All That Jazz...

For those of you in New York, it's time to travel back in the roaring 20s again and enjoy a beautiful day in Governors Island: The biannual Jazz Age Lawn Party is back for its 5th edition!


What is better than spending a summer day picnicking, going to a Charleston lesson and watching the parade of hats and the promenade of bathing beauties and beaus?

Of course one of the dresses below, all from the Met exhibition American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity (thanks Amy for mentioning it!), would be the perfect thing to wear...








Pictures courtesy of Met Museum.

Back To Blogging And Mad Men Related Things...

I know, I know, I am a terrible blogger, but fear not, everything is ok here and I hope to be able to post more often from now on.

So, July is usually a great month for various reasons and one of them is certainly that the new season of Mad Men is approaching, at least for those in the US. Are you excited? I can't wait!

In less than 3 weeks we'll all know what will happen to our beloved characters. For now there are not much news apart from the unveiling of the new poster below


and this video about season 4 wardrobe (yay!)



Oh, and if you liked the Mad Men Yourself thing, you should definitely check the new and improved version, with an updated selection of clothing, accessories and backgrounds...

Here's my new avatars. Man, I love all the versions of that dress!!! ;-)



I actually don't smoke, but, hey, this is a Mad Men world!

Vintage Sartorialist

One of the thing I recently enjoyed the most was the first photo contest Scott The Sartorialist Schuman ran last month.



The Vintage Photo Contest was - obviously - about vintage photos, and if you're following me you may know how much I like to indulge in old pictures from my family, but also from unknown people. And photos that come with a story are the best, like when you purchase a vintage dress and people tell you about its original owner...



So a lot of people were involved in the Sartorialist contest and sent him the most beautiful images they own, from 20s to early 80s, of their stylish family members. And each entry came with a brief introduction.



If you missed the whole thing, I suggest you to check the blog. Now!

Barbie Goes Mad (Men)

Ok, I'm not a dolls collector or a fan of collector dolls and tv show merchandising, but Barbie Collector Mad Men Dolls seems to be the ultimate object of desire!


Not necessarily the men, which look kind of weird as usual - and by the way a real Jon Hamm would be unbeatable... - but Betty and Joan dolls are fabulous!!

They're molded of Silkstone®, a material that looks and weight like porcelaine and they come with gorgeous accessories (even though there's no trace of cigarettes and martini glasses...what a mistake!) and details: there's even Joan's infamous pen necklace!!

But what I like more about these dolls is they not only are pretty good and faithful to their show counterparts, but they remind me a lot of the real '60s Barbie dolls - face, legs and body shape - so different from the modern ones!

Barbie Collector Mad Men Dolls will be available to purchase from July 2010, when Mad Men season 4 will premiere, for a suggested retail price of $74.95.

Innocence Taken

This is yet another movie I'm looking forward to see. It sounds fascinating and the styling...well just let the pics talk!


With a story set in a 30s all-girl boarding school and a mysterious and glamourous teacher played by Eva Green, Cracks is wrote and directed by Jordan Scott, daughter of Ridley Scott and will be releasad later this year in US (but it's already out in UK and France I guess).









I don't know how much I'll have to wait to see it here in Italy, but at least An Education will be finally released on February 5th!

Vintage L.A.

In a few words, I bought an amazing book and I'm totally sure this will be a perfect Christmas present for any vintage and travels addicted.


I always looked at travel guides as wishlists more than practical books. A way to escape from reality in a certain way: in a cold winter afternoon when you lay on your coach with flu and sore throat, you can always imagine to travel to your favorite spots feeling great with a warm sun kissing your skin!
So it doesn't matter if I'm a million green counties from sunny California and I'm not currently planning any trip to L.A. (any trip anywhere indeed...), I'm totally hooked on this book!

Vintage L.A. is an amazing guide to every amazing vintage spots - boutiques, decor, landmarks, markets & more - in this amazing city. A guided tour of a glittery town, home of oh so many marvellous stories.






Featuring gorgeous, gorgeous pictures and interviews to cool Angelenos (Mark Ryden too!!), this guide will take you from Westside to Hollywood, from the Valley to Beverly Hills to L.A. sadly lost vintage landmarks. It's a book full of colors and fascinating old school stories. Definitely my thing!


The author, the L.A. native and lifelong resident and former Elle Girl columnist Jennifer Brandt Taylor - a super cool and stylish redhaired girl, by the way - has relocated to New York City where she's working on her next book, Vintage New York. And I can't wait for this one too!!


You can browse inside the book here.

Vintage Halloween

Halloween is coming and even if we don't (really) celebrate it here, I adore it! So many costume ideas and no parties to attend :-(

What about you?

I just found these gorgeous pictures and I'm in love...





All from Carbonated's Flickr photostream.

Ode To My Family

Have you ever imagined the life of your parents before your birth? Well, take a look at their old pictures!





My Parents Were Awesome is a photo gallery of young and cool couples before they magically turned into moms and dads.





Casey, Didier, Andrea, David and the rest of them were awesome and fashion forward indeed...





...but wow, she's definitely my heroine!


Found via The Storque.