Cute as a Garter Button

Frippery du jour over here at quaintrelle towers (ok duplex) is garter buttons! You probably know the things I mean... Little silk covered buttons printed or painted with sultry eyed flapper faces from  the 1920's.

New styles and new hosiery had lead to girls rolling their stockings and holding them tightly in place with either rubber like bands or adventurous garters. Above the knee if you wanted to play it safe or bellow the knee if you were feeling sexy and wanted to let your knees do the taking! Fashionable girls could display their modern and irreverent attitudes with these flirty faces peeking out from under
rising hemlines.

Created by the ribbon companies at the time, they seem to have been printed on long ribbons, then cut and shaped into various whimsical buttons. Some were left simply as printed faces, some adorned with further ribbons and frills, and others went further with cheeky sayings like "You'd be surprised" or my personal favorite, a police man proclaiming "Stop go no further!"

Not wholly found on garters, they could also be seen on other flirty items such as powder puffs, and mirrors, all the various ribbon covered items in a true coquette's  arsenal!

You can often find them for sale on places like easy or ebay, but as a girl who likes ribbons it seemed like a fun thing to make from scratch. 

Currently still just buttons here are a few of the faces to come off my work bench this week....

Their destinies will be another post later on, but for now, anyone else wanting to say it with buttons might want to check out the quick tutorial over on the Quaintrelle Life website and make some too! 

What do you think your knees might want to say?

High Society Dressing

One of the perks of my job is getting to work on interesting custom pieces I don't usually get to tackle. Recently one of my most stylish clients asked for something a little bit different, a re-production of a Grace Kelly movie dress she had fallen in love with.

In the movie High Society Grace Kelly wears an amazing sky blue and white stripe dress by Edith Head as her character Tracy Lords sweeps into magnificent room to dazzle the reporters from Spy Magazine. Big sleeve, big skirts, and big glamor!

At first glance it seemed a fairly simple construction, but a glimpse at the back, and a showcase at the V&A showed a more complex meeting of solid and sheer fabrics that Ms Head was famous for. On top of that tracking down a strip silk in just the right size stripe, and just the right shade of blue took some serious supplier sleuthing. Fortunately I contacted a silk supplier in NYC the week they happened to get in the perfect fabric!

The project took a lot of experimentation to get the right drapes and translucency, as well as more than 17 yards of pure silk!

A few changes here and there to fit the lady who would be wearing it, but certainly an enjoyable challenge, and one I was sad to see leave the studio! (The waist on the dress is actually much smaller than the display mannequin, hence the gap on the over skirt band)

Don't Fear the Flapper (dress)

Queen of curves Marilyn Monroe as Clara Bow

 I decided to face a bit of a vintage fashion fear and obsession head on these past few weeks. That love/fear for me has been the 1920's. I love that period for style and decorative arts. One of my all time favorite designers is Jeanne Lanvin, and even as a period of history, it's fascinating!

As a fashion though it be daunting to wear. It's so counter my usual way of thinking. These were women throwing off the corset and the tyranny of the tiny waist. hemlines rollercoastered, and it really was the decade that set the pace for modern clothing. But me, I'm not all that into modern clothing. I love my corsets because for us they are a choice not a mandate, and my waist is one of the few things about my body I actually feel comfortable with. I know how to handle it and use it to my advantage when dressing. To wear the 20's I'd have to be willing to let my waist go (become invisible not actually physically go), and that scared the heck out of me, but still I recently set said on a voyage of flapper self discovery!

20's dames weren't all ultra skinny, and not necessarily ultra tall, something I always felt a person would need to be to pull the look off. Keeping that in mind I decided to pull my first 1920's dress into my closet and challenge myself to try wearing this decade to see how it felt.

My 1st dress is this one. A dropped waist (scary!) Nile green Charmeuse straight style dress with lace and ribbon roses for accents. When worn I was kind of shocked at first to see a straight figured person looking back at me, but found that the waist kind of reveals itself in movement, and all the motion in the dress has a surprisingly playful feel as a garment in action. The freedom of movement was the nicest part of wearing the 1920's. Though I did still pull on my long girdle to keep my line as smooth as possible it was very freeing to poddle about in.

