Go Retro

I like retro clothing. I am sure that my circa 1960 upbringing has something to do with my penchant for fashion from the '50's and '60's.

Recently, I discovered Unique Vintage, an online store that sells clothing in styles from the 1920's to 1960's. Some of their clothing would be more appropriate for a costume party, for example, their flapper dresses from the 1920's. However, I would feel very comfortable wearing a lot of their clothing on the street, for example, their floral draped shoulder "Sophia" wiggle dress from their 1950 collection (pictured to the right).

Good news is that their prices are reasonable ($68 for the wiggle dress) and they carry plus sizes for girls like us.

I cannot speak for their quality because I have not yet personally sampled their products, but I plan to do so real soon now.

Wearing Petersyn top, FRAME jeans, Jimmy Choo wedges and Le Specs Luxe sunglasses (Source: Intermix).

The always lovely Faith DeBrooke modeling a gown at the Bettie Page store.

vintage femulators

As a child of the 1950s, female fashions of the late '50s and early '60s left a big impression on my developing psyche. As a result, today I favor fashions that recall the styles of that era. I actually own some vintage clothing and have worn some of those items out en femme.

In addition to wearing retro and vintage clothing, I also like to view images of how femulators of that era dressed. The book Casa Susanna is a favorite source for viewing such images.

The book contains a collection of snapshots (like the one to the right) taken during the late '50s and early '60s at a safe house in upstate New York, where femulators met to dress and socialize en femme. Images from Casa Susanna appear on the Internet; a quick Google search will reveal a representative selection of those images.

Another source of images of femulators from that bygone era are periodicals. I have seen sample pages from a variety of femulator magazines on the Internet, but I do not own any because they are not easy to the find and are too pricey when I find them.

However, a publisher has recently been "reprinting" vintage periodicals and books from that era in Adobe .pdf format including long gone back issues of Female Mimics at prices that are a bargain when compared to the prices of vintage copies.

I have purchased all of their Female Mimics offerings and I am very pleased with the purchases. And making a purchase could not be easier: you order online, pay online, and a few minutes later, you download your purchase.

So, you go retro, girl!

Are you a Peggy or a Joan?

Today's installment of Salon's Broadsheet asks "Are you a Peggy or a Joan?"

After reading Broadsheet, I had to find out for myself and generated my own Mad Men paper doll here.

On the right, are the results, i.e., the way I would have looked circa 1960 working for a Madison Avenue advertising agency. To tell you the truth, except for the hem line, it is very similar to the way I look today en femme.