Newsletter May 2011 VFG Members on the News

Newsletter
May 2011
VFG Members on the News Runway
Von (VintagePretties) was interviewed about Easter hats for the Ft. Worth Star
Telegram (TX). Read the article here. The sidebar included links to Vintage Pretties
(Von‘s Ruby Lane shop) and to another VFG member, Brigitte of Posh Girl Vintage.
Von notes that the reporter only asked questions about vintage hats and didn‘t mention
anything about altering them….
Barbara (Rue de la Paix) will be giving a Haute Couture Antique
Hat Fashion show and luncheon on May 7 at The Altadena Country
Club. This is a fundraiser for the Pasadena Museum of History;
see its Programs and Events page for more details on this
presentation.
Barbara was also featured in April in about eight Southern
California newspapers, including the Pasadena Star-News, as well
as a SoCal entertainment magazine, The Scene. Read more here.
Julie (JoulesVintage) was the grand-prize winner of a contest that was part of
―Fashion Week El Paseo‖ in March. She won a $3,500 shopping spree and more! See
details here. Julie reports she was determined to win this package, and visited at
least 20 shops collecting stickers. Trusting in the power of positive thinking, she said
to everyone, ―I am going to win.‖ Sure enough, she got the call from Palm Springs
Life Magazine that she had won! The magazine arranged transportation and a photo
shoot. We eagerly anticipate her report for our next issue!
Sandra (debutanteclothing) reports that the pop-up
marketplace ―A Current Affair,‖ at which she had a space, was
a huge success and that she ―had a ton of fun.‖ Read her blog
article, in which she shares that the local CBS affiliate reviewed
the event on its website. Check out that review here; don‘t miss
the blurb on Debutante Clothing!
News Runway cont.
Jonathan (Kickshaw) attended the April Gadsden Sale in Toronto, as both a seller and buyer.
He reports that there were 27 dealers at this sale and that the venue—originally streetcar-repair
barns that are now long halls intended for events like sales—was excellent. There was some
―great stuff‖ there, and he found for his own collection an 1823 dress, the earliest Canadianprovenanced one he now has. Two Simonetta couture ballgowns also made their way home with
him. He notes that there didn‘t seem to be any decided trends in what was selling; he brought a
smattering of everything to the sale and sold one or two items from every category.
In April, Jen (Morning Glorious) had a display of vintage and antique
clothing at Adagio Trattoria, Brattleboro, VT. The exhibit of 12 outfits,
accessories, and the accompanying text illustrated the changes in the
shape of fashion from the 1870s to the 1970s. The exhibit was part of
Brattleboro‘s ―Gallery Walk.‖
Jen will be a vendor at the Sturbridge Antique Textile Show, Monday,
May 9, at the Sturbridge Host Hotel, Sturbridge, MA. And from Tuesday,
May 10, through Sunday, May 15, you can find her under the Vintage
Fashion Tent at Brimfield. The yellow-and-white fashion tent on Rte. 20
in the Mahogany Ridge field typically features six to 10 vintage specialty
dealers from all over the U.S., including vendors from LA; NYC; Kansas
City, MO; and, of course, New England. The Brimfield market is open
May 10–15, dawn to dusk.
Veronica (SomeLikeItVintage) was a guest blogger on Collectors Weekly, with her piece
―Mary Tyler Moore, 70s Style for Strong Women.‖ She notes how relevant ―Mary Richards‖ is
today, including her wardrobe!
Karen (KarenAugusta) is holding Augusta Auction Co.‘s
two-day Fashion & Textile Auction at The Host Hotel,
Sturbridge, MA, on Tues., May 10, and Wed., May 11. On
Tuesday is the uncataloged ―Discovery Auction,‖ where boxes
are opened, and bidding starts at $25 on a found treasure in
a box. If nobody chooses a specific item, the whole box is
offered for whatever anyone will bid. The catalog sale is on
Wednesday at 4 p.m. See our ―Events & Exhibits‖ section,
page 9, for details. And visit Augusta Auctions online for more
info.
Nicole (CircaVintageClothing) has a big fashion parade at the Melbourne Vintage Clothing
Show on May 28. She‘ll also be exhibiting at the show, which runs May 27– May 29.
She is also doing a series of talks for the National Trust of Australia, the first of which was April
30 and was about Melbourne couture fashions in the ‗50s. On May 14, she‘ll speak on Melbourne
couture of the ‗60s, and on June 25, her topic will be accessorizing and how to put an outfit
together. More information about the talks can be found here.
