Tag: Clever Vintage Clothing

Vintage Clothing Fashion Show: 1940s Casablanca

k150_23SZDheel iconIt was “A Night in Casablanca” with Clever Vintage Clothing when I was asked to model for them for a vintage fashion show. We gathered in a cabana at the W Hotel in West Beverly Hills to adorn ourselves in vintage fashion from the 1940s. We were channeling our inner Ingrid Bergman and getting up our motivation as well-do-Westerners visiting an exotic destination. Clever Vintage Clothing partnered with LA Wine Tasting to create an event that was a feast for the eyes with belly dancers, a display of 1940s vintage style and lots of wine as the theme was inspired by the movie, “Casablanca.”

Our poolside fashion show featured a round of day wear and a round of evening wear carefully curated by Clever’s Dave and Sabino. I got to wear a lovely green silk day dress with matching gloves and big straw hat. My evening wear consisted of a drop-dead gorgeous long, fitted gown with beaded accents at the neckline and buttons down the back. It was topped by an extraordinary gold brocade cape and gloves.

Casablanca-themed Vintage Clothing Fashion Show

Vintage Clothing Fashion Show

1940s Vintage Clothing

1940s Vintage Clothing

Vintage Clothing Fashion Show by Clever Vintage

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Play it again Sam,
Kastle

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Tag: Clever Vintage Clothing

Dress Like Mad Men

k150_19heel iconWith just a few days to go before the premiere of Season 6 of Mad Men,  I figured it was time to let you in on some secrets I know in how to live the Mad Men lifestyle – mainly how to dress and drink like our favorite characters. Today’s blog post will let you in on how to shop for the looks seen on the show.

While I have always love ‘60s fashions for their fun silhouettes and bold colors, Mad Men has brought those styles back with a distinction all their own. Now when I go out in my best ‘60s era vintage I’m told,  “you dress so Mad Men,” which I of course take as a compliment because I love the show so much.

k_jbryant1Part of the reason I love it is the care they’ve taken to get every detail right to recreate the decade of so many cultural shifts. Part of that credit goes to costume designer Janie Bryant, who I had the pleasure of meeting during a book signing at my favorite vintage store in Burbank:

Vintage Playclothes

 The store not only has supplied some of the amazing vintage seen on the show but it is such a joy to shop in. It’s in a gorgeous space with frescoed ceilings, the clothes are tagged by era, everything piece is in nearly perfect condition, they have a HUGE inventory of women’s and men’s wear at fantastic prices and the staff is super friendly and helpful.

vintagePlayclothes1

vintagePlayclothes2

Clever Vintage Clothing

Another vintage source that has amazing owners is Clever Vintage who I’ve frequently featured in this blog because not only are co-owners Dave and Sabino so knowledgeable about their fashion history and doing custom styling, the are also fabulous party pals! Dave and Sabino travel all across the country to curate their vintage treasures. You can purchase their fine pieces at one of the many shows they participate in, including Helm’s Design District Vintage Boutique and Burbank Pickwick. Check the events page on their website for upcoming dates or make an appointment at their downtown showroom.  They did wardrobe for Peggy and Betty in two separate episodes. Remember these outfits?

 

It was a genius move of marketing to get a major department store to work with Janie Bryant to design a line of contemporary clothing with a retro feel and make it accessible to everyone.  Banana Republic has been launching a new Mad Men collection at  the start of each season for the past few years and this one is no exception. Bold patterns and rich colors are featured here.  And these are great pieces for me to wear to work and still have a mod feel since I don’t dare subject my delicate vintage to long office hours.

 

Check out their inspiration and behind the scenes of the collection here.

And get 25% off through April 30 with this coupon.

What Katie Did Lingerie

Now, even your best vintage won’t look authentic unless you have the right undergarments.  Want to look and walk like Joan? Put yourself into one of these corsets and not only will you have an hourglass figure like you’ve never seen, but you’ll just WALK in a different way, a SEXY way!

What Katie Did specializes in designs influences by the glamour of the ‘40s and ‘50s film stars but with contemporary fabric and structure. Plus, were else can you find a gorgeous bullet bra these days?

 

     

And if you can’t get your hand on any of these clothes, you can always dress up virtually and “Mad Men Yourself” through the AMC website:

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So if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go get dressed up and mix a cocktail. Can’t wait for Season 6, starting on April 7th!

Stay tuned for Part II of Mad Men series next week where I show you more of how you can live the Mad Men lifestyle!

Now go shop!
Kastle

Photos of Vintage Playclothes by Kastle
Photos of Clever Vintage, Banana Republic Mad Men Collection, What Katie Did via Pinterest

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Tag: Clever Vintage Clothing

Vintage Summer Style Exhibit at FIDM

Summer has arrived, so what better time to take a look at a vintage summer style exhibit for those hot days ahead? Clever Vintage Clothing recently showed off a little bit of their carefully curated inventory in a special exhibit for the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM).

“Swingin’ Summer Vintage California Resort Wear” opened with a party drawing FIDM students and vintage clothes lovers. Clever’s Dave Temple and Sabino Gutierrez gave a walk through the exhibit explaining the top designers and clothing detailing of the eras of the 1940s-1960s.

