Vogue Magazine Under Grace Mirabelli

I own several issues of Vogue magazine from the 1970's, but when I look through them, I find them to be disjointed and uninteresting. Grace Mirabelli became Editor in Chief when Diana Vreeland left the magazine in 1971. Under Mirabelli's watch, the magazine changed from a bi-weekly to a monthly publication. It also underwent extensive editorial and stylistic changes to respond to the lifestyle changes of its target audience.

Women's liberation and the sexual revolution of the late 1960's and early 70s changed the way women lived their lives. Mirabelli believed that elaborate couture clothing was out of style, and she favored using ready-to-wear and off-the-rack clothing in the magazine. She felt that Vogue magazine under Vreeland was out of touch with its readers, their lifestyles, and their pocketbooks. She remade the magazine to appeal to the practical side of the 1970's woman.

But, it is also true that Vogue under Mirabelli became boring and staid. Many couture houses and high end department stores no longer advertised with Vogue, since their clothing was not featured in the magazine's editorials. Mirabelli was dismissed from Vogue in 1988, when 3 year-old magazine Elle started making headway against Vogue's market domination.

In an attempt to garner waning reader interest, Mirabelli often used fashion photographer Helmut Newton, known for the erotic and sometimes violent overtones of his images. While I do conceed that Helmut Newton is an artist of extraordinary talent, I don't enjoy fashion protrayed in this manner. Show me the clothes, not the sex and violence. Following are a few examples from Vogue, May 1975. How do you feel about these images?

"Halston's long, thin, perfect summer evening in red and white cotton knit stripes. (If you have to ask what to wear in the way of a bra, this may not be the dress for you.)"


"...and just as she has the imatination to knot a streak of fishnet around her bare throat, she sometimes has the wit to wear the new Silver Sage perfume on her earlobes..."

" The ultra-pretty lacy and embroidered white bra with a plunging neckline, plunging sides, thin, thin straps...and the kind of easy front-closing anyone can manage." Bra by Flair of nylon tricot, about $5.

"The string-tied bikini in sienna brown jersey with a matching wrap skirt by Eres."

Sparkle, Shimmer, & Shine - Beaded Fringe

Beads - they add that touch of sparkle to an evening gown that draws the eye and makes a woman feel special. Beaded fringe moves as you do, to create even more shimmer and shine. The above dress, by Ben Reig, was featured in the October 1963 issue of Vogue magazine. This dress would have been designed by Eva Rosencrans, whom we've discussed in the past. The bracelet is by Miram Haskell.

Beading dates back thousands of years, but glass seed beads, such as those used above, did not exist until about 1480, when Murano glassmakers in Venice invented a technique known as the hollow cane drawn method. Molten glass was gathered on the end of a tool called a puntile, a bubble was incorporated into the center of a gather of molten glass, and a second puntile was attached before stretching the gather with its internal bubble into a long cane. The pulling was a skilled process, and canes were reportedly drawn to lengths up to 200 feet long. The drawn tube was then chopped, producing individual drawn beads from its slices. In this way, glassmakers were able to produce large quantities of beads in a shorter time.

Get some shimmer of your own with this light blue sequined dress that has beaded tassels on the bodice. This dress also dates to the early 60's and the beading was all hand done in Hong Kong. Available at Couture Allure Vintage Fashion. Click the picture for more details!

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