The Queens

There's something new in my favorite sites list! I first heard about Queens of Vintage through Rachel's blog: it sounded interesting, so I checked it and...it was, even more than expected!


Queens of Vintage is "a daily global glossy for vintage lovers", just launched but already full of amazing features and sections, like the Make&Mend one, with loads of ideas to turn your not-so-great thrift finds in fab pieces. Also, you can search for vintage by decade and have a look af their Top 100 Vintage Queens...lots of familiar fab girls out there...


Have a look!!

Let's Go On A Cruise

Is it time for Fall collections?? Really?? Already??
I'm definitely not in the mood for more winterish looks and this is that time of the year when I start praying for Spring to come soon! So instead of seeing what we should wear next year, I'm digging into that great idea cruise/resort/pre/however-you-call-them designer collections are. Maybe they're just another consumeristic thing in the fast&consumeristic fashion world, but if you just look without buying anything, well it's great and fully inspirational!

Plus, this season it seems I like resort collections more than the real SS2009 ones (though I have some favorites there too...more on them soon)!

I look at all of these fab pieces and I pretend it's Spring...may I have one of each?!

Bottega Veneta


Burberry Prorsum


Missoni


my beloved Moschino



and my biggest favorite...Marni, of course!




All images are from Style.com and Nymag.com.
Click on the pictures to enlarge.

American Graffiti

This is a tribute to Stephen Sprouse, key figure in the dynamic fusion of art, music and fashion.


He was born in 1953, started designing clothes at the age of 9 and at 14 he spent the summer sketching for Bill Blass. At 18 he was working for Halston.

He was one of the first designer to mix graffiti art, punk aestethic and fashion, creating a sort of "downtown suggestions meets haute couture". He captured the popular culture of two decades, 80s and 90s, like no one else.

He had a downstairs neighbor in the Bowery called Debbie Harry, for whom he created outfits to wear on stage...




Indubitably, he was a pioneer.

If you happen to be in New York before the end of February, you can visit Rock On Mars,


the retrospective exhibition of the work of Stephen Sprouse at the Deitch Project's gallery , featuring his pop paintings, videos , original fabrics, the furnitures made for Knoll and more than fifty fashion looks.

BUT if you can't be in NYC (and you're not as broke as I am!), you can still treat yourself with one of these bags, a new Marc Jacobs for Vuitton tribute


Inspired by Sprouse’s famous collaboration with Louis Vuitton in 2001, the new limited edition Stephen Sprouse – Louis Vuitton collection is available since now in Louis Vuitton boutique in NYC and will be available in stores worldwide from Feb 2, along with a collection of fashion accessories, tees and... skateboards!

Big Bow For A Change

I want, want, want Aretha Franklin's hat!!!

Whodunit

I grew up in a family where everyone loved crime stories. My mother, my uncles and apparentely all of my relatives were addicted, so I'm not an exception.

After fairy tales, my first readings were crime and detective stories novels. I started with classics and when I was about 11-12 years old I stumbled upon Agatha Christie's world. It was love.
I can't remember, but I probably started with Ten Little Indians (And Then There Were None) which totally captured me and then Murder On The Orient Express, from the Poirot series.
Though I've read some of Christie's books with Miss Marple and Tommy&Tuppence's investigations, my favorite detective has always been Poirot.

The character is so well defined and peculiar, the settings so various and rich, so well representative of the real Christie's life (she drew on real places when writing her novels).
Though these stories are set in a time between the two World Wars, the detailed tales of bored and decadent English mid and high society, where everyone could be a murder without caring so much about the historical happenings, are not troublesome at all. They're instead sort of "consolatory". That splendour, that magnificence are just the last moments of life before everything fall apart...

As you can read on Christie's official website:

"Her quintessential “English” characters offer a charming view of a bygone era when people sat down to tea in the afternoon, tended roses in their gardens and where village life provided all the scandal one could ever want to hear!"

All this long post, is just to introduce you to another one of my guilty pleasures and biggest ispirations...the British tv movies of the Agatha Christie's Poirot series, the ones with the impeccable David Suchet as Poirot.

Considering the series has aired since 1989, I have watched some of the episodes when I was just a child, but it was only in these last years that looking at them I found they're not only good adaptations of the novels (though the stories are sometimes slightly different from the original plots), but the costume department of the series is amazing and now I covet almost all of the ladies outfits! As much as Mad Men is a great visual source for late 50s/early 60s style, this series is perfect for the 20s/30s era.

All the movies are avaible on dvd and ENTIRELY available on You Tube, so I really suggest you to watch some of them. The videos below are the first parts (usually 1/10 for novel adaptations and 1/5 for the short stories) of four of my favorite productions: Death On The Nile, The Mistery of The Blue Train, The Third Floor Apartment and Five Little Pigs.

...Enjoy!

Lost Pictures

Yesterday I found a fold in my pc with some pictures from this last summer; some forgotten outfits and shots I didn't post here before...
Though they're a bit old and not "in the mood for Winter", they perfectly show my need of warm weather...Spring, Spring, come soon please!

Also, they introduce another colored room of my house apart from the well known saffron one: the peacock blue room :-)






Outfits 1 and 3: everything is vintage.
Outfit 2: everything is from high street stores (Forever21, H&M, Primark, ASOS).

Oh, Mademoiselle Quincampoix "visited my dressing room", check her blog here!

Victoire In Wonderland

I totally agree: "just because it is real, fine jewellery doesn't have to be boring". This sentence come from an old interview with Victoire de Castellane, artistic director of Dior Fine Jewellery since 1998.


Former costume jewelry designer, an aristocratic family and a colorful/powerful interior universe: with this background her collections can't be anything but "different", whimsical, always fun to look at. Each piece is a little work of art, each detail a little surprise.




