Candid Cool

In my opinion, Dita Von Teese has come a very long way. I remember when she came out with her burlesque book- i thought it was the most fascinating thing. I was happy to see her develop a career while making the "pinup" look something to be noticed. Nowadays, she's a style icon. She's in magazines, in the news, has the most popular "striptease" show around. I've been following her (not in a creepy sense) since I was a teenager, browsing through her photos to come up with style ideas. Of course, I obviously don't dress this way anymore, that rockabilly look, but I will always love it. Truthfully, I'm much too lazy nowadays to pull this look off. Anyway, some of my favorite looks of Dita's are when she's somewhat casual- well, in her terms...

@ Coachella

Dressed down in dresses

Favorites in hairstyles

in hats

Dressy Bessy

King's Road & London Soho

Two videos on 60s fashion and cafeterias.

London, UK.

(very cool, but the audio gets a little warped after the first few seconds).

Look At Life series.

Ultra Swank

While searching for books on tiki art, mid-century architecture, 60s design and 50s illustration, i came upon this ULTRA SWANKY website.....well, literally. Ultra Swank is a Swedish blog that archives retro lifestyle. I'm actually very excited about my new find.... however nerdy it may seem. Ultra Swank's author/owner, Chris posts about EVERYTHING a lover of past eras may be interested in! Whether it be old, vintage or modern... if you're a fan of the 50s & 60s, i promise you will adore Ultra Swank. It's main and major appeal is the fact that each post seems fresh, new and not tired. It seems like everyone blogs about the same old things [including me, but hey, i enjoy it]. The images and videos are some that you probably wouldn't find when searching google images and things of the like...thus the basis of its appeal!

www.ultraswank.net

Old Hollywood Glamour

Sadly, my take on this may appear kind of pessimistic. However, you may acquire my admiration for vintage Hollywood...when film had a sense of America, when going to the "picture show" was something people dressed up for. I'd give anything to be able to experience cinema in 1939, its "Golden Year"- Technicolor, judy garland, storybooks applied to the screen almost perfectly.

Specifically, I love movie-musicals and am kind of excited to see them make somewhat of a comeback lately (but, of course, its just not the same). Honestly, they just can't replicate the feeling of these movies from a young Metro Goldwyn Mayer or RKO, etc. Nor can they replicate that keen sense of style- not just in terms of clothing- but, COSTUME, set design and so on.

Below, I have images of Rita Hayworth (they go to bed with Gilda and wake up with me) and Audrey Hepburn. I consider these two actors to be some of the first style icons...you know, besides Grace Kelly, Lana Turner and Marilyn & Ava Gardner. Anyhow, I also am including two of my favorite movie scenes (which is almost an inapt suggestion since so many of them are my favorite). The scenes are from Funny Face and Cover Girl. When reflecting on old films and style- these scenes are TOP. It's sort of an awkward feeling to know that the equivalent of these pictures (present day) are movies like, The Devil Wears Prada and Confessions of a Shopaholic. But....I digress.

Cover Girl

Happy Birthday, Marilyn

also, while reading my dailies this morning, I saw that mimi&meg blogged about images of Marilyn that were never published by Life Magazine. You can view the images here. They're gorgeous. She seems so at peace.

Norma Jean

in retrospect

Fashion photography from the 50s and 60s has always stood out in the pack. It is classy, elegant and interesting. The cuts/ shapes/ colors in 40s-60s fashion always seem to work in perfect unison in terms of hair, makeup, accessories and an inevitably pleasant atmosphere. My favorite fashion photographers of that age are John Rawlings, Irving Penn, NINA LEEN, Horst P Horst etc, etc. Below are images by the talented John Rawlings, enjoy!

images via Foto_decadent

Lola

I'm certain that I was born way too late. I've had people tell me this before. I am more intrigued by people that were able to live the lives I always find myself studying and enjoying. I revel in films of past eras, music, literature, PHOTOGRAPHY, documentaries- anything. In more than one aspect, however, I truly am an "old soul."