Mme. Tie Tycoon
The Lore & Legend of Countess Mara
Carrie Pollack (cmpollack)
Accurate, in-depth information about ―Countess Mara‖ (aka
Mrs. Malcolm D. Whitman, nee Lucilla Mara de Vescovi) can
be even harder to come by than one of her celebrated
early ―pictorial‖ ties. The snippets about her in the handful of
contemporary tie reference/collector books around have been
quoted and requoted—sometimes by each other, and sometimes by blogs, websites, and that paragon of factual accuracy, the eBay listing—until what gets passed on is as reliable
as the result of a game of telephone.
1952 Ad
You may know, for instance, that she wasn‘t a ―real‖ countess and chose the title ―Countess
Mara‖ for its ―snob appeal.‖ True enough, but what makes Mara interesting as well as a
marketing whiz is that she was an Italian aristocrat (with a baroness for a mother and a
countess for a grandmother) who mingled with New York‘s upper crust (when not giving them
art lectures after retiring from her professional singing career), and that she chose to launch a
tie business not to ―console herself‖ after her husband‘s suicide, as a 1946 TIME article puts it
(she actually travelled in Mexico and Europe for three years for that purpose), but because as a
widow with three grown daughters, unbounded energy, and an incredibly fertile imagination,
she needed what she jokingly called a ―new baby‖ to challenge and occupy her time.
Likewise, you may know that she pioneered the
designer or ―branded‖ luxury accessory/clothing
trend, incorporating her logo of nine-pointed
coronet and fictitious initials (―CM‖) into the print
of every design and proving skeptics wrong who
thought a woman‘s initials on a tie wouldn‘t sell,
then strictly limiting the production quantities for
and distribution of each design, thus driving
market demand not just up, but wild. Also true,
but what motivated her, perhaps even more than
her spectacular business instincts, was the opinion
(expressed in a 1949 New Yorker article by one
Geoffrey T. Hellman) that ―it is very dull to see the
same design on a hundred different men‖; as
Hellman put it, ―the aesthetics of her trade mean[t]
more to her than its economics.‖ (And that‘s not just
spin—her unpublished scholarly article on the history
of the tie, ―The Cravat Saga,‖ which the New Yorker
article quotes from extensively, demonstrates
exhaustive research and real enthusiasm for her
subject).
Le Collection Carrie
The tie all the way to the right is a
Tina Leser; after the smash success
of CM's ties, tie manufacturers
solicited artists like Tina Leser,
Jacques Fath & Schiaparelli to do
similar ties for them in the late 40s.
Countess Mara cont.
You may know that her ties designs involved, instead of Art Deco-era geometrics or bold
abstractions, what a 1953 New York Times ad called a ―picture story,‖ but not have any idea of
the vast range of her whimsical motifs and themes. The New Yorker article lists 41 of them, an
incomplete catalog that includes everything from horse racing and dancing girls to giraffes, card
decks, and dragonflies—but omits the entire (but later-alluded-to) category of her ―artistic
nudes,‖ with subjects like Adam and Eve and Lady Godiva. In addition, you may not know that
each of her designs had a title: The three ties pictured in the NY Times ad, representing each of
the three price tiers available—$7.50, $10.00, $15.00—were called ―Bona Fortuna,‖ ―Sidewalk
Superintendent,‖ and ―Meadowland,‖ (respectively), or that she learned to print silks herself in
the early days of her business, after a few months of working with pre-printed silks left her
artistic sensibilities feeling stifled. She was a fast and more-than-capable learner, too, winning
a Neiman Marcus award for fabric design in 1944.
And, finally, you may know that her ties travelled in exclusive circles,
but not that among her customers through the years were Leopold
Stokowski, Nelson Rockefeller, Frank Sinatra, J. Edgar Hoover, Noel
Coward, Eugene O‘Neill, and Harry Truman. And you probably don‘t
know that when burglars broke into her store in 1946 and stole
$75,000 of merchandise, they selected only the handprinted ties,
leaving the solid colors (which her shop kept in stock but showed
only on request, and logo‘d only with the coronet, never her initials)
conspicuously behind.
