Debutante Clothing :: The DebLog
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July 23, 2007
Designer Spotlight: Bake Sale Designs
Even cuter than pink cup cakes, Bake Sale Designs offers a selection of delectable goodies, hand made with a touch of vintage.
Rebecca McCoy, the crafty cookie behind Bake Sale Designs, has been sewing since she was a kid. She's picked up some skills along the way which have helped her grow into the creative business she has today.
My favorite pieces are the bangle bags, pins and chokers. All of the pieces in the collection come from vintage, found or recycled materials. Being 'green" doesn't mean un-cute!
I asked Rebecca a few questions about her designs:
Debutante Clothing: Which are your favorite pieces or best sellers?
Bake Sale Designs: I really like both my bangle bag design (ed. note-us too!) as well as the fabric flower pins. The pins are a lot of fun. It’s kind of like making origami only with fabric. The patterns on the fabric really change once each tiny piece is folded. It’s amazing how it can really change the look of it. The centerpieces are vintage earrings or buttons. Pairing each flower with a centerpiece also give an overall look to the pin.
DC: Where do you find inspiration?
BSD: The fabric itself often inspires me. I might see a vintage dress and just know I need to make bags from it. The crafting community and fabric/pattern designers also continually inspire me. The internet allows me to check in on people’s blogs and photo sharing sites for quick inspiration.
DC: Why vintage?
There are so many great vintage fabrics out there in the form of curtains, clothing, bedding, table clothes, etc. I love being able to take those amazing patterns and fabric and give them new life. For me there is also an element of “green” to it. I like the recycling aspect. I’ve taken old tablecloths that have certainly seen better days and would probably end up in the trash if I didn’t rescue pieces that are still gorgeous and turn them into bags that people fall in love with. I also love using vintage buttons. They seem to have more character than a lot of buttons now. And there’s always that thrill I get when I find great buttons in a huge jar of them.
DC: What are your future plans for Bake Sale Designs?
I strive to use more and more vintage and recycled material as much as I can. I don’t want to use so much that the integrity and quality of the piece if diminished, but I use what I can. I also want to learn more. I recently got a serger of my own and I’m finding out what a powerful machine it can be. I still don’t know how to knit so there is so much I want to learn and continue to incorporate into Bake Sale Designs.
Please check out BakeSaleDesigns.com. There's a HUGE sale going on!
Posted by Sandra at 9:49 AM
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July 15, 2007
Mary Ann Magnin - the Woman Behind the Man
Recently, I was lucky enough to acquire a beautiful and rare vintage Norman Norell for I.Magnin coat. I'm still doing some research on it, so I will post pictures when I figure out what I will do with the coat-sell it at Debutanteclothing.com or an auction house specializing in vintage clothing and textiles.
As I was doing research, I came across this fascinating and amusing article about Mary Ann Magnin, Mr. Isaac Magnin's wife, in a 1936 issue of Time magazine. Isn't the "internets" grand?
What's even more interesting, from a business perspective, is that the retail store was only in the red twice as of the publication of this article-once during the San Francisco fire and the other during the San Francisco earthquake.
And with stores online going under, even with such low overhead, maybe retail store owners need to look at the Magnin model to stay in the black. What was their secret? Possibly that I. Magnin had exclusives with designers. That's right. Exclusive Hattie Carnegie and Norman Norells.
But back to the woman behind the man.
Late in the 1870's, the Magnin's set out for San Francisco. There Mrs. Magnin picked a shop between the business and residential districts to catch the trade both ways. Isaac Magnin carved and Mrs. Magnin sold notions. An energetic, dominating woman, handy with her needle, Mrs. Magnin began to make and sell fancy baby clothes, gradually branching into trousseaux. The shop followed the fashionable neighborhoods, and before long I. Magnin & Co. was a San Francisco institution. Eventually the business took on a corporate existence, though the public was not let In until 1919.
The most amusing anecdote in this article was how Mary Ann Magnin, with her enterprising ways, decided whom to leave the store operation to after Isaac's death. She consulted a palmist.
