Fancy Bra Straps with Rhinestones

Fancy bra straps are today's beautiful fashion accessory that provides a new opportunity to accent your strapless gowns and tops as they are made to be exposed. As we all know, exposed straps are no longer a fashion faux pas; they are now 'show-off' accessories and have even become part of a complete look.

Image created by Viryabo@Polyvore

Though there are simple understated ones like the see-through straps that appear invisible, the most appealing and sought after kinds are embellished with rhinestones and sparkling diamante gems which make them not only elegant but also very attractive without going over the top.

They are really great for adding a touch of glitz and glamour to formal evening dresses and gowns. Not only that! Rhinestone studded bra straps can also be worn to beautify less formal clothing like strapless blouses, tank tops (tubes), camisoles (if you like that double strap look), and bustier tops,.

They are wonderful pieces of accessories that will give you a fashion upgrade whenever you need one . . . like turning a simple day wear into an attractive evening outfit, wearing them with old favourites, or giving your ‘dumped’ clothes a totally new look.

Asides being fashionable and trendy, these fancy straps are also functional accessories that serve to hold strapless bras firmly while eliminating chances of sagging which is a common feature associated with cheap strapless brassieres.

Varieties come as see-through straps encrusted with:
  1. Crystal clear diamante
  2. Black sparkling rhinestones
  3. Multi-colour Swarovski gemstones
  4. Dazzling charms and silver hearts
  5. Silver or gold sparkling stones
They come with adjustable chains or straps that allow them to be worn at any length desired.

Rhinestone encrusted bra straps are detachable and easy to fix onto your bra or tops (if you can sew on a loop). Spice up an old top, sew on loops that you can hook you pretty straps on! And because they are multi-way bra straps, you can use them the conventional way, as halter-neck straps, cross-back bra straps, or as a single (cross or straight) bra strap.

How to Choose the Best Type of Diamante Strap


This is about what to look out for when planning to buy fancy straps for convertible or strapless bras. The kind of bra you wear them with is important to know because they don’t necessarily work well with all bra types.
  • When buying a convertible/strapless bra that you intend to use fancy straps with, ensure the loops are not too close to your arm sides
  • Ensure that the bra loops are closer to the top centre of its cups 
  • Decorative bra straps don't work well with some bra loops that are almost under the arm (at the edge of the armpit) 
  • There must be some stretch in your choice of straps so they fit correctly and snugly 
  • One size strap does not fit all so ensure you go for those that come elasticized if you prefer this function
  • There are some brands that carry multiple sizes. Ensure you only purchase packs with multiple sizes. These are more affordable than purchasing different sizes individually 
  • The size of a bra doesn't determine the size or length of bra straps to purchase. It will mainly depend on the bra band location

Lucite Purses - Popular Bags of the 1940s

When many ladies hear “Lucite handbags”, they stereotypically associate them with plastics (PVC), meaning low-price, cheap, economical, or low-integrity.

How far from the truth!

Created by Viryabo@Polyvore
During the prosperous years that followed the end of the 2nd World War, the boom years to be precise, a thermoplastic product was the rave. From interior and industrial design where plastics were used for furniture and geometric forms, to fashion and style where designers created fashion accessories like jewellery, handbags, clutch bags, and purses using strong and durable thermoplastics.

Vintage Lucite is sturdy and was a much better than Bakelite, an earlier plastic of the 1920s used in radios and jewellery.

Lucite bags became popular in the 1940s with purse lines which include:
  • Rialto
  • Maxim
  •  Shoreham
  • Tyrolean
  •  Llewelyn
  • Venzer
  • Charles Foster
  • Wilardy Originals

Lucite handbags and purses came in so many forms and variety including the trendy shell-shaped purse, the flashy rhinestone-studded birdcage bag, and the regal blue-beaded bag inspired by the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

There were also handbags with their casings pre-filled with anything from smooth pebbles, seashells, raffia and artificial flowers, to glitter, ribbons, and even pressed butterflies.

Some feature embroidery and hand-painted details, with embellishments like faux pearls, diamanté, beads, and metals. Many Lucite handbags had matching compacts and/or cigarette cases often mounted directly onto their lids but then in some way, these handbags originated from designs of women jewellery boxes created by Will Hardy, son of Wilardy founder.

According to the history of fashion, “After he designed a Lucite jewellery box for buyers at Saks Fifth Avenue, they recommended adding a strap to turn the box into a handbag. This led to Hardy’s entry into the world of plastic purses, and by 1951, the Wilardy business was producing 64 styles of Lucite bags in 14 different colours”.

