Lilli Ann, Suit Inspiration, and the 50's in Fashion Vogue/Bazaar

I'm hoping to at least get a new blog banner going in the next few weeks.   I'm also going to host a fabulous giveaway that you'll all want to take part in but you will also need to follow me on Facebook to be apart of the action, so if you'd like to get a head start you can follow me here.

Continuing on with the "well suited" series:

I've been trying to figure out a little more about light and shadow in photography.  It's an interesting mix.   So, also stay tuned for my next post.

In addition, I've been wanting to understand more of the makeup style of the early 50's.  I took a trip to the mall earlier this week, to add some additions to my makeup stash.  It's nice to add some new shadows, lipsticks, and products.  I've listed a couple of new products below that I thought you all might be very interested in too.  

In the pictures below,  I wanted to practice my makeup style to match kind of an early 50's makeup style.  Although my jacket is probably very late 50's, I think it still sets a great scene for early 50's.   In looking at the fashion magazines of the early 50's, the eyebrow was very defined and the beginning of  a really dramatic black eye liner can be seen.  Of course, the red lips were also an elemental force.

Also, I have a great Pinterest board called "Sensation Suits Vintage Style", if you'd like to stop on by and take a peak at some really great pieces of fashion history!

I also have a few other great early 50's ideas on outfits coming up, including an very spot on early 50's Paul Parnes dress that very much reminds me of something you'd see in vintage Vogue.   I hope to be able to get to this look this fall too.

Outfit details:

Hat: Etsy purchase $5!

Scarf: Schiaparelli gem (Schiaparelli scarfs can be found on ebay for actually pretty low amounts, unlike the jewelry and apparel!)

Earrings: Schiaparelli

Brooch:Eisenberg

Suit: Lilli Ann (I bought this jacket as a separate which is considerably less than paying for a full suit and paired it with another Lilli Ann skirt I owned from the same time frame, it worked out rather well.)

Umbrella: Vintage 50s love this umbrella

Bag: Vintage ebay 

Gloves:  Paris -my favorite Michigan vintage shop - gloves are from the "old" Hudson's brand when you would love to take a stroll in Detroit to go shopping.  But, now Detroit is just a photographer's dream place of many pieces of historic nature crumbling.  Of course, there are a few patches of Detroit that are not in decay but overall it's a big city that had big dreams that needs big help.  There are so many grand buildings from the days when the auto was all made in the USA and many people lived in the city.  Even the old homes, have so much character.  

A couple of recent purchases for makeup that I can say are making a difference to my "50's" look are the eyebrow pencil from Anastasia.  This will certainly be a new staple.   I really love this pencil!  I have been using Smashbox for their eyebrow set, which I also like but I think a nice combination of both is just perfect.  I'm digging my eyebrows, what do you think? Think I got the early 50's right?

For lipstick, I used a pencil and then followed it by this incredible lipstick by Kat Von D Outlaw, which I can say is a great "stay on" formula.  I did also add a bit of my "regular" lipstick as a topcoat but just mildly.  I do like this formula.  You might even add a bit of gloss to the top for added effect.  Although this image does look gloss like, don't be fooled it is more of a lipstick "stain" in matt that has a more permanent effect than a "regular" lipstick.  I also bought her liquid liner pen but I have to say, from my experience, MAC still has the best liquid liner pen. 

I thought this hat above had a lot of resemblances to these hats in this image below..

I thought I would also share some vintage suits from vintage fashion magazines that I have scanned.  Suits were such a big part of vintage fashion history.   

Andrew Loomis

I first came upon the name Andrew Loomis when I was delving into the world of vintage romance comics.  I have a deep appreciation for the fine arts and illustration.   So, when the name Andrew Loomis made it's way into my path, I quickly found his artwork mesmerizing. He is a mid-century artist best known for his how to draw books.   He is an excellent example of an artist able to capture the beauty and glamour of mid-century ideals.

Andrew Loomis was an American illustrator who was famous for his books on drawing, composition, and illustration.   He taught at the American Academy of Art but is most famous for his "how to" drawing books.  You can certainly see that he understood the human form.  His perspective and light and shadow contrast studies are just amazing. He is a great reference tool for the study of composition in general.  You could (can) even learn a lot about placement of subject matter within compositions by looking at some of his "how to" books.

I thought these quotes by Andrew Loomis were quite interesting:

"Every good picture should show a main focal point and all lines should draw toward that spot."

"There should be a planned easy and natural path for the eye to travel in every good picture."

"The eyes should enter at the bottom and emerge at the top-never at the sides, since corners are "Eyetraps" because of their junction to lead the eye away from or around them."


There is so much psychology in the study of composition.  It's a fascinating topic.  He also discusses which times of lines and forms can elicit emotional responses such as peace, patriotism, stability, power, security, attention, love, etc.

A favorite quote from Loomis:

"Imagination is contagious, mood is contagious, and the spirit behind a picture is ninety per cent of the picture."


I'd like to share with you a few of his illustrations.  You can find his books in vintage form and also reprints.   Figure Drawing For All It's Worth published first in 1943 seems to be the most popular.   Loomis died in 1959.


Here is a link to many of his books.

Isn't this quote fascinating?  How "Every artist should subscribe to fashion magazines.  They are the best possible source for practice material."

  

Source here.

Image Source

Andrew Loomis certainly knew how to capture the flow and print composition of fabric.  Just lovely!

Image Source

Vintage Shopping

This summer has been quite jam packed and I'm glad to be finally home.  I spent the last few weeks in Michigan with a short stop in Chicago.  One of the highlights was visiting Royal Oak where there are two main vintage shops called Paris and Lost and Found.   Paris has to be my favorite vintage shop.

I haven't had a chance to photograph my purchases but I bought an incredible hat, a 40's dress, and a nifty variety of jewlery.  When I first went into the shop I fell in love with a princess coat in velvet but I left it behind with the thinking "Is it really practical?".  After a couple of days of thinking about it, I went back in a bought it.  I decided that 50s glamour topped practicality.

Here I am outside of the shop:

Views of the amazing and vast selection of vintage joy.  I can't rave about this store enough and things are very reasonably priced.  It's hard to see from this front view but there are quite a few racks of clothing in the back of the shop.

Incredible selection of hats!

Here I am trying on this green hat ( I didn't buy this one but opted for a red new look hat to be featured in a future post.)  I thought this hat had an interesting side profile view.

Bakelite dreams:

I thought this suit was really interesting with all the buttons.

Here it is another couple pictures of the velvet princess coat.  It is difficult to make out the details since it is black and I hope to take some more detailed photographs as the lighting isn't easy in a shop.

What? Even more vintage in the basement level?  Shop away!

A lot of beading on this dress!

A couple of stores down Lost and Found 

A great selection of vintage as well, at a reasonable price but more modern.

They did have a small selection of 40's and the rayon dress in the middle below was just lovely and I would have snapped it up if it would have been my size.  It was in awesome condition.