Screen Caps from Cabaret - 1972

Cabaret - 1972 - Directed by Bob Fosse.  My favorite movie musical because it has such style, because it exudes a seedy, sinister, and decadent vibe and because the characters don't just break out into song and interrupt the flow of the story (all of the musical numbers are performed in the Kit Kat Klub).  As a teenager, I had a minor obsession with Joel Grey as the Emcee and with Liza Minnelli's eyelashes.  Here a few favorite stills that I've screen captured:

And on a minor sewing side note, I've managed to finish Vogue 8837 and I'm rather happy with the outcome.  The most difficult part for me is finding the time to take photos of my projects.  Hopefully I'll be able to snap a few tomorrow.  Next up is this BurdaStyle tie-front blouse!

Images from Collection Elegance Paris, 1966

Here are a few images that I've scanned from Collection Elegance Paris - an amazing fabric catalog from 1966 which features all sorts of gorgeous designer clothes. What's really neat is that there are swatches for every single piece of fabric shown in the catalog - everything from Irish linen to Italian wool! And these fabrics were insanely expensive for the time - $12.50 per yard for Italian wool in 1966!

Model striking an iconic 1960s pose.

Lovely suit in teal linen with a polka dot blouse.

The scalloped collar on this jacket is to die for!

I love the matching green hat, large green glasses and floral brooch.

Such a pretty pink pleated dress!

White double-breasted coat with green piping = LOVE.

On the sewing front, I've been busy finishing up a few UFOs (unfinished objects). Most of them are projects that I just lost interest in halfway through, but I'm tired of the clutter so my goal is to finish them by the end of the month! There is a blouse from a Simplicity Cynthia Rowley pattern, a 4-panel skirt from a 1970s pattern, and a 1940s blouse with a bow collar. I will be posting them as I finish!

1970s Fashion Icon: Valerie Harper as Rhoda

I have been obsessed with the 1970s television show Rhoda lately. I've been watching episodes from the first season on Hulu. They are all so funny and smartly written. In fact, I can't think of a single television sitcom today that even comes close to the amazing array of characters that populated most 1970s sitcoms in general!



Valerie Harper as Rhoda was a true 1970s fashion icon. She totally rocked high waist, wide-leg pants, butterfly collar blouses, puff sleeve blazers, floaty hostess dresses, scarves and turbans! She even earned her living as a window dresser / fashion merchandiser!

Here are a few vintage 1970s sewing patterns that remind me of Rhoda's amazing style. All were found on Etsy!

Early 1970s Diane Sawyer Fashion Story

Early 1970s fashion story from Mademoiselle magazine featuring a pre-ABC News Diane Sawyer when she was a very young reporter for a Louisville, Kentucky news station!

Vintage Sewing Patterns of the Week!

Here they are....a new batch of vintage sewing patterns that I've found this week for your viewing pleasure!

Mod beret pattern by Adolfo. The perfect accessories for all of your 1960s mini-dresses! Found on eBay.

Late 1970s separates pattern by Jane Tise. I've always wondered how I would look in Jodphurs...I'm kind of enamoured by them right now! Found on Etsy.

1960s Vogue Paris Original dress by Molyneux, featuring unusual geometric seaming. I love how so many dresses from the 1960s utilized inventively shaped seaming like this! Found on eBay.

Charming early 1960s dress with wiggle or full pleated skirt. I'm a big fan of the inventive use of two contrasting fabrics in the full-skirt version. Found on eBay.

1970s Vogue turban pattern. So you probably don't necessarily need a pattern to make most of these scarf turbans, but I love the photos on the front of the envelope! Found on Etsy.

Carly Simon Vintage Fashion Photo Collage

I will probably be making some more of these vintage fashion photo collages soon - this was fun to put together! As always, be sure to click on the photo to see this in its full-size glory (Blogger has shrunk it down quite a bit!):

All items were found browsing through Etsy:

BUTTERFLY SLEEVE DRESS
WOOD & LEATHER PLATFORM HEELS
ETHNIC CARDIGAN SWEATER
BELLBOTTOMS SEWING PATTERN
RUFFLED GAUZE BLOUSE
CAFTAN DRESS SEWING PATTERN
FLOPPY HAT
BELLBOTTOM JEANS
RUFFLED CALICO SKIRT
TALL LEATHER BOOTS
PANELED SKIRT - I lost the link to this - oops! I will post it as soon as I can find it!
FITTED NOVELTY SWEATER

Signature Prints: Jet-Set Glamour of the 60s & 70s

I found this book at my local library recently:

It's a really comprehensive history of the colorful, psychedelic 1960s and 1970s signature print fashions that were made popular by designers like Emilio Pucci, Vera, Mr. Dino, Lilly Pulitzer, Paganne and Leonard of Paris. The book was published in 2008 and has 192 pages of extremely detailed text and background info. It includes lots of vintage photos from that time period, but the majority of the book is full of stunningly bright photos of models wearing vintage signature prints. The clothes and accessories themselves are (of course) completely amazing. My only complaint is with the models that were used - most of the poses captured are extremely awkward and overly dramatic and the wigs that are used are really distracting. Still, I highly recommend Signature Prints as a comprehensive resource for these amazing space-age fashions - you can tell that the author put a lot of love into this book!

1960s & 1970s Vintage Home Sewing Ads

Here are some really great vintage sewing ads from the 1960s and 1970s that I found today! All of these ads are currently for sale in the eBay store Veritas104. I would love to buy a bunch of these, frame them and hang them in my sewing room. Be sure to click on each image so you can see (and read) the details!

Vintage Patterns of the Week!

Here's my weekly round-up of interesting and unique vintage sewing patterns that I've found while searching around on the web. Be sure to click on the images so you can see all of the vintage goodness in closer detail!

Late 1950s dress with fitted midriff and empire waist bow. Found on eBay.

I love how simple, yet inventive, this 1960s dress design is! Found on eBay.

This one is a real stunner, and very rare. I used to collect Pauline Trigere patterns, and I had never seen this design before! Found on eBay.

This 1950s dress has so much going for it: very fitted, a front bateau neckline and plunging back neckline, tied shoulder bows and a flared godet at the back of the skirt. I *wish* I could have grabbed this one, but I'm 8 months pregnant, and the thought of me actually being able to fit into a dress like this seems like a very distant dream right now.....Found on eBay.

I love the illustration on this one! 1960s Vogue mod little girl's dress with military-inspired details. Found on eBay.