This beautiful polished cotton frock – Kay Whitney by Huntington – is absolutely gorgeous. The fabric and the tailoring are top notch.
Naturally, it’s got a fabric-covered belt, the full skirt and a generous hem allowance. It’s not a one-off design, I found, when I saw another identical to it on eBay – but it’s wonderful anyway.
However, this one is one-off now! As beautiful as it was in its original design, it was a bit too conservative a style to be flattering on me. The shoulder straps were wider and it had a fabric tie sewn completely around the neckline which you would tie in a bow in front. Pretty, but not me.
I removed the tie, making the shoulders skinnier and the neckline wider. I used some of the leftover tie material to make little flat bows at the shoulders. Of course, if you are a purist, you would never have changed it. That’s something I rarely do, but I liked it so much and wanted it to suit me.
So, I now have an original – and without sacrificing quality or elegance. The best of both worlds.
MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY
BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM
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Disco Days again! This silver-sparkly knit dress and jacket are for dancing the night away.
The dress is bare shoulders with rhinestone-studded straps and trim, back zip and a side slit for doing the boogie. The jacket has rhinestone-studded buttons. I have some silver and black platform sandals from the same era that go perfectly!.
This is another of those specialty outfits from a small shop in South Beach Miami, Florida. It has the hallmarks of the late ’70’s – mostly in the fabric and some of the construction details.
Not a high-end garment this time in terms of its quality, but I’ll bet it was expensive because of where it was sold – even back then. Fortunately, all the rhinestones in the buttons and trimming are in place so we can’t fault the value of those items – they didn’t tend to fall apart.
I’m always pleasantly surprised to see how well decorative trimmings and buttons on true vintage fashion hold up over many years. It’s a blessing, because they’re irreplaceable! However, I have found a couple of stores that specialize in these authentic vintage items where you can look . . . . . . . .
MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY
BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM
BOOK: HOW TO FIND THE BEST IN VINTAGE FASHION – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.COM
This is a very special dress – the one that the actress playing the “vixen” would wear in a 1950’s movie. Or, the devil with the red dress on. . . . . . . . .
Taffeta seems to be one of the favorite “special dress” fabrics from the ’50’s. I also love boat necks and 3/4 sleeves. Fire engine red always makes a statement. It’s not a debutante party frock – about 100 miles from the little white one I just posted!
I would really like to know the history of this one. Based on where I discovered it, I suspect that it was worn by a small-time bad girl or a wannabe.
One of those “in your dreams” dresses. It’s always good to have at least a few of those handy because, you just never know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
MORGANA MARTIN, THE MAGICVINTAGESPY
BLOG: MAGICVINTAGESPY.COM
Magicvintagespy 