Saturday was the first ever Thread & Ink Indie fashion fair and it was great! It was sort of hectic trying to put together a fashion show while manning my booth, but it all came together. The High Noon Saloon is not very big, so it was totally packed with amazing things! Besides me, there were 2 other vintage sellers, plus several printmakers and a guy who makes custom jeans.

I didn't spend a ton of time on the fashion show- I only had 4 models- but they all looked great! The "theme" ended up being a 1960's glamorous gold look.

hanging out after the show, acting very "Mad Men"

From top left: Eve in sparkly bronze pencil skirt & 1960's black ruffled blouse, Erin in rose-print party dress (on Etsy), Kylie in 1960's colorful print shift dress & leather fringe jacket (on Etsy), Lainie in 1960's couture beaded gown (on Etsy).

This weekend I'll be moving into the Good Style Shop as part of the new vintage collective! I'm super excited, especially since this means I'll get to do more shopping!

XO,

Jess

Oh Lord, the last week has been such a whirlwind! On Wednesday we had the Vintage Madison Fall Fashion Show. All afternoon I was running around like a mad woman trying to finish up outfits and dress the models. Luckily, our friends Emily and Holly from Anaala Salon were there to do all the hair & make-up. Plus, Emily made some absolutely fabulous feather hair pieces! Surgeons in Heat, a fantastic local band, played for about an hour after the show. . . it was great to let loose and dance after such a crazy day. All in all, I think the night was a total success. It's so strange when you plan something for weeks, putting all your heart and soul into it, then it's over in 5 minutes! Ah well, at least there are great pictures to remember it by. . .

check out all the photos on our facebook page!

So, I took the entire day on Thursday and Friday to relax and unwind (and get over a little cold), but then on Saturday we were back at it- setting up our Fall Pop-Up Shop.  We had the grand opening party on Sunday, and are staying open all week! This is the longest pop-up shop we've done so far, and I'm pretty excited to have the entire week to hang out and play shop girl. I'll post some pics of the shop tomorrow.

XO,

Jess

Fashion Show!!

Once again, my poor blog has been terribly neglected due to my hectic schedule and inability to multi-task! This time, the reason for my absence is due mainly to 2 things:
1. Josh and I are going "on tour" to Europe in 6 weeks! I'm terribly excited but we're very, very busy trying to book 'gigs' (last minute, unfortunately), as well as make all the usual plans that go into a 5 week long trip!
2. In less than a week we're putting on our second annual Vintage Madison Fall Fashion Show! Again, I'm very excited, but there's a lot of work to do. I still have to decide on outfits and which models are wearing what, but other than that I feel well prepared. It's gonna be a blast! And a few days after the show we'll be doing another pop-up shop---this time for a full week.

 

Otherwise, I'm just trying to enjoy the last few weeks of Summer here in lovely Wisconsin! 

XO,

Jess

Dior Couture 2011: Modern Art with a Vintage Twist

I just stumbled upon pictures from the Christian Dior Couture show in Paris this week, via Jezebel. All I can say is WOW. Even though we're knee-deep in a worldwide economic recession, it's refreshing to see extravagant, over-the-top works of art in the form of fashion. Couture has never been made for practical purposes-- most of us will never own a piece of couture, but it is inspiring to see fashion pushed to its limits, and raised to the level of fine art.
That being said, the recent Dior show of couture pieces created by designer John Galliano is inspiring to say the least. It caught my eye primarily because of the obvious reference to mid-century fashion. Familiar silhouettes from the 1940's and 50's have been given new life with incredible modern fabrics and colors, as well as slightly futuristic-looking structure.

This article from style.com gives an interesting insight into Galliano's influences, mainly the illustrator René Gruau, who worked for Dior in the forties and fifties. Looking closely at the fabric he used, you can see how the patterns, colors, and textures mimic an illustrator's graphite and pastel drawings. Galliano himself started his career as a fashion illustrator before turning to design.

 

Heavenly. 

What do you think?

XO,

Jess