocktail dresses.”
“In brilliant colors, too, flowered prints can be gay for holiday clothes.”
“… flowers can bring a touch of color to a dark dress. A spray of purple pansies and yellow gold mimosa can do wonders to light up a dark dress.”
Interestingly, many years latter, we continue to feel the same way. I think it is because they cheer us up and it is such a natural thing to do ~ see a pretty flower, pick it and tuck in in our hair so we can be just as lovely and alluring as the flower itself!
Three year old Coco put flowers in her hair a few postings back. I pinned a flower on my own dress yesterday. Today we are contemplating hats with flowers in them. Spring is in the air and we all want to be fresh and new and colorful just like the flowers!
In fact, we want to be flowers!
//fashionlvr.com/5407/christian-dior-spring-2011-haute-couture/ here is the Spring 2011 Dior show as designed by John Gallianos – in the midst of much controversy – still, it is artistically brilliant! And I suggest you check it out keeping that fact in mind.
Friday, March 11th, 2011
Hat from Spring 2011 Dior Collection
“I think that in town you cannot be really dressed without a hat. It is really the completion of your outfit and in another way, it is very often the best way to show your personality. It is easier to express yourself sometimes with your hat than it is with your clothes. Hats are important!
A hat can make you look gay, serious, dignified, happy – or sometimes ugly if you don’t choose it well! A hat is the quintessence of femininity with all the frivolity this word contains!
Women would be very silly not to take advantage of such an efficient weapon of coquetry.
And with hats it is the same as with handbags and your clothes – always select the best possible materials.
In the winter velvet and good quality felts are lovely and very versatile and you can get wonderful, rich colors in those materials.
Fur is lovely, too – and besides being warm a little fur hat is very feminine. If you cannot afford a fur coat but yearn for a little something fur for cold days, then, by all means, have a fur hat!
The line of a hat is just as important, too, as the line of your frock. Too many hats are just “shapes” cluttered up with numerous decorations in the form os feathers or flowers. If a hat has a good line it will still be attractive without any trimmings as all.
Equally when you have a hat with a good line don’t clutter it up with a bunch of flowers you suddenly have a whim to wear!
For summer, little silk or straw hats are very nice – and I purposely say “little” because they are much more convenient to have than big ones. You quickly tire of having hats with enormous brims and except on very still summer days they are difficult to wear elegantly – you do not always want to be holding onto the brim!
Of course on the right day and for the right occasion – like a garden party – nothing is nicer or more provocative than a really big hat, sometimes covered with a profusion of flowers.
For sport or in the country, I do not very much like hats – unless rain wind or strong sun draws them back to their original use which is to cover the head.” From the entry on Hats in Christian Dior’s Little Dictionary of Fashion published by Abrams in 1951
As Lady Violette I am delighted to see that Christian Dior used the term important hats! And that he says a hat is one of the best ways to show your personality. And he goes on to say that hats are the quintessence of femininity and are such an efficient weapon of coquetry!
A Charmingly Veiled Cocktail Hat - Spring 2011 Dior Collection
The hats pictured are by John Gallianos for Dior 2011 Spring – just before his firing! Too bad! He was and still is a brilliant designer!
See my next post for a Dior hat in an ensemble designed by the master himself.
This work by Violette de Courcy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at ladyviolette.com.
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