Image 01

Lady Violette

The Romantic Lifestyle

Posts Tagged ‘Italian Style’

Amalfi by Rangoni’s Famous Delicate T~Strap Design With Feminine Flower Trim Popular in the 1950’s & Early 1960’s

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011

 

An exquisitely graceful Amalfi style decorated with a charming flower.

Amalfi made some of the prettiest most feminine shoes of the early 1950’s ~ 1960’s. This delicate T-strap trimmed with a flower is made of  rich coppery brown suede accented with metallic leather is a lovely example ~ and yet another example of a very desirable and attractive brown shoe! They were made in Italy of course.

Amalfi's had lovely lines and always featured feminine touches.

 

I like brown shoes! Maybe because I also like chocolate! I associate brown with delicious chocolate and luxury leather goods! Amalfi’s shoes were always luxurious.

 

Alluring Amalfi's created desire in women's hearts ~ after all, what woman doesn't long for shoes, chocolate and flowers?

 

My mother found reason’s to buy them, like this pair, because it matched her auburn hair and an emerald green pair because it looked so good with her Titian hair. Of course owning and wearing beautiful shoes and handbags made her happy. She was very fastidious about her shoes and bags, selecting the exact right ones to wear each day with every suit or dress.

The soft velvety copper brown suede and smooth metallic leather are such a complimentary combination!

 

In the mid sixties my mother took a trip to Italy with her sisters and her father for the express purpose of buying shoes and purses. At least that is why the women went along. My grandfather went to study the architecture and took them with him for the experience. They dutifully toured buildings and museums for a couple of hours a day and shopped for the rest. He dutifully paid for all their purchase! Lucky girls! He joked on their return about how little energy they had for studying and how much they had for exploring the shops! He also loved fine leather good and shoes and came back with several pairs of custom made boots.  He was a great appreciator of the Italian design and craftsmanship.

Ever after that sojourn my mother referred to her auburn hair as Titian because it sounded so much more romantic and European! After they returned to the United States they could continue to enjoy aspects of Italy each day by wearing the shoes and handbags they had brought home. It cheered them up and kept them going.  My mother always said, “You should wear the best shoes you can get! It will make people treat you with respect.” My grandfather always said, “You should buy the best shoes you can because they will last a long time!” Both have proven correct in my experience!

Ugo Rangoni began his shoe company in the early 1930’s in Florance in two rooms of his house. Within a few years he had become so well known for his workmanship that he was making shoes for Christian Dior and other couture designers. In the 1950’s he invented the T~strap design like the ones shown above and it was so popular he sold over two million pairs. There were variations on the design and its adornment and colors but the basic shoe was thus.

Note: Rangoni was credited with inventing the T~strap but I think he just made his version very popular. Because I know, for a fact, that variations on the T~strap design existed in the 1920’s and 30’s and were made by other designers. It has long been a popular style for dance shoes because the straps keep the shoes on while dancing as well as flattering the foot and ankle.

I have other vintage Amalfi shoes in my collection as well as other T~strap designs from Amalfi and other designers. I also have a beautiful pair of elegant vintage Amalfi boots in the most delicious caramel color I will be sharing soon. It is rare to find vintage Amalfi’s in these charming old designs. They were notoriously comfortable and were often used until they wore out completely. As far as I can find out the alluring and delicate vintage styles of yesteryear are no longer being manufactured, thus, if you happen to come across a vintage pair and love them you should get it. They are very rare! There aren’t many left because they were loved to pieces!

The Amalfi by Rangoni company is still in production, now in a big factory in Florence. They are now known for casual and comfortable shoes still made to the highest standards of Italian workmanship, rather than the whimsical couture creations of yesteryear. They have their own shops in major cities and are sold in shoe stores all over the world as well as online. They are beautiful practical shoes of high quality and still very desirable.

Photographs by Fredric Lehrman.

Styled by Violette de Courcy.

Shoes from The Lady Violette Shoe Collection.

