Let’s have a Dita moment…
Hmm, haven’t posted up any Dita recently…
Tagged: 1940s, 1950s, Dita Von Teese, fashion, fifties, forties
Contributors
Our Sponsor
Subscribe to this Blog
fifties
Tagged: 1940s, 1950s, Dita Von Teese, fashion, fifties, forties
Dior’s Cruise Collection 2010
Tagged: 1950s, 1960s, 2010, christian, cruise, Dior, fifties, leopard print, sixties
Alexander McQueen Retrospective Part 7: Fall 2005
In tribute to Lee Alexander McQueen, I have been posting a retrospective of past collections, from a SwingFashionista perspective. The best of Alexander McQueen for retro-loving folk. May he rest in peace. In part 7, my top picks from the Fall 2005 ready-to-wear show. More to come…
Tagged: 1950s, 2005, Alexander McQueen, catwalk, collection, fall, fashion, fifties, leopard, pencil, print, retrospective, show, skirt
Louis Vuitton Fall 2010: Top Picks
With Marc Jacobs (*swoon*) at the helm, the Louis Vuitton Fall 2010 ready-to-wear show was all about an unabashedly vintage silhouette. Balconette bosoms, wasp waists, lined 50s circle skirts, sweater girls, fur collars, bows, long gloves and clutches. Also so nice to see a retro-inspired collection trotted down the catwalk, without terrifying abstract makeup or surrealist hair, to ‘balance out the old-fashioned’. Of course, I would have preferred red lippie and pincurls, but the preppy ponytails and fresh-faced ingenue makeup is a welcome relief after some of the absurdist hair, makeup (and shoes) of the season. Here are my favourites:
Tagged: 1950s, circle skirt, Fall 2010, fifties, full skirt, Louis Vuitton, poodle skirt, Ready to Wear, RTW
The Lovely Lina Romay
Lina Romay was an actress and singer in the 1940s and 50s, with Columbia and MGM. Though she was born in New York, she was daughter to the Mexican Consul to New York City and was typically cast as a Latin American beauty. She sang with Xavier Cugat’s orchestra in the early 1940s. You may have seen her singing with the band in the Fred Astaire/Rita Hayworth flick You Were Never Lovelier (1942) or in Stage Door Canteen (1943). In the clip below, she could be singing about herself…
Categories: Celebrities, Vintage Photos, Vintage Videos
Tagged: 1940s, 1950s, actress, fifties, forties, latin, lina romay, mexican, MGM, silver screen, singer, starlet, Xavier Cugat
Taking Fashion Inspiration from Dolls
I wasted a whole lot of time on this doll blog, so that you don’t have to! Check out these retro doll fashions, can you believe it? The downside is, you can’t buy any of these outfits… you know, unless you’re 6″ tall. I’d wear all of these outfits! If anyone out there is a wizz with a sewing machine and wants to recreate one of these for me, just let me know!!
Tagged: 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, barbie, doll, fashion, fifties, forties, retro, sixties, thirties, twenties, vintage
Vintage 50’s Eye Glasses Roundup
My favourite Etsy eyeglasses shop is full up with gorgeous 1950’s spectacles at the moment, here’s a roundup of what’s available right now:
Tagged: 1950s, Etsy, eyeglasses, fifties, glasses, retro, spectacles
Fifties/Sixties Mashup in Vogue March 2008
Photographer Mario Testino for US Vogue in March 2008. Styled by our beloved Grace Coddington. Model is Karen Elson.
Tagged: 1950s, 1960s, beehive, fifties, Grace Coddington, Hair, Karen Elson, Mario Testino, retro, sixties, vogue
Emelie & Rebecka bring 50s to Gotland, Sweden
I have absolutely no idea what inspired my friends Emelie & Rebecka to do this fabulous photo shoot, but it popped up on Facebook and I just can’t help but post it up here. I’m sure many of you know these fabulous swing dancing ladies from Sweden, but maybe you haven’t seen them as Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn? They might kill me, but they look so glamorous in their fifties getup, in that crazy Swedish scenery! Hopefully they’ll forgive me for posting it up here!
Tagged: 1950s, audrey hepburn, beach, dance, Emelie DecaVita, fifties, Gotland, lindy hop, marilyn monroe, Rebecka DecaVita, Sweden, swing
Anthropologie Cardigans
More Anthropologie torture. This time cute cardigans (or cardies as we say in Australia). Not much use to me down here in sunny Argentina right now, but I will be back in the Northern Hemisphere in January, hmmm….
Anyway, these would all look cute paired with jeans and pearls, or a pencil skirt and ballet flats, or even pedal pushers if you’ve got the guts.
Categories: ClothingTagged: 1950s, anthropologie, cardigans, fifties, jumper, retro, sweater, winter
Bettie Page Clothing: Top Picks
Here are a few of my top picks from Bettie Page Clothing.
