Here are some rare fashion sketches from the house of CHANEL through the 1950s and 1960s. Coco Chanel was most famous for her suit sets and it is amazing to me to be able to see these before they were ever cut and sewn from cloth. A fashion sketch is at first a dream then later materialized (and most are not). Which Chanel suit from the 1950s and 1960s is your favorite?








These CHANEL vintage fashion sketches are from the Bergdorf Goodman archives via Ana Lee Russian blog. Check out the link for more sketches!

I had to catch my breath when I saw this vintage gown designed by Italian designer Fernando Sarmi when he was head designer for Elizabeth Arden in the 1950s.

I mean come on, isn't it just the most exquisite gown you ever did see? The skirt looks like a blanket of stars and clouds that runneth over!



A snippet from a 1965 article entitled "Bugles, Bangles, & All Woman"

"In Italy," says Count Ferdinando Sarmi, "when the oldest son tells his father he wants to be a dress designer, it's like a woman saying she intends to be a prostitute." Sarmi's own father responded by packing his son off to the university in Siena. The result was to make Sarmi, some 30 years later, the only Seventh Avenue designer who holds a doctor of law degree.

src: met museum & the fashion spot

In the world of vintage I think it is always important to learn as much as possible about it. And today I wanted to spend some time talking about what exactly vintage millinery is as in the past I always confused it with hat making. What brought about these ponderings was a meet-n-greet with this lovely 1940s cage hat adorned with cherries and berries and little Autumn flowers and I thought how lovely would that be for the holidays... but unfortunately the vintage hat was not for sale. Oh the sadness! So then I proceeded to thinking perhaps I can just recreate something similar and did a little bit of research for millinery supplies, but I have yet to come across those adorable little cherries and berries.


{ image source }
Anyhow, without further ado...

What is Millinery? In the most simplest of definitions, millinery refers to hat dressing or designing hats. Sometimes it can mean the manufacturing of hats, but for the most part millinery refers to designing hats.

One of the most famous American milliners is Sally Victor whose vintage hats are showcased at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art. These two vintage Sally Victor hats from the 1930s are my favorites! J'adore!!!




Sally Victor was born in Scranton, PA on Feb 23, 1905. She studied art in Paris for a couple of years and sewed and designed her own clothes from the age of 14. What started her millinery career was being a hat buyer for Macy's in New York City. When she got a job at L. Bamberger & Co., she met her future husband, Sergiu Victor, a hat manufacturer. Eventually she became so successful as hat designer that Sergiu closed down his hat manufacturing company to join her in her millinery adventures. And what a wonderfully beautiful journey it was!


A photo of milliner, Sally Victor, inspecting a straw hat surrounded by vintage millinery supplies.


A vintage advertisement for Whitman's Chocolate featuring a rose adorned vintage hat by Sally Victor.


There is a fantastic little read and preview photos of the hat exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum Sally Victor: Mad Hatter. I'm hoping to dwelve a little bit into hat designing, small steps, baby steps. I can't even find the proper millinery supplies!

Model Marisa Berenson wearing Ungaro and photographed by David Bailey for Vogue UK. August 1968. Would you wear this dress? How about the mega-watt lashes?!?

He is regarded as the "Father of Haute Couture" or "the first couturier"... English born but became a household name in France. Charles Frederick Worth was prominent fashion designer in the later part of the 19th century.

He drew some of his design inspirations from historic portraits and used very lavish fabrics and trimmings on his clothing. Nearly all of his designs were one-of-a-kind and made specifically for a certain client.

I really love all the pale and muted colors he uses. I imagine many of his inspirations came from portraits painted by Thomas Gainsborough.


Evening/Reception
Gown by Charles Frederick Worth c. 1890


Paris, France Pale pink and cream satin, machine-made lace, c. 1880



And here are a few Thomas Gainsborough paintings from the late 18th century... lovely similarities, hm?



Image Credits: 1.} Mint Musuem 2.} Victoria and Albert Musuem 3.} Met Museum 4.} Met Museum 5.} Penwith.co.uk 6.} Guardian.co.uk 7.} Olga's Gallery

{ click image to shop }

New vintage heels and flats at Adorevintage including two designer labels, Salvatore Ferragamo and Manolo Blahnik!

1stDibs.com is my favorite "look-but-don't-touch" online vintage store mostly because the price tags on most of these pieces are more than the average take home paycheck.

But, no harm in looking, eh? So, here are few designer vintage pieces I am currently lusting over.



Sources: 1.] Christian Dior Bowler Hat 2.] Wool Navy Coat $775 3.] Fabiani Silk Dress 4.] French Beaded Clutch $395

Just added this abstract splatter paint vintage Nicole Miller dress in the shop. Click here for additional photos, sizing, and more information.

If you have money to spare and you're looking for high-end designer couture vintage, I highly suggest stopping by the Vintage Couture section of 1stDibs.com

1st Dibs Vintage Couture carries designers such as Chanel, Emilio Pucci, Judith Leiber, Lanvin, Christian Dior, and Halston.

My favorites:
(if I won the lottery I'd buy in a heartbeat)
Vintage Hermes Birkin
Scary price... :(

Vintage Chloe Dress by Karl Lagerfeld

Vintage John Patou Gown

You wouldn't think that CHLOE is a classic vintage staple since the label really only blew up a few years ago when the Paddington and Silverado bags became the "It Bag" and absolute must have. This was during the design reign of Phoebe Philo who, in my personal opinion, did amazing wonders for the CHLOE brand.

But just a little background tidbits on the fashion house...

• Founded in 1952 in Paris by Gaby Aghion and Jacques Lenoir
  
• Chloe means "young, green shoot" in French
• Their first collection debuted in 1956
• In the 1970s Chloe became internationally known thanks to Karl Lagerfeld
• Lagerfeld was head designer for Chloe from 1966 to 1983
• Guy Paulin, Martine Sitbon, Stella McCartney (daughter of Beatle's Paul McCartney), and Phoebe Philo, and Paulo Andersson became later designers for the Chloe label
• The current designer is Hannah Macgibbon

Kate Moss wearing Vintage Chloe Jeans


Sarah Michelle Gellar in Vintage Chloe Tiered Dress