Articles:
Vintage Inspired Box Handbags
Luxury Handbag Brands 
How to Look Vintage Chic in Everyday Clothes 


Women T-Shirts with Vintage Art Illustrations

There are lots of t-shirt designs for women out there, so many that most times, it is hard to make a choice but how often do you find stylish ones with vintage art illustrations printed on them?

Not often!

From whimsical prints of the European circus to vintage poster art, famous 20th-century quotes, and fashion icon reproductions images, tees with classic illustrations are beginning to get the attention of tee shirt lovers, especially women.


Baby boomers that grew up in the 20th century still reminisce about the past and many of them will love illustrations of the famous bands of the sixties, images of a young Paul McCartney, Marilyn Monroe, Twiggy, or Coco Chanel on their tees, hoodies, sweatshirts, tank, or crop tops.

Then there are vintage art graphics and designs . . . retro prints, automobiles, motorbike riders, rock bands, quirky or ritzy themes, star wars, cat-woman, Wizard of Oz, sepia, and black and white old photography images.

Vintage Art on Tees - What to Look Out For


When you seek t-shirts with classic graphics, look out for those with images, caricatures, black and white prints, sepia finishes, and bold patterns. Also search for those with 20th-century themes of crazy characters, poetic quotes, and photographs of your favourite silver screen goddess.

You Can Make Your Own T-Shirts Online


Whether you want to make a couple for yourself, or you think this may be a great business idea to venture into, you can make these vintage-inspired t-shirts online.

As a business project, you can make them and sell them! Your customers will include your friends, family, schoolmates, and colleagues. And because it is an easy way to make some extra money on the side (consider the fun aspect), making t-shirts online is a venture that you’ll find it worth your while.

Find these classic creations at Tees to Treasure

You can make it a hobby or even create your own special t-shirt line and if you need some inspiration as per designs to use, you can search for royalty free antique or vintage graphics, inspirational quotes, old photographs, patterns, characters, and 20th-century comic themes.

Upload your chosen illustrations and make your own tees on Zazzle or SpreadShirt. Print them on hoodies, short sleeves and long sleeves, sweatshirts, tanks, and vests and if you choose, go trendy, sassy, swag, cool, or quirky!


Further Reading:
T-Shirt Styles Inspired by the Vintage Era
Graphic Art and Illustrations of Vintage Fashion and Style

Box Handbag - Trending Vintage Inspired Bags

Vintage-inspired box handbags make elegant statements and women who love accessorising with anything classic and unique can attest to this.

This square box handbag is not only stylish and different from the rest; it is eye-catching and comes in various designs, shapes, and sizes that resemble anything from treasure chests and fine hard luggage to lunch boxes and trunks.

This certainly proves that fashion is always cyclic. But then, any fashion trend that lasted close to a decade in the 1900s almost always makes a comeback.

The handbag designs come as clutch bags, mini-handbags, and larger designs with adjustable and removable shoulder straps.
Retro Style Box Handbag 

From Lucite, canvas, and leather, to faux leather, fabric, alloys, and wicker, this vintage inspired piece is made from a good number of both classic and modern materials, meaning you’ll probably find one that’s perfect for your style . . . modern, traditional, retro, or quirky.

Braccialini Style Pink Cartoon Box Women Handbag 

A box handbag is one fashion accessory that should be a part of any woman's wardrobe basics, especially if she is one fashionista that loves and appreciates classic vintage inspired styles.

Authentic Vintage Box Bags and Purses (while stocks last) 


Vintage Wooden Box Purse 


Embroidered Beaded Evening Box Purse



 
Faux Reptile Snakeskin Box Bag



For more vintage box handbags and women bags inspired by vintage style, visit ModCloth, eBay, and Amazon.


How to Dress Vintage Chic Style in Everyday Clothes

Will you like to always look stylish in your everyday clothes? Do you desire a change to your dressing style? Are you considering trying to create a sophisticated chic look? If your answers are yes or maybe, this article is for you and the vintage-inspired.

If you are an enthusiast of vintage fashion but don’t like the head-to-toe vintage appeal, you can create your fashion signature using everyday clothes in combination with authentic and vintage-inspired fashion pieces.

Classic Vintage Fashion Accessories

For a vintage-inspired look, you don't have to change your wardrobe. You do not require a huge budget to accomplish this either. The things you need are some choice basics that take care of the finer details – apparel finds, accessories, collectables, and other heirloom items.