I'm a pretty full figured gal, and really very short (just 5'0") but the style was more forgiving than I had anticipated, and I'm now largely over my fear of the roaring 20's as a look!

I'm loving my first 20's style flapper dress.  I don't think I'll be hanging up my waist cinchers and petticoats for good (I learned to love my 1920's lips but can't give up on my 1950's hips!), but I do think I'll be bringing more 1920's outfits and looks into rotation from time to time. I hope this helps a few more of you feel confident to give this look we love a try too!

Soda Streamline

Yesterday was Sodastream shopping (RIP original Sodastream, you served us well over the years buddy), and after being in a bit of a fashion funk lately a perfect excuse to get all dolled up and head to the mall like all the cool kids do.

Been in the middle of a serious 1920's-1930's kick lately, I've always loved the styles, but found my equal love of all things 50's a more natural fit for my body type, which has had me shy away from earlier vintage styles. In the middle of my usually super mid century style wardrobe (which I realize I haven't been photographing much lately), this little outfit has been my main outlet for earlier decade fashion fixes! Mostly from a new collection coming out in a few weeks with other goodies it was nice to wear something new from my little studio again. Really excited to get some earlier vintage styles into my life, Not sure a lot of 20's 30's fashions are a super natural fit for what nature gave me, but I love playing out with them so who cares!

Outfit Rundown:
Blouse & Trousers: Vivcore (coming soon)
Pearls: Vivcore Society Pearl necklace in Navy with the white bracelet as an extender
Lipstick: Besame Merlot
Hair: A bit of a quick messy attempt, but curled on hot sticks and pinned under for a faux bob look (never enough commitment for the crop!)

Rococo Pants

Vintage fashion, antique fashion, there have been so many things done so well over the course of fashion history. I find a lot of the time when I think about fashion history, there are things I love about each and every era, and there are some periods that just did things better than others!


For me when it comes to silhouette I love the 18th century. It was so stylized, blown up and just plain magnificent. A total over the top caricature of femininity. I love the high heaving bosoms, the massive wide hips and exaggerated round bottoms. It was a silhouette that was impractical, imposing and really kinda sexy! Of course what was spectacular on the outside was a little heavy handed underneath. Not without charm, but not quite as tactile and seductive as we think of lingerie today. Of course however it was these foundations that made the shape so great!

When it comes to underwear I have to tip my hat to the Edwardians. There was some hardcore foundations going on there, but the pallet and treatments really made them look so dainty and delicate, no mater how much strain and coutille was in action.  Edwardian society was where beauty in the boudoir really came into it's own. Having fancy drawers went from being indecent temptation to a moral obligation! To be so darn seductive your man would never want to stray! Obvious social flaws and insults aside there, I thank them for the laces pastels ribbons and roses under our dresses.

And that is why I'm always unapologetically anachronistic.

My every day is mid century fem, but I love to play with historical styles and clothes. I've got quite the personal collection of stays, hoops, rumps and naughty garters, and these days the odd client who loves them too!

I recently finished off some panniers for a great customer and friend who'd commissioned some updated stays a while back, and recently ordered some hoops to match through the custom service run through the Vivcore shop . 

latest commission

complete silk trousseau with embroidery and handmade flowers

show ensemble

My very first set from 2007

Obviously these aren't so much daily wear items. For everyday I wear my various girdles, crinolines and relativly plain silk corsets that keep sleek under clothes. I do love making this kind of things for shows, photoshoots and other foundation enthusiasts though when ever I get the chance. I'd love to work more with burlesque performers and photographers looking to do something rather grand, and brides who are looking to make a real splash with a matching trousseau of foundations, gown and accessories. I just love an excuse to cut up some steel and hand set some rhinestones!

