Flying away

Ph: Friedemann Hauss, Marie Claire (UK), early 1990s.

Tomorrow I’m flying away from here to the tropical heat of Vietnam. I’ve packed my tan leather bag with the lightest of summer clothes but I’ve left plenty of space for adventure. And shopping purchases of course.

I’ll be holidaying overseas, but I’ll still be posting so come back again in a few days!

Kisses,

On pointy-toed shoes

(Left) Advertisement from Vogue Australia, Summer 1960. (Right) Advertisement from Vogue Australia Spring/Summer 1959.

Most people hate ads in fashion magazines. It always amuses me to listen to them complain because they have to leaf through 30 pages of ads before they get to any editorial. Yet they are as much a source of fashion inspiration as the editorial spreads (and often illustrate more affordable content).

Of course, many of the said ads are ugly, but I would like to draw your attention to these whimsical shoe advertisements of the 1960s (it’s good to see Sandler is still going strong). They show so much life and spirit – much more so than their photographed counterparts. It’s such a shame you don’t see more illustration in (mainstream) fashion magazines today.

I love the elongated shapes, the exaggerated pointy toes; so evocative of the era.

(Both pages) Advertisements from Vogue Australia, Summer 1960.

These artists – whoever they were – were certainly inspired by Andy Warhol’s famous shoe illustrations of the same era. Perhaps they are not quite as fantastical, but they are enjoyable nevertheless. I love the elongated shapes, the exaggerated pointy toes; so evocative of the era. They make me want to pick up a brush and ink and start drawing right away.

Drawings by Andy Warhol.

A purity of form

I always enjoy reading US Glamour. Some of my favourite columns are Michael Kors’ designer tips, and the hilarious Dos & Don’ts page. Jake’s column is always good for a laugh too. However, I rarely sigh with sheer pleasure. When I turned the page and saw this spread though, I did gasp at the white, sculptural minimalism of Francisco Costa’s designs for Calvin Klein Spring 2009 RTW (although I must concur with Style.com’s review). What beautiful purity of form and (non) colour! Those seams remind me of Frank Gehry’s architecture.

These are just the style of clothes I love to wear – although I must be a little more ingenious at finding them with my limited means: young Melbourne designers, vintage, or labels like Veronika Maine or Cue. Of course, I do indulge in sartorial eccentricities upon occasion, but I feel most myself wearing this kind of look.

Some of Glamour writer Kim Bonnell’s words on the subject:

“Costa… stays away from flourishes like major sparkles and outsize buttons and prints, paring down while rethinking the line and structure of a dress, sleeve or collar. [Costa] has mastered this minimal-plus formula, not least of all because he’s an expert tailor. That skill is what allows him to make pieces that, when stripped down to their fabric and thread, are interesting purely because of how they’re curved or seamed.”

“…Costa took photos from his fall runway show and sliced them up, creating patterns for boldly angled sheath dresses with deep origami pleats and long, geometric-sleeve coats.”

“Stick to a mostly monochromatic palette, but vary textures… Keep accessories neutral… Show skin in a calculated way with sheer materials and one-shoulder silhouettes. And above all, seek out strikingly contoured pieces, whether a jacket with a big collar or a bubble skirt.”

I suddenly feel inspired to spring-clean my wardrobe … and start afresh for autumn.

From US Glamour, February 2009. Photographs: Walter Chin.

Literary Indulgences

All this talk yesterday of Grecians on prows of ships brought to mind the lines of a Shakespearean play: ‘The barge she sat in, like a burnisht throne, burnt on the water: the poop was beaten gold…’

A shower of gold for winter. Be brazen.

I don’t make a habit of committing Shakespeare’s lines to memory (apart from the obvious ones from Romeo and Juliet). The lines above are from Antony and Cleopatra, and I must confess I didn’t actually remember them word for word. Rather, I recalled them from an editorial layout from an old Follow Me magazine: beautiful words in conjunction with the extravagance of coloured ink, slathered lavishly over entire pages that were given over wholly to poetry! What fashion magazine would dare do that today? The advertising dollar doesn’t cover that kind of wastage.

And yet… these pages are torn from a publication that is nearly twenty years old. And I still remember them. That is a heritage for any magazine to be proud of.

The burnished natural for winter. Stay warm.

…these pages are torn from a magazine that is nearly twenty years old. And I still remember them.

Interestingly, this is an editorial on the new metallics in beauty products, and there is not one photograph of them in sight. It is Shakespeare’s words alone that evoke this luxury for us: we picture Cleopatra; her exotic beauty; the rich black of kohl; the glitter of her jewels. It is her eternal allure and mystery that tells the story, and makes us want to rush out and buy Chanel’s Ombre Contraste Eclipse-Soleil; Elizabeth Arden’s Silver Birch eyeshadow; Bourjois’ silver crayon and Helena Rubenstein’s Blue Space mascara.

Sometimes it pays more to break the rules.

Not cold. Not grey. The new cool silver for winter.

Follow Me, February 1990. Photography: José Picayo.

Sweet dreams are made of these

I am not an avid collector of vintage lingerie. What little I do have in my lilac-scented drawers I have simply happened upon in the course of ordinary ‘hope-shopping’.

That being said, I have managed to unearth some pretty delicates, among them this diaphanous short-sleeved robe with its remarkable lace trim, and the mint green striped slip, also trimmed in peppermint lace. You also may have seen my ruffled long underwear on my profile page; they’re extremely amusing.

This robe has long-lost its label, but it must be made of nylon or its ilk, and the Kayser ‘Satin Stripe’ slip of tricel with nylon. Although the artificial fibre does not stop the robe from floating about me like a cloud, of course they would be even lovelier if they were made of silk.

I’m sure I would loll still more decadently, like a thirties star of the silver screen, a glass of champagne at my elbow and sweet dreams in my head.

Below are some illustrations of lingerie from British and Australian Vogues.

Headlined Lingerie to linger in, these illustrations accompany an article entitled 'The Happy Invalid', by Rosamond Harcourt-Smith.
British Vogue, January 1947.

From cami-slips in pale blue, to carnation printed harem-hemmed half-slips, to stockings in the new colour of 'Pumpkin'… stockings and lingerie are two of a kind.
Illustrations: May Routh; Australian Vogue, June 1960.

Sleep cool this summer, brevity is news in slumber wear; here, four young, engaging looks…
Photograph: Duffy; Australian Vogue, June 1960.

And most amusing of all is this bright orange liftout: Vogue's undercover story: the new foundations. In 1960, there were only three figure types: the triangle, the inverted triangle, and the rectangle.

I particularly love 'and the best clothes to go for are those with a decided Chanel or Balenciaga bias…' That still stands true today! If only I could afford the real thing.

Perhaps I'll get lucky and something will appear in my Christmas stocking?