Today I had the privilege of putting on a fashion show at my local library as their Mother’s day/Spring event. Fun was had by all who attended. I am attaching photographs and my speech along in this blog post for each of you, I hope you enjoy it.
Hello and Welcome to Kris’s Vintage Clothing Fashion Show, I am Kristen Willis owner of Kris’s Vintage Clothing and your host for today. I am glad that you were able to make to our fashion show and I hope you have an enjoyable time.
Coco Chanel said that “Fashion fades, only style remains the same.”
I believe that to be completely true, time has shown that different styles have made a comeback. Some of them good and some of them we just wish stayed buried in the past.
Today I am going to show you 3 outfits from the 1950’s to the 1980’s, a day dress or outfit, a business suit or dress and a formal dress from each decade.
As little girls we all loved to play dress up with our own box of dress up clothing or in our Mothers closet, wearing vintage clothing gives you the same feeling as dressing up as a child did.
The 1940’s were a pivotal time in our history of fashion. After the Germany invasion of France, American fashion was liberated from the thralldom of Paris. This allowed American designers to step up to the plate and change the history of fashion, a few of these designers were Claire McCardell and Bonnie Cashion. These women a part of a pervasive force in fashion world.
1940 Day dress: Elise is wearing a 1940’s Swing Coat with pink floral print lining.
Fabulous rayon faille in an A-line, swing silhouette. The coat is worn over a 1940’s Princess Peggy Blue and White Polka Dot day dress.
1950 Business: Hali is wearing a Sportsteen Wool plaid suit of greens, yellow, black and purple with a white cotton ruffled blouse. Isn’t she ready for the office?
1950 Formal: Brandi is wearing a Soft yellow wiggle dress with floral print brocade. It features three quarter sleeves, and a metal zipper. Accessorized with faux fur shawl, white gloves and a pair of glitzy shoes. Doesn’t she look ready for a Hollywood party or movie premier?
One thing I love about vintage is that many pieces can be worn today, mix and match a few different eras, You can simply, add a vintage accessory such as jewelry, belt, scarf to you outfit if you do not want to go full vintage. I actually add vintage costume jewelry to my outfits quite often.
1950 Day: Elise is wearing a Navy Blue shirtwaist dress by Coquette (\kō-ˈket\), a perfect for around the home or even to wear while grocery shopping at the local market
The Golden Age of Hollywood is known not only for its cinematography but also the style of elegant and glamorous clothing the women wore. One such designer is Gilbert Adrian. Adrian was known for a wide range designs from the flower-festooned munchkin costumes in The Wizard of Oz to the elegance-defining “Gowns by Adrian” worn by screen stars like Norma Shearer, Barbara Stanwyck, and Joan Crawford— He was copied by the hundreds of thousands of women and other designers seeking an elegant everyday design. In the 1960’s we saw a change in the appearance of women’s day dresses, the shirtwaist style gave way to the modernistic short skirt. This style is known as MOD.
1960 Day:
Josie is wearing a black and white polka dot dress by Vicky Vaughn still in the shirtwaist style seen in the 1950’s
Brandi is wearing a green and white polka dot mini dress and go-go boots. As you can see that though these dresses are from the same decade the style differences are vastly different.
1960 Business: Shelby is wearing a pale peach linen suit complete with a pencil skirt and a white ruffled blouse, I love the buttons on this suit they look almost like large sweet tart candies.
One designer of the 60’s is Rudi Gernreich who actually got his start in fashion while working in his aunts dress shop as a teenager before fleeing to the United States during the Nazi invasion of Austria. In 1948 he became a free-lance designer. 16 years late he opened Rudi Gernreich Inc. He is best known for his futuristic clothing which he continues to create until his death in 1985
1960 Formal is worn by Josie, a robin’s egg blue party dress with lace overlay on the bodice and tulle netting underneath the skirt.
The early 1970’s brought us the Hippie and Bohemian style of clothing however while other ’70s designers tried to make their clothes look like art pieces, Bill Blass focused on what the typical American woman would want to wear. Clean, modern, and simply elegant designs like the ones from the Seventies are still incredibly in fashion today!
1970 Day: Hali is wearing lovely purple paisley day dress by Downtowner. The hot pink on this dress alludes to the bright and bold nature of the 1970’s.
1970 Business: Brandi is wearing a raspberry suit by College Town with a white bow collar blouse, accessorized by a silver tone rose brooch and earrings.
1970 Formal: Shelby is wearing a basic little black dress banded at the waist with velvet and rhinestone applique to give it that bit of bling. I do believe she is ready to paint the town red in this dress.
The 80’s was all about brands. To be truly hip you had to have the most exclusive brands. Polo Ralph Lauren basically invented the 80’s preppy look that was so popular, especially amongst the wealthy. Check out most 80’s teen movies, and the arrogant popular guy will be wearing the preppy style a la Ralph Lauren! One of the most influential looks, Polo Ralph Lauren continues strong even today.
1980 Business: Josie is wearing a quintessential 80’s business or office dress, navy blue and white stripes, and slightly puffed sleeves.
1980s Formal: Elise is wearing an Alfred Angelo Flirtations dress, originally made for prom, it unique style can gives it almost a fairy-tale look.
1980s Day: Shelby is wearing a gorgeous floral dress for every day wear by Dawn Joy Fashions. With its fitted waist and flowing skirt, this dress is ready for a day of errands or Sunday brunch.
I asked each girl to pick an outfit that appealed to each of them.
Hali loves the look of this 1980’s formal dress by Zum Zum. With it’st White lace romantic blouse flows into a long black skirt. Not to mention the racy slit half way up the right leg.
Brandi choose a 1970’s Aqua blue empire waist maxi dress with 2 layer sheer bell sleeves.
Semi deep v-neck points down towards a diamond shaped rhinestone applique at the center of the empire bust.
Josie loves polka dots, so she choose this lovely 1970’s Magenta shirtwaist dress with black polka dots. It as a black faux handkerchief at the breast pocket, pocket is still usable. There are 4 black buttons down the blouse of the dress, this dress has three quarter sleeves and an accordion skirt.
Shelby loves the look of a drop waist, so she decided on this 1960’s drop waist dress inspired by the 1920’s. Ivory dress is trimmed with black ric-rac and has 10 buttons. Plastic zipper grace the front of this dress along with its stand up collar. This dress is sporty enough for a game of tennis but jazzy enough for every day wear.
Elise is wearing a 1970’s burnt orange 2 piece outfit from Sears, the pants while a culottes also give a small credit to the bell bottom pants of that era.
Thank you for coming and I also want to thank each of my models Elise, Brandi, Josie, Shelby and Hali for modeling each of these beautiful vintage outfits for today’s show without them this fashion show wouldn’t have been possible.
Again thank you for coming and I hope each of you have a lovely afternoon.
The lovely ladies at the library provided the decorations and the refreshments for the show, they did a beautiful job. If anyone has a recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Pinwheel Cookies please pass it on, they were scrumptious.
Kris's Vintage Clothing 