Retro Belle

Not much to read today, but I know everyone loves a good retro photo or 4! I had the pleasure of shooting with the lovely Kitty Lynne the other week and snapping the following shots of our Mid Century Mode collection.

 

She's such a gem to work with, and always one of the funnest parts of being a designer. You can still snap up the dresses from the Vivcore shop, and stop by Kitty's page too for even more! There is also a quick interview with her from a few months back when we first started working together.

Wig Curious

I've been wig curious for a while as a great way to get over a few of my hair hang ups (up keep of red, permanence of black, thin hair and commitment issues). I was however a little apprehensive about finding the right one, and feeling confident all wigged out in public.

My biggest hang up was looking too "costumey". I really didn't want a nice outfit to be ruined by a Halloween looking wig, so I started scouring reviews and sites to find something that fit the following criteria...

1. A nice natural looking fiber, nothing too shiny
2. Retro style or styleable
3. Blended colors
4. Cute colors!!
5. Ideally a nice natural looking top
6. Not to pricey since I wasn't sure me and wigs were going to be BFF's or not
7. No crimping. Some wigs have backcombed hair between wefts, I feel it makes my head look big

Amazingly enough I actually found a wig that met these criteria, and then some. The Eowyn wig from Arda. Now it might seem odd to some that when trying to avoid costumey, I went with a wig from a company specializing in cosplay, but the great thing about the top cosplay wig company is that, 1: Serious coslayers don't want to look Haloween costumey either, and 2: Cosplayers want to muck about with everything to get the details just right, and that means styling their wigs too!


The wig I bought is a maroon red, in a hyperlon fiber which has a little shine in a natural looking way, a nice feel and is heat stylable. It also has a large skin top so you can create a realistic looking center or side part. The fibers are a mix of rich wine red a few kind of browny, blondy colors which I think adds a kind of natural dimension that a flat single color wig just doesn't have.

Right out the bag I was really happy, but it wasn't quite pin up ready yet. Using some hair cutting scissors I cut in shorter, slightly U shaped bangs, then going with a center part cut the rest of the hair into a vintage appropriate U shape from the sides to the back. Set the hair with my large and medium hot rollers, and voila! A retro pin up style wig was revealed!

The extra bonus of these wigs by the way, is that apparently they can be dyed with Rit fabric dye, so you can mix up your own colors, or create some fun dip dye effects etc.

It took a while for me to wear it for it's first outing. The wig is quite bit larger and fuller than my real hair (one of the reasons I wanted it), and I wondered what separates the super star looking wig wearer from the awkward looking wig wearer? The conclusion, simply swagger! If you walk out like you own it people will notice your glamorous style.

I recently placed an order for a 2nd one in dark purple. I'm definitely a wig convert!

I love my new wig!

Sunday Best: Jubilee

This weeks Sunday style post is full of jubilee flavor! Sad that I'm not able to really get in to the festivities like my friends and family back in England. But I'll be drinking tea whilst I work and keep things as fun and British as I can!

Outfit Rundown:

Trousers: Still not got these up on the site, future Vivcore swing pants.
Blouse: Sweetie Blouse
Pearls: My Society pearls in navy blue
Brooch: Vintage Birks silver locket
Belt: Up coming "Pretty You" accessory
Shoes: (can't seem em) but Jeffry Campbell sandals
Hair Clip: Pretty you bow.
Hair: Wet set in pin curls, then pinned under in a kind of faux bob style. I've been using heat sets a lot lately and forgot how much I adore a good wet set, it lasts forever!

Japanese Retro

中原淳一 Junichi Nakahara

I started digging out an old favorite of mine from my closet this week. Tsumami kanzashi. These are pretty widely known these days, but back when I first got started with them there used to be only around 3 pages of google images if you searched in English. In fact, after I taught myself how to make them back in 2002, they were actually the first things I sold, and how my entire clothing label got it's start!

