Cue up the Out of Africa soundtrack. We’re going on a safari. I don’t remember much about the plot of Out of Africa but I remember everything about how the costumes and the music made me feel. The tailored elegance and exquisite fashion filled my artistic soul. It etched in me a desire to dress just like Meryl Streep’s …
Sampling Casual Elegance
In the United States, going out in public dressed for comfort has become a national pastime. It’s not uncommon to see a herd of teenagers wandering the sidewalks in happy-colored pajama bottoms. Just recently a couple of girls who were flying on a “Buddy Pass” were denied access to a flight because they were wearing yoga pants. …
The Dress that Made Me Feel Like a Star
Long, long ago, in a department store far, far away, I purchased a dress that made me feel like this: Granted, the dress wasn’t long and velvety like the one pictured above, but it had an elegance to it and a style that made me feel chic, sophisticated, and glamorous. Then one day I tried putting on …
Starlet Bling for Dainty Wrists
The starlets of the 1930s loved their jewelry. Pictured above, 1930s actress Myrna Loy appears to be dressed casually but her bracelets are the stuff of red carpets today. When it came to jewels and accessories, the rich and famous in the 1930s believed in the old adage that “more is more.” Even as the rest of the world struggled …
Mixing Prints in a Twirly Dress
Last week I took my first foray into the art of mixing prints. It was a small start–a patterned jacket combined with a patterned scarf, inspired by a look Marlene Dietrich first wore in the 1930s. The outfit itself is not one I would normally wear, though. It’s a bit serious for my lifestyle and personality. …
Print-Mixing 101 with Marlene Dietrich
“Glamour is assurance. It is a kind of knowing that you are all right in every way, mentally and physically and in appearance, and that, whatever the occasion or the situation, you are equal to it.” ~ Marlene Dietrich Class is in session. Marlene Dietrich–Head Professor of Glamour–is leading the class with her stunning polka-dot print …
Easy, Breezy, and Beachy, 1930’s Style
While all of you brave and beautiful ladies are basking in your swimsuits by the pool this summer, you’ll find me in the shade, likely nowhere near the pool, but still embracing a beachy trend straight out of the Twenties and Thirties: Beach Pajamas. This loungewear got its start as bedroom attire. Before long, it was being …
Emulating Katharine Hepburn’s Practical, Depression-Era Glamour
“It’s no longer smart to be chic … The new mode is casual, bold, chunky, and realistic.” ~ Vogue, 1936 The 1930s was a turbulent decade, to say the least. The market crash in 1929 which brought about The Great Depression left many people destitute. Those who had already been on the margins were left to …