Faille What?

Vintage dresses are often described by the type of fabric used in their construction. "Red Chiffon Dress", "Green Taffeta Gown", "Black Faille Cocktail Dress".

'Faille' what?!

Faille is a type of fabric which is woven with a faintly ribbed pattern, creating a distinctive textured feel. Typically a heavier grade fabric that is designed to stand up to hard use. Cotton, rayon, and silk can all be used to create faille, which is also called bengaline in some regions of the world.

The texture of the fabric is like that of grosgrain; it is ribbed and slightly stiff. The stiffness makes faille incredibly useful for clothing, as it tends not to deform or wrinkle, and it can be used to create supportive garments or snug-fitting bodies which will look good after hours of wear. It has an excellent drape, which is why it often appears in wedding gowns, and it was very popular during the 1940s and 1950s for gowns and dresses. This fabric is durable and often quite rugged being very resistant to stains and tearing.

Strapless Black Faille Dress With Rhinestones, C. 1950s

Hats Off!

Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones

Exhibition on now at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London to May 31.

Hats empower and give people confidence. Realizing that they were fun, optimistic, had charatcter or perhaps a dream, hats were one of two things not rationed during WWII (the other being cosmetics.) This exhibit is a collaboration between the museum and Stephen Jones, one of the fashion world's most prolific milliners.

The Salon & The Client - Excerpt

"At the beginning of the 20th century, individual milliners turned the simple hat shop into an exclusive space that enhanced their signature styles. This ‘salon’ environment, similar to that of haute couture dress houses, offered the customer an intimate place to view, try and buy elegantly displayed hats.

Traditionally a good saloniste offered advice, recommending turban styles for those with large noses or advising asymmetric styles to slim a wide face. However, the cardinal rule of hat-buying, as French fashion editor Genevieve Dariaux noted, is to 'take the one you fall in love with, which mysteriously "does something" for you, which magically makes you feel more beautiful'.

When the right client meets the right hat, the wearing begins. On the hat’s journey - from initial inspiration, through construction, to the salon where it is tried and chosen - it is the client who ultimately gives it life and launches it into the world. From royalty to revolutionaries, a hat frequently becomes a signature feature for a well-known face, recognised as part of the personality of the wearer. "

A great interactive website for this exhibit, you can even learn how to make a fabulous paper hat from origami specialist Nick Robinson.

I highly suggest scrolling through the section "The Salon & the Client". Click on your favorite hat for a gorgeous description in a 360 degree view.

I think I'll don a hat today.

I'm Feeling Floral

I'm feeling very floral today. The rain of the past two days has caused the garden to swell with color and buds on the trees. It's dresses, skirts and sandals from here on in!

Steichen Exhibit

If you are in New York, visit The International Center of Photography for a fantastic exhibit of vintage fashion photographs by Edward Steichen during his Condé Nast years, 1923-1937.

Steichen's approach to fashion photography was formative and over the course of his career he changed public perceptions of the American woman. Steichen's crisp, detailed, high-key style revolutionized fashion photography, and his influence is felt in the field to this day.

Initially, his peers in the art community thought he was damaging the hard-fought respectability of their work. Nevertheless, Steichen’s inspired approach to fashion photography revolutionized the field by changing the soft-focus image of the fashionable woman from a distant romantic creature, to that of a much more direct and independent individual.

The International Center of Photography, 1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd StreetNew York, New York. Until May 3.

Model Marion Morehouse and unidentified model wearing dresses by Vionnet, 1930

Courtesy Condé Nast Archive

Evening shoes by Vida Moore, 1927

Courtesy Condé Nast Archive, New York

Actor Gary Cooper, 1930

Model Marion Morehouse in a bouffant dress and actress Helen Lyons in a long sleeve dress by Kargère, 1926

It's OK To Wear The Pants

Katherine Hepburn was a remarkable woman. Not only does she hold the record for the most Oscar wins (4), the American Film Institute ranked her as the greatest female star in the history of American cinema.

A strong, independent woman, she made it okay for women to wear pants. The only movie star I can think of who can look incredibly sexy in a dress or a pant suit!