One of the most important items to have to achieve a vintage-inspired look is fashion accessories. We know how accessorising can help dictate an era of fashion. These include shoes, costume jewellery, hats, handbags, belts, and purses. These are the finer fashion details that can give that lady-like charm characteristic of antique and vintage fashion.


Creating the Look


So, how can you create the look? How can you make yourself stand out from the crowd’s usual way of dressing? It’s simple. By adding the most unexpected details to your ordinary-looking outfits, you can give yourself that second-glance look every time.

Clothing

If you like to rummage through estate or garage sales findings, you will sometimes find the unusual item of clothing. It may be a 20s blouse, a retro skirt, or a halter top. Apparel made with classic fabrics like embroidered cotton, linen, tweed, silk, wool, and linen are good finds. Clothes made of these traditional fabrics give off timeless elegant flavours.

Don’t underestimate the clothing you already have in your closet. You can integrate and combine your clothes in many ways you didn’t think possible. Clothing with bold patterns, polka dots, and remarkably large prints are very vintage. They work well in combination with plain pieces. And neutral colours like black, white, cream, navy blue, emerald green, and grey are colours you can count on to create a stylish ensemble.

Your tailored and form-fitting dresses that show off your figure are typical of vintage clothing. If necessary, wear body-form shapewear to give you the required curves.

Typical Vintage Styles

The following type of clothing will give you that stylish vintage-chic look you aim for. You don't necessarily require every item listed, but you’ll get a general idea of what can work best for your new look.

Tailored pants:
Ankle length, slight boot cut, straight, skinny (pencil), flared, and wide-leg.

Informal pants:
Pedal pushers, culottes, jumpsuits, and knee-length shorts.

Skirts:
High-waist, pencil, midi, ballerina, full-circle, swing, flared, short-bustle, and wriggle skirts.

Dresses:
Swing, shift, peplum, coat, sheath dresses, ball gown, polo dress, shirt-waist dress, drop-waist dress, and flapper style dresses.

Tops:
Long, short, cap, and sleeveless blouses. These also include shirts with tiny buttons, cardigans, knit tops, puff-sleeve shirts, peasant tops and halter blouses.

Jackets and Coats:
Frock coats, blazers, faux-fur collar coats, short and long wool coats, swing coats, trench coats, hooded capes, and vintage tweed coats.

Vintage Clothing Features and Details

Vintage styles have certain identifying features which make them stand out. If (for instance) you are a sewing enthusiast or dressmaker, you can revive some of your old forgotten-in-the-closet clothes and turn them into something new. These features include:

Necklines:
Square cut
Sweetheart
Cowl
Scoop neckline
V-shape
Boat
Crew necklines

Collars:
Peter Pan
Embellished detachable
Classic
Portrait
Boat-neck collars

Traditional Cuffs:
White cuffs
French
Square
Mandarin
Double cuffs
High 3-button
Long and pointed


Classic Accessories


Nothing can throw off your new style than if you use the wrong fashion accessories. The shoes you wear, your cameo costume jewellery, or the headpiece you put on must serve as elegant round-ups to your entire ensemble.

The good-to-have accessories include scarves, retro sunglasses, hats, purses, perhaps a parasol (for some drama), and clutch bags. Have at least one of each in your wardrobe and consider them the finishing touches you need.

Jewellery

Simple traditional jewellery is good to wear with modern outfits if you want an understated but stylish appearance. But you can wear the more elaborate costume jewelry for an air of class and sophistication.

You can invest in affordable classic-style costume jewellery when you need to glam up your attires for that va-va-voom look. Traditional design costume pieces of jewellery are the easiest and most affordable items you need to create a vintage-inspired tasteful look. The following fashion accessories are great to have and wear with your everyday clothes.

Earrings
Small hoops, cameos, studs (faux pearl or Swarovski), and chandelier earrings.

Bracelets
Cuff bangles, cha-cha bracelets, tennis bracelets, and wristwatches with metal or leather straps. Name bracelets, charm bracelets, wrap, and clamper bracelets.

Necklaces
Long gold and silver chains. Elaborate faux gems pendants, pearls, birthstones, and cameo pendants, including diamond solitaire, lockets, and gold cross pendants. Choker necklaces and bib necklaces are also inspired pieces from a past fashion era.

Rings
Statement rings, rings with wide or thin bands, heirloom rings, Art deco rings, and cocktail rings.

Brooch and Pin
Whimsical and flirty pins, cameo brooches, personalised brooches, and gem-set pins.

