Eye Candy Circa 1953

 

Wishing it weren't winter?  So were the ladies who first glimped this beauty of a sun dress in Bazaar's December 1953 issue.  The design is by Adele Simpson, sewn to sweet precision in tufted cotton pique. 

 

You can fulfill your wish for instant summer with our vintage sun dresses, currently about 100 available from the 1940s to the 1990s.  Just add sunshine!

Buy This, Not That: Free People

Free People... we love 'em for their vintage-inspired layers and bohemian-street vibe. Here's a few pages from their December 2012 catalog compared to some of Vintage Vixen's latest finds:

 

Slouch Gray Jacket at Free People, $148, has wing lapels and same-color trim, echoing the lines of our Bonnie Cashin style mohair & leather jacket, $125.  Mohair for less than cotton, and by a haute label, too.

 

At left, Free People's Striped & Crochet Pullover, $108, a sexy take on the disco era and similarly styled to our zebra-like 1980s stripe sweater.  They've paired it with cutoffs but I'd like it with black jeggings.

 

 

Their (not) "vintage" Morrocan plate & fringe necklace, $78, compared to our authentic vintage gypsy chic metal necklace, $24.  Artisan industries have produced bohemian jewelry like this for decades, so vintage necklaces from varying decades often look similar to this hippie classic.

From Gucci With Love

Years ago, a curious inheritor of a very rare Gucci handbag inquired by mail about its authenticity.  And years later, we acquired this same bag with said letter enclosed.

The request was sent to Gucci's Palm Beach location.  Unfortunately Gucci stores do not often authenticate handbags nowadays, but in 1980 when the inquiry was made, it was apparently a free service to all who asked.  This was, of course, a few years before the faux handbag market really expanded, so authentication was not as pertinent as question back then.

Stanley A. Wentling, the gentleman that he was, took the effort on behalf of Gucci's Palm Beach office to both inform and sincerely thank his correspondent.  Only thirty-odd years ago, but it was a different time.

This vintage Gucci shoulder bag is available on our site, or I should say it was available at the time of this writing. It's a terrific find for a Gucci collector!