Week in Review

Films I've Viewed

• The Bribe (1949) - Robert Taylor (Rigby), Ava Gardner (Elizabeth Hintten), Charles Laughton (J.J. Bealer), Vincent Price (Carwood), John Hodiak (Tigwell "Tug" Hintten).  Taylor plays a cop, sent to find a group of people smuggling airplane motors and selling them illegally.  Ava is a down on her luck singer in a seedy nightclub, torn between her attraction to Rigby and her devotion to her shady, dying husband.  Elizabeth's husband is part of the gang, so if he does anything it will hurt her.  Robert Taylor is divine.  One of my favorite leading men.  Ava played the sultry singer well.  I don't think she was worth the trouble, but then, Ava is not one of my favorite actresses.  Charles Laughton and Vincent Price were fabulous as the bad guys.  Their portrayals were worth the film alone.  Well worth the view.

Fashion Friday - Lace Lid

Woman wearing a navy dress with red stitching outlines on the collar. The hat is covered with openwork ruffles in 1940.

Fashion Friday - Cloche Cool 2

Just like last week, I've got another cute example of a cute cloche hat.  This cool woman looks like she is on the way home from work.  A chic polka dot dress, cute heels, and a cloche hat make this the perfect work day attire in 1928, when this picture was taken.

Fashion Friday - Cloche Cool

Love this chic cloche hat look from 1950.  The hat is adorable.  I love the sleek black pencil skirt, checked jacket, gorgeous gloves, and cute black pumps.  I'd love to wear an every day outfit this chic.

Fashion Friday - Eyelet Hat and Collar

Eyelet Embroidery Hat and Eyelet Collar from Life Magazine; 1940

Nuggets of Note December 17, 2012

1879 Hats

I adore Jessica's Vintage Holiday Buying Guide.  Not a thing on their I wouldn't want.  Great choices, Jessica.


Lynn at 19th Century Historical Tidbits has a great series about 1879 Hats.  Part 2 and Part 3 are now up.

Thelma Todd

Los Angeles Morgue Files has a fascinating post about Lupe Velez's suicide and Thelma Todd's death.

Hoover Ad; 1950

Reminisce Magazine has a great feature about Santa Ads from the Past.  

Geneva Hand Fluter

American Duchess is a constant inspiration.  I adore her costumes.  Her latest post is her Year in Review.  I wish I could make just one costume that looked that fabulous.  She also experiments with a Geneva Hand Fluter iron.  I always wanted to try using a vintage iron, and she makes it sound easy.

Christmas Meal for Louis XVIII

I love food history, so the Old Foodie is a must-read blog.  Rationing during WWII and some Rationing Recipes is the subject of her latest post.  She also had an interesting Christmas Meal for Louis XVIII.  


Daytonian in Manhattan features the Anson McCook Beard House.  The daughter of local legend James J. Hill lived there, so I was personally very interested. 

1933 Fortune Magazine

Letterology had some great posts this week.  My favorites were about 19th C Cold Type and Fortune Magazine.

Kemps Ice Cream ad

Neatorama sheds light on the only Christmas Song to hit #1 on the Billboard charts and some great tidbits on Frank Sinatra.

Mental Floss has a number of fantastic posts.  A few that sparked my fancy were: 12 Technological Advances of WWI, 12 Proposed Disney Attractions That Were Never Built, 12 Essential American Cartoons (I agree with the first 9), and 12 Toys From the 1980s That Didn't Take Off (I remember every one!).

History-wise in my neck of the woods, I was made aware of a fun bit of history.  The 1921 Kissing Contest winner - French actor Andre Brule.  Apparently he knew how to give the perfect kiss.

And my Christmas sentimental side has been in full force this year, thanks to Christmas specials like A Charlie Brown Christmas.  So it was fun to see what Movie Morlocks had to say about it.

On the book front, there were two exciting finds recently:  The Cardiff Library recently realized they had a book from Sir Isaac Newton's library and Hans Christian Anderson's First Fairy Tale was discovered in the Danish National Archives.

Go Retro!  has a fun post about a sex-ed video Disney put out in the 1940s.  I've never heard of this video.  The animation was great, as with most Disney cartoons.  Very sweet.  While the video would never be shown these days, all the information is still pretty accurate.  It's a fun way to learn about a not-fun topic.

Weird Wednesday - Monocle Hats

Popular Mechanics; April 1941

I can't say this is on my fashion must-have list.  Has anyone ever seen a hat like this in person?  Who knows, maybe it will be a new fad!

How to Look Well in Clothes - For Tall Women

How to Look Well in Clothes - For Tall Women
From the advice of New York designer Edwina Patterson

Plaids

Belted Jacket

Ruffles, puplums, tunics

Small pillbox hats

Low turbans

Cloche hats

[Source:  Quick Steps to Beauty and Charm.  Dorothy Cocks.  White's Book Company.  Westfield, Massachusetts.  1948.]

How to Look Well in Clothes - For Stout Women

How to Look Well in Clothes - For Stout Women
From the advice of New York designer Edwina Patterson






No belts on coats

Dominant colors should be:

Navy

Black

Or

Neutral Shades

Flat fur coats ( like broadtail -  'the wavy, moirélike fur or pelt of a young or stillborn Karakul lamb'.[Source: Dictionary.com] )

Broadtail fur from the 1940s

No doll or pillbox hats.

*Bummer, because I love pillbox hats.  I didn't realize they were so popular in the 1940s.  When I think pillbox hat, I think Jackie O

Jackie O. Impersonators 1961

Wear off-side berets

Susan Peters 1943

Wear medium-size off to the side hats

Zasu Pitts, Paula Laurence & Celeste Holm

No peplums or tiered rulles, dirndl skirts, wide belts, and unpressed pleats

*Basically anything that adds volume








[Source:   Quick Steps to Beauty and Charm.  Dorothy Cocks.  White's Book Company.  Westfield, Massachusetts.  1948.]

Vintage Inspiration August 4th

One of my favorite blogs, Vixen Vintage is having a hat giveaway

To enter the giveaway, check out Solanah's site at http://vixenvintage.blogspot.com/2009/08/giveaway.html

That got me thinking, today would be the perfect day for a hat show

These fun hats are all from Paris and date from 1942-1948

Wonderful creation and ingenuity went into the creation of these beauties

Must have been fantastic to see these on the street on the heads of fabulous ladies



Pretty sure I couldn't pull any of these off. They would just be too much on a petite girl like myself. One can dream though, can't they?