RED, SHE SAID

"Girls in red dresses?" he said
"With new social networks and couture fashion houses," she said.
"Romance and flowers?" he said.
"Stacks of books, abstract art, movie idols, chic sunglasses," she said.
"Wonderful blog posts to bring us from winter to spring?" he said.
"Red," she said.

{This month, on Style Maniac}

Photo here and in February masthead:
Gordon Parks for LIFE via My Vintage Vogue

BEFORE & AFTER: Eco-Chic Living Room

AFTER Living Room (right corner)

BEFORE Living Room (right corner)

BEFORE Living Room (left corner)

AFTER Living Room (left corner)

Here's how some of those scary-tuned-chic vintage pieces from "Before & After: Vintage Furniture Rescued & Revived" (posted 11/15/10) came together in my clients' living room.  We've submitted this project to some shelter mags and sites, so I can't reveal the entire space.  But these images should give you a taste of how sustainable can be simultaneously good for the environment, comfortable to live in, and pretty to look at.

Design by Doreen Creede and Gina Pierantozzi for The Redecorators LLC.  Photos by Doreen Creede.

BEFORE & AFTER: Vintage Furniture Rescued & Revived

Club Chair BEFORE

Club Chair AFTER

Recently my decorating partner, Gina, and I worked with a couple for whom eco-design is not a trendy buzzword but a deeply held life philosophy.  Our clients, both university professors, hired our firm, The Redecorators LLC, to re-do the drawing room of their 1920s stone home in Philadelphia's Garden Court District with this mandate: make it elegant and welcoming for entertaining (which they would need to do on a regular basis as part of their professional positions) but still comfortable and liveable for family gatherings ... and don't use one piece of new wood doing it.

Chaise BEFORE

Chaise AFTER

In Part One of posts highlighting this project, here are Before & Afters of furniture used in the room.  Of nearly two dozen items the only new purchases were three floor lamps and two tables--one made of recycled steel, the other a current issue of a classic Knoll Tulip table.  Every other element was a vintage piece, refurbished and sometimes radically reconstructed.

Sofa BEFORE

Sofa AFTER

To find the furniture and accessories we scoured auctions, vintage stores, Ebay, Craig's List, garage sales and the basement of our upholstery work room.  We then altered finishes and recovered chairs, sofas, ottomans, with high-end yet durable to-the-trade fabrics in a palette ranging from soft ivory to deep charcoal. The results: an Eco Chic room that's luxurious, livable ... and sustainable.

Armchair BEFORE

Armchair AFTER

To see before and afters of the finished space check back next week.

Design and photos by Doreen Creede & Gina Pierantozzi for The Redecorators LLC

THE BEAUTY OF THE INTERNET

It's crazy to think that a decade ago assembling elements for a decorating project required driving to furniture stores, begging for photocopies and waiting weeks for catalogs to arrive in the mail.  Now after a few hours browsing the internet you can emerge with a pile of options to choose from.  Although pricey, for pure inspiration my search often starts at 1st Dibs, a site that does not exaggerate one bit when it states it carries "the most beautiful things on earth."  Especially the lighting.  Above, one of my all-time faves: Sputnik, a 1950s Austrian Chandelier from 1st Dibs dealer Orange.

5 FABULOUS SOURCES for VINTAGE FASHION

Wilbur Vintage, Philadelphia PA

Most of my vintage clothes and accessories come from my grandmothers, great-grandmothers--and one incredible afternoon at Couture Club in Chicago where, while visiting my good friend Beth, I happened across a store-wide everything-for-$50 sale of seriously gorgeous creations and bought so many of them I had to borrow a suitcase to haul it all home. As I made my way through the store, I kept holding up item after item--a silver and steel blue metallic brocade Victor Costa dress from the 60s; a 70s Lilli Ann knit maxi coat of flaming orange, red and black plaid with perfectly matched seams; a Cardinali fitted jacket and split skirt in thick boucle tweed of black and brown; a salt and pepper knit wool coat with silk lining and huge silver buttons; a hand-embroidered gold chinoiserie cape with intricate scenes of cranes and clouds--and asking the owner, "This is $50?  And this, this is $50? Really?" in a sort of upscale version of that dollar store commercial.  And he patiently looked at me and replied, "Yes."  Pretty sure that was the universe rewarding me for visiting Chicago in the dead of winter.

Although Couture Club is sadly gone, I have fortunately discovered some great spots in my hometown of Philadelphia. And of course, there's now the magical world of the internet.  Since I think fall and winter clothes hold up best over the decades, I thought I'd share some of my current fave sources for Vintage Fashion, along with contributions from some stylish readers.  Hope you discover a treasure of your own. (And if you have a terrific store you'd like to share, please add it in the Comments section below.)

Wilbur Vintage (top) and Retrospect, Philadelphia PA

In Philadelphia, Wilbur Vintage stocks an eclectic and colorful mix with a funky edge.  Around the corner, Retrospect, in a converted Blockbuster store on South Street, is a weekly stop for uncovering hip vintage clothes, furniture and accessories at retro prices.

