the style meme

[chelseagirl]

taken from Scripsi:

How would you describe your current fashion style?

A cross between vintage and a sort of romantic minimalism. (It's either floral or it's black, basically.)

Favorite decade for fashion?

1930s, more and more, but also 1940s.

Formal or casual?

Both, but never athleisure.

Thrift store, boutique, or online?

I buy most of my clothes either at DL Cerney in the East Village or online from an Etsy shop called Let's Backtrack. I'm recently also into Loco Lindo, which is LA based, so I buy online. The first two are all US-manufactured; I'm not sure about the last.

Do you like to accessorize?

I have a box of scarves and I wear them occasionally?

What piece of clothing do you spend the most on?

Not sure. My DL Cerney pieces are the most expensive, but the quality is so high I've owned some of them for a decade and they're still going strong.

Do you wear hats?

I buy occasional stylish hats, but then in the winter I pull on the same knit hat I've been wearing forever.

What is your opinion on wearing socks and sandals together?

I don't get it, but . . .

What colors do you wear?

Black is my favorite, with blues, purples, and grays next.

What fashions do you hate?

athleisure

What do you think of body piercing?

It's fine.

Do you like dyed hair?

I like the creativity on others but I love my natural color so have never dyed it.

Can you wear heels?

Up to 2 inches comfortably and all day. Up to 3 inches if I'm not walking as much as usual. Only thick, though -- I can't do the spindly ones, though I did in the 80s.

Do you have any experience with makeup?

I used to wear a full face of makeup when I was younger. Now it's really just mascara and eyeliner, lipstick and sometimes cheek color. I usually wear a rose or mauve lip color but I'm obsessed with red. I just worry, as I have a naturally downturning mouth, that it exaggerates my "resting bitch face."

Have you ever worn a uniform or traditional clothes?

Not since girl scouts in grade school. Though the suits I wore as a lawyer in the late 80s felt like a uniform.

What's your favorite piece of clothing?

Changes constantly. But maybe the Norwegian sweater I bought in Oslo in 1988. It's not the oldest thing I have, since I sometimes buy vintage, but it's the thing I've had longest and would never get rid of. It's so warm that I can only wear it during cold snaps, though.

Have you ever had to wear something you didn't like?

Sometimes I'll buy something, it'll be a mistake, and I'll wear it out of guilt. As I know my own tastes better, that's happening less and less.

How do you feel about wearing fur?

I personally wouldn't, though I've had leather jackets, so that might make me a hypocrite.

Do you prefer simple or detailed outfits?

Don't quite understand the question. I like dresses because they're already the outfit, so I guess simple.
And when I'm not vintage-y, I'm definitely minimalist.

How often do you wear jewelry?

Every day when I go out of the house. Tend to take it off at home. Wedding ring, one of several rings on my other hand, watch, earrings, necklace. Occasionally a brooch or bracelet.

Do you have any souvenir clothing?

The sweater I bought in Norway. Doc Martens I got on my first trip back to England after M got the green card and could travel. My dad's fraternity sweater?

Do you paint your nails?

Very rarely. I do try to get my toes done in summer, though.

What are your favorite pairs of shoes? (Pictures, if possible)

oooh. My favorite dress shoes are my American Duchess Astorias, which are period but I wear as everyday. I just killed my second pair and am trying to make do with another style for the moment. Black Rothys ballet flats, also in need of replacing. And black riding-style boots in winter.

Do you carry a bag, purse, or backpack?

Messenger bag.

What does your hair look like right now?

Blonde, straight, just grown out from a bob to shoulder length.

Have you worn something you or someone you know has made?

Mom used to make me dresses many decades ago -- I have her sewing machine now. A sweater a friend knitted, several scarves another friend crocheted.

Have you made any clothes/jewelry?

I make my own pajama bottoms! I have my first shift dress cut out.

What are your thoughts on perfume/cologne?

I never think about it. I have some left over from my wedding, 16 years ago.

What do you wear to go swimming?

A one piece, but it's been awhile and I should probably get a new one!

What would be your ideal outfit?

Depends on my mood, but probably a dress that is both comfortable and pretty and makes me feel cool and unique.

Comments

[executrix]

It's not a great *show* but "The Collection" (on amazon prime and still accessible on pbs.org for some people) has a parade of amazing New Look fashions. (It's about a Paris couture house shortly after WWII.)

[chelseagirl]

I've been meaning to watch that.

I'm not really a fan of the New Look, oddly. It's very pretty to look at, but it was part of the whole "return women to traditional female roles" post-war ideology. Dior's models wore actual corsets (rather than the girdles of the period) to achieve those tiny waists. Pre-New Look 40s is just so much more wearable in a modern context.

Lord If It Weren't for False Consciousness I Wouldn't Have no Consciousness At All

[executrix]

It's not a thoughtful show by any means, but there is some discussion about those implications of the New Look.

