to wear or not to wear...

for some time now i have wanted to write a post on fur...to wear or not to wear...i have to tell you...this subject has been the topic of many heated discussions...

my friend malie wrote a wonderful post on the subject - so i asked if i may re-post here on my blog...and she of course...being the doll that she is...said sure!

so before i show you that link...a little about malie...she is the wonderful owner of this beautiful website...ready...all you vintage lovers?

the vintage shopping guide is just that...lets say you find yourself in boston or idaho...wherever...and have a deep desire to vintage shop...type in the city and state...and there is your list...

for me when i found this incredible site...and met malie (on twitter)...i was in pure heaven...as i am always wanting to scout out vintage shops...

and even better...vintage shopping guide directory of all the vintage stores in the country can now be found on your phone! isn't that fabulous?? now you can search for a vintage store near you when you are on the go...

let me just say...it makes this vintage lover...very very happy...so please do check out the site...and let all your vintage loving friends know!

so now...back to fur...the vintage fur debate

what are your thoughts? are you for or against?

the little black dress...

one is never over- or underdressed with a little black dress ~ karl lagerfeld



aahhh...the little black dress...both mysterious and chic, understated and provocative...its color is the foundation for its success...once symbolic of mourning, black slims the body, frames the face...and hides imperfect tailoring...

the little black dress is easily the quickest way to look sophisticated and endlessly elegant...

inspired by the utilitarian uniforms of maids and shopgirls, coco chanel introduced the black dress in the 1920's...at the time, vogue magazine likened its inventions to that of the model t... rechristened the "cocktail dress" in the 1950's, and it was immortalized in the 1961 movie "breakfast at tiffany's" by audrey hepburn, who accessorized it with sunglasses...and pearls...and how can we forget the long luxurious gloves...les sigh...



nina garcia states in her book "the little black book of style"...fashion legend has it that coco chanel created the first little black dress...it represents all that chanel stood for: comfort, practicality, and self-assured sexiness...but fashion legends always try to be associated with coco chanel...in fact, the LBD (little black dress) was not the brainchild of the brilliant french designer...it was simply born out of practicality...years before chanel debuted her LBD, the garment had found its way into women's closets...as women grew busier, they needed stylish items that were also versatile, comfortable, and practical...the little black dress emerged as a product of necessity...but, yes, it was chanel who perpetuated the legend in 1926, when she debuted her famous "ford" design, which to this day remains an item that is elegant, seductive, flattering, and practical"

if you would like to know more of the history of the little black dress...malie of the vintage shopping guide wrote a great post...

when i think of the little black dress...this comes to mind...

the embodiment of sophistication, simplicity, versatility, and timelessness, the well-fitting black dress is one of the few pieces you will never give away...

one classy lady...

as you can see from the tiny array of books i've accumulated...i adore everything about audrey...i have seen all her movies (some over & over...never to tire of them) read anything i could get my hands on about her...she to me...was a class act...a lady...but not only in her dress...but i've read about her character...her desire to think of others...and help others...one classy lady...



her style of dress consisted of simplicity..."for her, what was important was not decoration and lots of embellishment. she liked very simple things - less was always more for audrey" said auctioneer kerry taylor...

so imagine how badly i would have loved to have been in london this week...why you ask?

i guess you could call it the week of audrey hepburn going on in london this week... kerry taylor auctions will be handling an auction of dresses and other items owned by audrey hepburn...les sigh...

the two most endearing stories i've heard were the following:

one was a friend of audrey's by the name of tanja star-busmann...they met in london when tanja was 15 years old and audrey was 20 or 21...just before her career took off...the two remained long time friends...

tanja used to receive a lot of audrey's hand-me-downs...over the years, boxes filled to the brim would arrive...tanja had stated that opening them was like christmas all over...audrey had even requested that monsieur de givenchy leave larger seam allowances for this purpose...

most of the lots for the auction come from the closets of tanja star-busmann...

the other story that i heard that so touched me was that of audrey's wedding dress in 1952...made for audrey by the rome-based fontana sister's...after her marriage to james hanson was called off...audrey asked the fontana sisters "to give the dress to someone who could never afford a dress like mine, the most beautiful, poor, italian girl you can find."

if you would like to read more on the auction...here are a few bloggers that i thought were interesting...AND with great pictures...

cherie of the shrimpton couture blog wrote: once in a life time

martin of fine estate sales blog wrote: audrey hepburn's wedding dress

and malie of vintage shopping guide did two great posts this week...
audrey goes to auction

audrey hepburn wedding gown to be passed on

so are you an audrey fan?