Hip Replacements, Asheville NC

Stylish reader (and niece of Style Maniac) Cass says Hip Replacements is "very Asheville. Vintage clothes with a new age twist." Owner Franzi Charen notes that they specialize mostly in men's vintage and women's reproduction vintage (like Pinup Couture, Trollied Dolly and Heartbreaker). "Our mottos are: 'You can pull off anything as long as you rock it with confidence.' and 'Style is the soundtrack for your life.'"

Rethreads, Madison & Milwaukee, WI

Recent guest blogger Susan Gloss recommends Rethreads buy/sell/trade boutiques in Madison and Milwaukee.  "They are constantly updating their inventory by buying from customers, so you never know when you're going to go in and find that great DVF wrap dress or pair of Frye boots"

Dorothea's Closet Vintage, Des Moines IA

My new favorite online vintage source is Dorothea's Closet Vintage. Owner Angela Petraline has curated an incredible collection of elegant, superbly crafted and amazingly detailed clothes from the 1980s back to pre-1920s. Just look at that copper lining! that web-back! (perfect for an elegant Halloween bash). If you're lucky enough to live near Des Moines, Iowa, stop in to swoon and shop.


Wilbur Vintage & Retrospect photos by Doreen Creede. Hip Replacements and Rethreads photos courtesy the stores.  Dorothea's Closet Vintage photos by Angela Petraline.

GUEST POST: Every Seam Has A Story by Susan Gloss

Fashion, fiction, food and wine: four of my favorite things--and Susan Gloss writes about them all.  Here Susan shares what she loves about vintage clothes, capturing beautifully how they are so much more than fabric and thread.

I can't identify an isolated instant when my obsession with fashion began. Maybe it started in childhood, when I visited my grandmother at the Florence Eisemann clothing factory, where she worked as a pattern maker. Maybe I caught fashion fever during my angsty teenage years, spent holed away in my bedroom with copies of Harper's Bazaar and Vogue pilfered from the waiting room of my dad's office. I don't know exactly where it started, but I do know that, somewhere along the line, I fell for fashion. Hard.

Loving clothes, though, comes with a price. There's the obvious one—the cost that cautions me from the tag or sticker, forcing me to ask myself, "Do I really need another black dress?" There's also the environmental cost—the strain that our consumer culture places on the environment as we constantly get rid of old things and buy newly-manufactured ones. My love of vintage fashion stems partly from these economical and ideological costs. Mostly, though, I just can't resist a good story.

As I writer, vintage clothing sparks my imagination. I see a sixties tent dress or a pair of purple pumps from the eighties and I think, "What occasion did the owner purchase this for? What was going on in her life?" I know there's a story behind every cocktail ring, every scarf, and even (and maybe especially) every t-shirt.

By wearing something old, I get to continue its story. Quality clothing is not meant to be worn a couple of times and then discarded. It is meant to last, to live. As Coco Chanel put it,

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening." 

 From my perspective, vintage clothes just have more life in them. 

Susan Gloss is a writer, lawyer, and blogger in Madison, Wisconsin. She recently completed her first novel, EXcelente, set in Chicago and Spain, and is hard at work on her second, Gently Used, which tells the story of a vintage clothing store, the women who work and shop there, and the garments that come through the door. When she's not working on novels, she can be found posting to her blog, Glossing Over It, or guest-blogging for Wisconsin Public Television's Engage Wisconsin series. Learn more at www.susangloss.com.


 For the story behind the stunning Velveteen Wiggle Dress and Bolero Jacket above, visit the 1950s section of  Dorothea's Closet Vintage. Photo by the store's owner, Angela Petraline.

EVERYDAY STYLE TIP: Use The Good China

Why save your prettiest things for rare occasions? Savor coffee in a gold cup, lunch on a vintage plate, dinner on your wedding pattern.  Enjoy your "good" china every day.


Photo by Doreen Creede

BAUBLES, BUTTONS & BEADS

 

In eight decades of sewing, my grandmother amassed thousands of bolts of fabric, miles of thread and cartons of buttons and beads. Although I cannot sew a stitch, I kept a small stash after Lydia passed away. Often I use her simpler ribbons and laces to wrap gifts. Some treasures I won't part with though--like those above. They're just too beautiful and too saturated with memories to give up.

Photo by Doreen Creede

FABURIKKU

Faburikku means fabric in Japanese.

I think.

So says freedict.com.

But for all I know I've just cursed like a tart

instead of providing a ladylike intro

to this vibrant vintage silk kimono from Tokyo.  

(For more on Japanese style and fashion 

see DISPATCH: Tokyo)

Photo by Doreen Creede

FASHION, FABRIC, ART

When does fashion or fabric become art? This hand-embroidered cape gets my vote. Although I rarely wear it, the color and meticulous detail of this vintage find delight me every time I open my closet.

Photo by Doreen Creede