Shoes

If you like classic styles, you will love shopping for affordable vintage-replicated shoes because good shoes make the best impression. Wear a nice suit with the wrong pair of shoes and you’ve made a fashion blunder.

Finding one or two fabulous pairs of vintage-inspired shoes is essential if you want to incorporate styles from another era with today’s trends. Vintage-reproduction shoes, also referred to as modern vintage shoes are quite affordable. Women's vintage shoe style reproductions to look out for are:

Espadrille wedges
Sling-backs
Lace-up Oxfords
T-straps
Mary Jane shoes
Saddle shoes
Peep toe shoes
Patent pumps
Lace-up boots
Ballet flats
Kitten heels (pumps or boots)
A pair of red shoes
Animal print flats
Stilettos
Moccasins

Handbags and purses

Traditional handbags and modern ones fashioned after vintage bags are popular and never go out of style and many die-hard vintage fashion enthusiasts have one in their closets. Reproductions now have special pockets for makeup, writing material, cell phones, and other modern devices. Owning one (or two) is a unique way to establish your fashion signature. Examples of vintage style bags that have been replicated to suit modern fashionistas are:

Retro bags
Lucite handbags
Beaded flapper purse
Floral bags
Coin purses
Sister Jane handbags

 

Sunglasses and frames for reading glasses

You can find inexpensive old-style eyewear like sunglasses and frames for reading glasses at street markets, on Amazon, and Etsy.

1950s cat-eye sunglasses
Brow-line sunglasses
1960s over-sized glasses
Retro square
1970s tinted lens
1980s aviator sunglasses
1990s round wire-framed

 

Scarves

When you think about vintage hair scarves, your mind brings up images of glamorous silver screen stars of Old Hollywood. Scarves are versatile and functional and you can wear them around the neck or over your head and tied under the chin, classic French style. Add some drama and playfulness with vintage-inspired scarves with floral, green foliage, polka dots, bold stripes, and paisley patterns, or in vibrant block colours.

Hats

Stylish hats are back in a big way and the best of the pick are the styles inspired by 20th-century hat designers. Designs range from the 1920s cloche and 1940s berets to the fifties pillbox hat, fascinators, and retro pagoda hats. Wear them for some oomph and charm and make them an essential part of your informal clothing. 




The vintage-chic style demands that the clothes and fashion accessories you wear are neat, clean, stylish, but simple. Clothing should be wrinkle-free and colour coordinated and it is important not to over-accessorize for a vintage-inspired look.

Graphic Art and Illustrations of Vintage Fashion and Style

If you love the charm of vintage fashion and appreciate the art of fashion design of a glorious era of close to a century ago, it is certain that like many of us boomers, you'll love graphic art and illustrations of classic clothing and accessories designs.

Pictures of fashion as far back as the very early 1900s (a century ago) up until the 1960s are delightful images to behold.
Created by Viryabo@Polyvore

Hardly comparable to photo art and digital images of the 21st century, vintage art has a unique quality of its own . . . could be the fact that a good number are in black and white, some in sepia ("a reddish-brown colour associated particularly with monochrome photographs of the 19th and early 20th centuries") while the majority are in colour, or as paper prints of sketches, including painted artwork.


There is royalty free vintage fashion graphic art you can find on Clip Art, Shutterstock, and Pixaby sites to mention a few. However, a majority of free sites only allow you use them for personal and not commercial use. So you can't really download such images, blow up the sizes, print them out and hang them on your walls!

You will also find (for sale) art illustrations of classic fashion and style that's not only unique and special but will make wonderful focal points in your living room, dining room, or hallway.


Prices of such beautiful art may range from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars, depending on a number of factors like if they are on canvas, are posters, lithographs, rare photographs, vector art, or prints.

Size is another factor that may determine how cheap, affordable or expensive haute couture artwork is.
From Victorian fashion styles to the Great Gatsby look; 50s women's chic to the retro and indie style, graphic art illustrations of vintage fashion and accessories displayed in interior spaces not only look classy, they speak volumes of the stylish attributes and taste of its owner.


Further Reading:
Famous Fashion Designers of the 1920s
7 Famous Fashion Designers of the 1960s
T-Shirt Styles Inspired by the Vintage Era
 

Dress Like a Silver Screen Goddess: Old Hollywood Style

Most of us know them on screen or have heard about them, the silver screen goddesses of the 20th Century and many will agree that these leading ladies of Old Hollywood helped shape and define fashion and style.

Not surprising because many movies of the early to mid-20th century were quite like fashion shows within a story.