So, now that the record has been straightened out and expanded on a
bit, let me supply a few more basic facts. Mara opened her Park Avenue
store in 1938, after an abortive attempt in 1935 that relied on
expensive (pre-printed) European silks. Originally, she designed and
printed the ties herself, working with two cutting assistants and
subcontracting the actual sewing of the ties, but by 1949 she was
working with four assistants on the tie designs, then having the silk
hand-printed by Cramer Screen Print Works and sewn in the
Poughkeepsie factory she opened in 1948. She was well on her way to
becoming the ―tie tycoon‖ the New York Times would dub her in 1958,
and developing 800 designs for 250,000 ties per year, two thirds of
which were wholesaled to select department and specialty stores (no
more than one or two per city), with the rest sold at her NY shop.
Fairy Tale Tie
Definitely the gem of
Carrie’s “little collection”!
At the bottom, the
“prince” presents the
Cinderella/femme fatale
with her (ruby) slipper;
above, a lady’s maid tends
to her toilette in various
phases, combing her hair
a la Rapunzel in one
scene.
In the early days, Mara‘s shop sold silk men‘s accessories (dressing gowns,
mufflers, and hankies) as well as gloves and socks, and in 1958 Countess
Mara, Inc., added other luxury items: Vicuna socks, gemstone cufflinks, and
silk broadcloth shirts. By 1963, the company was owned by Wembley (which
later morphed into Wemco), but it wasn‘t until the 1980s that CM licenses and
product lines really began to proliferate to include suits, formal wear, sleepwear,
small leather goods, and women‘s wear, transforming the company into a huge,
global business, which by 1988 was doing $50 million in sales annually.
Closeup of hunt-themed tie
Countess Mara cont.
The brand‘s luxury image was maintained throughout, with gold-threaded
and gemstone-encrusted ties retailing (and selling!) for anywhere from
$125 to $5000. When the company began to founder in the 90s, with an
endless series of management shakeups struggling to reboot the brand
and shake its by-now conservative image, it settled (in 1999) on the
creation of a fictitious granddaughter of the ―Countess‖ as an advertising
ploy.
As for Mara herself, she retired to Italy in the early 1960s and died in
1968, at the age of 75, leaving behind a legacy of ties so unique and
wonderful that hunting down the all but one-of-a-kind remaining examples
Closeup of Navigational Theme Tie
can be a dangerously habit forming-pursuit.
Member Blogs
If your blog is not here, and you would like to see it
included in future newsletters, please post its URL on
the next call for newsletter items. This appears on the
trade forums, under “VFG Projects.”
Vintage Fashion Guild
Melody’s A Vintage Ramble
Louise’s Catwalk Threads
Nicole’s Circa Vintage Clothing
Cat’s Club Vintage Fashions
Carrie’s Cur.io: A Vintage Blog
Eileen’s Daisy Fairbanks Vintage
Sandra’s Debutante Clothing
Pam’s Glamoursplash
Susan’s NorthStar Vintage
Hollis’ Past Perfect Vintage
Ang’s real-vintage.com
Lei’s Side Saddle
Kim’s The Girl Can’t Help It
Lizzie’s The Vintage Traveler
Maggie’s Vintage Denisebrain
Jody & Pam’s Vintage Detail
Julie’s Vintage Goddess
JoAnn’s Vintage JoAnn
Theresa’s Vintage Style Files
Joy’s
Flannery Crane Vintage Fashion
Jonathan’s
kickshawproductions.com
Veronica’s
Some Like It Vintage
Debbie, Chris & Anne’s
Reflections of Vintage
Meika & Warren’s
Another Man's Treasure
Jody’s
Couture Allure Vintage Fashion
May Fashion Parade Themes
Each week, fashion “parade” themes are brought to you by the VFG
site committee. We urge seller members to post relevant listings to the
dedicated weekly thread, which runs in the “Sneak Preview” forum on the
public board. Parade selections also appear in other VFG internet
communications, and three items per week are featured on the VFG blog.
So this is a great way to get exposure for your listings!
Mexican circle skirt available at Devoted 2
Vintage
May 2: Happy Cinco De Mayo May 5 is a celebration
(mainly in the US) of Mexican heritage and pride, and it‘s a
great day to wear—or find!—a beautiful vintage Mexican
circle skirt, embroidered jacket or handcrafted jewelry. See
the colorful vintage creations in store for you courtesy of
the VFG.
May 9: Color of the Year As the Pantone site says about honeysuckle, its 2011 color of the year: "Courageous. Confident. Vital. A
brave new color, for a brave new world…" Honeysuckle is indeed a
vibrant, gorgeous color, but it has been around before. Why not
show off this bold and beautiful pink in vintage style?
