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

Has this ever happened to you? Some important event happens in your life, maybe not directly affecting you, but significant enough for you to stop and think, and then 2, 3, 4 other things happen that are related in some way to that initial event?

Sunday, the beloved Yves Saint Laurent dies. His career started when he took over the House of Dior.

Today, I read a thread on eBay's Vintage Clothing and Accessories board, which I tend to stay off of because it's a bit drama ridden, where a woman was asking for help on some of her 106 year old granny's dresses. One of them being a 1958 Christian Dior haute couture dress -- the first year Yves designed for the house. Oh, and she has 20 more in NY. Cue fainting.

Then, I received an email from Yoox.com about their new collection of vintage. And who should the designer be this time? That's right -- Dior. More about this collection and sale later because I am especially excited about it.

It is bitter sweet, with the passing of Yves Saint Laurent, but it almost feels like the vintage cosmos are lining up to bring us some fashion contentment.

I am so excited to share with you this adorable collection of vintage playsuits I curated for Venus Magazine's website venuszine.com. I was lucky enough to find some of the best examples of cute play suits on the web, and sold by some top level vintage dealers.

I've also been given the green light by Venus Editor in Chief Amy Schroeder to share more vintage finds with Venus readers. If you have any suggestions for future features, please let me know. Email me or leave a comment.

Go check it out!

Mothers and daughters share their love for the fun prints of Marimekko.

Dandelion vintage plays stylist mixing vintage and modern fashions on Polyvore-check out the Asian number!!

Plain Jayne shares her girl crush on Zooey Deschanel

PR Couture invites us to make fashion history by voting in the Manhattan Fashion Walk of Fame

Artist Evelyn Black honors Journalist, style maven and entrepreneur (oh and my role model) Rose Apodaca with an original piece of art.

This post is about 48 hours late. Sorry.

Here's a list of amusing links that caught my eye.

Vintage fabric is spun into rosettes on real stems for a chic wedding accessory.

You're not a Yuppie-too cool. But you're not a hipster-too old. So what are you? A Yarpie?

My husband has gone back to school and it's given me the intellectual bug. Gala had me covered in the appropriate college co-ed ensemble.

Liebe Marlene tries on the new Jovovich-Hawk collection for Target. She looks adorable.

Dearest Ebay,

We have known each other for quite a few years. I've always been good to you-paid on time, had good communication, hardly ever fought with your customer service friends. I even understood when you kept hiking up your fees. I didn't like, but you knew I'd come back.

Yes, you've given me lots of great goodies. My Chanel bags, plenty of 50s dresses. But lately, you've changed. You seem to be giving other girls more attention than me. You knew I wanted the Norma Kamali 80s flats with the edgy ankle straps. But this time, you've gone too far.

Five seconds left, and I was willing to go to $120. I would never do that for anyone else. But it wasn't good enough for you. And why would you want me to receive your goods. I see the younger, prettier girls bidding for your attentions. But you knew how I felt about this dress. You knew how much it reminded me of the Spring Prada collection. Yet you strung me along for a week, and finally, the last ten seconds.

Well enough is enough. I will be looking elsewhere to be showered with beautiful vintage treasures. You have toyed with me for the last time.

Good bye Ebay. I shall miss you.

In the world of vintage fashion, the degree of vintage runs the gamut from mixing old with new, to looking like you stepped out of a cheesecake magazine. Dita Von Teese, the adored burlesque performer/MAC covergirl/endorser of various lifestyle sundries can get away with the full on vintage retro look. It's her persona. Incidentally, she is the queen of mixing vintage and retro clothing. You would never know her suits or dresses weren't original 50s garments.

Fashionista.com brought up the point of how far can you take retro fashion before it becomes costumey? And should it matter?

In my early years of collection, obsessing and coveting vintage fashion, I always dressed to the nines when I went out-from head to toe, decades past were represented. In my defense, I was a bit creative about mixing decades. The true historians in my misfit circle of friends would bluntly point out that my 60s jewelry went quite well with my 50s dress and 40s hairstyle.