"I like to have fun with jewellery, to play with volumes, keeping the sense of disproportion you have as a child, the way a jewel looks through a child's eye"




Even her more "classic" pieces have that certain vibe. The "Oui Rings" will always be my favorite engagement rings ever...



Are you ready to jump into Victoire's Wonderland...?

The Belle Of The Ball.

They say there's a connection between recession and high heels. Don't ask me to explain it, but almost certainly - funny but true - in a time of serious crisis like the current one, people look for glamour and glee more than usual. Oh, the consolatory power of fashion and (window) shopping!

With Michelle Obama the world seems to be back to the 60s, with women dreaming about the first lady's wardrobe and style: a fresh, democratic mix of established and young designers and low cost items, at least during the presidential campaign. But most of all people is waiting to know what she will be wearing for the Ball on January 20th. Instead of Oscar divas, this time the big/medium/small guns are working for (and dreaming of) her. And the two little ones, as well!

Isaac Mizrahi

Diane Von Furstenberg


Michael Kors


Alexander Wang


Tuleh


Derek Lam


Marchesa


Monique Lhuillier


Carolina Herrera


Marc Jacobs


Tracy Reese


See all the sketches here and here.

Cinderella 2009

Truth be told, I heart jelly shoes and every time a new stylish version is available I certainly fall in love.

I was amazed by the Marc Jacobs flats


and now again I have a new love and more than ever I'm intrigued by the product itself. First of all the name - Glue Cinderella - wich I find adorable, but most interestingly these shoes come from a collaboration between .normaluisa and Kartell, a pleasant meeting of fashion and design.


Glue Cinderellas made their debut last September, during the Milano Fashion Week, when they were worn by the models on the catwalk of .normaluisa's show.



Available in a selection of appealing bright opaque and transparent colors and in some great two tone versions, they should be on sale from this month. Price tag says 90€...

Nine Questions To Ramona West

I'm slowly getting back to a normal routine after the holidays and this also involves the blog of course. These days of semi hiatus and fresh air (cold air, judging the actual weather!) gave me some ideas for blog posts, so I made a list and even a calendar to plan everything. Hope this will help me to post more regularly this year.
As I wrote before, I didn't make any real resolution for 2009, but in the end I find lately I've planned more things than ever before!

Just to start I'm here with a new "episode" of the Nine Questions Series.


This time is the turn of a really popular Etsy store, Ramona West Vintage ,
wich is specialized in 60s and 70s mini dresses, high waist skirts (my favorites!), mod, retro, hippie, disco, boho, glam,...
A big update is scheduled for this week, so be sure to check the store, the blog and join Ramona's mailing list for special sales and discounts for subscribers only!

So...let's go!

1. RAMONA, TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOU AND YOUR STORE. HOW DID YOU GET STARTED WITH Ramona West Vintage ?
I am a designer by trade. I worked for a few clothing labels in LA before quitting the industry to start my own little label. I started with bags and dresses handmade from vintage fabric. Since I was always scouring the thrift shops for vintage fabric, I became obsessed with all of the great vintage dresses I was finding. I started to list them in my etsy shop and they sold quickly so I bought more and sold more. I then started buying vintage dresses that would be amazing if they were slightly altered, shortened, etc. These began to sell very well and I just kept buying and sewing and selling. One year later, I have an amazing studio spaced filled with racks and racks of vintage dresses, design tables and sewing machines. The growth of the vintage business hasn't left enough time for the handmade line, but I plan to get back to that this year!







2. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A PIECE YOU'RE BUYING FOR THE STORE? ARE YOU INFLUENCED BY YOUR PERSONAL TASTE?
I look for a great cut, quality fabric, and good prints. I look for pieces that are already perfect as well as things that would be amazing if they were cut shorter or altered slightly. I keep up on trends, but only buy things that represents trends that I am behind. So, yes, my personal taste heavily dictates what iI buy.

3. IS NOT SAD AND "HEARTBREAKING" TO SELL A PIECE YOU LOVE, LETTING IT PASSES ON? AREN'T YOU TEMPTED TO KEEP ALL FOR YOURSELF?!
I am tempted to keep things for myself, buy the truth is I'm kind of a uniform girl. Right now I'm living in xxxl mens tank tops that I alter for the perfect fit with nips and tucks in just the right places. Put that with a pair of black leggings, a long soft cardigan and either a tall pair of brown riding boots or minnetonka fringed ankle boots and I'm set. I think I've adopted this kind of wardrobe mentalitly because a) it's an easier way of parting with all the great vintage that i find, and b) I work for myself so I can wear the same thing everyday or the most comfortable thing on hand.







4. HOW MUCH OF YOUR PERSONAL WARDROBE IS VINTAGE?
My boots are vintage (except the minnetonka's) and I always have a great vintage coat and a few vintage dresses to put into rotation.

5. AND WHAT ABOUT CONTEMPORARY DESIGNERS AND PERSONAL HOT SPOTS?
Alex Wang, Balmain, Balenciaga, ...

6. DO YOU THINK THE INCREASINGLY INTEREST FOR VINTAGE IS ONLY A TREND OR SOMETHING HERE TO STAY?
Because buying vintage is eco-friendy, unique, and affordable, I think it's here to stay.







7. IF YOU HAD A TIME MACHING TO GO BACK IN TIME, WICH ERA AND WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE?
Late 60s/early 70s.

8. DO YOU THINK VINTAGE IS A GOOD WAY TO EXPRESS THAT SENSE OF NOSTALGIA PEOPLE (LIKE ME...) MAY HAVE FOR PAST DECADES THEY DIDN'T EVEN LIVE TROUGH?
Yes!

9. WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR VINTAGE LOVERS AND COLLECTORS?
When you see something you love, buy it, because chances are you will never see it again.

Thank you Ramona!!