Matilda, $148:
Spice Grey, $135
Orange Candy, on sale $70.00:
Captain Navy Pencil Dress, $150:
Tagged: 1950s, 50s, Bettie Page, Clothing, dresses, fifties, pencil
Sheer Beauty: Rita Hayworth
Here’s another glamorous lady, Rita Hayworth. You’ve probably (hopefully!) seen her in Cover Girl (dancing with Gene Kelly), and Gilda (the film that made her one of the most lasting sex symbols of the 1940s). She was named number 19 in The American Film Institutes 50 Greatest Screen Legends. Glamorous from birth, her parents were Eduardo Cansino, a Spanish flamenco dancer, and Volga Hayworth, a Ziegfeld girl. She was born Margarita Carmen Cansino, in Brooklyn, New York City. Amongst her five husbands were Orson Welles, Argentine actor/singer Dick Haymes and Prince Aly Khan (yes, Rita, not Grace Kelly, was the first movie star to become a princess).
Known for her luscious red locks (and damn did she have good hair!), she did go blonde for The Lady of Shanghai, although critics claimed that was why the film was a box office flop. I think she looks great!! Anyway, in the early 40s she was photographed pin-up style, including the infamous shot of her in a negligee perched on her bed in LIFE Magazine, so when the USA joined the war in 1941, she was admired by thousands of servicemen and became one of the top pin-up girls of the war (along with Betty Grable and that saucy peekaboo pose of hers). A few interesting Wiki facts:
- Before she broke in to films, she danced in nightclubs in Tijuana, Mexico under her real name Margarita Cansino, and some say that the Margarita cocktail was named after her.
- She weighed 55kg and was 5′6” (exactly the same as me!), making her “tall for women of her time”
- In 1949 her lips were voted best in the world by the Artists League of America. She had a modeling contract with Max Factor to promote its Tru-Color lipsticks (one of the adverts is below).
- Famous quote: “Men fell in love with Gilda, but they wake up with me.”
- And another: “I think all women have a certain elegance about them which is destroyed when they take off their clothes.”
- She died in 1987 at the age of 68, of Alzheimer’s disease. At her funeral, Ricardo Montalban, Glenn Ford, Don Ameche and Hermes Pan carried her coffin.
Click on the images below to see Rita in all her full-size glory…
Tagged: 1940s, 1950s, Cover Girl, fifties, forties, Gilda, images, Margarita Cansino, photos, Rita Hayworth
No, it’s a dress!
Well, I was excited about the beret, but you were all just excited about the outfit! Ahh well. Anyway, no it’s not a blouse, it’s a dress, as you can see in this full-body shot of the lovely Bernie Dexter. But unfortunately, I don’t know the label. If anyone out there knows where you can get your hands on this black and white gingham pencil dress, please drop us a line!
UPDATE 13/12/09: Ooh, I just received an email from the lovely Bernie Dexter herself, telling me it’s one of her own designs for the Bernie Dexter label! Damn, how can one girl be so gorgeous and so talented? Good news is, you can get it here: www.berniedexter.com . Thank you Bernie, SwingFashionista.com loves your work 
Tagged: 1950s, 50s, Bernie Dexter, black, check, dress, fifties, gingham, pencil, puff sleeve, skirt, white
L’Wren Scott Retrospective
L’Wren Scott is one of my favorite labels. Lots of figure-hugging pencil skirts, autumn color palettes and vintage details. I also feel like this label is a little more down-to-earth. I don’t just lust after all these dresses, I really would wear them, and these are looks I could realistically create, unlike the looks that some fashion houses put on the catwalk. Here’s my top picks of the last three years, in my opinion getting better and better with each season…
Fall 2008:
Spring 2008:
Fall 2009:
Spring 2009:
Spring 2010:
Tagged: 1950s, autumn, dress, fall, fifties, flower, L'Wren Scott, pencil, retro, skirt, vintage
Dorothea’s Closet Vintage: Top Picks
A few top picks from one of my favorite vintage clothing stores, Dorothea’s Closet. Everything below is in the range of US$50 to $250.
Tagged: 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, closet, Clothing, dorothea, dress, fashion, fifties, forties, online, retro, shop, store, thirties, twenties, vintage
Sonia Rykiel Spring 2010 Ready-to-Wear Collection
Ahh, so much to love in this one. Clingy striped sweaters, waist belts, pencil skirts, retro disc fascinators, crystal-covered cats eye glasses, seamed Cuban heel stockings (even in purple!) and rhinestone-covered strappy platform heels. But most of all – happy, laughing, smiling, dancing models! How wonderful.
These photos (infinitely more gorgeous than the official catwalk shots) from The Cherry Blossom Girl.
Tagged: 1950s, 1960s, cats eye glasses, catwalk, collection, cuban heel, disc, fascinator, fifties, mini beret, quilted, Ready to Wear, RTW, runway, sixties, Sonia Rykiel, Spring 2010, stockings