During the week, I would always incorporate some form of vintage-I still do. But I am not so worried about a head to toe vintage look in my 30s. It was fun to dress up and feel like a pin up girl in my 20s, but I don't know if it's age or boredom, I just don't feel the need to go all out with my wardrobe.

Many of my friends are in the same wardrobe frame of mind as well. We had a cocktail party right before Christmas, and one of our dear friends, who is a vintage/retro fashionista herself, looked amazing in her 60s style A line bob, 50s style leopard print glasses, a bubble skirt dress from Old Navy paired with leggings and mary janes. Modern, retro and totally on trend all in one.

So where do you draw the line?

One of my favorite fashion sites, Papierdoll, has an excellent piece on the revolutionary designer of American sportswear, Claire McCardell.

McCardell was the Queen of comfort, style and affordable clothing. I have an early Claire McCardell that hasn't been listed yet, but just by looking at the dress, you can tell she wanted every woman, no matter what size, to enjoy her dresses. This is one of the earliest use of elastic waistband I've ever seen. Smart!

Sunday night, I attended the Mercedez Benz LA Fashion Week Dina Bar-El show. I got some great shots of the show, even from the sidelines which is a feat, pictures of attendees I thought were stylish, a fab picture of me and the lovely Niecy Nash. and wouldn't you know it? They are gone! Poof. I have a ton of old pics on the same SD card, but not one single, solitary image of the show. I swear I was there.

In the meantime, my review of the show will be featured on the LA Story blog, part of the Fashiontribes blog network.

Sigh.

Sunday night, I attended the Mercedez Benz LA Fashion Week Dina Bar-El show. I got some great shots of the show, even from the sidelines which is a feat, pictures of attendees I thought were stylish, a fab picture of me and the lovely Niecy Nash. and wouldn't you know it? They are gone! Poof. I have a ton of old pics on the same SD card, but not one single, solitary image of the show. I swear I was there.

In the meantime, my review of the show will be featured on the LA Story blog, part of the Fashiontribes blog network.

Sigh.

I was doing some regular cleaning out of my overflowing closet, and I realized I have a lot of pairs of Seychelles shoes. I don't purposely go looking for this brand, I just happen to have started a collection.

I guess there are some designers you just gravitate to, subconsciously. But it's not like all these shoes have any one style in common. And my other Seychelles range from black and white tweed flats-very Chanel-esque and black strappy kitten heel sandals.

Recently, I purchased a much needed pair of boots. I avoid buying boots because my legs are so short I can't seem to find a pair I like. But I found these granny style mid calf boots at Nordstrom Rack for $89 and loved them. They are so comfortable and I love the mix of styles-a traditional boot with the victorian lace up detail. Totally rockin'. And I also picked up a super comfy pair of Seychelles black leather kitten heels with a mary jane strap.

I guess now I know and will remember that I do love Seychelles and I have the collection to prove it.

I was doing some regular cleaning out of my overflowing closet, and I realized I have a lot of pairs of Seychelles shoes. I don't purposely go looking for this brand, I just happen to have started a collection.

I guess there are some designers you just gravitate to, subconsciously. But it's not like all these shoes have any one style in common. And my other Seychelles range from black and white tweed flats-very Chanel-esque and black strappy kitten heel sandals.

Recently, I purchased a much needed pair of boots. I avoid buying boots because my legs are so short I can't seem to find a pair I like. But I found these granny style mid calf boots at Nordstrom Rack for $89 and loved them. They are so comfortable and I love the mix of styles-a traditional boot with the victorian lace up detail. Totally rockin'. And I also picked up a super comfy pair of Seychelles black leather kitten heels with a mary jane strap.

I guess now I know and will remember that I do love Seychelles and I have the collection to prove it.

Now that Christmas is done with, I really need to make some resolutions for 2007. In no particular order:

-blog more
-shop wisely
-blog more
-get involved in more creative projects
-blog more

So, you read it here. I will make it a goal to blog more frequently.