The trouser she made so famous is back in style. And not a moment too soon...those hip-huggers were driving me crazy! Kept pulling them up....

Classic Black & White

My favorite color combination is black and white. Some argue that these are not official 'colors'. True, they are not on the color wheel...but there is something so eye catching with a great outfit in black & white. Striking. Classic. Strong.

My ebay picks in black & white.

Living in the 50s

The 1950s Look: Recreating the Fashions of the Fifties'

Every fashionista with her finger on the pulse knows that the Fifties are experiencing another style revival. Michelle Obama, already touted as a style icon to rival Jackie Kennedy, is just one of the high-profile personalities to take on the trend, wearing a high-waisted, full-skirted dress on her first day in the White House. Fifties aficionado Mike Brown’s book, The 1950s Look: Recreating the Fashions of the Fifties' is a timely guide to the trends and signature styles of the era - and how to translate them in 2009.

It’s not only the ‘First Lady of Fashion’ who’s channelling 1950s chic: Britney Spears dresses as a sexy fifties housewife in her video for ‘If You Seek Amy’, whilst Wonderbra have commissioned vintage-style icon Dita Von Teese to design an underwear range. And Kate Winslet's wardrobe in 'Revolutionary Road’, set in 1955, has received as many favourable reviews as the award-winning film itself.

The look, with its emphasis on curves, celebrates the female form. It is a perfect antidote to ‘size zero’ culture, replacing stick thin supermodels with the ample size-sixteen figures of Marilyn Monroe and Diana Dors.

For men the more informal fifties fashions are still widely seen. This was the decade that denim jeans arrived in the UK from the USA, and teaming jeans with a tee shirt or a leather motor-cycle jacket, as worn by Marlon Brando in the ‘Wild One’, will never go out of style.

Mike Brown deconstructs the key elements of iconic 50s fashions - from Audrey Hepburn chic to high school prom queen – and explains the origins of many items of clothing now taken for granted on today’s high street.

Over 144 pages, with more than 300 full colour photographs and pictures, readers can learn about the Trapeze dress and the Teddy Boys' quiff, pedal pushers and drain pipe trousers, and how women achieved that desirable hourglass shape. “Fifties fashion was feminine, flattering and - unlike the size zero silhouhette – actually achievable” Mike Brown says. “You may not have had the figure of Brigitte Bardot, but you could copy her look using corsets to cinch in your waist, full, layered skirts, and padded bras. There were even inflatable bras, which had an alarming habit of exploding in a clinch, or of taking on slow punctures, accompanied by strange noises! Thankfully, underwear technology has moved on, and the look can now be achieved less painfully.” 



Essential reading for a 50s fashionista! Available at most book stores now.

Vintage Investing

How's your investment portfolio doing? You are probably like most other people these days...you don't even want to look at the bottom line.

But how about a little creative investing in vintage clothing? Yes, you heard that right. You can invest in other things besides stocks and bonds.

Pick the right handbag, invest in artwork or buy a piece of swampland and you could be on to a nice little earner

High-end vintage fashion is certainly ripe for investment potential. If you're going to do that, however, a discerning eye and some research is required to ensure maximum returns. Buy a good designer at their peak. If the label says Dior, you want it to be by Christian himself rather than by Marc Bohan, who took over in 1962. If the piece of clothing is by Yves Saint Laurent, it's haute couture that will accrue the most value in years to come, not Rive Gauche (from the 70s & 80s), or Variations (from the 90s) – both are still too recent to hold the same cache. And even if those criteria are fulfilled, avoid anything that has serious staining or alterations, which seriously decreases the value. Store the pieces out of sunlight (fading is a no-no), and start to get paranoid about moths, damp and mildew.

Now, it seems, is the time to invest: museums and private collectors are trying to buy as much as they can for their archives.

Ebay picks:

1950s Chanel Suit

Pucci Velvet Dress

Is Vintage Worth The Price?

With vintage being all the rage now, particularly during our recession, how do you know if the vintage piece you are buying is priced fairly or just priced high because it's in demand?

