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Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 1 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 40774 |
| Visitors Out: 1592 |
| Total Visitors Out: 2527 |
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| The Dress That Makes Me Think Of Shoes |
| 2008-06-06 15:40:00 |
...and maybe a hat & bag to go.
I added this Summer 60s dress (vacation wear inspired, super comfortable, all cotton and in a great color combo) to my inventory and immediately thought of canvas espadrilles.
You know - the fabric sandals that seem to have been around forever, were shoved to the back of the closet for awhile during recent decades but are now enjoying a rejuvenating whirl in the fashion world. They're seen everywhere from the lines of top designers to the shoe aisle at Wally World - in stripes & glowing colors, with long lace up ties, sling back styles & dizzyingly high wedge platform soles. It compelled me to look on the web for examples....
Vintage wise, I found these, dating back quite a bit and in striking candy stripe colors with extra long ties (which are very sexy imho) at
Ballyhoo Vintage
I would venture to guess the non vintage varied inventory at Espadrilles Etc would satisfy the needs of any lover of this particular sandal. Try to get a...
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| Nuthin' But a Mere Slip of a Girl |
| 2008-02-07 17:26:00 |
Hmmm, really?It was nice to see this recent article in the Thursday Styles section of the New York Times describing the resurgence & rediscovery of the slip. Vintage aficionados have been wearing & collecting vintage slips out of necessity as many vintage dresses require a little something underneath (for some of us anyway).They can also be addicting if you develop a penchant for them (and they really don't take up much room in the lingerie drawer anyway, do they?)Wonderful, I'm glad the slip is officially back, it'll allow me to showcase a few selections from the Slip category at Mystique Vintage as well as some others for sale around the web. I favor wearing them the old fashioned way, under a filmy sheer dress, vintage or not... (seen but not seen).There's nothing like a lacy bodice ...
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| Class is NEVER Flashy |
| 2007-11-21 07:05:00 |
Whoever said it, and I think it was most likely someone famous and all knowing, hit the nail right on the head. Especially when it comes to fashion. Whether you're rich or poor, dressing up or down, I think it may be one mantra worth embroidering into a framed cross stitch sampler and hanging on the wall. Wealth or fame does not guarantee good taste and class but an innate sense of style and a good eye can go along way.I loaded this Vogue dress pattern onto my website in the 60s/70s category and I think it illustrates this notion to a tee. And it's simple to make too! Maybe it's the long gloves, or hat pictured with the dress in the various views. But then again maybe it's the clean lines & understated simplicity that say "I possess really nice taste" when I look at it. Though I can't fin...
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| Something Old, Something New |
| 2007-08-06 17:00:00 |
1913 Wedding Dress Originally uploaded by Victoriana Magazine I'm presently dusting off the cobwebs on Mystique Vintage Clothing Blog as it's been months since I've been able to even think of publishing a blog essay - busy with the mostly everyday tasks of life I guess & maybe lacking a bit of inspiration besides.I feel complimented enormously anytime any blog or website refers to one of my listings (positively). It turns out I noticed quite a few visits from a forum in the comprehensive info ezine Indie Bride, which provides the free thinking bride to be with a multitude of alternative ideas to celebrating their nuptials. And of course that subject wouldn't be fully explored without a thorough discussion regarding vintage!The vintage wedding is in a category of study all it's own ...
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| The Vintage Kid |
| 2007-04-04 13:29:00 |
Is there such a thing? Do young moms nowadays ever purposefully dress their little ones in vintage togs? Once in awhile, maybe? I'll admit I haven't delved much into this tangent of vintage wear as far as selling is concerned but it is interesting & I'm a sucker for anything little, cute & nostalgic.I do run into great kids stuff now & then, much of it in never worn condition, carefully tucked away in cedar chests & storage drawers. I found this little gem however stepped on & kicked almost under a bed on a dusty floor at a local estate sale, and you would almost mistake it for a dust rag, in all the jumbled mess of potential textile treasures. I've lovingly restored it ( and I use this term loosely) by giving it a really good soak & some new el...
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| Waiting for Spring |
| 2007-03-18 10:43:00 |
Spring unpsprung itself this week in my neck of the woods. Though she visited here on delicate butterfly wings a couple of days last week in the form of hazy sunshine, high cloudiness, 60 degree temps & a multitude of robins, old man Winter decided to blast her back into waiting with a nor'easter. The worst of the entire Winter season, no less. My thoughts of filmy, cottony Summer dresses, espadrilles, straw handbags & beachwear went into a temporary deep freeze while I chipped away at my icey driveway.I've played a matching game with my website stock in the mean time, a suggestive fashion show , so to speak, while I while away the hours waiting for a really big housecall full of vintage (daydreaming again) or the Summer season's plethora of yard sa...