For those who don't know much about them, tsumami kanzashi are a traditional Japanese style of hair ornament made from folded silk. Some big, some small, all lovely! I actually have a pretty big collection of these pins, and found that vintage hair styles work really well with the them (especially 1940's hair)  these silk flowers are also a wonderful alternative to the regular flower clip we all love so much!


Even if you're faithful in your love of regular pin up flowers clips, you can bring in a little of that tsumami magic by matching your hair flowers to the ones you see blooming in the current season. Apprentice geisha pick theirs based on a calender of appropriate motifs for each month. Coordinating with the environment like this makes you look as fresh and precious as the flowers themselves.

Although I haven't sold kanzashi in a good few years, it's still possible to hunt them down, I especially love the ones made with fine silks and rice starch over the sewn ones a lot of crafters make these days. They are labor intensive to make, and certainly not cheap to buy, but certainly another option for true hair flower enthusiasts!

My kanzashi collection site Kanzashi❤core (in need of updating) has a ton of photos of this type of hair ornament, as well as a tutorial on how to make your own! I'm looking to get back into making them again and finishing off my seasonal kanzashi collection/calender. Dusting off these pretty old pins is giving me just the inspiration to do that!

Sunday Best: Summer Belle

Yesterday was my birthday, and what a birthday! We went out to an incredible restaurant which had the most lavish food, but a relaxed and modern environment. I went with my usual dolled up look for a sunny evening and had a wonderful time! 
Outfit Rundown:

Dress: Watercolor Whisper from Vivcore
Pearls: My lovely set of lilac freshwater pearls
Belt: Up coming "Pretty You" accessory
Shoes: Kandee
Bag: Vintage Lucite
Hair: My big bouffant hair piece with a vintage feather design pearl brooch

Sunday Best: Sewing to Victory Week

Been an action packed past few weeks, lot's of work, so again lot's of trousers! I guess this weeks work ensemble was kinda inspired by the hard working girls of the 1940's

• Outfit Rundown:
• Cardigan: EC Star
• Blouse: Riviera Blouse from Cute Salad
• Trousers: Handmade high waist swing pants
• Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell
• Accessories: Vintage faux pearl beads, and Pretty You scarf
• Hair: Big bun on top, and the front was left over curls from the day before.

Sunday Best: Back from the Dead

Forgive me blogger it has been much too long since my last Sunday Style post... After a rough year that lead to lots of stress, weight gain and hair loss, I'll be honest I hadn't really been feeling the stye. I was using clothes more as a way of hiding than shining, and felt anxious at the mere though of a camera.

 I decided this week was the week to turn things around and say "welcome back" to my old self again. I am who I am, and no matter what's going on in life, I think I'm a pretty decent human being. It's time get back out of the shadows. (Managing to score a pair of Jeffrey Campbell Lindy shoes in my size was a helpful starting off point too, no matter how I feel about myself those shoes deserve some air time) So here's what I hope will be the first of many more regular style posts again!...

Outfit Rundown:
Cardigan: Target Kids
Top: David and Goliath (says Zombies need love too and glows in the dark!)
Trousers: Handmade high waist jeans with argyle denim pockets and turn-ups
Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell
Accessories: Cultured pearl and gemstone necklace, Vivienne Westwood orb earrings and silk Moschino scarf (with a cute Olive Oil from Popeye design on it)
Hair: Not much going on really, rolled under "bangs" and an puff in the pack using one of my ponytail hair pieces for volume.

Cats Meow

I looks like the wonderful world of fashion is still as in love with the glorious cat eye sunglasses as we are. I'm thanking my stars and squirreling away enough pairs to match every outfit, and to tide me over when the inevitable quality cat eye drought returns.

A while back Polaroid launched their heritage collection with handmade reproductions of their most iconic sunglasses designs from every decade they've been in business.


This week I picked up a couple of pairs in the Broadway style that has just the right mix of mid century glamor and late 50's wackiness! They are smaller than most modern styles, and the cut away scroll work is a nice change from the usual rhinestone details we tend to see on modern repros.

