Wedding Belles

Just a small sampling of some of the lovely wedding dresses we have got in recently. All are currently available and waiting with bated breath to walk down the aisle again-- it's been over fifty years for all of them!
Feel free to call with any questions or just stop in and try them on. We hope to see you soon!

Summer Blues

I have to admit, this week I've been thinking of moving to southern California. I'm tired of sitting in this beautiful store surrounded by the loveliest summer confections while the rain and hail beat down. It's dark out, everyones' allergies are driving them mad and frankly I myself am starting to get a little DOWN. Maybe these 50's summer beauties will cheer everyone up. The silk chiffon dress with the blue roses is a "Mt. Mort" original and is so pretty I could cry. Look at the draping on the back and the long french blue sash. Just to prove that there is a God, check out the blue "Kim's" cardigan in the EXACT same shade of blue that came into the shop a few days later from an ENTIRELY different source. They match perfectly. I have paired it with the crisp 50's cotton sundress by R&K and think they look divine together.
Just so the blues don't get you feeling too down I tossed in a picture of a pair of Henry Waters springolaters with a matching purse in sunkist orange. The perfect contrast to the blue and a gentle reminder that the hot days of summer are only a month--or two away.

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...

Rainy Days and Mondays....

The Easy Fix

I was going to write about wedding dresses, but an eyeful of Miley Cyrus at the Academy Awards and I knew just what Xtabay's followers--heck, everyone--needed to hear. It's simple and free and makes every outfit look immeasurably better: Stand up straight.

I know! You've heard it a million times from your mother. But posture really does matter. You probably saw Miley slouching up to the microphone, looking as if she was afraid if she stood up her dress wouldn't make the jump with her. She looked tentative, uncomfortable. Now imagine Lauren Bacall striding across the stage. She moves tall, with confidence, exuding a panther-like grace.

Standing confidently doesn't mean you have to be prissy about it. Katherine Hepburn knew how to lean back and rest a trousered leg on the edge of a coffee table and own the room. Rita Hayworth stood a little too close, a little too open, but filled the scant inches between her and her co-star with tangible sex appeal. No, standing straight simply means moving with the conviction that you know you look good, you're at ease, and to hell with what everyone else thinks.

Curiously, standing straight can even encompass a slight hunching of the shoulders. Carole Lombard was the master of the 1930s elegant slouch, and Maggie Gyllenhal does it well today. But their greyhound-like posture was relaxed and confident. Conversely, a soldier-straight posture can feel contrived.

Vintage clothing especially loves confident posture. Back in the day they were first carried out of boutiques, vintage clothes were worn by women kept straight by girdles, truss-like brassieres, and stilettos that demanded a mincing step. If you haven't shaken your adolescent slouch, a 1950s dress will pooch at the torso and chest and pull up at the hips.

While we're on the topic of posture, another skill to practice until it becomes second nature is getting out of a car gracefully. Sitting in the car, open your door (or wait until someone opens it for you), then swing your legs, together, out the door. Now, using one arm to boost your body, extend a leg and step forward.  Stand up. You shouldn't even need to pull down and straighten your skirt.

Really, good posture is more about attitude than mechanics, and attitude is the largest part of looking good. Once you've slid that gorgeous dress over your hips, turn around and look in the mirror. Smile. You look great. Now walk like you mean it.