Many of us who cherish classic styles all have some love for vintage-inspired clothing and accessories designs. This is hardly surprising as most of us grew up during the age of cinema visits and silver screen movies that not only gave us great stories to view but also showed us how glamorous men and women looked in their wonderful classic clothing designs.

If you ever watch classic movies, you’ll notice how well-groomed everyone looks. From the newspaper boy to the heiress, everyone looks so well dressed and stylish.

And the stars . . . Most times they look absolutely stunning, whether they wear casuals, day wear, office wear, or formal evening wears.


Screen Goddesses Who Were Fashion Icons



In the 20s and 30s, there were:

Louise Brooks - Of the 20s silent movies is an iconic symbol of the flapper style and for popularising the bobbed hairstyle.

Greta Garbo – A film actress from Sweden. Garbo was an international star and fashion icon in the 1920s and 1930s. She is best known for her acting career in both silent and talking movies

Joan Crawford - One of Hollywood’s greatest stars and a formidable legend who starred in the famous movie “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?”

Gloria Swanson - Actress and producer. She was a silent screen legend and the epitome of early Hollywood glamour. She was perhaps the most glittering silver screen goddess of Hollywood's golden youth in the twenties.

These old Hollywood screen goddesses acted some of their most memorable roles and films in elegant and gorgeous attire, casual, sporty, and formal wear.


Beautiful outfits of some of the glamorous Old Hollywood stars - 1920s to 1930s fashion.


In the 50s, there were:

Audrey Hepburn – She popularised the LBD (little black dress) and made it an item. Until this day, every woman wants an LBD in her wardrobe.

Marilyn Monroe - One of the greatest, most recognisable fashion and beauty icons of all time. She defined glamour for a generation when she sang “Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend”






Grace Kelly – A silver screen actress who became a Princess. Kelly starred in movies such as “To Catch a Thief” and “Dial M for Murder”. Her screen outfits were some of the most talked-about in old Hollywood.






Sofia Loren – This glamorous vintage movie star virtually defined the post-war look of continental sexual appeal.





Lauren Bacall – She had such provocative glamour that it elevated her to fame in Hollywood's golden age. Her fashion style, distinctive voice and sultry looks made her a very popular actress of her time. Bacall was named the “20th greatest female star of Classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute”.





Every woman and girl wanted to look like their screen idol and wear the same hairstyles she wore. They wanted the same make-up and clothes that their favourite star, who seemingly belonged to a very modern advanced world, wore.

From their bikinis and IT bags to their full-circle swing dresses and Dior's ‘new look’, the 20s and 50s were without doubt fashion's favourite decades. Some of the elegant styles of the time still continue to be points of reference by fashion designers and fashionistas till this day.




Further Reading:
How to Dress Like Women of the Fifties
7 Famous Fashion Designers of the 1960s


Images created by Viryabo@Polyvore

7 Famous Fashion Designers of the 1920s

For the fashionable and fashion designers, it was the decade of the roaring 20s and the jazz age, with fashion apparel and accessories that included cloche hats; Art Deco evening dresses, high heeled footwear, bobbed hairstyles, exclusive casual clothes for women (leisurewear and sportswear).

There was a lot of drinking, smoking, and partying, and it was so because it was a wonderful relief to deviate from those years of voluminous Victorian-style clothes, petticoats, and ‘rib-cracking’ corsets.

Fashion and Style of the 1920s

In the twenties, fashion was finally becoming more relaxed with looser fitting clothes and defined by the camisole and chemise as undergarments, underwear that replaced the confining and tight-fitting corsets.

The famous fashion designers of the era include:
  1. Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel
  2. Elsa Schiaparelli
  3. Jeanne Lanvin 
  4. Paul Poiret 
  5. Florrie Westwood
  6. Madeleine Vionnet
  7. Jean Patou
Of all these top fashion designers, illustrators, and couturiers, Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, founder of the Chanel brand has the most lasting legacy of them all, continuing to be popular even until this day, 45years after her demise.

Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel


Coco Chanel was and still remains one of the biggest names in the fashion and beauty industry. After being unsuccessful in finding work as a singer, she finally went into the fashion industry by opening a boutique called ‘Chanel Modes, in Paris.

Coco soon became a famed fashion designer as she revolutionised the way women wore clothes, paving a new way for the fashion brand, she, being a fashion icon herself. Her simple but elegant styles changed the course of fashion history.


Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel

Some of her popular styles include:

Trousers for women – Her choice to wear sailor’s pants made the style spread so quickly, with her die-hard fans emulating her almost instantly.