See the video of the Vintage Summer Style Exhibit:

The exhibit runs one week through July 14th but if you can’t make it down, you just might catch these amazing pieces FOR SALE at one of Clever’s upcoming vendor events:

  •  July 29: Pickwick Gardens, Burbank
  • August 11: Helm’s Design District, Culver City
  • August 16-19: Tiki Oasis, San Diego

Stay cool,
Kastle



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Tag: Clever Vintage Clothing

Clever Vintage Fashion Show

Knowing my love for the ‘60s, my pals at Clever Vintage Clothing invited me to model in their fashion show at the photo exhibit of iconic shutterbug Phil Stern who had his celebrity snaps on display at the Los Angeles Theatre Center.

A bevy of vintage-loving scenesters babe turned up to help show off Clever’s finest ‘60s era threads in the style of old style fashion shows

Fittings took place a week prior and I was lucky enough to find a teal and olive floor length gown fit for a Bond girl. I dreamed about wearing that dress all the way up to the event!

Call time was 6 p.m. and backstage was a flurry of last minute wardrobe changes, hair teasing, white clouds of hair spray, and makeup touchups. Special thanks to my hair and makeup artist pal Rachelle of Bella Bella salon in Pasadena for coming out to help with my updo and pitching-in to help other girls get period-perfect hair.

Clever’s Dave and Sabino laid out a buffet of vintage handbags and shoes to go with our outfits and it was like being in a candy store. When it was all done, the entire room looked like it a movie set of the 1960s with the girls in elegant eveningwear holding their numbered cards to let the guests know details and designers of their outfits.

Our gaggle of models were trickled out into the crowd, walking through with our numbers, stopping and doing a spin every so often as people asked about our gorgeous frocks as they also enjoyed a selection of Italian wines provided by LA Wine Tasting and gazed upon Mr. Stern’s amazing collection of photos. As I gazed upon black ‘n’ candid moments with Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole, I could only imagine what it was like to be back in a era of glamour and pop culture influence that extends to today.

What a great night! Click the image below to see the photos:

A Night of ’60s Photography & Vintage Fashion

Heels on!
K.

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Tag: Clever Vintage Clothing

Academy Awards 2011

For Hollywood’s biggest night, it was heels on as the Oscars rolled out the red carpet and the biggest movie stars of the moment strutted out in their borrowed finest. I wasn’t about to stay home on the couch with a pizza, not when my pal Margot was hosting her own red carpet event at the Egyptian Theatre where a few lucky guests were invited to watch the Oscars on the big screen in a room where many stars past and present have themselves sat. I couldn’t think of anyone better to rate the fashions with than my friends from Clever Vintage, Dave and Sabino. So we showed up with potluck offerings in hand to add to the community buffet that spread over SIX banquet tables!

Then it was into the theatre where the room was aglow with laptops and mobile devices as everyone was Facebooking, Tweeting and following the news online. And how much fun was it to watch the entire event from pre-show to awards with a roomful of friends, and friends of friends, who erupted in cheers and jeers over who won and what they were wearing!

Some of my personal observations:

Is it just me or does Jesse Eisenberg look like Paul Westerberg? Really hoping he would be the new youngest winner for best actor but he just couldn’t compete with the crown-worthy Colin Firth. Speaking of rock star look alikes, I loved Joey Ramone-clone Luke Matheny’s acceptance speech for “God of Love,” which incidentally caused the crowd to go wild as most of the film’s crew was in the Egyptian Theatre with us.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyY0KrdpSLk]

I was so pleased “King’s Speech” won best film. I did love it. Not surprising, much of the tech-savvy crowd around me was hoping for “Social Network.” But while I thought that film was good, I didn’t think it was as moving overall. However, I did love that it won for Best Adapted Screenplay because the writing was whip smart, particularly in the portrayal of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

But enough about all that – WHO wore WHAT? (Click names to see the photos.)

Best Dressed

Natalie Portman – bless her for pulling off a pregnancy with such grace in a lovely eggplant-colored gown, matching tassel earrings and perfect makeup. You know she probably just wanted to be out of those Jimmy Choo heels and at home in her PJs!

Halle Berry – somebody get me the number of her trainer stat! This woman can’t possibly look bad in anything because her body and posture are so good. Nonetheless she does always pick very elegant gown, and this strapless, frothy-trimmed nude-colored number was no exception.

Michelle Williams – channeling a little ‘60s-era Twiggy. How cute was she!? Loved the ultra simple white gown that flattered her hair.

Worst Dressed

Cate Blanchett – oh my how I love this woman, so elegant, but this dress was risky with its odd, circular front cut-out and splash of yellow around the collar. It just didn’t work for me, not even on her.

Sharon Stone – another risk taker I usually love but this ultra high hair-do was just a bit too much, especially with the sharp black dress with feather accent, she started to lean a little into Cruella de Vil territory.

Scarlett Johansson – she coulda dressed it up a little, I wasn’t crazy about the messy bed-head do or high collar lace dress that did little for her va-va-voom figure. Loved her makeup though!

From the world’s biggest runway,
K.

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