Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, Vogue 1978

Sigh. Ordinarily I think employing girls to sell grown women's things is insupportable, but -- she's breathtaking. Thirteen. How cool would it be for Vogue to rerun this editorial, with modern-day Chloe (for that's what she's wearing here) and a contemporary Brooke Shields.

On a less ethereal level, that earclip running diagonal to the lobe is pretty nice too. Easy to make with a diamanté barrette, a clip earring back, and some strong glue.

Photo by Avedon, British Vogue, September 1, 1978.

Vintage Go Braugh

Don't do many many holiday theme posts here at FP, but green is one of my favorite colors (after yellow and blue). So here's a little lineup in honor of the saint we call Patrick, whose special day will be here before we know it. All items courtesy of the fine sellers at Etsy.

The darling pin above is of sterling and enamel, and dates to the late 19th century. It's in beautiful shape and is tiny enough to nearly escape notice, which is oftentimes what you want when otherwise the rivers run emerald and the bagels are intentionally green.

Another option for a more discreet wearing of the color is to keep it indoors. This vintage Vanity Fair babydoll nightie is exactly what I mean.

If instead you wanted to go a more traditional route and flaunt your shamrocks in all their glory, could you possibly do better than this cashmere sweater? In the clover indeed.

The Golden Bough

From the Bodleian library shop in Oxford, England: a wonderful mistletoe brooch, with freshwater pearls replicating the plant's white berries.


This is contemporary jewelry inspired by a vintage source . . . an even more wonderful illustration from a 16th-century Tudor pattern book.

Mistletoe lore is as dense as the tangles of branches the plant puts forth. Since pagan times, kissing underneath was said to signal peace and goodwill between strangers, and to mend the hearts of quarreling lovers.

The best place to wear a mistletoe brooch? Everywhere! Christmas is only 22 days away . . .

Good Thing She Never Wore The Mushroom: Madeleine Albright's Brooch Diplomacy

There's a great piece in the Daily Beast today about former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who liked to wear brooches that signalled the mood of the US toward the country of an envoy she was meeting.

Hornets, spiders, snakes: the possibilities of indicating displeasure are endless.

And what if you wanted to send the opposite sort of signal to a gentleman you wished to treat with?

I happen to love the mixed message in this vintage bacchante brooch, up for sale on eBay. She looks very primly Victorian, but those grape leaves wound in her hair tell another tale indeed.

What sort of brooch would you be wearing today?

Piling on the Pearls

Coco Chanel is sometimes credited with creating the fashion for wearing masses of pearls, but this isn't quite true. What she pioneered was the mingling of the real and the faux. If you look at the old photos, she didn't really pile them on, either--she was all about elegance and ease rather than over-the-top display.

For that totally trussed look you need to turn to the Edwardians and east Asian nobility, who were the all-time pearly kings and queens.


Here (with bonus historical dish) are Dowager Queen Alexandra (above): who may or may not have started the trend for wearing choker necklaces to hide a scar on her neck, which may or may not have resulted from a failed suicide attempt.

Next is sad American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt (left)--admire her posture, for she got it by being forced to wear a steel rod as a child to stand up straight).

Last but not least the Rana of Dholpur (below), who once won a train in a horse race.

Their pearls are real, but there's no reason not to mimic the look, on a more moderate scale following Coco's example.

How to Wear It: Vintage Butterfly Brooch

I love this 1967 Paris Vogue cover of Twiggy, by Henry Clarke, looking as though spring has just flown in and landed on her shoulder (and sleeve).

Wearing vintage pins on knitwear, especially a loose-weave summer top, makes so much sense--the pin will leave no mark on the fabric and, if well-positioned, won't snag. An instant shot of style on an easygoing look.

So, the ingredients: one casual knit top. One gorgeous vintage butterfly pin/brooch (use exactly these keywords on eBay and you'll turn up a wide range of beautiful, inexpensive brooches, like these. In fact there are so many on hand, try to match it to your eye color). Pin onto your collar, and let the sun shine in.

On the Cuff

Women who are in responsible positions and/or conservative professions have limited options when it comes to jewelry. A statement necklace may work -- or not -- depending on the culture; pearls are a safe option but can be boring; brooches and pins risk looking too retro.

But there's one item of jewelry that's almost always safe to wear, in as wild a style as your suit-smothered heart desires. What prevents them from drawing notice is that they're small, and live in the hinterlands down the arm. Cuff links!

No, they're not just for boys, although the blokes down the trading desk know well the stealthy, anarchic (as it goes) potential of these little gems.

