Prom Perfection

 

No sooner than I had put this vintage 1950's Lanz party dress on the mannikin, did this lovely young lady and her delightful parents come in and ask to try it on. It was obviously a match made in heaven and for the first time in over 50 years this little candy striped beauty will be going to prom.  As for the lovely young lady (whom I feel terrible about because I can't remember her name!) she will be going to her first prom as well...as a freshman. Isn't she just the cutest ever?

Introducing Miss Elliette

I have seen my share of Miss Elliette dresses in the past, but none quite like this. No, the Miss Elliette  I'm more familiar with made 60's and 70's Lawrence Welk-esque gowns with pastel pleated chiffon and velvet bows around the waist and sometimes neck!  ewwww. I admit, they are fabulous in there own way but not stunning and spectacular. This was in Miss Elliette's fashion heyday. Made in the 1950's and featuring a "New Look" sillouette with a full felt circle skirt and fitted wool jersey bodice.   She is currently available at Xtabay and will not last long...anybody with a 23" waist out there?

Shoes Of Consequence

I recently aquired a huge collection of vintage heels made by Henry Waters, Shoes of Consequence. The woman who had owned them had a voracious appetite for pumps and could not be satisfied until she had every shade, tint, print and texture in her collection. I almost drowned in a sea of shoes in her hall closet. I looked like a crazed moron stuffing them into my jumbo Ikea bag. Her name was Jerry, and Jerry had not one but 14 pairs of lavender springolaters, all in very slight variation of one another. She had at least 20 pairs of gold shoe's... but I know-- who doesn't?  Jerry was my kind of gal. She loved beauty and surrounded herself with glamorous things. A lot of Jerry's favorite things will be on sale at Xtabay over the next couple weeks. Come by and feast your eyes.

Summer Dream Dresses and Subtle Sequins

Look what the cat dragged in this week....The perfect pair of 50's sundresses. Is it just me or are these things becoming extinct? I love the gathered bust line and delicate piping along the edges. The dress on the left has the most beautiful painterly print of luscious flowers and birds. Subtle sequins take it up a notch. I love sequins in the day....why limit them to the evening? We need more color, more light and sparkle! Even if they are--subtle....

Schiaparelli Spring

       

 So inspired by these beautiful old Schiaparelli advertisements by Marcel Vertes that I actually marched into an art supply store and purchased a set of watercolors. I figured with my almost fine art degree from a fancy east coast art school I'd be able to whip up some of these seemingly effortless watercolors in no time. Well....I made one...a rather stiff and labored upon watercolor, substituting the name Xtabay for Schiaparelli. It completely lacked the immediacy, the effortless charm, the ease and elegance of a Vertes print. It looked like a fantasy art doodle usually found inside a mead trapper keeper. No, I wont be posting a picture of it nor will it be the next Xtabay ad campaign...