Hive Jive

It was called 'the bouffant, the up-do & the B52', but the beehive that originated in Chicago in 1960 was the true definition of the 'big hair' fad that caught on like wild fire and gained world wide appeal.  The overly back combed, overly aqua netted style, was named the 'beehive' because it actually looks like a hive, or a nest of some sorts.  It's been said that part of the allure of the style is that it added the illusion of height to the wearer.  I know the history of the hive first hand as my mother who grew up in that era told me she sported the style when she was 16.  She said..."The higher the hive, the cooler you were considered to be".  The first girl group to get on board with this style was 'The Ronettes' but the trend lasted through to the late 70's with the emergence of the pop culture iconic group 'The B52's', as band members Kate Pierson & Cindy Wilson rocked their own retro version of the boof.

Well into the 80's it continued to trail blaze & continued to be re-popularized, especially after the cult John Waters film, 'Hair Spray' starring drag queen Divine & Ricky Lake was released, & over dramatized the 'do' to the hilt! & it made it's way back again with a re do of the popular movie from the same script starring John Travolta in drag & newcomer Nikki Blonsky in 2007.

In 2006, Amy Whinehouse stepped on the music scene with her signature style which was soon to be emulated by her female followers.  Her hair was what she was known for aside from her amazing other worldly vocal abilities. It was stated that her poof measured close to a half of a foot high!  In her whole career regardless of her state of being, you never saw her minus the hair-do.  She was quoted as saying ...  "My hair is always on point, even if the rest of me is really naff." 

This vintage hairstyle just seems to keep evolving but has definitely come along way from it's beginnings when it was originally created by Margaret Vinci Heldt, winner of the 1954 National Coiffure Championship.

This variation of the style won an award at a British hairstyling competition in 2010 which is sheer proof that in years to come we're just going to keep seeing the style moving into new and exciting directions!

pics: fogcityvintageandsuch.com, ginavivinetto.wordpress.com, threadforethought.net, moviesabout.com, begoths.com, ukhairdressers.com, projects.accessatlanta.com, latinasgallery.com

The Summer Of Love - June 1967

Forty four years ago, in June of 1967, over 100,000 people migrated to the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco in what was known as a 'hippie rebellion'.  Many young people traveled from across the world to be a part of this event which promised them the opportunity to cast off social conservatism & experiment openly without reprecussions, basically in the areas of psychotropics, free love (i.e. promiscuous sex) and of course rock n' roll!  There was no formal advertisement for this gathering, it all came together by word of mouth that spanned a huge distance and diversity of individuals.  The most positive thing that arose from this was the idea of 'unity, love & acceptance' for all of humanity...That's the part I like best! 

I know some of the history of 'The Summer Of Love' first hand because of my now reformed, once die hard hippie, Uncle Noel who said it was given the name to offset the negative impression the media was pushing for, of it being a drug infused, hairy hippie orgy.  Of course, for all intents and purposes it pretty much was exactly just that, no matter how much they attempted to sugar coat it!...   

A fashion trend arose from this decade called 'bohemian' which is a combination of the anything goes style of the hippie movement sprinkled with a little bit of nomad and topped off with a pinch of free spirited gypsy.  This vintage style will never be out of style as it has lasted the span of four decades having not changed very much from the beginning of its origin.  The allure is that the wearer does not conform to the norms of fashion or society for that matter and in turn to some extent becomes a 'rebel'... Boho-Chic entails everything colorful, flowing, comfortable & can even incorporate mix matched prints into style choices.  It's the same now as it was then and is absolutely one of the most simple trends to keep up with because it never really changes...

Of all the eras of clothing I personally find appealing, I'm all about the Mod early 60's thru to the late vintage Hippie 60's to early 70's because of the non-comformity of the fashions.  What is your favorite style era?


: bellasugar.com , imeanwhat.com , bohoblindness.blospot.com , katsville.wordpress.com , liberallifestyles.com , dannymiller.typepad.com , hubpages.com , umodels.com

MOD Monday

The 60's will always be known for its designing styles that included the shapeless shifts & geometric prints.  The 'mod movement' originated in London and caught on quickly in the states.  Not everyone knows this, but mod fashion was hugely inspired by pop art.  I thought it would be fun to post some fashion advertisements from the Mod era of the 1960's. 


This is an ad for Tangee lipstick from 1960 which from first glance would have the reader assuming it was an ad for clothing!

Dolly Talk eye shadow circa 1960

Irazu Airlines...Love the mod stewardess uniforms!



Junior Bazaar magazine always featured the most current fashion trends...

The vintage 60's was the dawn of the bikini, go go boots, psychedelic prints and mismatched colors.  It was the decade of the biggest shift in design trends...


: urbanmodernista.com , sewsixties.blogspot.com  , tumblr.com , wikipedia.org

MOD Monday

The 60's will always be known for its designing styles that included the shapeless shifts & geometric prints.  The 'mod movement' originated in London and caught on quickly in the states.  Not everyone knows this, but mod fashion was hugely inspired by pop art.  I thought it would be fun to post some fashion advertisements from the Mod era of the 1960's. 


This is an ad for Tangee lipstick from 1960 which from first glance would have the reader assuming it was an ad for clothing!

Dolly Talk eye shadow circa 1960

Irazu Airlines...Love the mod stewardess uniforms!



Junior Bazaar magazine always featured the most current fashion trends...

The vintage 60's was the dawn of the bikini, go go boots, psychedelic prints and mismatched colors.  It was the decade of the biggest shift in design trends...


: urbanmodernista.com , sewsixties.blogspot.com  , tumblr.com , wikipedia.org

MOD Monday!

Since it's 'MOD Monday' thought we'd have a groovy little flash back and rap a bit about Peggy Moffit.  Peggy was a California native born in 1939 who was known best for her unique look when she came on the fashion scene in the 60's, after initially pursuing a career in acting.  She became a fave of the late German designer Rudi Gernreich and as soon as she became one of his models, her personal signature style was born.  The Peggy Moffit look was all about false eyelashes & overly dramatic heavy eye makeup.  Her one of a kind, asymmetrical hairstyle created for her by Vidal Sassoon became known as the 'five point' and at the time, was being duplicated by stylists the world over...

Gernreich and Moffitt became a scandalous duo when Gernreich designed the infamous 'topless bikini' dubbed the 'monokini' and Moffitt was photographed in it shortly thereafter!  This bold fashion statement on Moffit's part pushed her to model star status being that she was pretty ballsy and one of few that would go that far at that time.

Gernreich and Moffitt's relationship as designer and muse evolved to that of business partners as it wasn't soon after the monokini shoot she was collaborating with him on styles.

They maintained their formidable partnership well up until Gernreich passed in 1985 at which time she held the trademark to his label name and designs. In 99' she allowed his vintage designs to be put on display in an art exhibition & within the same year she released a book chornicaling them.

In 2003, Peggy Moffitt released her own line which was a series of tee's with her image on them but hasn't produced much since...nontheless, I give this 'MOD Mama' mad props for maintaining longevity in the unforgiving world of fashion!  On the flip side however, after seeing a recent photo of her with Raquel Welch at the Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills Fashion Show, I think she's traveling in some kind of time warp and in need of a serious 60's addiction intervention because seriously...I cannot believe she's held onto that do, that makeup and those lashes for over forty years!  It totally worked for her then...but um yeah...not so much now!

 makeupbeat.com , sixtiescity.com , members.tripod.com , fashionindie.com , fiftiesweb.com , 1.bp.blogspot.com , zimbio.com , quietes-vous.net 

It's MOD Monday Baby!

It's MOD Monday here again at Retro Threadz and this week we're discussing the origin of the 'baby doll dress' since it was a fashion staple of the 60's.  The baby doll style started out as a sometimes sleeveless, comfortable, usually nylon fabric, short, loose fitting night gown that shortly thereafter migrated into a dress.

The name given for the garment style 'baby doll' was popularized by the movie of the same name in the late 50's which portrayed the title female character as a young and sexy nymphet and the whole idea of that set off the garments popularity amongst young women.

Both Twiggy and Goldie Hawn were most associated with the baby doll style of the 60's...

The style faded a bit through the late 70's and 80's but made a resurgence in the 90's when grunge goddess Courtney Love gave it a new spin and the birth of the punk rock style called 'kinderwhore' was born!  Basically it's a baby doll dress that has been torn, ripped up or cut low in the front paired with platform Mary Jane's.

     
The trend had died down again a bit but popped up in the 'here and now' as  designer Julien MacDonald fashioned up quite a variety of baby doll dresses circa 2011 as he showed his collection at the Spring Fashion week.  

If you notice, there hasn't been too much evolution regarding the shape of the style with the baby doll dress, just a lot more variety where color and textures are concerned.


pics: eliakazanmovies.blogspot.com, corbisimages.com, hubpages.com, fashiontheory.umwblogs.org, threndsandtreats.wordpress.com

The Media's Impact On Resurrecting Vintage Fashion

As I was flipping through the Fashion & Style section of the paper yesterday, I came across an interesting blurb on how vintage styles of the 60's are being reincorporated into current day fashions for women both business and otherwise and the resurrection of this era gone by is being credited in part to the popularity of the Emmy and Golden Globe winning hit show on AMC called 'Mad Men'.


The show is set in 1960’s and based around a fictitious advertising agency and of course the story line has nothing to do with anything fashion related except for the fact that this series has received major acclaim for being on the mark in regards to the authenticity of its visual style in recreating clothing styles of the 60’s.

The Detroit News article stated that ‘boxy, tweed, waist length jackets,  with sharp lines are bringing a new or rather a ‘new old look’ back into professional wardrobes and to quote the writer... A little bit “Mad Men”, a little bit modern.  Since I have never watched the show, this piqued my curiosity to ‘Google’ Mad Men and see for myself what all the hoopla was about!

Here's what I found...

In 2008, Michael Kors designed a Fall line influenced by the popular 'Mad Men' Style... 

The Women Of Mad Men…

A Few Vintage Pieces From Our Shop…

*There are so many choices and variations to play off on with the 60’s fashion come back so make sure you stop by the shop to browse our vintage collections and check in often as we are frequently updating and adding new selections.

source: retrothreadz.etsy.com, runwaydaily.com, celebritystyle.com

I go GA GA for G0-GO

Here is a fun mod 60s treasury I made