Before WWs I and II, women were in effect told not to have aspirations other than home, children, and femininity as culturally defined. Then, when the war effort required otherwise, they were told to take on work and give up styles that, for many of them, were important to their identity. Many of them were glad of new opportunities--some were horrified at the loss of a role they had accepted and perhaps valued. Then after the war they were told to return to previous assumptions. One way or another, they were still being told how to behave and how to think of themselves.

Not only are New Look clothes uncomfortable and constricting, they also specifically used vast amounts of previously unavailable fabric. Many women who couldn't afford the new styles were very unhappy about it because, whether or not freely chosen, they did want to return to previous beliefs about luxury and femininity. As Shaw said, "cease to be slaves so you can become cranks" is not an effective rallying cry. BTW the current revival of Heartbreak House has wonderful costumes on both the conventional and greenery-yallery sides of the family.

Anyway, I think part of the viewer's reaction to clothes porn is "there but for the grace of God go I."

Re: Lord If It Weren't for False Consciousness I Wouldn't Have no Consciousness At All

[chelseagirl]

You're absolute right about the "hey, look! lots of fabrics, let's . . . I dunno, have a circle skirt that uses it ALLLL!!!!" And there's something very appealing about that neoVictorian silhouette. 1950s crinolines weren't at all constructed like 1860s ones, but there's a reason they were called the same thing, after all.

I've read in multiple places that more women actually worked outside of the home in the period between the two wars than did in the 1950s. So it wasn't just going back to prewar standards -- though it's very clear the notion of opening up the jobs held by women for the returning men was a major economic impetus (as the first season, especially, of Agent Carter plays on very effectively). But in some ways, it was even a more radical shift than that. I can still remember in the mid-70s, suddenly everyone's mom was getting a job, including mine, who'd been to college but quit work shortly after marriage because Dad (though he frankly made very little in his first jobs) felt he should be supporting his wife. In their case, I didn't come along 'til they'd been married for 5 years, so she stopped work significantly before motherhood.

Re: Lord If It Weren't for False Consciousness I Wouldn't Have no Consciousness At All

[executrix]

Speaking of crinolines, there were endless Punch cartoons about housemaids breaking all the ornaments in the drawing room because of the turning radius of their crinolines.

And, of course, in the 1970s no provisions were made for day care for the kids of mothers working outside the home...because having kids is a tiny niche interest that hardly anybody does.

Re: Lord If It Weren't for False Consciousness I Wouldn't Have no Consciousness At All

[chelseagirl]

I feel like I've seen them, but if I haven't, I can conjure them up. ;-)

Yes, mom waited to go back to work 'til my younger brother started first grade so that he'd been in school 'til 3:30 or whenever it was. And then got a part-time job. But it was more than staying home. She'd also just gotten her first car around then -- before that, she and my dad would have to figure out who needed the car for what and who had it on which days . . . It was an old Rambler with tailfins and all the kids in the neighborhood wanted to ride in it! It was cool to us but slightly embarrassing to her -- my aunt had gotten it to go the Hamptons in the summer and got tired of NYC street parking, so mom ended up with it.

Re: Lord If It Weren't for False Consciousness I Wouldn't Have no Consciousness At All

[merisunshine36]

Just popping in to say that I (a person who enjoys the New Look aesthetic and owns a couple of pieces but knows zero about the class/social context) am really loving this thread :)

I will have to look into 30s-40s stuff!

Re: Lord If It Weren't for False Consciousness I Wouldn't Have no Consciousness At All

[executrix]

Also, "crin" means "horsehair" so any under-your-skirt thing made out of horsehair can reasonably called a crinoline no matter what its shape is. And then they started making hoop petticoats out of non-horsehair materials but still called them crinolines.

[lunabee34]

We share a lot of style points, especially the color palette. I know I only met you the once, but you were impeccably dressed!

[chelseagirl]

Thank you! I'm trying to remember what I was even wearing that night -- I'm sure a summer dress . . .

[lunabee34]

My memory is such a mess, so apologies if this doesn't match anything you actually own, but I think you were wearing blue Mary Janes with heels (could have been T-straps,but I think just the one strap). I think your dress was also blue with cap sleeves (short sleeves definitely) and pretty sure it was A-line. Your hair was in a sleek blonde bob. Does that ring a bell?

[chelseagirl]

The blue ones are oxfords with little fancy toe caps. Those are still going -- I love them and want them to last forever . . .

That sounds like something I would wear. ;-) Though I probably interpret my hair as "my hair is so boring this is all it will do . . . " ;-)

[lunabee34]

Yes! Oxfords. Now that you say that, I can see them.

[lunabee34]

Also, your hair is lovely--sleek and shiny. Just fab.