My Favorite Color is Still Blue

Ask a kid their favorite color. Guaranteed most will say blue. What is it about this color that is so attractive to kids? Is it because it's easy to recall the name? It is also a primary color, which are some of the first colors a child learns.

But I'm not a kid and my favorite color is still blue. Mind you, I appreciate the many shades and tones which for spring, is an absolute joy to see. Have a look at this collection. It makes my heart warm!

Color Blind?

I have a confession to make - I'm really bad at picking color names. I often need help to describe the color of my vintage items and turn to a color thesaurus. Even then, with the thousands of shades and names available, it can get quite overwhelming!

Here is an example. The color red. It's not just red but....

Cherry Red

Scarlet Red

Fire Engine Red

Free Speech Red

Sangria Red

Dark Red

Maroon

Fire Brick Red

Venetian Red

and on and on.....

So you can imagine the difficulty I have with red, the glare of photographing and choosing the color that describes it well. Here are some red dresses I recently acquired.

See what I mean? So forgive me if I default to Red. It's still stunning in a vintage dress, no matter what you call it.

Hey Frank! Hey Sam! Hey Dino Martino.....

HEY TOM COLLINS, HAIL THAT SIDECAR FOR ME AND WATCH OUT FOR THE GRASSHOPPER IN THE CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL!

 

To celebrate a milestone birthday, I had a party with a martini theme.  By the end of the evening, there were many happy, giggly faces and the remnants of some pretty interesting cocktail mixes.  What the Rat Pack made cool many decades ago has re-emerged in a big way.  Those sexy girls in the City knew how to live it up the Cosmo way.

In our ever-changing disposable world, it’s nice to see the art of the cocktail has somehow made a comeback.  We’re no longer satisfied with just the pop of a cork or the fizzy twist of a cap to tantalize the palette.

 “That’s Amore” (abridged version)

When the mood hits your brain like a runaway train,

That’s a cocktail,

When the world seems to shine

Like you’ve had too much wine, that’s a cocktail,

Ears will ring, ting-a-ling-a-ling

Ting-a-ling-a-ling, you’ll cry, “no more vodka”

Head will pound, tippy-tippy-tay,

Tippy-tippy-tay, like a polka

When you stagger in a dream,

But you know you’re not dreaming no sireee,

Scuzza me, but you’ll see,

Back in bed there for me,

No more cocktails….

How about these outfits for your next martini party? All now available.

Vintage Satin Wiggle Dress

Vintage 1950s Bronze Iridescent Dress

Vintage 50s Betty Lynn Black Ruffled Wiggle Dress

Vintage Rat Pack Blue Tuxedo Tails

Vintage 50s Wiggle Glam Gown

Peek-a-Boo

Hide. Now I'll hide and you try to find me. Remember the game we played as children? Trying to find the best place to be so no one could find you was always a challenge. Harder when played outside...not that easy to hide behind a tree.

Peek-a-boo has an entirely different meaning as adults with fashion. A popular style in the 1950s, it refers to a part of the dress that alludes to bare skin. Sometimes it also refers to two different fabrics - keeping both sections of the dress very different from each other, but complementary. On this Dorothy O'Hara dress, the peek-a-boo section is the bodice that gives the illusion of bare skin showing. The bodice is lined displaying the intricacies of the lace, which covers the front and back of the dress. Very sexy, but with enough modesty thrown in for good measure!

Now available at Rice and Beans Vintage. $250

Shake That Booty

A modern approach to the wiggle dress - 'Shake that Booty'. I'm sure that's not how the designers of the wiggle dress imagined their creations to be thought of, nor wanted that label - but within these dresses lies the ultimate shimmy.

A recent post on the Vintage Bulletin brought up a great point about wiggle dresses. A true wiggle dress is where the hemline is narrower than the hips - this causes the legs to be closer together and create the wiggle. I have visions of Marilyn Monroe in the movie "Some Like it Hot" departing from the train in her feather trimmed dress, the camera pans to her backside and voila - the perfect wiggle. I was trying to find an image of it, but had no luck.

This deep blue 1950s wool dress is a true wiggle silhouette. I just love the satin ruched cummerbund waist trimmed with wool cross piece and bow. Dorothea's Closet, now available for $195.

Need Help With That?

Well ladies, if you ever own a vintage dress like this 1950s Perlmutt Model, I hope you have a significant other, friend, neighbour to help you with it.

This stunning dress may have been designed by an engineer and constructed by an architect. Using a series of eyes & hooks, the tafetta crosses over the chiffon and the chiffon crosses over the tafetta. Confused yet?

Have a look and see what I mean.

and Voilà!!

I'm selling this one with instructions. Perhaps an instructional video.

But well worth it!