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| How To Wear A Vintage Hat |
| 2007-03-04 15:07:00 |
Alright, I don't have the definative answer to this or anything near it really. It seems after a bit of research & real life experience there are as many good reasons NOT to wear a hat as there is to wear one. But since I'd like to showcase a few of the vintage ones I stock, I think I'll accentuate the positive aspects of donning a chapeau.Hats are certainly not as popular as in recent decades, that's a certainty. It's been said umpteenth times but there was a time neither male nor female of the species went out of the house without one. Summer. Winter. Spring or Fall. And ladies hats in particular were literally little artistic endeavors - from the feathered architechtual wonders of the Titanic era to the intricately bead...
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| The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Vintage Hankie |
| 2007-02-06 15:34:00 |
I have a slowly, ever growing stash of vintage handkerchiefs. Like aprons, they're another vintage textile that's irresistably cute & charming and hard to pass up. And they usually come in big bunches through an estate and every lady seemed to have them, often in copious amounts, evidently.What's great about that is many, many were stored away & never used (cause truly who wants a really used one now anyway) and they are made of some very fine fabrics - delicate cotton voiles from Switzerland, linen from Ireland and silks with intricate embroideries & patterns, etc. Some are fairly collectible for obvious reasons - they were designed by well known textile designers of the day who put a fair amount of artistry into the small square of fabric. Some are uniq...
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| "Oh... well... la dee da, la dee da".... |
| 2007-01-12 18:25:00 |
If you can't reference that phrase with this picture, instantly then perhaps it's time to return to finishing your homework instead of surfing the web for amusement. I forget there are people around way to young to recall 70s film and all it's glory. This classic and misquoted quote, I'm sure, is from Woody Allen's Annie Hall and was uttered of course by Diane Keaton, fashion trendsetter & fine actor.It's to her credit, and love it or hate it, her particular brand of style permeated the fashion world in the late 70s and for awhile threw a spotlight on menswear & in particular vintage menswear. It gave young women a dandy excuse for dressing in clothing that made you feel skinny no matter what your size (mostly because men's clothing is sized for men & not women and many pieces were huge)...
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| Help For One With A Fabric Knowledge Deficit Or Restyling & Reconstruction, Part 2 |
| 2006-12-14 14:13:00 |
Whew, now that's an awkward post title if I ever wrote one! I'm actually showcasing a new addition to my suit category - a wonderful 1960s/70s vintage, 2 piece skirt ensemble. It's constructed totally from an antique paisley shawl, wool I believe and an extraordinary find. This is one of those garments you can't stop looking at. The lush, exotic pattern and the rich colors of the fabric just grab your eye.I've had it tucked away for a bit of time. I couldn't exactly identify the fabric. I knew it was wool (via the burn test, if it smells like singed hair then you've got an organic material) and I knew certainly that it wasn't made in the U.S. I was guessing India, Turkey, Middle East. etc. I even took it to a local fabric retailer, to no avail. It didn't o...
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| Bakelite Revisited |
| 2006-10-29 09:11:00 |
I've been taking notice of late of the current trend of "reconstructed vintage" (whatever - clothing, accessories, jewelry, etc.) and the myriad of ways that's interpreted via the internet, commerce wise. Being a die hard "old school" vintage clothing seller I cringe a bit at the thought of someone hacking up a 30s rayon print dress or a 40s rayon gab blazer and making it into a halter top or a pair of shorts. But...that being said there are some extremely novel, creative & fun ways to utilize vintage garments and give them a new life and a youthful perspective. Here's a look at a couple sites I found on the net.RxApparel who's tagline reads "vintage slice and dice & make nice" has certainly an edgy appeal, a bit on the young side for my tastes but obviously a hit by the number of items...
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| I'll take one of these in every color, please... |
| 2006-10-11 12:33:00 |
AND most preferably IN MY SIZE. This knockout coat was supposed to be mine ( it reminded me so much of a 1930s wool princess style coat with a Persian lamb collar & bakelite buckled belt I had at 1 time).Funny, on the hanger it looked like my size - I think my mind's perception of what size I am and the reality of it clash sometimes. Maybe my brain has to catch up with the latest developments of my changing body shape. Much like puberty in reverse. A bit snug in the upper body, shoulder area, though. But it's a great coat - 1970s vintage with a 40s flair along with a touch of romantic Goth and maybe a bit of a Julie Christie/Dr.Zhivago influence thrown in. Warm & cozy, imitation Persian lamb (and you don't have to clean it by the expensive furrier method either).Click on the pic above if ...
