Saturday, July 26, 2008

TV and Vintage Clothing

Last night I settled in to watch the first season of the television show, Mad Men. Everyone has been telling me that because of my love of vintage clothing, I need to see it. The show takes place in the early 1960s, and its makers paid a lot of attention to getting the set details right. One of my first thoughts as the first episode unrolled was, Well that's why those late 50s and early 60s cocktail dresses have been flying out of the Xtabay.

Television and the movies definitely influence fashion, and we've seen it firsthand at the store. The rise in sale of 1970s halter dresses and prairie skirts seemed to fall on the heels of the premiere of Swingtown (and continues strong, by the way). The latest version of Hairspray sent high school girls out to look for Jackie-O era dresses. I don't recall a huge run on New Jersey chic after The Sopranos, but give it a couple of years and a series revival and we'll see.

I'm glad to see people willing to try new styles of clothing, no matter what inspires them. The trick is to make the clothes look modern and not like a costume by mixing them with contemporary shoes, hair, coats, or jewelry. Just a few minutes ago, Emmie, who works across the street at Gilly's Salon, came into the store wearing a mint green 1950s party dress with a full crinoline under it. Paired with her pink shag haircut, it was fabulous.

4 comments:

  1. Oh darn! I missed it again. I have yet to see one episode of this movie, but yes, apparently it is causing quite a fashion stir in the vintage world.

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  2. The first season is out on DVD now--I spent the last week catching up on it. Check out the clothes that the head secretary wears, especially . They're great for the curvy woman, and the colors are perfect for redheads.

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  3. I should start watching that too.

    I used to catch Miss Marple every weekend on OPB, and it was so inspiring! They had the 1950s detail down to the seamed stockings, so beautiful!

    Unfortunatly they've stopped those, hopefully not for long, but its good to know there are other shows out there for inspiration.

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  4. I didn't know about the Miss Marple show! I'll have to look for it at the library.

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