For anyone looking for a pair of period perfect sunglasses at a less than bankrupting price point 6pm.com have these and other Polaroid heritage shades at close to half off. I've been tempted by the Marylin style as well but they are maybe a bit too close to the Tres Noir Ultra Luxs I have in red... If you're out looking for some saucy new sunglasses ready for Summer, it's a sale worth checking out!

Instant Accessories Wardrobe!

If the dress can make the girl, then right accessories make the dress! One of the elements of vintage style that really define the vintage look,(especially in the 50's early 60's) it is the trend towards matching suits of accessories.

Matching jewels and matching small goods always really pulled together an outfit. Wearing vintage in this modern age it is very tricky to be able to find these perfectly matched sets, especially in small fabric goods, but it is a wonderful and effortless way to make any dress a polished ensemble!

Chose a color accent to play up in a print dress by choosing an accessory set that matches a detail in the dress, or pull a look together top to toe by color blocking accessories that match you shoes along with a solid color dress (different colored sets can really make a simple dress look different in almost endless ways, a great way to stretch a limited wardrobe on a limited budget!)

Get the look

Whilst jewelry can sometimes survive together in sets, fabric items rarely do, but as always that's where repro comes into play! The new "Pretty You" collection on in my shop is made in this old style only new, so you can indulge in this vintage trend today! The flirty little flower brooch, scarf, hair bows and whimsy are all hand made from scratch in the exact same fabrics so they are all a perfect match in color and texture. Sometimes it's possible to marry a few vintage items to look like a set, but there are always discrepancies in the texture and color (especially with white accessories since they age very differently making all kinda of different colors). It's possible to build your own set from the collection items, and the nicest thing to me about them is that they can turn any lone dress into a finished outfit!

The collection is based on a set from one of my 1963 catalogs to make it as authentic as it is cute!


Follow here to pick up the set and get the look!

Keep em Separated

Showing a little extra love to the separates sections this week, and taking it one step further even, and introducing our first pair of trousers to the site!


The Joy of Separates

A great way of filling your wardrobe on a budget is through separates. They are so versatile you can mix and match them almost endlessly! The blouse from your favorite dress set can cut a smart impression with our brand new Sailor pants, and the skirt gets a whole new feel when pared with a new blouse!

New Designs!

Sailor trousers are a perennial pin up favorite, and we've just added our version to the site today! The high waist makes your legs look longer, and the wide leg is flattering on any body shape. They are as comfortable as they are chic! (I road tested these in Montreal, and they are the best pants I ever wore!)

The Sweetie blouse Is a great way to coordinate your new sailor trousers or any pencil skirt. The loose shape makes the waist look smaller when tucked into a retro high waist skirt or pants, and the all round ruffle adds a great touch of femininity and finishes off that playful pin up look!

Click here to visit the new items, and other separates!

Sunday Best: Bouffant Zoo

Today's Sunday best is once again brought to you by my early 60's style hair piece adventures. I think I got a little closer to that Mad Men Joan Holloway hair, but still haven't had chance to actually set my hair in curls to really do it justice.

Outfit Rundown:
Dress: Day Trip Sundress
Shoes: Miu Miu Teacup Shoes
Accessories: Society Pearls in coral and white, and my favorite handmade elastic belt!
Hair: soft wave hair piece turned under into a bouffant ponytail, and blended with curled rolls (tutorial to follow on how I get all my rolls and curls in my stick straight hair without a single hot iron or roller set!)

Sunday Best: Classic Curls

Started experimenting more with different hairstyles lately. This one was actually a rush job using my new hair piece! I'll hopefully have time to do something a bit more sleek and stylish next time, but still loving this thing!

Outfit Rundown:

point of style: Curls!
Dress: Sage Green Pinstripe shirtwaist
Jewelry: vintage pearls, vintage mink brooch
Shoes: Kurt Geiger
Hair: new hair piece and simple rolls to blend
Lipstick: Besame Coral