RALPH LAUREN - Vintage Sportswear

When looking for a great skirt that not only beats the heat but also raises the temperature, you will never go wrong when choosing a soft cotton print. Even better if it features a full button front that can be left open for a great flash of leg with each step. Now to make it a perfecta, select this vintage 1970s Ralph Lauren soft blue folkloric print that not only shows off your slim waist but also showcases your long legs. We call that perfectly modern vintage. Pair it now with a bold Gerda Monies necklace, and later with a rust suede Anne Klein jacket, when the weather turns colder.

FROCKOLOGY Style Tip:
When wearing a strong print don't always play it safe by pairing with solids, step outside the box and try a little mixology by choosing to incorporate different patterns that enhance or contrast the main pattern. Now put on your big girl skirt and give it a try.

VINTAGE FRAGRANCE - Cristalle

If you are looking for a great fragrance that seems to capture the best of Summer then look no further.
Henri Robert created Cristalle in 1974 for the house of Chanel, capturing a youthful, fresh ,never too heavy but always present fragrance. Cristalle launches with a sparkling top of Sicilian lemon that meets the green and flowery notes of Honeysuckle and Water Hyacinth which is then embraced by the woody charm of Vetiver. Splash it anywhere you think best, it is sure to be appreciated by the opposite sex and isn't that a great reason to wear scent. A subtle vintage fragrance that says lets make a great summer to remember.

VINTAGE VS MODERN - Geoffrey Beene Takes On Michael Kors

You know what they say "everything old is new again" and this is a great example. On the left we have a current Michael Kors Spring 2010 and on the right a modern vintage Geoffrey Beene from the early 1990s. Once again you can see the advantages of choosing modern vintage over current style. It gives you both great value and a unique look where the other gives you an expensive price and the ability to see your choice on a multitude of others. It also makes you wonder how Kors can keep a straight face when critiquing others for "borrowing" when judging on Project Runway. I guess it is a question of "do as I say not as I do".......what do you think?

BYBLOS - Mixing Vintage & Modern Style

A perfect outfit for "Lunch at Cartier" while channeling your inner Audrey. Anyone who says vintage never looks modern, has never run across this BYBLOS from the late 1980s which has that military vibe that is oh so popular this season. We like it zipped to the neck for day with flats but when the sun goes down the heels should rise and the zip should lower. That is why we say day to night is always right with modern vintage.

DONNA KARAN - Mixing Vintage & Modern Style

Sarong is sometimes so right and when it is a lightweight cotton knit in a bold and graphic red it is perfect. This Donna Karan look from the late 1980s is actually a bodysuit under a wrap skirt. The skirt can also be used as a wrap front halter dress and what is more modern then multiple looks from two pieces. Mix it with a great tan under bronze and nude makeup then add wooden accessories, Day or Night this will feel so right.

What are your thoughts on "overdressing"- I'm not talking about a ball gown at a daytime event but just wearing a dress and heels when other people are wearing jeans and a T shirt. ( I found your blog from Sister Wolf's blog and I like it I will be back)

I am glad you like our blog and look forward to seeing you there often. "Overdressing" now that is a tough call, we live in a world of anything goes without a clear dictate of what is correct for any given occasion. Given this leeway what is overdressed for one is under dressed for another. So, I say be true to your comfort level and sense of occasion. From a mans perspective a woman in jeans and a T is a fine thing but one in a skirt and heels will get our attention every time. I remember being on the subway once in the mid 1970s, early in the morning and a man and woman in full evening dress boarded and at that instant who was over dressed, because I have to say they looked a lot more interesting then the rest of us. If you feel overdressed then chances are you are, otherwise go forth and have a wonderful fashionably fabulous time.

Ask me anything?

CELEBRATE EARTH DAY - Shop Vintage

Join us in celebrating EARTH DAY by each doing our part to sustaining a beautiful clean Earth.......it is the only on we have, so start today and look for ways to decrease our carbon footprint. A beautiful way to recycle is through the use of modern vintage. Think clothing,furniture,accessories, etc. the list is endless and the more creative we are the more we attain. Let's agree to start TODAY!

What do you think about the look at me! ain't I got style blogs?

First I think it is great that we have a worldwide platform for expressing opinions on any subjects about which we are passionate. So I am all for it, that said, personally I prefer seeing fashion in motion. I find fashion to be so much more then the sum of its parts. The way a person moves or the power of their personality can often be far more fashionable then any multiple mixing of adornments could ever create. Always remember, you are only as original as the obscurity of your source. Find your inspiration don't borrow it.

Ask me anything?

ALBERT CAPRARO - Mixing Vintage & Modern Style

The temperature is in the high hot range and you need to appear cool calm and collected, so what do you do? Nothing will keep you looking fresh and together as easily as a lightweight button front shirtwaist style dress. The rolled up sleeve and waist defining shape mixed with the breeze inducing fuller skirt unbuttoned to above the knee is just the item to keep them guessing where you got such a great dress. Now, add a vintage Albert Capraro from the 1970s to the equation and you will be a total winner because no one can have it but you and that will always make a hot day easier to embrace.