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| "Ward have you seen my pink polka dot reversible apron?" |
| 2006-10-07 13:50:00 |
That's what I imagined when I lightly pressed this delightful half apron from the 50s and prepared it for sale. June Cleaver would look positively darling wearing the above with a coordinating full skirted day dress along with the customary string of pearls as she readies Wally's & the Beav's lunches for the day. Of course it's hard to believe June herself wouldn't know exactly where it was (in the designated "apron drawer", naturally).I'm not putting down the wearing of aprons, a clear symbol of domesticity. I think they're indisposable. I have my very own apron shelf - I'm partial to the full body bib style apron myself as I seem to be especially messy and a half just won't do. And I'm happy that vintage aprons are experiencing a resurgence in popularity ...
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| Ragpicker Deluxe |
| 2006-09-12 14:59:00 |
Not Garbo, of course, it's a chapter title of a book I picked up this past weekend during my usual hunt - "Cheap Chic" and it's for sale at Mystique Vintage here for a pittance with shipping. Garbo's dalliance with menswear chic is one of the many terrific photos that highlight the book and illustrate the myriad ways to stamp your personal look with individuality. I've been thumbing through it again & again - it's a 1978 revised, updated version of the 1975 original by Caterine Milinaire & Carol Troy. I confess I've never heard or run across it before in this decade nor in any previous and apparently it was enormously popular and I can see why. It's figuratively bursting at the binding with amazing fashion tidbits & tips as well as yummy illustrations & pics and a look at the early start...
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| Are you a Mary or a Rhoda? |
| 2006-09-04 08:38:00 |
Richards or Morgenstern, that is. You know from the MTM show, early 70s, Mr. Grant, Ted,Sue Ann, Phyllis, et cetera? Though I loved Mary as much as the rest of the country and tuned in religously every whatever night The Mary Tyler Moore Show was on to watch her fling her tam in the air, I always loved Rhoda a bit more. For one thing she had those dark exotic, ethnic good looks, dressed with a bit of imagination & funkiness (remember all that great chunky bakelite jewelry she always accessorized with?) fretted over the width of her hips and had a great job as a window dresser.And she was the best pal evah!And what an iconic pop culture image she was/is. That's why the character of Rhoda Morgenstern was the first thing that popped into my head as I rifled th...
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| It's 70s week |
| 2006-08-21 13:16:00 |
I'm not a big fan of the so called "retro" look, referring to the 70s era vintage that's become so popular today and is rehashed and mass produced at every possible level & marketed in many selling venues. As far as wearing it myself that is. I don't recall where I read, heard or who said it but someone annouced (not in so many words) that if you're old enough to have actually experienced a particular fashion fad or trend the first time and it comes around in popularity again for seconds it's in good taste not to wear it... Again. That's so very true. But I do appreciate the appeal of alot of 70s stuff. And of course the work of some very innovative designers that pushed fashion forward as a whole during the late 60s era in particular.That's why I can't resist buying a few 60s/70s items - ...
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| Keeping It Simple |
| 2006-08-16 13:48:00 |
I think most vintage clothing aficionados know how well and how easily it can be incorporated into a contemporary wardrobe. What's old is new again anyway as they say, especially when it comes to design. When listing this particular little no name 70s dress I was struck by how current it was, how easily it could be blended with a few accessories, say from Target, and just to illustrate here's a few picks from Isaac Mizrahi's Collection there (and who doesn't like Isaac).The dress in question is a sleeveless tweed linen blend I believe, lined nicely, with pinked seams and accent trim and great for a tween time like now. What makes it special is the body hugging fit. It's a bit sexy without being too much and would be perfect for the office....Boots would be the way to go with this dress, ...
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| The Memories Of... |
| 2006-08-13 17:05:00 |
Every so often I put out flyers, place ads & post my card to bulletin boards and the like in hopes of purchasing vintage clothing from estates or downsizers before it hits the trash bin or Goodwill pile. Some time ago my husband, always on the lookout for me also, came home from work with a photo album and said the clothing & effects of the subject of the album might be coming my way as she had recently passed on. They never materialized sad to say, as I would have loved to see just a few of the things this seemingly colorful woman posessed. And not just for the usual mercenary, self serving reasons. Although I really know nothing about her but her name ( I believe that's her on the left, top pic) something tells me she was probably something of a sentimental saver, with an obvious arti...
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| Where have all the vintage belts gone? |
| 2006-08-09 15:47:00 |
I've asked myself, many times over. It's a real nifty thing to have a matching belt to your dress whether it's contemporary or vintage - but a minor annoyance to finding, buying or selling a vintage dress can quite frequently mean the matching belt is missing, often a rather nondescript belt that can easily be replaced with something generic & modern. But sometimes you can only assume that it was rather unique with details only a vintage belt would have.Most often when I present something that possesses belt loops & no belt for sale, I only mention it as a characteristic of the item & assume the future owner will come up with a suitable replacement, maybe something creative. Vintage wearers are known for their creativity anyway. Vintage scarfs, which come...
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