Swing Coat

Prelude To Winter

I picked up a vibrant cherry red 1940's swing coat on ebay a few weeks ago.  So, why not step out in the snow?

Lately, I've been really drawn to vintage coats.  The tailoring is so much nicer than something I'd find at Macy's today.   I paid $90 for this charming coat, which I think was a great deal.  It has a really old  Lord and Taylor label that I also find fascinating.  The red polka dot umbrella is also vintage  which ends in a matching polka dot ball.    This is the thrill of vintage when you find things you really love:))  I love that polka dots were in style in the 40s and 50s.  I'm still looking for that perfect polka dot chiffon 50s dress that I have seen in the pages of vintage Vogue's.

Please no comments about Little Red Riding Hood:)

Detail of handle on 50s umbrella:

Detail of hood:

And, guess what I made it into the pages of Vintage Life Magazine!   Isn't this a pleasant surprise?  They were looking for people with their vintage coats and I'd just happened to take a picture of myself in my Lilli Ann coat a couple days prior....great timing!

Don't forget to join in on the fun of the contest in the previous post!

A Stroll Through Harper's Bazaar 1938

I really enjoy strolling through the pages of vintage fashion magazines from the 30's to the early 50's.

I think right now the late 30's are my favorite.  My eyes light up at all the beautiful clothing and accessories of this period.  It's like I want to go directly to the shop and buy some of these things.  I picked up a couple of Harper's Bazaar magazines from 1938 recently and I find them to be a small slice of heaven in fashion.  I love the angles, remnants of art deco styling, and artistic photographs that were taken in this period.  Looking through these magazines is very much like looking through art books.  I'd much rather buy one of these vintage gems than a bunch of recent fashion magazines.

The early fashion magazines (especially Harper's Bazaar) can be quite expensive.  Try buying one with Erte on the cover!  I haven't yet been able to score a decent priced one of these.  I was able to get this Bazaar issue (illustrations shown below) through an auction, where I feel like I am indeed getting the best price.  The buy it now's on these magazines can be a lot so it's so nice and I feel so rewarded when I get a really nice vintage copy for under $50.  They normally sell around the $100 dollar mark.  If you haven't had a chance to thumb through one of these old fashion magazines, they are really well made in terms of paper stock and actually quite large in size.  My scanner is regular size and I would need a larger scanner to scan full images of these vintage fashion magazines.   It really is amazing when you think of it that this magazine I am sharing images of is over 70 years old!!

I mainly have Vogue's in my collection as these are easier to get so it was quite a joy that I was able to get two 1938 Harper's Bazaar magazines.  As I've mentioned in other posts, Vogue does seem to go cheaper but I'm really digging these older Harper's Bazaar.  I'd love to see digital copies since the very beginning!

I didn't want to scan this magazine since it is in really great shape so I took some photographs.

Schiaparelli Gown:

Yes, you may head to Saks and purchase it off the rack:)  Wouldn't it be great to see this actual gown against the artist rendition?  I googled Schiaparelli 1938 and this is the year of her infamous circus collection and skeleton dress too.  There was a lot going on with design and Schiaparelli in 1938.





Love the ruffled design in these creations.  Ahh, the glamour <sigh>.  Look at how perfect their hair is. I must remember that this is also a fashion magazine and just like today, they are made to look perfect:)

Cover:

Love to find this matching combination today! Gold button accent with small red centers perfect!  The designer isn't mentioned, which wasn't uncommon back then just that you can find the outfit at Bonwit Teller.  I'd skip the mink as I can't quite see wearing the head and feet of the poor little guy, although I appreciate the lush feeling of the fur.  I think I would wear a vintage fur if it was just the fur part but I still have hesitancy in buying a fur coat.  It would be nice to maybe just borrow one.  I do see how fur is making kind of a come back lately.   I just watched a 1930's movie with Carole Lombard and it was so funny to see these women flipping these minks over their shoulders with the heads and feet flopping around lol.

How avant garde is this hat?

 I thought this was so funny.  Double click to see what different types of men thought of this dress.  I guess American men haven't changed so much in 70 years.  But, then again, my husband would probably have the same amount of words to say about the dress and he's Dutch.

I should pin this hairstyle into fantasy hairstyles, so perfect.

Love the hair style to the left!

Nice leopard print

How tiny are these shoes?  

Love this spread:  My favorite is the gown to the far right.  Do you have a favorite?  Gowns by Balenciaga.