But for you, they don't have to be at all masculine. Silk knots, gorgeous enamel, diamond-sparkly, and yes, even Monopoly Scotties are a possibility. It's possible to find nice nice nice cuff links in any charity shop/thrift store in the land.

It's harder to find the dress shirts to go with them. English shirtmakers like Pink routinely issue link-friendly styles, but probably the best option is eBay. In America, keyword "french cuff", in the UK, "double cuff". Happy hunting!

Hidden Treasure: Wearing Vintage Medals

Have just had a splended ten minutes cruising around the heavy medal division on eBay. Keywords: militaria, collectables. For a woman who likes to think laterally in terms of her adornment, these gorgeous decorations, previously retired with honors, can once again serve active duty as pendants or pins.

Here's one of the prettiest: a WWI Order of Leopold of Belgium, whose price reflects the detail and distinction of its enamelwork.

But there's no need to push out the boat on price . . . just a few dollars or quid can win you something winsome, like this wonderfully graphic version from an English shooting club . . .

Bear in mind before you buy:

1) If the link is at all dodgy, your beautiful piece may be lost to the trenches. A firm squeeze with a pair of pliers will ensure a secure hold on a chain.

2) Real pearls will be scratched if you pin a medal in between. If you want to create a Chanel-style pearl necklace-with-central-brooch effect, take her example and use fake pearls instead, preferably glass.

3) Most importantly, military medals are symbols of high valor, religious medals are demonstrative of faith, Masonic medals are filled with mysterious secret cult powers that emit lightning bolts if worn by the uninitiated (not really, but they'd like you to think so). The point: don't offend somebody needlessly by taking their medals in vain (unless they're Belgian! I'd risk it for the one above!). As a general rule, the more obscure the medal, the better.

How to Wear It: Tone-in Beads

What a gorgeous cover shot of Jane Fonda, circa 1960. Have a good look at the beads, the way they amplify the colors of her dress, adding tone and texture.

Now consider what Alber Elbaz is doing at Lanvin this Spring/Summer. Simple, isn't it? While you won't be able to find Lanvin's fab bead shapes at a thrift store/charity shop, color toning like this with simple round plastic beads is so easy to do.

Why I Love Ebay, Part 4

Sometimes it's not entirely mercantile. Sometimes I love eBay because it's the best visual resource going for mysterious bits of fashion history.

Example: My mom recently dug out this sepia portrait of my grandmother Else, which I'd never seen before. It was taken in Germany in 1908. She (left) and her sister Flora (right) are dressed in exquisite Edwardian style (had they been American they would have been Gibson girls). All the hallmarks of the period are here: the beautiful pintucked, high-collared, lace-embellished "lingerie" blouse on Elsa. The pigeon-breasted, tightly sashed silhouette of her sister, curved into an "S". The lofty, broadbrimmed hats on both.

But one thing I didn't recognize. What was that small rectangular object dangling from my grandmother's waist? I knew eBay could help. At first I thought it might be a "reticule", the precursor to women's handbags, a little kit to hold sewing tools and whatnot. Keywording this turned up little of direct use, but one of the lots for sale mentioned the word "chatelaine". That rang a bell. I vaguely knew that a chatelaine was the name of the chain women could hang useful objects off of--things like needle cases and perfume bottles and even little silver pencils. So in the keyword "chatelaine" went, and I found it. A near-exact replica of the object my grandmother wears.

It's called an aide-memoire--an "aid to memory", or a little notebook, with clasps on the side for a pencil. In the days pre-Blackberry, ladies could carry one of these to keep their thoughts handy, in a safe place.

I'm so glad I have this photograph of my grandmother. I long to know what was written in that little box, but her aide-memoire is no longer in the family. I hope whoever has it now treasures it like I would.

Waste Not, Want Not

Do you, like so many of us vintage magpies, have a long rope of faux pearls sitting unworn in a drawer? Because really, how many times can you do a flapper look? Or the classic Chanel pile-up of pearls and gold chains?

Neiman Marcus, bless 'em, has an ad in this month's American Vogue showing a different way to wear a length of pearls (which works equally well atop a clean-lined vintage LBD as it does on the ad's Chanel frock):

Wear the necklace as a belt. Obviously the pearls need to be sturdily knotted, secure of clasp, and long enough to cinch your waist or hips, but what a fine way to get a fresh look from an old (and probably underused) favorite.

How to Wear It: Antique Brooch, II

Whoops! Maybe not exactly like that. But I love the idea of wearing a glittery brooch at the waistline, as Brooke Shields does with a bit more decorum below: