Drinks With Don Draper

It's been a week since the season 5 premiere of Mad Men, and tonight there's a new episode!! I can't wait!

Have a drink with you Mr. Draper? Don't mind If I do.

Oh and as for those drinks with Don, I was bored one day and decided to finally "Mad Men" myself!! I think it kind of resembles me, I have a dress very similar to that and the purse too. And I'll think I'll skip the martini and go for the Blood Mary, I love those!

Lately I've been very 60's inspired, I'm not that into 60's like I used to be back in my Juinor year of High School. Granted I still love them!! Fashion, music, design, colors those avocado greens and mustard yellows! But lately I've been putting extra coats of eyeliner, listening to 60's french pop and I think it has a lot to do with this scene from Mad Men's first episode of season five.

The Zou Bisou Dress!!

Now a days I wouldn't really be drawn to 60's shift/Mod dresses , but I really want this dress for myself, I think I'm going to try and recreate it.

with love

-Victoria

Happy Birthday Jon Hamm

Jon Hamm

Jonathan Daniel "Jon"  Hamm

March 10, 1971

That very very handsome man you've come to know as Mr. Don Draper from the Hit (and awesome) show Mad Men turns 41 years old today!!
He's such a amazing actor and soo funny too! Not to mention soo very handsome and easy on the eyes! A man in his 40's never looked so good!

 Happy Birthday Mr. Hamm!! 

Mad Men Collection at Banana Republic

Did somebody say Mad Men? Just who doesn't love the famous hit tv show Mad Men?! I can now finally catch up with all the seasons on Netflix and I'm loving every minute of it!! But if the Mad Men franchise put their name on everything I'm sure I'll buy it up, so when I was flipping through my mom's Oprah magazine and noticed an ad for Banana Republic's Mad Men collection I was soo thrilled!

Finally!! This  is what the world needs less drabby modern and more classic chic!! Don't get me wrong I like a fair share of modern things and clothing and I love to see what's new with the latest designers, but when the fashion world brings back retro, oh you know I'm celebrating!! I personally don't shop at BR, but they do have great well made clothes for a decent price.. I just can't afford it. But believe me if I had some cash I'd definitely go down to the Banana Republic and buy some of this cute stuff up! Oh and it's not just for the ladies, boys grab that skinny tie and slim suit and look fabulous!

I thank the tv gods for a show like Mad Men because everyday it makes the world of today seem like 1960!

I'm loving the advertisements!

They've broken it down just for you!

I think I might like the mens clothing more than the womens?

Two favorite looks from the collection

Be sure to check out the website:

http://bananarepublic.gap.com/

Cheap and Chic

My mom recently told me about this new thrift/ antique store in the neighborhood. So when I got out of school  the other day we went together to take a look. I ended up buying these:

My brand new, or like new stereo! Isn't it lovely and ohh so retro! I only payed $25 which I thought was a great deal. It has a AM/FM radio and a turntable. I needed a new record player, my 1970's/ early 1980's compact one was taking up a lot of space in my room and wasn't so easy to carry or pretty to look at.

I spotted this vintage hair comb and broach hidden in the display case. They're soo lovely. I don't know exactly what decade they're from, but you can tell those flowers were made by hand, and the colors are lovely! I purchased the both of them for only $3.

I also found just what I've been looking for! A straw boater hat with a black band and bow!! I wasn't even looking for it and voila! I can't wait to wear it! If it was the perfect one it would be slightly smaller, so I can perch it right at the top and tilt it over my forehead. But this is just as good and only $4!

I think this has become a new favorite place of mine, the shop is little and there isn't a lot of gems but I really like it. It's close to home and only about a five minute walk down the street. They had a couple of things I wanted, but had no room for like these:

I really wanted this teal colored antique mirror and vintage 1950's/ 1960's lime green (in practically new condition) separating sofas! If I had my own storage unit, I'd buy everything up and save it for when I finally have my own place, I wish!

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I found this very good, much needed, stress reducing  and life saving  Wolf Form dress form at a local furniture thrift store. I snagged it for only $200, and boy was that a deal considering the average price of a Wolf Form is over $600!! Also I needed it in a hurry at the time I was draping a dress and finishing at school was becoming hard. So now I finally have my own form and I brought that store some business! Because my friends got the remainder of the dress forms, haha!


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Also, about 2 months ago I did this school interview/survey thingy and to compensate for my time they gifted me with a $40 dollar gift card for Amazon. This is what I bought:

"Everyday Fashions of The Forties As Pictured in the Sears Catalog" and "Mad Men The Illustrated World". I've been dying to get my hands on that 40's Sears Catalog book since I checked one out at the library a couple of years ago, now it's mine! It's filled with tons of amazing Black and White photographs of every type of clothing you can think of from the 40's for Men, Women and Children they even include accessories!

The Mad Men book I first spotted in a book store a while back and I thought it was the cutest and funniest thing ever! And being a fan of the show (even though I haven't seen every season or episode) I just had to have it! It has tips on how to dress, office etiquette, how to make a cocktail and what to do incase of a nuclear attack! Oh and awesome paper dolls! The images are really cute!

This section will sure come in handy for my 21st birthday! haha

-Victoria

Magazine Mention : "Old Fashioned at 29"

The other day I was browsing through O Magazine, Oprah Winfrey's own publication and noticed a spread titled  "O, Yes You Can!" featuring different women at different ages showing off unexpected style choices at their age. I was soo thrilled this lovely women was featured. Embracing the Vintage/ Retro look! The woman featured is 29 year old Jennifer McClain who is a sales diector of the NYC based vintage store What Goes Around Comes Around. The article says not only does she wear the clothes, she lives the lifestyle: "My apartment is furnished with antiques, and I organize my closet by decade, I love playing dress up every day." There have been so many times when people and myself why do you dress like this especially at your age? Because I want too! haha Well I've received many more positives then  negatives. I have a friend at school who calls me Granny Goose because of my "granny" style and taste haha but I love my nickname! I think it really is wonderful that we have more people females and males who are embracing this classic style. I think it's much more accepted today then say maybe 20 years ago, even though the 1990's had a huge retro revival. With hit shows like Mad Men (which was a blessing), vintage becoming trendy, and today's vintage/ retro style and burlesque queen Dita Von Teese they all have helped I think bring more of an interest and acceptance of  vintage retro style. However there is a time and a place for everything regardless of age. I know if I was going to something like a serious job interview I wouldn't want to necessarily go like I completely stepped out of a time capsule, I might want to tone it down a little ( I know I have days were I look more contemporary then usual). Also I think age plays a factor how old should you be or allowed to dress like this? Well to each his own, if you want to more power too you. In fact I had a couple of friends tell me there was an episode of the tv show "What Not To Wear" were two stylists make over someone who's wardrobe is deemed horrible by friends and/ or family and our in desperate need of a makeover. I'm familiar with the show, and on this episode  they were making over a 47 year old woman who was a big vintage collector. Now I haven't seen this episode, but they did get rid of her wardrobe which is sad, however her ensembles she came up with were quite questionable. ( Frankly I think she looked much better after. I think that her age has a lot to do with it.)



It's like a love/ hate relationship with the show, sometimes they just take away peoples uniqueness, and I love that Oprah's magazine embraced it! Plus I love that they gave little tips if you want to hop on the retro bandwagon, which are very helpful:
"When looking to capture a specific era or style, the key is in the details, from the print on [McClain's] a dress to [her] carefully coordinated jewelry, hat, belt, gloves and shoes."


* Start with small doses. You can pair vintage costume jewelry with jeans and a tee. Gradually work up to more pieces, like a scarf, hat or skirt.


*Pay attention to fabrics. Clothes from the '20s were often made of thin silk and tend not to preserve well. Later decades incorporated synthetics like rayon, which drape nicely. (Ignore sizing- a 14 then might be a 6 now.)


"People think I dress like Mad Men characters. Nope, just my outfit today!"


 I love it! That's happened to me plenty of times, (funny thing one time I was on set of where Mad Men was shooting and one of the techie guys thought I was an extra haha) and I'm sure it's happened to you too!




-Victoria