MODERN FRGRANCE - Atelier Cologne

Come clean and tell the truth. Sometimes, don't you sneak and wear your fellas fragrance just because you can. Well now he can return the favor without any loss of those important masculine points that are so important. Atelier Cologne has created five true unisex fragrance that give new meaning to the term unique and different. Each fragrance captures the senses and tells an immediate story. Take a trip to Bergdorf Goodman and experience the tingle. You will be glad you did.

BRADLEY BAYOU - Mixing Vintage & Modern Style

When it is time to embrace the warm weather with a casual look there is nothing better then to have a multifunctional vintage garment that says look at me I'm as modern as you. Here you have a Bradley Bayou mini dress from one of his first collections that takes a playful tongue in cheek turn on the button front house dress popular in the 1940s. We like it paired with a roll cuff boyfriend jean and multicolored ankle strap sandals, mixed with simple jewelry and a mixed media clutch plus playfully large shades. Later when it is time to pump up the volume for a festive night, just slip out of the jeans and you have a totally different vibe ready to take on the night. Modern Vintage Multitasking, wow! Not only great style but mixed with great value, a perfect reason to think outside the box.

VINTAGE FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY - David Hamilton

The most wonderful result of sharing the world of fashion through the eye of the photographer is the diversified range of emotion that is elicited from the individual viewer. David Hamilton, has to me always, captured in a romanticized impressionistic style, the lazy days of late summer when time seems to slow down and young girls take a bit of time for reflection. The beauty of his work is that others will have a totally different emotion when viewing from vintage inspired to almost pornographic. A sudden shift in emotion is the greatest compliment you can pay to an artist, so love his work or not you have to admit it is arresting as well as thought provoking upon view.

David Hamilton
1933-
British

MALCOLM STARR - Mixing Vintage & Modern Style

Sometimes you need a cocktail dress that is demure without being drab, for those occasions when the maracas should only be seen with a Latin band. However, you still want to sizzle and that is when you reach for this Malcolm Starr. It gives you a sparkle of excitement while maintaining that you are still a lady. This was designed in the late 1960s yet is as fresh and modern in feeling as if it way created this spring. You can never go wrong when you choose modern vintage as part of your style.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING VINTAGE - My Mothers Clothes

This book is a wonderful journey through one woman's life, told with joy by her daughter, using the medium of adornment. It was personal to me not only because of loosing my father to Alzheimer's, but because it also showcases the visceral reason I am drawn to vintage clothing, the wonderful stories that are told to those fortunate enough to take the time to listen.

My Mothers Clothes
Author: Jennette Montgomery Barron

MARY MCFADDEN - Vintage Couture

VINTAGE CINEMA - Bonjour Tristesse

If you are looking for a film that captures the look and life style of the beau monde of Paris in the late 1950s this is the film to see. It gives us Jean Seberg with her short gamine crop and the costumes of Givenchy in his most creative period and the vocal styling of Juliette Greco mixed with a sensual smokey jazz score.

BONJOUR TRISTESSE
1959
Director: Otto Preminger
Writer: Francoise Sagan

KARL LAGERFELD - Mixing Vintage & Modern Style

Nothing heralds Spring like a beautiful cotton floral sundress. It brings to mind all the excitement and freshness of things remembered from times past. When you combine the sublime talents of Karl Lagerfeld with a bold floral cotton chintz that appears to have floated fresh from a Monet canvas. You get a perfect strapless sundress with a full skirt given shape with cartilage pleated panniers over crinolines that are reminiscent of an afternoon spent at the Petite Trianon with the Court of Louie XVI. When you blend vintage into your style in a modern way it becomes fresh and infinitely desirable.

VINTAGE CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHT - Vivienne Westwood

Dita Von Teese spotted in Las Vegas at a book signing promo wearing a modern vintage frock. Looking fresh and crisp in a cotton toile print from British designer Vivienne Westwood circa early 1990s, once again proving that vintage worn with a modern twist will always be noticed. Nothing looks as fresh and cool as a light cotton print frock when worn outside in the warm sunshine.

FROCKOLOGY Style Tip:

To give your vintage cotton a more modern twist pull your hair back into a messy ponytail accessorizing with bold geometric wood and silver jewelry and a pair of lucite platform woven ribbon sandals that bow at the ankle.

HALSTON - Mixing Vintage & Modern Style

When it is time to head to the beach all you need is a great cover up, a straw tote and some wood jewelry then just add the ocean and you are all set. Now to make it even more exciting take along some vintage HALSTON in the form of a golden silk caftan from the early 1970s. It will work over a bikini as a cover up or paired with silk pants as a tunic and even stands alone as a comfortable dress. Then when you return to the city it will continue to be a great addition to your style through out the summer and forever. That is the beauty of collecting HALSTON you can wear his creations always knowing you look classically modern.

VINTAGE CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHT -Geoffrey Beene

America Ferrera at the primer of "How to Tame Your Dragon" wearing vintage Geoffrey Beene. It is a perfect example of the art of Beene, taking a supple black wool and shaping it into a body revealing shape with a matching topper and then using multicolor silk ribbons to give it a geometric punch of color and shape. Once again proving why he is considered one of the Great American Designers.