Little black dress (LBD) – Most women associate the little black dress with Audrey Hepburn because she wore it in the famous movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. However, it was first designed by Coco Chanel in 1926. A calf-length simple black sheath, it was labelled “a frock that all the world would wear”. The style has become a wardrobe essential for every woman ever since.

Suits for women – She created iconic suits for women, being inspired by menswear; specifically men’s suits. Jackets were collar-less with fitted sleeves, embellished buttons, and were cut stylishly boxy with an accompanying skirt that was slim-cut and trim. Chanel suits were very popular among famous celebrities like Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn.

Quilt stitched handbags and ballet flats
– Not unlike the ballet flats of today, one of her popular styles in footwear are the two-toned ballet style shoes and the quilted bags with chain straps that both continue to remain a staple in the fashion scene of today.

Coco Chanel was known to favour mostly black and white colour combinations, especially stripes. To date, some fashion designers of contemporary labels continue to introduce replications of her creations, fashion season after season.

Elsa Schiaparelli


She was an Italian fashion designer and a great rival of Coco Chanel. Regarded as one of the most prominent figures in the fashion scene between both World Wars, Schiaparelli's creations were influenced by surrealists like Salvador Dalí (a skilled draftsman and prominent Spanish painter), and Jean Cocteau (a French writer, filmmaker, designer, artist, and playwright).



Elsa Schiaparelli

The designer’s famed fashion styles include:

The wrap dress – Inspired by aprons, the design of the wrap dress was made to flatter the female silhouette. Originally conceived as women’s beachwear, the dress was popular as a design for everyday easy-to-wear clothing.

The divided skirt – This style was really a forerunner of women shorts and it shocked the tennis world when worn by Lili de Alvarez at Wimbledon in 1931.

2-Piece evening wear - Evening gowns with matching jackets.

Speakeasy Soiree dress – Popular during the 20s to the 30s Prohibition era in the United States, the speakeasy dress was designed with a hidden pocket that was meant for a flask to conceal alcoholic beverages.

Clothing with visible zippers - Zippers (zips) was a key feature of her fashion designs. They were made of some form of plastic, bold and chunky, visibly clasping dress necklines and running down sleeves, dresses, and even skirts. She designed wardrobes for a good number of movie stars including Zsa Zsa Gabor and Mae West.

Jeanne Lanvin


Born in Paris in 1867, Jeanne Lanvin who founded the Lanvin brand, was a French Haute Couture fashion designer who was not only famous in fashion designing but was also the famous founder of Lanvin Parfums, a beauty company and perfumery. She is known to be the founder of the world’s oldest fashion house.

She started on the fashion scene by being a milliner (hat maker) but soon became a fashion designer and couturier.



Jeanne-Marie Lanvin

Jeanne Lanvin designed wonderful clothing for her daughter Marguerite, something that inspired her and was the actual driving force behind her design creations. The beautiful designs of the dresses she made for her daughter was so admired by women, there grew a demand for adult versions of such exquisite clothing. Lanvin soon after created clothing lines for women and young girls, becoming well known for her mother-and-daughter outfits.

Her famous designs include:
  • Empire-waist chemise dresses
  • Robe de Style - Bouffant style clothing for larger women (a design that became her signature piece)
She loved to work with expensive fabrics and embellishments like delicate trimmings, embroidery, exquisite beadwork, ribbons, ruffles, lace, mirrors, and flowers. Jeanne also used ornamentation such as appliqué, quilting, 'couching', pearls, corals, tiny shells, and sequins.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have a public/limelight image like her industry rival Coco Chanel who self-promoted her fashion designs. Karl Elberfeld once wrote about her . . . “Her image wasn’t as strong as that of Chanel because she was a nice old lady and not a fashion plate”.

The House of Lanvin is still very much alive today, going from strength to strength. Indeed, a wonderful legacy for a talented fashion designer.

Paul Poiret


Probably the most fashion-conscious of the early 20th Century fashion designers, Paul Poiret was particularly noted for his neoclassic and ‘oriental-ish’ creations with clothing designs that are cut along straight lines and rectangular motifs. The structured cuts represented a beginning of ‘modern fashion’, something quite welcomed, especially after the era of women clothing that always required wearing voluminous dresses with constricting corsets.




He was actually more popular in the first decade of the 1900s, more than he was in the 1920s when his popularity started to wane.

