1930s Inspired Dresses straight from the 1970s Baby!

 

Just listed two 1930s inspired dresses from the 1970s...one midi, one maxi, and both perfect for Spring! One good for Easter Sunday, the other good for Prom maybe? I'll let you decide. ;-)

The Betties

1. Bette Davis and those eyes.  She personifies the Golden Age of Hollywood.  In a world where men rule, Davis held her own as a strong, respected woman with real acting chops. She garnered ten Academy Award nominations, a feat that only four other actors have achieved.   She didn't need to rely on her looks to make it in Hollywood and she left behind a legacy of great films. All About Eve, Jezebel, The Little Foxes, Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?, and Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte.  If you haven't seen a Bette Davis film, then shame on you! 

2. Betty Grable and those legs. Clueless Cher Horowitz said "She's a total Betty"...well that would be Betty Grable she's referring to...the pin up queen of WWII.  Her legs were famously insured in the 1940s for one million dollars, which is about 22 million today.  And she was 1/3 of the fabulous trio of ladies in How to Marry a Millionaire with Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Monroe.  Does it get any hotter than that?!

3. Bettie Page and those bangs. The most famous pin up model of all time, she had a rocking body and wasn't afraid to push the boundaries of fetish kink, which was quite bold and empowering for a woman in the 1950s.  Like so many other young pretty girls, Bettie had hopes of becoming a famous actress. Lucky for us that never panned out and 60 years later, ladies all over the world are armed with scissors in hand to achieve the perfect Bettie Page bangs.

Davis, Grable, Page...The Betties. Supreme Diva, Screen Siren, Pin-up Queen, Glamour-puss, Sex Kitten...take no prisoners, awesome women!  Three legendary gals with a common name are forever immortalized in every vintage loving gals brain!

Vintage French Fabric

How amazing are these 1930s swatch cards from a book of imported french fabrics?  I love that design sketches are included with the fabric swatches.  Let me be the first to tell you, swatch books now-a-days are definitely not as neat as they were 80 years ago! {via nypl}

 

 

 

Youth Movement

I stumbled upon some old photographs via the NYPL Digital Archives.  If you have little to no knowledge of the Harlem Renaissance other than the fact that it was an historical period of time in which Harlem was in vogue...then these photos will prove that it was more than just a period of time in which a section of New York City was in vogue.

Known as "The New Negro Movement", the Harlem Renaissance was an artistic and cultural movement spanning the 1920s and 1930s.  Many famous and influential African-Americans came out of said movement; African-Americans such as Langston Hughes, Alain Locke, Zora Neale Hurston, Paul Robeson and many more.  I'd like to revisited the most notable players of "The New Negro Movement" in a separate post and focus on the influence they had on the youth of Harlem in this post.  The below photos were taken in 1939 at the Harlem Community Arts Center.  I love a young artistic mind!  I wonder if any of the children in the pictures ever went on to become players in the art world.  It's amazing how a photograph can tell a story but remain anonymous enough to let your imagination create wonder and fantasy.

The children are impeccably dressed for art class, wouldn't you say? And because this is a vintage fashion blog, it wouldn't be right if I didn't address the wardrobe...in fact I wouldn't be me if I didn't address the wardrobe! I love the kid in the last photo who is wearing short pants, amazing diamond print socks, and "spit shine" shoes!  He's a dapper little fella!