The Smoking Slipper vs The Evening Pump

(l) Cecil Beaton in black patent leather evening pumps
(r) David Niven in velvet moccasins

So, which is it?

The velvet smoking slipper, originally designed for the Victorian gentleman's smoking room, has stepped out from the chamber and onto the Fall Winter 2009 runway. In my part of the world, smoking rooms have returned. Smoking slippers and denim, perhaps.

Dolce & Gabbana velvet and grosgrain moccasins
Buy them here.

The black patent leather evening pump, sometimes referred to as the opera pump, was once reserved for black-tie affairs and silk socks, yet like the velvet smoking slipper, it's sashayed its way onto the Fall Winter 2009 runway.

Both the opera pump and the smoking slipper were in vogue in the 1930s. During the Great Depression men took the shoes and paired them with more casual attire, a sentiment to the dire economic situation of the time.

Fashion repeats itself.

Tom Ford's black patent leather evening pump
For stockists

A great history of the gentlemen's smoking costume can be read on Cigar Aficionado here.

Related Posts:
What became of the men's pinky ring?
The Loafer

Quote of the Week - Epictetus

Know, first, who you are; and then adorn yourself accordingly. Epictetus

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Quote of the Week - Vivien Westwood
Quote of the Week - Christian Dior

Arsenic and Black Lace

Susan Ann Sulley of Human League, Ava Gardner in Christian Dior, Exene Cervenka of X

This post has nothing to do with arsenic other than the fact I couldn't think of a title so I played on words of the black comedy Arsenic and Old Lace. Although, some black lace could be potentially fatal if worn correctly.

Most commonly associated with elegance and seduction, Christian Dior warned of its potential to appear elderly if worn after a certain age.

When it comes to lace I take mine black.

Who's doing women in black lace for Fall Winter 2009:
Alberta Ferretti
Chanel
Christian Dior
Christian Lacroix
Valentino
3.1 Phillip Lim
Doo.Ri
Dolce & Gabbana
Jill Stuart
Jasmine di Milo
Jo No Fui
Kinder Aggugini
KOVA&T
Lanvin
ANNA SUI
lna
Marchesa
Opening Ceremony
Roksanda Ilincic
Stella McCartney
Temperley London



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10 Men's Boots for Fall Winter 2009
What style is your lifestyle?
How to Dress to Look Heavier

Vintage Lane Furniture

Lane

Vogue Fall/Winter 1970

Melancholy and the effects of AM radio

The posts have been few and far between this week as my husband, two cats and I have been displaced from our home of ten and a half years by situations beyond our control. We're all in a hotel. I'm listening to AM radio, he's at work and the cats are trying to find comfort in polyester surroundings.

Just when I think my mood is perfect sandwiched between Cat Stevens' The First Cut is Deepest and Trooper's Two for the Show I'm layered with Gordon Lightfoot's Beautiful only to be garnished with The Stones and Paint it Black.

Genius.

Makes me want to order up some Sinead O'Connor with REM sprinkles for dessert.

Please enjoy Gord's Beautiful, which is actually my favourite song, below:

Beautiful - Gordon Lightfoot @ Yahoo! Video

Quote of the Week - Christian Dior

... it is by her feet that you can judge whether a woman is elegant or not. Christian Dior

Urban Decay and Abandonement

Urban exploration, sometimes referred to as abandonment exploration, is trespassing on abandoned properties to capture the architecture and beauty of decay on film.


The explorers become anthropologists. Their photos a historical record.




Each one, not only depicting what was once important to society, but also the mindset of the current generation.


All of the photos in this post are copyright of Underground Ozarks , a site I first explored in 2006. The site, like the places it chronicles, has now been abandoned.

For a breathtaking set of abandoned and decaying culture check statlerhotel's The Stonecutters on Flickr.

How to Do a High Bun Updo

How to tie a bun:

1. Bend over, shake your head so all your hair hangs down.
2. Run a comb over it to smooth out any bubbles.
3. Still bending over, grab all your hair and pull it to the top of your head.
4. Wrap an elastic around it. Don't pull your hair through into a ponytail.
5. Stand up straight. Gently pull as much hair as you can but don't pull it all the way through the elastic.
6. Smooth out any bubbles.
7. Pull through whisps you want framing your face.
8. Gently push on the top of the hair creating a doughnut shape.
9. Bobby pin the doughnut down around the edges.
10. Hairspray and smooth with the palm of your hand. Pay close attention to the back.