Poiret’s flamboyant designs which generally came in in brilliant colours – shades of red, blue, green, purple, and blue include:
  • Lampshade tunics
  • Hobble skirts
  • Harem pants
  • Turbans
  • Draped evening gowns
  • The empire style
Poiret was particularly noted for reviving the empire style and advocating the replacement of corsets with the ‘modern’ bra. His clothing still features prominently in the collections of fashion museums worldwide.

Florrie Westwood


Relatively unknown but very talented, Florrie Westwood is who we can describe today as a fashion illustrator. As a London fashion designer who was very active in the early 1900s, not much is known about her apart from the fact that she creates wonderful designs through her drawings which were mainly elegant high-end conservative styles.

Westwood’s fashion drawing illustrations emphasized the new fashion of the time . . . the linear silhouette and ankle-length clothing. The coat designs also showed the new shape, a higher neck covering and greater shoulder coverage of fur collars and cuffs.

There were hundreds of now-anonymous dressmakers and designers like Florrie Westwood who existed in towns and cities across the country until the mid-20th-century when mass-produced ready-made (ready-to-wear) clothing came to dominate the fashion scene.


Madeleine Vionnet


Though Madeleine Vionnet was a popular name in the 1920s fashion industry, however, unlike Coco Chanel who is still popular until this day, she is no longer a household name.


Illustration created by Viryabo@Polyvore

Born in 1876, Vionnet was a French fashion designer who got her training in London but returned to Paris to start her fashion house in 1912. After the First World War, she soon became one of the top French fashion designers of her time, up until the late 1930s.

Her signature creations showed a woman’s natural silhouette, unlike earlier fashion styles that rather than flattering a woman’s body, distorted her shape.

Her elegant clothing designs which literally floated freely around the body was popularised by the:

Grecian style dresses – Popularly referred to as the "Queen of the bias cut" Vionnet is best-known today for her elegant Greek-style dresses (she was inspired by ancient Greek art) and for popularising the bias cut.

As an expert couturier, Madeleine Vionnet designed her dresses with the bias cut, aiming to create sleek, body-flattering, body-skimming apparel that eventually revolutionised women's fashion, thus careening her to the top of the fashion world and making her one of the most famous fashion designers of the 1920s and 1930s.

She is credited with inspiring several of today’s fashion designers with this unique design feature.

She hardly changed her designs basically throughout her career as a fashion designer but by the 30s, the last decade of her profession, her dress designs became a little more closely fitted to a woman’s body.

Vionnet passed on in 1975

Jean Patou


Patou was a perfumer, a debauchee, and fashion designer. He is recognised as the one who invented the "designer tie" in the 1920s and his famous cubist cardigans with matching hats, scarves and gloves. These two creations were some of the most popular trends of the 1920s.

The designer tie is simply men ties made in the same fabric as the women's dress collection. The style is still prominent among modern fashion designers like Timmy Everest (a bespoke tailor and designer from Wales), Paul Smith (a famous British fashion designer), and Louis Féraud (a French artist and fashion designer).



Patou marketed his clothes mostly to the rich but with the stock market crash affecting the purses of the wealthy more than most; the House of Patou continued to survive through its perfume production.

He was the innovator of ready-to-wear clothing which marked a new direction in 1920s couture and the concept of off-the-rack designer wear that we know today. His other creations include:
  • Knitted swimwear
  • Sportswear – In comfortable yet stylish designs that personified the fashionable "new woman” . . . those who wanted to look stylishly sporty, even if they did not participate in any form of exercise.
  • Tennis skirt – Below the knee and knee-length skirts. He, notably, designed the then-daring sleeveless and knee-length cut tennis wear for Suzanne Lenglen, a famous French tennis player who won 31 Championship titles between 1914 and 1926
  • Cubist-inspired jumpers - An ultra-modern motif that was also applied to matching skirts, bags, and bathing costumes
  • Robes d’intérieur – Negligées
  • The triangular sports scarf – An accessory worn knotted at one shoulder
  • Bell-skirted, high-waist evening dresses - In 1929, he raised the waistline of the skirt and brought it back to its natural hemline, a style that Coco Chanel immediately followed)
His eveningwear was usually made in Georgette crêpe and beaded, delicately embroidered, or embellished with fine lace.

In the mid-20s, Jean Patou started a perfume business that is still thriving and well-known even to this day, eighty years after his demise in 1936. His early death made him one of the most undervalued but famous fashion designers of all time.