Share

Be Your Own International Scarf Stylist with Two Pretty Side Tied Shawl Styles From France and Italy ~ Gorgeous International Shawl and Scarf Tying Techniques That Are Easy to Do By Yourself to Wear and Add to Your Spring Wardrobe Right Now! Perfect for Fashionable and Lightweight Traveling!

Monday, April 4th, 2011

As a professional ballet dancer living in New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC; and traveling extensively, I picked up many ways to wear scarves and shawls along the way that I would like to share. I also collected quite a few scarves and shawls because they were nice momentos of the places I’ve been and easy pieces to pack and use to transform the looks of the two dresses I traveled with. I love to travel light and I call them transformers! Two dresses and and a mixed selection of five scarves and shawls can create many different looks. I haven’t counted them and I know I haven’t discovered them all! It seems there is always a new way to wear a scarf just around the corner or in the next country you visit! Scarves are an international staple of style. They are worn by women everywhere and how they are wrapped, tied, and worn is a wonderfully interesting feminine art that is practiced all over the world.

I have already shown you Style #1) the Sash, Style #2) the Dorothy Lamour Sarong and Style #3) the Cowgirl Bandana with this square blue shawl in the previous blog. Here are two more wonderful ways I like to wear a large 43″ square silk shawl with 6 ” hand tied fringe. I am using the same blue shawl to demonstrate and will number the styles accordingly. I ended with Style# 3) The Cowgirl, and continue here with Style #4) The French Bateaux and Style #5) the Italian Side Tied Sling.

Begin with Style #3) The Cowgirl Bandana Tied at the Back of Your Neck

Style #4) The French Bateaux: Begin by folding the shawl in half in a triangle and hold it up like a bib in front of you, just as you do to create the Cowgirl Bandana. Tie the ends of the shawl around the back of your neck.

Then rotate the shawl so that the knot is nestled on your Left shoulder and the long pointed centers of the triangle are hanging down your Right side. Arrange the drape of the silky shawl so that it appeals to you and make sure the fringes hang down neatly. I like to arrange a Bateau ~ a more or less square shaped neckline ~ for this style.

 

 

Style #4) The French Bateaux

This is an easy to execute way of tying a shawl and makes an elegant look for both day and evening. It creates warmth around the shoulders on slightly chilly occasions. You can both decorate it by pinning a brooch at the shoulder.

Style #5) The Italian Side Tied Sling

 

 

 

 

Style #5) The Gorgeous Italian Side Tied Sling: Simply begin with the shawl folded in half in a triangle. Place it, centered, on your right shoulder, with half the shawl coming across the front of your body and the other half going around and across your back. Gather the ends together on your Left side near the waist and tie in one overhand knot! Arrange the shawl to your liking and make sure the fringe is hanging nicely.

I often saw shawls worn like this when I was in Italy. It is lovely, graceful and very sexy!

Vintage Eisenberg Ice Brooch on the Hip

 

 

 

 

 

This is also incredibly easy to execute! I have added a vintage blue Eisenberg Ice and sterling silver brooch at the side on the hip to create a bit of jazzy evening dazzle!

Eisenberg Ice is Very Nice!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A jewel at the hip is gorgeous bit of glitzy vintage Hollywood Glamour inspired sparkle so rarely seen these days and so lovely to emulate. You can see many examples and get many ideas of how to wear it in old films.

Enjoy trying, tying and wearing these large fringed square shawl styles and I promise there will be more to coming soon!

These large square shawl styles I have demonstrated are truly international with origins and inspirations coming from The South Seas, Hollywood, The Cowgirl from the SouthWestern United States, France and Italy so far!

I think we could cover the world with ways of wearing shawls there are so many! The more I discover, the more I want to know! They are such an easy way to add elegance, grace, and a touch of the feminine arts to any outfit. There is no reason, with access to the internet, that you cannot be your very own international scarf stylist! Isn’t it wonderful?

Share