How to do a low bun: follow the same instructions but make the doughnut lower on your head.

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The Updo - 1979 vs 2009

Parisian Folk - Joseph Leon

Short 2:30 clip Joseph Leon "One In, One Out"
by Diese_Records

More Joseph Leon

Last week's vintage treasures

I've been lucky enough to have my bud Rachel as the designated thrifting road star while my husband and I looked for a car. The past two treks out to the burbs have been profitable for both of us - I'll let her tell you about her vintage medical canisters. Here are some of the goods I picked up. In a later post I'll show you the goods I had to leave behind as, unfortunately, my shop is still imaginary.

© stacy reynaud

As shown: signed Jere inspired iron wall sculpture vintage anglepoise 75 table lamp old growth stump table with iron base faux broadtail shrug vintage Tony Lama boots Thanks again Rachellita!

Looking into your home

image © Leonard Frank

Long before the popularity of peering into the homes of artists, designers, musicians and other creatives became an online sensation (see Art Studio or The Selby), Alfred Hitchcock presented us with a mid century marvel entitled Rear Window (1954). Pick it up, the homes the photographer peers into are marvelous. There's just something about looking into another's home that's fascinating.

image © Leonard Frank

If I had the opportunity to shoot someone's home for this site it would be this one, Maison Guiette, belonging to a Belgian fashion designer whom shall remain nameless. The closest I can get to the Le Corbusier designed home right now is through photos of a model shown on Mini Modern.

image © Mini Modern

I know I take Charles Shultz's words to heart.

Decorate your home. It gives the illusion that your life is more interesting than it really is.

Give me a tour of your home! Drop me a line.

Quote of the Week: Bonnie Cashin

Chic is where you find it. Bonnie Cashin

Vintage Design Lover - Achille Castiglioni 1974

Castiglioni ceiling bulbs circa 1974

Each one is unique and slightly irregular, Castiglioni's hand-blown bulb lights glow like candles, making you even more beautiful than you already are. Try Flos for something similar.

Vintage Bill Blass

Bill Blass
1970

Don't Sacrifice Your Image for a Bargain

The fabulous Vintage Vogue boutique in Calistoga, CA

Don't buy much, but make sure what you buy is good. 

Christian Dior

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't going to put together some new outfits for Fall. 

Living in a climate with only two seasons—the cold ones—my Fall wardrobe is pretty much worn year-round.

As someone who's made a living buying and selling vintage clothes, accessories, and footwear, there are certain mantras I live by. It's one thing to put together a collection for a show, but it's a whole other story to put together a collection for myself.

If you're going to shop the bargains, and by bargains I'm including thrifting, make sure the piece fits. 

• Don't be like me and try it on over your clothes. 
• Go in the fitting room and be natural. 
• Put your belt on and keys in your pocket, sit down and cross your legs. 
• Is it tight in the butt or thighs? 
• Button up and walk around. 
• Does it cut up under your arms, show off those private bits, pull across the chest? 
• Put a sweater on under that jacket or coat and raise your arms to see if it's comfortable in motion. 
• Stand in your natural stance, which I've noticed is air guitar for quite a few people. 
• Do you feel like you?

When you've finished with the physical part run these words through your head:

• Debt is not cool.
• Cash is the new credit.
• Need not want
• No acrylic
• Black
• There's a reason it's on sale.
• Regret
  
• Walk away
  

Why I'm Boycotting the September Fashion Issues

My first September edition 

Vogue 1982

from my personal collection

I'm not buying one September issue this year. I'm boycotting. I bought my first September issue in 1982. 

I didn't know what kind of magazine I was buying as I was eleven years old. I simply bought it for the Marilyn Monroe article as I was a star struck young fan. 

Over the past twenty seven years I don't know how many September issues of various fashion magazines I've bought but it's been many. What I do know is that over this lifetime of buying those issues I've been increasingly suckered in to buying 90% advertisements. Sure, there were ads in the '82 issues but nowhere near as many that there are in my '08 issues. Of course, I definitely agree, that you wouldn't exist if you didn't have advertisers but there's a fine line that's drawn that some of us like to refer to as quality over quantity. If one of the editors of the world's most popular fashion magazine has to go on television touting how great the September issue is and why I should buy it the first thing I think is trouble is brewing at head office. Advertisers pay premium dollar for spreads in this issue. Publishers want you to buy this ad heavy issue simply for their stats. These stats are then shown to advertisers as a sales tactic to increase potential ad revenue and garner top dollar for premium spots for particular months. Hold your head high but don't take your readers for granted we can see right through it.