While most of the spotlight shined on the name I. Magnin, the real credit belongs to Mrs. Mary Ann Magnin, who was business savvy enough to find a good store front and started an enterprise from notions and baby clothes.
Posted by Sandra at 12:46 PM
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July 14, 2007
Calling All Vintage Designers - Share Your Wares
Are you a vintage/indie/super cool designer?
Do you use vintage remnants to create a new, one of a kind masterpiece?
I'd love to promote your work. Just send me a brief description and your URL and I'll get back to you if I think we're a good match.
Here's what you get:
• Close to 1000 hits per day on my blog
• Connected to top fashion blogger networks like Glam.com and Coutorture.com
• Targeted readers (vintage and unique fashion lovers)
What do I get?
• Cool stuff to talk about
• New friends
• The satisfaction that I am helping promote style not canned fashion
Contact me at
Posted by Sandra at 1:49 PM
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Vintage Archive at Top Shop
Susie Bubble and Sassy Bella have already scooped this, but Topshop is now selling vintage clothing focusing on 60s and 70s British fashion. They are carrying designer labels such as Biba, Mary Quant, and a number of other high street labels. But hey aren’t the only ones doing it.
Italian website Yoox.com has been selling designer vintage since January 2007 with their tribute to Gucci . The collection is pretty much sold out. I hope Topshop has equal success.
I wonder why these online retailers decided to add vintage to their catalogs? Personally, I’m glad that they aren’t afraid to take a risk on vintage clothing. At the very least, it could serve as a virtual museum displaying some of the best designs of the 20th century, of which many designers pay homage to every season on the runway.
Maybe this will even help establish more cohesive market values since collectible vintage sells for such paltry prices on eBay, and prices on the rest of the web are all over the place and so is inventory.
My personal faves from the TopShop collection are:
TopShop was also kind enough to offer a Vintage Care page.
But I have to disagree with the Dry Clean Cloths tip. Products like Dryell do not actually clean, they just freshen with perfumes and air from your dryer. If your garment needs true cleaning, take it to a reputable cleaner.
Posted by Sandra at 12:54 PM
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July 11, 2007
Roland Mouret Loves Junk in the Trunk
I predict Roland Mouret's Galaxy dress will be in future fashion history books. It is an iconic dress for this incredibly talented designer. And I don't just say that because it looks like a sexy 1950s dress that only a brazen pin up girl would dare to wear.
What I love most about Mouret is his obvious appreciation of a curvy woman. According to Fashion Week Daily,
For me it was about the woman’s body, and about developing the galaxy and the hourglass shapes, where the woman is much smaller on top than on the bottom; I call it the pear-shaped woman
It's like he's designing for me! Well, and all other women who have been blessed and plagued by an hourglass or pear shape in a tall and skinny world. I'm sure my husband can get on board with Roland Mouret's taste.
While his RM Resort 08 collection is not as clingy and va va voom as his previous collection, he still manages to create a sexy silhouette, but in a much more relaxed fashion. But true to Roland Mouret, there has to be at least one heavenly body dress that celebrates the figure 8: the Moon dress.
images from net-a-porter.com
I'm especially loving the origami like details and architectural hemlines and inserts. Such a great way to bring attention to the most sensual part of the body-the hips. But more importantly, in my opinion, he is taking techniques that are very historic and couture in quality, and bringing them to ready to wear.
I may just have to bite the bullet, or in this case, unfreeze the credit card, and invest in one of Mr. Mouret's creations. All in the name of history.
Posted by Sandra at 3:11 PM
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July 9, 2007
Smart and Sassy Doesn't Pay the Bills
Jane Magazine, a long time favorite of the smart, style savvy girls, is folding. What does a smart girl have to do to get her mental and eye candy fix around here?
Conde Nast states that "we have come to believe that the magazine and website will not fulfill our long-term business expectations".
Does this mean they weren't selling enough ads, crappy celebrities weren't endorsing the magazine? I mean really, what other Conde Nast magazine has the bit of edge that Jane had? There is a HUGE gap between Vogue and Glamour that Elle and Lucky cannot fill.
Posted by Sandra at 11:58 AM
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