Julia Galdo's 1920s

Love these pictures from Julia Galdo .









More here and on Julia's Flickr .

Roaring Twenties

I don't know exactly why I'm so exicted about the upcoming Jazz Age Lawn Party @ Governors Island, New York, considering once again I will not attend, but...well I'm excited! So be prepared cause I plan to post about Gatsby Age quite often during these days ;-)

By the way, I know from emails and comments that some - lucky! - of you will actually go to the Lawn Party on June 6th/7th and I thought it would be nice to share some ideas for a 20s style outfits.


"The new signatures - straight lines, bobbed hair, flat breasts, boyish bodies - became the template for a decade of decadence. Fashion was no longer the sum of parts, but a Rubik cube with endless permutations" (from this book )


Photos above is from starduste's phostream .

From now on flapper dropwaisted dresses, feathered fans (for flirting...), long strands of pearls, pear shaped stones, cigarette holders, draped scarves and those glorious cloche hats should become your keywords...


Original vintage dresses from 20s are not easy to find and require a considerable budget. You can be lucky and found a bargain (take a look at Ebay auctions, you could be lucky...), but usually the prices for this kind of vintage are sky high. Actually an original, still perfect, heavily beaded dress CAN'T be cheap...

Those (me included, of course!) with a lower budget can opt for a non-vintage one. I would not buy a 50s repro dress, but this is probably because original 50s dresses are still easy to find at affordable prices, so there's no reason to buy a "fake one". With 20s is a completely different story. Of course a reproduction will never be the same as an authentic piece, but this doesn't means all repro dresses are necessarily crappy! Take a look at LeLuxe Clothing for amazing faithful reproductions of 20s designs: they even sell to movie productions...

In the end, if you're thinking of buying a 20s vintage-like dress, my advice is to always look at the fabric first thing and add at least some original vintage detail to the whole outfit, like a piece of jewelry or a hat.

Just looking at Etsy and Ebay, I've compiled a little list of vintage - something from 20s and something originally from other dacades but with that "jazz age vibe" - and non-vintage things you may like...

An amazing flapper cloche with feathers and beads. here .


A wonderful cloche hat. Here .


Vintage t-straps heels with gold trims. here .


Ferragamo shoes. From 80s, but still so good for a 20s party! Find them here .


A Laurel gold engraved pin, here .


From the always amazing Timeless Vixen, two gorgeous vintage 20s dresses. Here and here .



The dress below should actually come from the 80s, but I think the shape is quite nice... Find it here .


Last but not least you should look at this Ebay seller. The dresses and accessories here are non vintage, but judging by pictures (see below) and feedback they're not bad at all. There are not "buy it now" prices, but I saw the auctions often ends at reasonable prices.




And this turban hat is great!


I will regularly check Ebay and Etsy and various other websites in these days so if you need some more hints, feel free to write me :-)

A Different Time, a Different Place.

Malekeh Nayini is an artist born in Teheran, in 1955. She left Iran in 1979, during the islamic revolution, to study art in US and she's now living in Paris, far from her land. A place which is slowly fading away.

In 1995 she was back to Teheran for some sad family matters. During this painful journey she found a box full of old photos of her and her family. She decided to keep them planning to use those pictures one day, in some way.

Two years later a project called Updating a family album (1997/2000) started from those images and became a way to cope with a past that was still so present.

"I have used computer technology as a kind of time machine to update my family album, to lend it more color and life, to renovate and revive it.

By the use of anachronisms such as collaging modern stamps on the clothes of some of my ancestors, and by inventing backgrounds that are obviously out of context with them, my aim was to see them in a new light and to transplant them into a different time, a different place."

La Petite Robe Fleuri

If you're looking for the perfect 50s flower dress you must take a look at Sohomade . This Etsy store located in New York City is run by Louise Hedley, creator of marvellous garments.


The Tea Dress is my favorite and it's actually the most popular style at the moment!
These dresses come in a great variety of printed fabrics and are often one of a kind, but for a limited time only you can order a custom made piece.