Quote of the Week - Norman Mailer

Charm gives life.
Norman Mailer

How to Wallpaper with Newspaper

Tilley making sure the table is sturdy.

Actually, the end of the month is a great time to get great finds for free. Last weekend we decided to try out an idea we have for a coffee table. We grabbed this trashed side table, raided the free newspapers, picked up some sponge brushes at the dollar store and invested in some polymer medium at our favourite art store. Total cost $14.50.

Stacy Reynaud

How to wallpaper with newspapers and other stuff.

Materials:

* glossy polymer medium

* sponge brush

* scissors

* your selection of papers

* (optional) shiny water-based polyurethane (clear or tinted)

* paintbrush

The polyurethane can be omitted. However, it gives a glossy protective coating.

If you decide to use polyurethane, make sure it's water-based, or it will smear and ruin the print. Also, the picture from the other side will show through.

The polymer medium can be used as an undercoat and as a final coat.

1. Cut the strips of paper you want to use and turn them face down on a work surface.

2. Apply polymer medium with a sponge brush to the surface. Do only a small section because it dries quickly.

3. Place the strips of paper on the wet surface and press down.

4. Coat it lightly with the medium; if foam forms on the paper, it will not dry clear.

5. Continue to cover the surface this way; overlap the edges and corners as you continue to make the collage.

6. Rinse the sponge brush thoroughly so you can reuse it at another time.

7. Once both sides have a coating of the polymer medium applied to them, they are sealed, and regular water-based polyurethane varnish can be applied on top. The polymer medium is used as a gluing agent as well as a sealer for the paper.

8. (optional) With a paintbrush, coat all surfaces with glossy water-based polyurethane. This gives the paper a hard protective finish. It takes 24 hours to dry and must be painted on evenly in one direction.

9. If you decided to omit the polyurethane finish, the surface will require several polymer medium coats to give it a final finish. This dries within fifteen to twenty minutes. The finish will not be as smooth as the polyurethane. It will turn white if anything wet touches it for a prolonged period. Other than that, the finish is exceptionally durable.

The Best Loafers

vintage Gucci loafer

No, it's not a new series in the Fall lineup starring Seth Rogen. I'm referring to that saucy leather number that's infiltrated everywhere from college campuses to corporate boardrooms.

1970s loafer available at Rusty Zipper here

With men's fashion fueled by convenience and comfort, the loafer has managed to maintain its footing for over five decades. That's a lot of appearances on a lot of different runways.

The ubiquitous Gucci bit-buckle loafer, first seen in Wall Street boardrooms in the seventies, sashayed its way into mainstream malls in the eighties. Where does the loafer stand now? Poised for style supremacy or back seat to the brogue?
These side buckle shoes were on the Fall 2009 Alexander McQueen runway but not offered for purchase on McQueen's website. Where are they Mr. McQueen?


Designers showing loafers / slip-ons in their Fall Winter 2009 footwear collections:

• 3.1 Phillip Lim
  
• Alexander McQueen
• Band of Outsiders
• Bottega Veneta
• Comme des Garçons
• D&G
• Dolce & Gabbana
• Dries Van Noten
• Etro
• Gianfranco Ferré
• Gucci
• Jean Paul Gaultier
• John Varvatos
• Loewe
• Maison Martin Margiela
• n.d.c.
• Raparo
• Roberto Cavalli
• Salvatore Ferragamo
• Yohji Yamamoto
• Viktor & Rolf

What became of the men's pinky ring?

Associated more with a Quentin Tarantino protagonist than a Victor Fleming lead the men's pinky ring was once a symbol of male elegance.

I'm trying to think back historically in order to understand how Peter Warne morphed into Ron Burgundy. The 1960s perhaps. Elegance became associated with money and money was associated with 'the man'. The lines were drawn and the styles defined.

Any of these looks could hold their own today. That is, of course, minus the pinky ring.

10 Unique Bedroom Ideas

A good time in the bedroom!

Well, it's the room we spend a lot of our time in, so let's make it worthwhile.

Style. Get that television out of your bedroom now and put in a dimmer switch. Good lighting, texture and personal style can turn that rental white box you call a bedroom into whatever your fantasies desire. After all, it's the bedroom.

  Ambiance. Reel to reel, projector, candles, mini bar and I'm sure there's a smoke machine somewhere in there.