Further Reading:

1920s Inspired Writing Journal with Images of the Flapper Swingers

7 Famous Fashion Designers of the 1960s 

Clothing Styles We Will Hate to See Come Back

10 Famous Jewelry Makers of the 1920s


1950s Vintage Swing Dresses with Full Circle Skirts

The 1950s vintage swing dresses were very popular daytime wear for women. It was a full-skirted, dress that was stylish but casual. The swing dress was a favourite for daytime parties, resort wear, going-to-the-cinema wear, or holiday fashion.

Generally designed with a cinched waist and a full-circle swirling skirt that fell down to the calf, these day dresses sometimes came with matching fabric belts that clasped the small waists of the stylish fifties woman.

Vintage Swing Dresses

Main Styles of 50s Swing Dresses

A swing dress can be sleeveless, come with long, elbow, or short sleeves, and had varying collars styles that include:
  • Halter neck
  • Shirt collar
  • Scoop collar
  • Sailor collar
  • Bow-tie collar, and collar-less.
  • Collarless round neck
Some swing dresses came with matching scarves and worn with full petticoats to exaggerate the full circle cut and accentuate the skirt's elaborate flare.

Fashion designers of the mid-20th Century used a wide variety of both natural and synthetic fabrics to create their distinctive designs. However, fabrics used for daytime wear such as full-skirted dresses, circle skirts, and blouses include cotton, cotton satin, seersucker, rayon, and linen.

Floral prints, botanical prints, and neutral colours were typical of day dresses. Botanical themes included green ferns, acorns, cherries, strawberries, and cabbage roses.

The Polka dot pattern was also quite popular, as well as the diamond trellis and gingham check designs.

Today, you’ll still find vintage fifties inspired fashion; especially full-skirted gowns and similar clothing styles adopted by fashion icons like Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, and Marilyn Monroe in fashion boutiques both off and online. Their stylish clothing is now reproduced by fashion designers as 1950s vintage-inspired styles.




Further Reading:
7 Famous Fashion Designers of the Sixties
Vintage Inspired Petticoats
How to Dress Like a 1950s Woman



1950s Style Couture Prom Dresses

How about choosing a different style of dress for your prom this year, a stylish couture dress that's a deviation from the ordinary same-old fashion?

Finding a dress that's unique and outstanding is not that hard as long as you've given it some planning well before prom night. If you search online at sites like Pinterest, you will find so many amazing styles of prom dresses that will make you swoon. The problem though is it's sometimes hard to find them to buy.

If you are having your dress custom-made, that's a different story because that way, you get a special made-to-measure couture outfit that can be made to be one-of-a-kind - exclusive. However, most girls want to buy something off the rack, as stylish as it can possibly be, but nonetheless, not exclusive.

How to Stand Out From the Crowd?


To have something exclusive, it's best to go vintage-inspired. Couture fashion, styles that were 're-incarnated' from the past. What comes to mind here are trends of the 1920s and the 1950s. This article is about stylish 1950s dresses that will make great impressions on your prom night.


Dresses of the 50s were either below the knee, mid-calf, or floor-sweeping and they not only looked sophisticated, they were chic, elegant, and absolutely feminine.

If you want to dress 50s style for your prom, here are a few guiding tips:
  1. Do you want a dress that is below the knee, mid-calf or a ball gown?
  2. Sleeveless, short, mid-sleeved, or full sleeves?
  3. Do you want something demure, flouncy, or floor-sweeping?
  4. What colour works best for your skin tone?
  5. Do you have the right lingerie for your dress choice - plunge bra, body-shaper, stick-on bra, or strapless body suit? Do you think you may need a bra converter or an outer-wear basque?
  6. Jewellery -  For couture dresses of the 50s, old Hollywood style costume jewellery is what you should look for. Cocktail rings, faux pearls, brooches, dangle tassels, chokers, and bracelets.
  7. Shoes and evening bags - Go for small beaded bags with rope style handle, tapestry or satin purses. And for shoes, go for footwear you can dance in like dance shoes, peep-toe shoes, kitten heels, or dramatic stilettos.

Remember this, it is best to shop for a couture dress and accessories that you’ll be able to wear after your prom night, something you can wear to other future events like a wedding, formal occasions, or red carpet events.

So, how do you find the perfect dress out of the hundreds of styles in the shops, malls, or boutiques?

Finding vintage inspired couture dresses used to be a challenge, but not anymore. As more and more women seek their fashion obsession online, you’ll find that searching for that special look is best done online.

Not only are there hundreds to choose from, you can move from store to store without leaving your home. That's much more than you'll ever find in an entire mall.

7 Beautiful Prom Dresses Inspired by the 1950s Fashion




















Further Reading:
How to Dress Like a Greek Goddess