Have a Vintage Halloween!

If ever there is a day to wear orange, it's Halloween! This gorgeous suit was shown in the December 1957 issue of a fashion magazine. The magazine calls this color "golden apricot" - um, OK. Orange. The suit is by Handelsman & Raiffe and is trimmed in lynx fur. It was available at Henri Bendel for $185.00 ($1420.00 today) I can't find any references to "Handelsman & Raiffe" anywhere, and the label is unfamiliar to me, but isn't the suit yummy?

My impression of this photo? Love the suit, but the model is way too thin! If you thought super thin, anorexic models were a modern phenomena, think again. This gal is so thin, the back of the skirt is sagging because her non-existent derriere can't fill it out. Perhaps a little trick-or-treating would help!

Have a fun vintage Halloween, watch out for ghosts and goblins, and play safe!

Vintage Cocktail Dress - Another Illusion

More of that sexy lace, but this time it is hidden behind sheer black silk marquisette. The lace covers the deeply cut decolletage of pink silk satin. Another enticing illusion, don't you agree? Featured in a full page ad in the December 1957 issue of Vogue magazine.

Karen Stark was the designer for Harvey Berin and her name was found on the labels, though not in the ad shown here. Even though Stark was the designer, Berin had final say on whether a design would be produced or not. The company was known for its ultra-feminine styles.

"I like dramatic clothes for evening and uncluttered clothes for daytime. I like to use beautiful fabrics and unusual trimmings. I design for everyone - short women, tall women - but always very feminine women."

Karen Stark, 1966

Vintage Cocktail Dress - Illusion Lace and Goodbye, Mr. Blackwell

Trompe 'oeil - fool the eye.

Illusion - a deceptive appearance or unreal image.

Lace is so important for this holiday season, and I've always loved the look of 1950's illusion lace cocktail dresses. This one, by Mary Black, uses black Chantilly lace layered over flesh silk satin. The flesh satin blends with the wearer's skin to give the illusion that she is nude under the lace. Of course, nothing shows, but the dress certainly entices! From the December 1957 issue of Vogue magazine, this dress sold at high end department stores, such as Bergdorf's, I. Magnin, and Sakowitz.

Get the look with this 1950's cocktail dress by Carnival, available at our website:

In other news today, we mourn the loss of Mr. Blackwell, who was most famous for his Worst Dressed list each year. Richard Blackwell started his career as an actor, but abandoned that for fashion design in 1958. His designs were always extremely feminine and sexy. His first Worst Dressed list was issued in 1960, and included Zsa Zsa Gabor and Anna Magnani. The list brought Blackwell the celebrity he desired, and he became a favorite on the talk show circuit. He died October 19, 2008 at age 86.

Here's one of his incredibly sexy cocktail dresses, this one with an amazing rhinestone choker attached to the dress with rhinestone strands. It's available at my website, coutureallure.com. Click the picture to see the details.