I'd be lying if I told you all vintage sellers are equal. The vintage market has raised it's prices. But an honest vintage seller will not price something high unless it's worth it...and this is what you need to watch out for.

As any vintage seller knows, a lot of factors go into pricing an item. It's not a simple purchase at wholesale cost, increase price by 2.5 times and resell. There is a lot more to vintage clothing.

The factors that go into pricing a vintage garment are of course the initial price we bought it at. The condition obviously plays a huge part. If the condition is relatively good requiring few or no repairs, the garment can be cleaned and priced. However, often in this business a vintage garment takes a lot of work to make it wearable again. If this is the case, labor and material costs are now involved in the pricing. Cleaning costs and shipping costs are also a factor.

If an item is a high end label and in great condition, this commands a higher price. ie: a 1940s ladies Chanel suit will definitely be priced higher than a 1940s suit in great condition without a label. Historically, Chanel is always in demand.

But quality must equal price. If that Chanel suit is not in good condition, why would you pay a high price? Will you wear it? Unless it is a piece going into a museum collection, I do not enjoy seeing a seller gouging a customer just because they have a Chanel. In 50-100 more years it will be different. Fewer 1940s Chanel suits will be around and that suit will be of historical importance.

How unique is the piece? Compare these two dresses. Both from the 1950s. Which one is $25 and which one is $125? Read to the end to find out.

Pink Velvet Chiffon & Velvet Flocked Swing Dress

Fred Perlberg Two Toned Purple Chiffon Gown

I often browse other vintage stores and am often shocked by the high sticker prices....and on garments that are stained with holes! $200-300 for a dress with stains and holes? No label? Is it worth it? I say no, and I'm in the business of selling these things.

Let's face it, the recession is teaching us a lesson. Let's all start looking at quality again. Just because something is priced high, does not mean it's worth the price.

Answer: The pink velvet chiffon is $125. The purple Fred Perlberg is $25. The pink dress is in mint condition even though it has no makers label. The Fred Perlberg, although a well-known label is only in fair condition with several holes, rips and fabric fading within the chiffon. It cannot be priced too high, even though it's a label brand.

Old Vinyl

I finally got my old turntable fixed. Remember those? The little box-like things that have a rotating round disc on them where you put another vinyl disc on top and by some miracle hear music?

Yes, those. A record player. But because I'm hip, I'll call it a turntable.

I have a big record collection and have not been able to listen to them for years. Just lugging them around with every move, and boy are they heavy!

The enjoyment comes not just in listening to the old music (everything from classical to Dean Martin to Duran Duran), but I particularly enjoy reading the album covers again. It's just not the same on a little CD insert. Look at the cigarette that Dean Martin is holding - seems so out of place today. But love the hat and the pin striped suit - very stylish!

Have a look at the dresses on the other two album covers. From the 1950s, one dress is a studded strapless gown with drop earings and pearl necklace. The other is a chiffon dress with perfectly matching dyed shoes, opera length gloves and finished with a tiara.

Makes me want to dance!

Not Just For Craft Projects

I love fabric. Without it we would be pretty cold as it clothes us (and occasionally our pets - although I wish people wouldn't do that).

Felt is the oldest form of cloth and the art of matting appears to be older than weaving. It was done by the Mongolian tribes long before the Greeks and the Romans. The nomads of central Asia were among the first to make this compact cloth by beating carded and wet wool with which they made tents and clothing.

Felt may be made from wool, (sheep, goats, shearling and camels) or fur, (hares, beavers, otters and rabbits). Wool felt is rougher, heavier, thicker and less resistant, but also less expensive. Fur felt is strong, soft, fine grained and smooth.

Although felt is considered a fabric, its production process has no relation with loomed cloth. Felt is the result of the matting of animal fibres, and after being treated, connect tightly with each other.

The smoothness and pliability of felt is perfect for hatmaking. Particularly gentlmen's hats. However ladies, feel free to don a fedora as it is quite stunning!

Biltmore Pinched Fedora, c. 1940s

Feather & Netting Boutique Hat, c. 1950s

G.A. Dunn & Co. Trilby Hat, early 1900s

Adolfo II of New York & Paris, Red Felt Hat with Pin