May 16: Barely There Let us be crystal
Rain coat available at Etsy shop
clear: Sheer is in. Whether it‘s a vintage
MagsRagsVintage
dress that requires your best slip, an illusion
neckline or a diaphanous scarf, vintage is the
clear choice!
1930s dress available at
Dorothea’s Closet Vintage
May 23: Summer Jewelry Summer‘s
the time for casual style, and vintage
summer jewelry takes a casual turn
toward plastics, natural materials and
fun seasonal motifs.
1950s Wooden Bracelet and Earrings
available at Etsy Shop badgirlvintage
May 30: Q: What Should I Wear to the Luau? A: Vintage
Hawaiian clothing of course! This week, members of the VFG
show their best men‘s and women‘s aloha attire for luaus,
beach-combing...and every summer day!
Men’s 1960s Hawaiian shirt
available at Some Like it
Vintage
Welcome to Our New Members!
In April, we welcomed new VFG members Zoya Niechoda (Hula Kitty) and Dawn Crawford
(candy_ says). We also can now properly introduce from last month‘s roster of new members
Julia Creighton (StelmaDesigns).
Julia says she must have been born with a ―collect-and-hunt-for-treasure‖ gene. Her earliest
childhood memory of this was when, as a child of about six, she proudly gave her mom a lovely
gift of an old metal powder compact and a handmade wool-felt floral pot holder, which she had
scavenged out of a trash pile! (Much to her mother‘s chagrin, she‘s sure….)
Today, Julia lives with her family in an antique, a house built in 1895. Though she calls it ―just
a funky plain Victorian Farmhouse style,‖ it‘s on the historic list of structures in their area. And,
of course, she loves it to pieces! Organic gardens and perennials surround the house, and the
grounds feature a new, fancy chicken coop for 10 layer hens and one rooster. In addition to
Julia, her husband, and their two teenaged daughters, the house is residence for three dogs,
one rag-doll cat, and a mean lovebird.
Beginning in her final year of junior high school, then on through college and graduate school,
where she earned her MFA, Julia was ―seriously into‖ vintage clothing. She learned everything
she knows from those days of scavenging with artist friends, trying to be the first to score
1940‘s through 60‘s dresses and accessories as they went in groups to thrift shops and yard
sales. Wanting to be cool and different, as those were the days of New Wave and Punk, they
dressed as wild as they liked. And vintage was ―it.‖ She learned about vintage-fabric care
through trial and error: The first time she washed a 1940‘s black crepe dress in water and
shrunk the living daylights out of it, she cried. Having sewn since she was 10, she also made
remarkable restorations to the vintage clothing she found.
During and after her school years, she worked in retail, starting at Nordstrom and ending in
management at Coach Leatherware. (She didn‘t make the best use of her fine arts degree, but
that's a whole different story!) Working in those environments tuned her in to the importance
of having the best-possible customer service.
She opened her Etsy shop, StelmaDesigns, almost three years ago to
sell her handmade necklaces, fashioned from antique and vintage buttons. To fill up her shop and create interest, she added some vintage
clothing. The vintage has done better than the necklaces, and since
Julia always wanted to open her own little lingerie boutique, her online
shop has been a great way to do this. She specializes in vintage intimates, and for fun collects antique and vintage perfumes.
Her Etsy shop satisfies her addiction to vintage clothing and
accessories, her creativity, and her love of learning. After all, she
asks, are we not learning something new about our vintage clothing
and accessories all the time?
1960s Hawaiian dress at
StelmaDesigns
New Members cont.
Dawn’s UK-based website, Candy Says, showcases a
huge selection of vintage clothing and accessories from
the roaring 20‘s to the electro 80‘s. Launched in 2003,
it has received worldwide recognition for its collection
of hand-picked vintage stock for men, women, and
children.
A ―vintage obsessive‖ herself, Dawn‘s understanding of
what makes great vintage underscores her commitment
to sourcing great pieces at affordable prices. Her online
shop features everything ranging from elegant 1930‘s
bias-cut dresses and 1940‘s utility wear to playful
1950‘s rock ‗n‘ roll frocks, sweet 1960‘s mini dresses,
and hippie 1970‘s maxis to loud 1980‘s batwing
jumpers, and pretty much everything in between! She
offers unworn vintage as well, including French cotton
1960‘s frocks, burlesque lingerie, nightwear, children‘s
wear, and knitwear.
Candy Says has been featured in Miller’s Collectables
and Antiques Guides, and received praise from You
Magazine, Vogue, Happy Magazine,
and the Daily Mail.
