Vintage Value Venture - Make Mine Mid-Century

The heat is on...
well almost with Summer just around the corner
and for summer nights in Beverly Hills you want to be outdoors
preferably sipping cocktails in your poolside cabana
amid the Mid-Century decor at the Mosiac Hotel

and since orange is the color of the season,
you might as well go all out in this vintage orange cocktail dress

1960's  Beaded Orange Cocktail Dress from Couture Allure $125

How amazing is the back of this dress

I remember my mother wearing low backed dresses like this waaay back in the day

Naturally a vintage handbag is in order

Vintage Dyed Cobra Clutch from VintageSkins.com $220

and keep it comfortable, leave the heels at home

and choose summer sandals instead

these from Kate Spade even have Mod-ish ball thingys...very 1960s

Kate Spade Fawna Sandal from Nordstrom.com $285

Vintage Mid-Century jewelry?

well but of course...

the big bold coral ring from 1960's Beverly Hills master jeweler to the Stars, William Ruser

Mid-Century Ruser Coral Ring in 18K from Beladora.com $3850

and some fab carved coral and diamond earrings

Mid-Century Coral and Diamond Earrings in 18K $3850

Don't you wish that Summer was here already?

How To Wear Estate Jewelry - Mad Men Premier Party - Beladora Style

Keeping with our Mid-Century meme

Here is Mad Men's ravishing red head, Christina Hendricks, wearing jewelry from Beladora.com

at the LA Premier Party

Christina Hendricks at LA Mad Men Premier in Beladora diamond earrings

(photo Huffington Post)

and jadeite and diamond cocktail ring

Vintage Late Retro Diamond Earrings in Platinum $17,550

 Mid-Century Jadeite and Diamond Ring in Platinum $29,550

We couldn't be happier

Channelling Mid-Century Style or A Brooch In The Hand

LA fashion blogger Deja Pseu at her Une Femme D'un Certain Age blog wrote a lovely post on channelling
Mid-Century...in a good way...you know what I mean....by adding some Mid-Century elements to your look.  She also discusses some of the drawbacks of that period which most of you are waaay too young to remember, such as a whole world of careers that were not open to women.
Luckily, female Trads like me can appreciate the style of the Mid-Century and still be thankful to have come of age after feminism opened many of the doors that were closed to my mother.
Well, back to the fashion angle.  Pseu points out some of the elements of this style that you can incorporate into your look including wearing vintage pearl brooches.  She chose these three from Beladora2.com and I thought that since the photos from the website don't always show the scale of the jewelry, that I would give you another look.
Anyhoo...her post is great so go take a gander.
Hint:  we will see more of this look coming up in Fall fashion magazines because someone has been sending this type of jewelry to fashion shoots...
PS:  guess who, at this very moment, is provinding jewelry for one of the Mad Men stars for tonight's Mad Men premier...

Seduction - Mid-Century Style or Plus Ca Change....

Make Mine Mid-Century

If you haven't seen this month's Vogue editorial with a homage to Mid-Century Style
with Ewan McGregor and Natalia Vodianova
You can view the slide show here
Could this be the beginning of the end for oversized handbags and sky high heels?
I can only hope so

Mid-Century Going Mainstream and A Little Music

 Marella Agnelli

Ah Friday, finally
It's been such a busy week, mostly taken up by getting product organized for magazine photo shoots which of course I can't write about yet...
I can tell you this though, there is a definite a trend toward Mid-Century style.  We saw the beginning of that trend a couple of years ago with Mad Men, now it is going more mainstream with extrapolations of it in Vogue, Elle and W magazines.  And I couldn't be more pleased because I appreciate that aesthetic, that distinct look of sleek understated chic of Audrey Hepburn, Babe Paley, Marella Agnelli, Jean Seaberg, Diane Carroll, Grace Kelly and the Hitchcock heroines.
The look is all about quality, not quantity and it need not be expensive. It doesn't have to be all about Harry Winston style diamond cluster earrings, A single strand of cultured pearls,  A bracelet with a single charm, A pearl circle brooch, A pair of pearl earrings that sit on the ear, will do.

Diane Carroll

Happy Friday