Modcloth has developed such a beautiful selection of vintage-inspired, straight- and plus-sized fashions in the last few years that they’ve become a one-stop-shop for anyone looking for a taste of top brands and accessories in the category. This week, they invited me to take part in their Polyvore “Uniquely You” Challenge, an opportunity to build an outfit around a piece selected by Modcloth. The dress I got was the “Evening of Extravagance” black lace dress, one of this week’s featured items on the site.
The delicate black lace overlay is very reminiscent of the 1950s – a look I love! Since it’s lunar new year and almost Valentine’s Day, I went with red and gold accessories, including a beautiful rose necklace and golden velvet bow clutch.
This week, something new! A great review of a beautiful 20th Century Foxy brand dress by my friend Jasmine of Betty LeBonBon, purveyor of fine custom vintage-style skirts and much more! This dress reminds me so much of the beautiful green piece worn by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1959 film Suddenly Last Summer that I’m hoping to get one of my own. Thanks, Jasmine!
Jasmine looking gorgeous in the 20th Century Foxy Taylor Swing Dress.
Broadly speaking I’m a prints lady – I love my dresses with a quirky, unique print, or bold florals on unexpected base colours. You can let the print speak for your personality, and I find them quite easy to wear as the print will dictate how to accessorize and what colours to choose. Easy!
But I recently reached a point where my wardrobe was so print-saturated that I found myself longing for a few simple block colours – if only so I could try out a few patterned shoes or ornate brooches. As much as I love a beautiful print, it can be hard to work a pair of printed shoes with a printed dress, or to choose a really fussy, ornate brooch as inevitably the detail will be lost against a printed dress.
Liz Taylor original dress + 20th Century Foxy reproduction.
I spotted the 20th Century Foxy ‘Taylor’ dress at Miskonduct Clothing. At first, the dress doesn’t look like much – a simple green dress with a matching belt and a full skirt. Normally I wouldn’t even stop for a second look, but being a fair-skinned ginger I’d already decided I was looking for something green. And this dress was green. A good start! I was convinced it would go beautifully with simple accessories like gold or silver, perhaps even blue accents – and it would play beautifully with a nice floral printed shoe (think Iron Fist or Irregular Choice), should I finally decide to invest. Sold!
Things are thawing out like crazy here in NorCal, which means Spring is on the horizon. When Voodoo Vixen UK offered to send me some samples of their beautiful clothing, I Immediately zeroed in on the perfectly pink Roxy swing dress and mint green Eleanor cardigan. Both are uber-girly without being too frilly and the colors are light and Springy without being too pastel.
When I requested Roxy, I expected a lightweight cotton fabric with a pretty pink print. I got a rich-looking brocade in a GORGEOUS light salmon-pink with cream accents. Seriously, this fabric looks it comes from a robeà laFrancaise straight out of Marie Antoinette’s wardrobe. It’s that lovely. Roxy is fully lined and it’s short, but not indecently so, coming to just above my knee (I’m 5’8″ plus). The shawl collar and decorative oversized buttons down the bodice give the dress a nice 1950s effect and a little belt finishes off the look. The belt is made of the same lightweight fabric as the lining, though, which may not be sturdy enough for you. In the pictures, I wear the Roxy with both her own belt and my white Deadly Dames belt for contrast.
I’ve wanted to try Steady’s retro-inspired, made-in-the-USA “Vintage Classics” designs for a while now, so I jumped at the chance when a rep for this Southern California institution contacted me about taking some samples for a spin. I chose the Vicky dress in charcoal, the Sparrow Lush dress in red, and the Velvet Diva dress in black, all in 1x for my 42-32-48″ frame.
You guys know by now that I love me some mid century aloha wear. Hot on the heels of last week’s new-old vintage Alfred Shaheen is this beautiful 1950s circle-style halter dress by Kamehameha, one of the famous mid century Hawaiian fashion labels.
This one has a nifty bullet-structure bustline (which looks great over my vintage shape Goddess longline bra) and a full skirt (which looks great over my Malco Modes petticoats). The cotton fabric has bright, firelike orange-red anthuria and birds of paradise printed all over it. I got it from Christina of Skirt Chaser Vintage, who is a great sourced of designer vintage for people on the low end of the plus range. I’m at about 42-32-48″, and this is a perfect fit.
Today I’m addressing liquid eyeliner, the bane of pretty much everyone’s existence and yet such a staple in every midcentury-loving gal’s makeup kit. You’ve all seen The Liquid Eyeliner Meme and lived it to some extent, yes?
The perils of liquid liner.
There are literally a ton of products to help you create a version of the look: real liquid liner that you put on with a slim brush, gel liners in a pot that you apply with an angled brush, and my personal favorite, the felt-tipped liquid liner pen. Since I like to do the flicky wing style liner from the late fifties and early sixties, I need a product that flows easily without dripping or bleeding off. I’ve also got to have a sharp applicator tip to help me create the clean wing points and a wide enough “brush” surface to make a strong line across the full width of the lid. I’ve tried a ton of liquid liner products and the only one that consistently delivers a uniform line with sharp definition is Stila’s Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Black.
Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner.
Yes, you must use a good eyelid primer for it to work precisely right, but that’s true of any eye makeup product. It also takes some time to get the “hang” of liquid liner. That said, I find the “felt-tip pen” style applicators are the easiest to approach. The pen tip on the Stila liner is the right size, shape, and substance to provide the line I like with the resistance and steady product delivery my spazzy hands need. Additionally, the color goes on opaque and evenly. Once dry, it doesn’t flake or smudge off. When it’s time to remove it, my Neutrogena makeup remover sheets + a little extra makeup remover work fine.
Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner.
This one’s not cheap. It’s $20 per tube, but the results are worth it. The Stila liquid liner also comes in a ton of colors, so if you’re the type who likes to try pink, blue, green, and brown eyeliners, Stila has options for you. Like the lipstick from last week, you can find it at places like Sephora and Ulta.
I love kitschy, tiki things and my favorite fashions are mid century designs inspired by Polynesian and Asian art. After falling in love with a pretty blue Alfred Shaheen last year, I recently obtained another, very different Shaheen style this month!
Vintage Alfred Shaheen Dress.
This one’s a strapless mid-1950s dress with a pleated shelf bust and full skirt. I’m not usually a fan of brown, but the fabric on this one is gorgeous! It’s a rich, cool brown Polynesian texture with gorgeous, creamy white blossoms. The pleated upper bodice is a nice, sharp white that contrasts nicely with the brown texture of the main dress.
I didn’t end up doing anything for New Year’s Eve, but I had plans. Even a nice dinner out deserves a special dress, and this time around I chose Trashy Diva’s new Lena dress. She’s a gorgeous 1950s halter dress with a circle skirt and very festive Swarovski-style crystals and glass beading on the bodice and halter straps. The dress was intended for the holiday season, but it’s actually rather seasonless and the color flatters many skin tones!
The bodice is beautifully pleated with a nice “shelf” detail that pulls up into the halter straps. For those who hate the neck-pulling that happens with many halters, this one’s worth trying. The bodice is very structured and form-fitting, which takes some of the pressure off the neck. The halter buttons at the back of the neck, too, which alleviates the pull that often occurs with halter ties.
I got the size 14, which fits a bit closer than the stated measurements on the Lena size chart. At 43-32-48″, the bodice fits perfectly without a bra.