  Consistency. Let's say you love brown but have reservations about painting the entire small room brown. Why not take shades of brown and extend them throughout the space by using texture, accessories and furniture. Striped wall paper hung horizontally stretches a small room even further by the use of a mirror. In this room the lamps, clock, wardrobe fixtures, sable crushed velvet bedspread and mirrored vase play off the reflections of the mirrors and the silver stripes in the wall paper.

  You. Remember how you decorated your bedroom as a kid. Collages of rock posters, fashion spreads, seals, cars, supermodels, or whatever, it set you apart from your parents. I remember the feeling of pride I had in my bedroom when new friends would come over to listen to lps, gossip or put together outfits. When I moved out at nineteen a box of incense and a pack of candles were the first things I bought.

What is your personal style?

Apparently, last week's mind fog was actually a time machine that took me back to Paris in the late '60s. The attraction seems to be unshakable—a sure sign to grab the inspiration and start my fall picking.

In his autobiography, Dior by Dior, Christian Dior reminisces on the social aspect of walking to and from the city during the German occupation of France from 1940 to 1944. Walking the same route daily became the most important networking event of Dior's career. I will keep this event to myself. Read the book.

Living downtown makes walking my main mode of transportation, which usually covers about 5 km a day. Walking this much has made the phrase, 'I don't have the right shoes, ' one of the most common in my vocabulary. Trust me, those black closed-toe YSL platforms would be mine if I wasn't so practical. Instead, I'll take that eight hundred bucks and buy a closet full of timeless vintage pieces and hopefully find the right pair of shoes to wear.

What I'm getting at is—plan your shopping for your lifestyle. Personally, I'm attracted to Francoise Hardy's style of the late '60s because I see it as adaptable and suitable for my lifestyle—comfortable chic. For another great look at Françoise, check out her 1967 video for Voilà here.

Note: In my repertoire, the fur is faux.

Belle de Jour - Coats Shoes and Sheaths

Luis Buñuel had a shoe fetish. However, the first thing that caught my attention as I watched this montage of shoes from his 1967 film Belle de Jour was coats. I love a well tailored 1960s coat. My eyes then moved to the sheath dresses, then the hair and finally the shoes. I'm more of a boot woman. If you made me pick - starting at 3:52 both his and hers are pretty fine. By the way, is it the shoe itself or the foot dressed in the shoe?

J-Beauty

Keeping Japanese women slim and beautiful for over twenty years Fibe-Mini is 100 ml of carbonated fiber goodness. One bottle contains the dietary fiber content of about two heads of lettuce and the equivalent of 15 lemons in Vitamin C (300 mg). Sounds like a high dose fiber detox combined with collagen stimulation. I think I'll eat an apple. Domo arigato.

View the Japanese Fibe-Mini advert complete with school girls, aliens and a female super hero below.

Hermes Paris Savage Elegance Campaign

Hermès Méharé bag in red ostrich 1988

Related Posts Vintage Gucci Vintage Pierre Cardin Vintage YSL

Quote of the Week - David Bowie

Well, if I wear these things, I suppose in the next few months we'll start to see a lot of these around.
David Bowie, 1970s

Woodstock: An Aquarian Fashion Exposition

The Summer Pop Festivals of 1969 not only show cased some of the greatest musicians of all time but they also unknowingly premiered America's evolving fashion scene to the rest of the world. It wasn't since the 1930s that America saw both men and women eagerly cultivating their own personal style and individuality in regards to their appearance.


To this day music festivals hold a treasure trove of 'inspiration' for designers. I must admit that I felt a pang of sorrow, disbelief and a jab in the heart when I saw photos of the' 'Looks of Coachella' in a recent online spread for a popular women's fashion mag. I chuckle to myself thinking of this mag doing a fashion spot at Lollapalooza '92 - 'Grunge is Grand: The looks of Lollapalooza'.

During a vintage show in Los Angeles I was approached by someone who commented, 'I don't know how you can sell your stuff. I'd hate to see people walking around looking like me.' Hey, fashion is fashion, style is confidence. Keep it real.

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A Eulogy for my Friend and Inspiration

This is it

You see my mind has been a little groggy this week due to a car accident on Tuesday and an attack of the, I was fed a ham and cheese quiche after being meat free for 21 years, monster. My apologies. My thoughts have been here but laden in tar. The conclusion - car has been written off and ham tastes like salty rubber. So, on with the show this is it.