Dawn has participated in national
TV and radio programs about her
passion for vintage. Her site has
also been listed in the UK
Independent’s ―50 Best Vintage
Shops.‖
1960s Mini Dress at
Candy Says
Events & Exhibits
1940s Suit at HulaKittyVintage
Zoya opened her Etsy shop,
HulaKittyVintage, in 2009, and
sold on eBay for several years
under seller i.d. tabbypjs. In
addition to her online sales
experience, Zoya sold directly to
vintage shops for more than 20
years. She has collected ―all
things vintage‖ for more than 25
years.
When not selling vintage
online, Zoya works in the film,
television, and theater industry
in costuming, a vocation she‘s
pursued for the last 19 years.
This work periodically takes her
to her hometown of Vancouver,
BC (Canada). She currently resides in Naramata, BC.
Members who live in, or will be traveling in, the areas in which these events are taking place may want
to check them out! If you do, feel free to submit a short story and/or photos to share in an upcoming
newsletter!
“ManStyle,‖ an exhibit on men‘s
fashions, runs through Nov. 27 at the
Ian Potter Center, National Gallery of
Victoria (NGV), Australia. It explores the
extremes of masculine style and some of
the most influential ideas over the past
three centuries.
“Cocktail Culture: Ritual and Invention in
American Fashion 1920–1980” runs
through July 31 at the Rhode Island School of
Design‘s Museum of Art. It is a multi-disciplinary
exhibition exploring the social ritual of drinking
and entertainment through the lens of fashion
and design.
Events cont.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents
Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty from
May 4 through July 31, 2011, in the Iris and
B. Gerald Cantor Exhibition Hall, 2nd floor.
Organized by The Costume Institute, the
exhibit celebrates the late designer‘s
extraordinary contributions to fashion.
Approximately 100 examples will be on
view, including signature designs such as
the bumster trouser, the kimono jacket, and
the Origami frock coat, as well as pieces
reflecting the exaggerated silhouettes of the
1860s, 1880s, 1890s, and 1950s that
McQueen crafted into contemporary
silhouettes transmitting romantic narratives.
The first Brimfield (MA) Antique Show
of 2011 takes place May 10 through May
15. Many east-coast VFG members look
forward to Brimfield as a place to both buy
and sell. Show hours vary depending on
the specific ―field,‖ starting from daybreak
on. Admission and parking fees vary. See
the Show website for details.
“Mad for Hats!” runs through June 12 at the
Pasadena (CA) Museum of History, Ralph M.
Parsons Foundation Gallery. There are several
related tours and events throughout its run.
See the museum‘s Programs and Events
schedule for details.
“Balenciaga and Spain” runs through
July 4 at San Francisco‘s de Young Museum.
It is the first exhibition to consider the impact
of Spain‘s culture, history, and art on the
legendary designer Cristóbal Balenciaga,
whose innovations transformed the way
women dressed.
Augusta Auctions, owned by VFG
member Karen Augusta, is holding a twoday Fashion & Textile Auction during May‘s
antiques week at Brimfield, MA. Held at the
Host Hotel in Sturbridge, the auction takes
place Tues., May 10, and Wed., May 11.
Dealers and collectors won‘t want to miss
Tuesday‘s uncataloged ―Discovery Auction,‖
beginning at 4 p.m. The auction house will
open boxes, customers will pick out a
treasure, and bidding will start at $25 for
that item. If no one chooses an item, the
whole box is offered for whatever anyone
will bid. On Wednesday is the catalog sale,
with the preview 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and the
sale starting at 4 p.m. Up for auction will
be an incredible lace collection spanning
the 16th to early 20th centuries, two-dozen
quilts, costume jewelry, fabrics, fine linens,
18th-century silks, 19th-century textiles, 18th
to 20th-century men‘s, women‘s, and children‘s clothes and accessories, display
racks, and acid-free boxes. Designer
offerings include Worth, Doucet, Maison
Rouff, Chanel, Vionnet, Norell, Halston,
Cashin, Pucci, Mainbocher, Givenchy,
Brooks, Trigere, Hawes, and more. Of
particular interest is men‘s clothing—
collarless shirts, hand-painted and hundreds
of printed 1920–1950 neckties; also
militaria, a collection of early 20th-century
printed house dresses, lace dresses and
coats, etc. There will be very large trade
lots. For information, see Augusta Auctions
online, or phone 802-376-7166 or 802-3769988.