Debutante Clothing :: The Deblog :: A vintage clothing and fashion blog for unconventional style where vintage, street and runway meet.

DC: How long have you been in the vintage business?
MM: I started out as a buyer and a seller on eBay in 1999. Eventually I wanted to be free from the many restrictions and constrictions that eBay requires. Once that happened, which was at the end of 2003, I started my own web business and named it Vintage Grace.

DC: What was the inspiration for your book?
MM: The inspiration for 70s Fashion Fiascos came from not wanting to produce yet another book on hippie clothes or disco dresses. I really wanted something that looked at the reasons behind why we were wearing the clothing we did in the 70s. Up until then, your daily outfit was fairly routine and certainly for men it was very uniform like. The cultural revolution and societal evolution that was taking place in our country was not only moving our way of thinking forward, it was also releasing those unspoken morays that said 'a proper lady always wears a hat and gloves', etc. I wanted the readers to be shown beyond the frivolity of 70s fashion. I wanted to take them straight into suburbia, down to the bottom level of the fashion food chain where the beautiful people didn't go. I wanted to look at the everyday world of clothes and why it looked the way it did.

DC: Did you wear any of these fashions growing up?
MM: Oh mercy yes! Probably too many of them. But I never hated them as I have some of the other decades. I loved all the 70s fashions from my platform shoes, to my ponchos, my hot pants, my bell bottom flares, the granny dresses, everything! Except, I'm pleased to say, I never owned a Dashiki. That was my mother's department.

DC: What was the best thing to come out of the 70s? Worst?
MM: I think the best thing to come out of the 70s was probably over in the men's department. We laugh at leisure suits and over-the-top print shirts now -- and there is definitely something there to laugh at -- but it isn't so much what they looked like, rather it's what they did. Those funny polyester suits in their tropical colors and the Qiana shirts that were worn open to almost the naval, really changed men's wear like never before. The 70s made it o.k. for a man to not wear a tie to the office, something unheard of 10 years earlier. They gave men a choice in clothing and allowed them express themselves through color and style like they had not be able to before.

And the worst thing... how about platform shoes and bodysuits. Both were meant to make you feel glamorous and hip but in reality both were a major pain in the ass! There is no way to walk in platform shoes and still look cool. I don't care if your the top runway model in the world. It just can't be done. And the bodysuit, was made to give you a smooth line under your tight fitting polyester disco pants and jumpsuits, but mercy, don't you dare have a sip of any beverage if you are going to go out parading in one. Now, combine a pair of 3-4" platform shoes, a nylon bodysuit and a couple of drinks at the Lucky Lady disco and you've got a disaster waiting to happen!

DC: Polyester-good or bad?
MM: Oh poor polyester. It takes such a beating. We all love to make fun of it, and as I said in the book, when was the last time you picked up Vogue to read the fashion editor gush, "She looked resplendent in her polyester gown!" At the time of it's heyday it was good, of course it was! Hey, it even went up on the Apollo space ship in the nose cone and in the uniforms. It served a good purpose there and it helped Neil Armstrong utter his famous words, "One small step for man..." But fortunately we learned by the end of the 70s that polyester was best used in moderation. Use it as a blend and it has some wonderful lasting properties. That's why it's still being used today.

DC: Tell us about your site.
MM: Vintage Grace is my vintage and retro clothing website. I carry garments from the 1940s to the 1980s, but my favorite eras are the 1960s and 70s. I will eventually have a fully stocked men's department but right now it's the aged old problem of not having enough hours in the day. I've got a vintage events calendar that's available to anyone. It covers vintage clothing events, shows, sales, swing dances, rockabilly weekends, museum exhibits, just about anything I can find that is vintage and retro clothing related. I also have a small selection of vintage clothing e-cards and you can find a link to me on MySpace as well. That's a great place to get to know me better and read some more of my craziness in my blog, Blog-a-licious.