The price is 85 US$ and the chinch belt is included :-)

Dreamland Gala

June's approaching and I wish I could be in New York cause soon it will be time for the Jazz Age Lawn-Party on Governor Island again!


Do you remember the magnificent photos of last editions?

Well, this year while waiting for the Party, you have another date to save cause the State of New York has cut funding for programming on Governors Island. While the island will thankfully remain open, there will be no funding provided for entertainment on the island and at this moment there are not the necessary funds to provide a dance floor and stage for the 2009 Jazz Age Lawn-Party, so this Sunday will be held a fundraiser gala.


Featuring Michael Arenella and His 12-piece Dreamland Orchestra, this promises to be an enthralling night of music, dancing, cocktails and treats. A silent auction will be held featuring items from: Ellen Christine Millinery, Cassie MacGregor Millinery, Bumble & Bumble, Olive’s Very Vintage, Lori Mclean Jewelry, OK Cigars, Cercle Rouge Restaurant (Tribeca), Duane Park Restaurant (Tribeca), Flatiron Lounge, Hey Sailor! Hats, Cobblestones Vintage, and others. Handmade chocolates will be sold from local chocolatier Chocolate Meurens. A wide variety of wine, prosecco and cocktails will be served by expert mixologists at our open bar courtesy of Hendricks Gin and D.O.C Wine Shop, as well as complimentary hors d’oeurves from gourmet charcuterie Stinky Brooklyn.

So, take advantage of the long weekend (Monday is Memorial Day!) and attend the Dreamland Gala in your finest Roaring Twenties evening wear!
It will be held at the enchanting Green Building , a 19th-century warehouse nestled along the banks of the Gowanus Canal, in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. Located at 450 Union Street, it is just a short walk from the following major subway lines:
- F/G to Carroll Street
- R to Union Street
(look here for more directions)

Sunday, May 24th 2009, 9 p.m.
$30 (includes open bar, hors d’oeurves, and live entertainment!).

If you're in New York, please don't miss it!

Noir Vertigo

Here we are with another fashion film and this time it's the turn of Dior. Think of film noir but most of all think of Hitchcock, from Notorious to Vertigo, add several generous spoons of glamour, a Dior handbag with a strong retro appeal - the Lady Dior - et voilà, you're ready to collapse into Marion Cotillard's gorgeous eyes...



Can't wait for Dior's Lady Rouge now!

The Dollhouse In The Prairie

Building your own house, customizing everything is fun, but I think building your own life sized dollhouse is even more fun.

I first read about Heather Benning's project on Lula and I immediately wanted to know more about this canadian artist who, while serving as artist-in-residence for Redvers (Saskatchewan), found and abandoned house and decided to transform it in a "dollhouse".


She worked on it for two summers, doing 90% of the work on her own and replacing the facing wall with plexiglass to showcase the interiors.


As it was not about restoring the house but creating a fantasy, each detail - from the (pastel!) colors of the walls to the vintage furniture - has a story of its own. Even the books placed in the library were selected for their titles, according to an imagined story of the house.


What I like the most about Heather's "sculptoral installation" is probably the fact that the dollhouse will not stand there forever: considering the place will need a new foundation soon it will last only few years as is now.
This temporary condition, this urge and this feeling about unraveling time, bring to a sort of sinister aspect. The artist herself told to Lula about it, noticing there's a "sort of disillusionment and sadness" connected to this project, something that lies beneath the pretty surface. Like the dark side of a fairytale.


The interview to Heather on Lula magazine is by Erin Featherston who, in a certain way, has some experience with dollhouses...



Talking about dark fairytales...

Killers Kill, Dead Men Die

This morning I woke up voiceless and with a really bad sore throat. This is insane considering we're having summer weather in these days... Oh, I hope tomorrow I'll wake up feeling way better!

Actually I don't feel in the mood to post anything too articulated right now, so I'll just share this amazing editorial by Annie Liebovitz that come from an old issue of Vanity Fair USA (it is from 2007 and the ed is part of the Hollywood Portfolio).

I heart le film noir...
















And now I'm probably gonna watch for the 45th time Double Indemnity...!