These gloves are really interesting.  I wonder if women actually wore them?  I'm sure it was for shock value.  The gloves look like they would be Schiaparelli.  But if you read the description: "But instead, a typical Schiaparelli-ism, long gold claws on black antelope gloves.  Hattie Carnegie"  So I wonder Schiaparelli or Carnegie?  It seems more Schiaparelli than Carnegie.  I've seen that these gloves have been attributed to Schiaparelli (see an image below). The dress is Schiaparelli.

Vionnet Dress.  This dress sold at auction through Doyle New York in 2001 for $11,500.  I bet it would go near $20,000 today.  Isn't it nice to see the black and white original showcased against what it looks like in full color?  

Please sign me up for this dress.  It's amazing!!!!  Below is an image for a Vionnet dress showcased in Bazaar (of course price is not mentioned:) also below is the actual dress at the MMA.  I'd love to see this dress in person.

Lilli Ann Holiday Wishes

Yes, my faithful blog readers, a post you have all been waiting for...

(insert fireworks)

Lilli Ann

Of course if you follow my blog, you will know that I adore Lilli Ann and this designer has become intwined in my vintage collection.  I wanted to share with you some ad matches.  As I find more in the future, I'll post additional entries.

My interest is Lilli Ann up until the late 1950's, after this I feel the Lilli Ann line changed.  I'm all about tailoring and glamour of earlier Lilli Ann.   For a future post, I will show some Lilli Ann dresses I've seen in scouring the internet.  It appears these are more rare to come by and that the main focus of Lilli Ann company was coats and suits.

All you have to do is type "Lilli Ann" and you will be bombarded by amazing suits and coats!  Lilli Ann is highly collectable and when a key ensemble comes on the market, they are quickly swiped up especially the earlier apparel.  The style and fit of Lilli Ann is classic and timeless.  There is a certain glamour that fits the era and transends to the present, if you are fortunate to find a Lilli Ann.  I've worn many suits when I was working in the corporate world but when I put on a vintage Lilli Ann, it's a different feeling. There is a sense of art and design about this clothing line.  Lilli Ann advertised a lot in vintage fashion magazines like Bazaar and Vogue in the 40's to the early 60's.

MyVintageVogue has some great ad images of Lilli Ann clothing.

Do any of you have a Lilli Ann coat or suit?

Brief History of Lilli Ann:

The Lilli Ann Company began in San Francisco in 1934.  Adolph Schuman started the company and named it after his wife Lillian.  According to Vintage Fashion Guild, Schuman went to Paris after WWII and started adding "Paris" to the label.  He bought many textiles from French companies after the war and helped saved many from closing.  He helped to show European weavers how to modernize their systems.  Schuman died in 1985 and the company closed by 2000.  Some Lilli Ann suits also contain the name "Adolph Schuman".   Schuman, through his Paris connection, gained contacts with such fashion masters as Channel and Balenciaga.  It is said that Balenciaga anonymously contributed design ideas for the Lilli Ann line as a personal favor to Schuman.  Lilli Ann clothing was made from the best textiles imported from France and Italy.

These two Lilli Ann pieces below look like they have the Balenciaga edge:

   

I love this suit below.  Doesn't it have an ode to Edwardian theme about it?   The angles are    

   phenomenal and certainly has a couture feel about it.  This suit sold on ebay in 2011 $300.

From "Salon of Dames":

Below is my focus on matching ads to Lilli Ann garments:

Matching Ads to Actual Vintage Lilli Ann Piece

Lilli Ann Fall 1951 (Source: My Vintage Vogue)

Bought through Posh Girl Vintage Lilli Ann Blazer:

Early 1960's source PinTuckStyle

Image from Bess Georgette

Unsure of time period, Image courtesy of Denise Brain (wish I could have nabbed this one.)

Coat Ad from Flicker 1954 Lilli Ann

House of Vintage sold 

Recently sold on ebay $484

Match at VintageSurburbia

My Vintage Vogue 1952 Lilli Ann

Sold on Vintageous for $395 

Vintage ad from Couture Allure

Recently sold ebay  $295

Vintage ad from Harper's Bazaar 1963

 ebay $148 (original price $100 in 1963 dollars)

Image from Flicker

Lilli Ann Suit Past Perfect Vintage

Lilli Ann Ad 1949

 

A recent pick-up for me great Lilli Ann coat 1949, shown here 

I hope you all enjoyed the Lilli Ann journey.  If any of you have any Lilli Ann suits, I'd love to hear about it.