Wait. Do I wait until 1/1/07?

Now that Christmas is done with, I really need to make some resolutions for 2007. In no particular order:

-blog more
-shop wisely
-blog more
-get involved in more creative projects
-blog more

So, you read it here. I will make it a goal to blog more frequently.

Wait. Do I wait until 1/1/07?

I remember the first time I thanked the vintage gods for blessing me with a killer vintage find. I walked into a thrift store not knowing what to expect, but I was feeling very confident. I headed for the ties and found a beautiful Lanvin tie, and for some silly reason, begged to find a Lanvin dress.

Lo and behold, I found a Lanvin dress. It had the most beautiful paisley jewel toned pattern. It has since been sold to a vintage dealer in Australia. Boy was I thrilled. Of course there have been many a vintage find since then, but there is nothing like finding a gem in an unlikely place.

Such is the case of my new goddess, Stacey Winnick. Stacey is a top notch vintage reseller, selling to fashion designers and costume designers. She describes a time when she went on an appointment and found, waiting for her in an attic, a 1960s Hermes bag, in it's original box. I get chills just typing it.

What have been some of your note worthy vintage finds? Do tell....

I remember the first time I thanked the vintage gods for blessing me with a killer vintage find. I walked into a thrift store not knowing what to expect, but I was feeling very confident. I headed for the ties and found a beautiful Lanvin tie, and for some silly reason, begged to find a Lanvin dress.

Lo and behold, I found a Lanvin dress. It had the most beautiful paisley jewel toned pattern. It has since been sold to a vintage dealer in Australia. Boy was I thrilled. Of course there have been many a vintage find since then, but there is nothing like finding a gem in an unlikely place.

Such is the case of my new goddess, Stacey Winnick. Stacey is a top notch vintage reseller, selling to fashion designers and costume designers. She describes a time when she went on an appointment and found, waiting for her in an attic, a 1960s Hermes bag, in it's original box. I get chills just typing it.

What have been some of your note worthy vintage finds? Do tell....

The more I blog, the more I have to deal with the constant struggle of asking myself "why are you doing this?"

I'm not getting paid, well unless you buy something from Debutante Clothing's shop (psst, see the nav bar on the right?) I am not contributing anything monumental to society. As a long time subculture citizen, I shouldn't care about frivolous things like fashion.

But really, isn't fashion just a study of anthropology and society? What ever people may think or criticize or even roll their eyes at, people who study fashion, discuss it, design it are artists, and researchers of humanity. Some people might scoff and say I am just trying to justify my infatuation and spending habits. But I consider myself an intelligent person: I studied at university with two degrees, I teach, I have a Post Graduate license.

How did I get so wrapped up in the "silliness" of fashion and lifestyle? Because people fascinate me, and their behavior fascinates me, and the only way that people can let you know who they are and what they stand for is fashion.

Artists have paintings and sculpture, writers have novels, scientists have dissertations. And some of us, who have sight characteristics in each of the above fields, have FASHION.

So go on with your fashionable self! Society needs us.

The more I blog, the more I have to deal with the constant struggle of asking myself "why are you doing this?"

I'm not getting paid, well unless you buy something from Debutante Clothing's shop (psst, see the nav bar on the right?) I am not contributing anything monumental to society. As a long time subculture citizen, I shouldn't care about frivolous things like fashion.

But really, isn't fashion just a study of anthropology and society? What ever people may think or criticize or even roll their eyes at, people who study fashion, discuss it, design it are artists, and researchers of humanity. Some people might scoff and say I am just trying to justify my infatuation and spending habits. But I consider myself an intelligent person: I studied at university with two degrees, I teach, I have a Post Graduate license.

How did I get so wrapped up in the "silliness" of fashion and lifestyle? Because people fascinate me, and their behavior fascinates me, and the only way that people can let you know who they are and what they stand for is fashion.

Artists have paintings and sculpture, writers have novels, scientists have dissertations. And some of us, who have sight characteristics in each of the above fields, have FASHION.

So go on with your fashionable self! Society needs us.