VintageGent’s Menswear Daily

Plus Size Fashion: Basics and Tips – (USA Made)

While I enjoy the latest fads to walk down the run way, readers know we have a special place in the left breast pocket for vintage goods. Another love is products made right here in the USA. It is easy to find artisan made clothing and items from one-off independent designers, but every day staples get to be a challenge, especially if the T-shirts with “American” in their name, notably still made here, are out of your size range. Clothing, except for plus size pants, which can be made to specific measurements, is difficult to merely just make bigger. In other items, darts, pleats and the overall design must be reimagined.

Blouse House is one of the rare plus size clothiers that manufacture their garments in the US, offering a range of plus size tops, dresses and pants in sizes up to 7x. The styles are fairly conservative. You won’t see any body bearing pinup fashions here, but you will fine staples appropriate for the office as well as patterned tops and swimwear.

Fashion Tips for Sizes 3x and Up:

• Go up a size if the bust, waist or hips are too large for the garment measurements, even if the garment fits perfectly elsewhere. Take the garment in an inch or two at the areas of smaller measurement to avoid volumes of extra fabric. If it is the right measurements but the button pulls very slightly in the bust and the darts don’t lay at the right spot, the brassiere could be the wrong size rather than the shirt

• Plus size tunics are more forgiving in the bust and stomach. To carry off the look without looking like you are wearing a tent, the sleeves must be tailored to fit. Hem up cuffs, move a button, or even take the garment in at the shoulder seam. A detailed collar such as a mandarin collar often flatters more than a wide round neckline.

• Horizontal stripes are universally shunned, although a thin pinstripe that does not appear until the viewer is close does not distort the body. A bold woman can pull off wide bold stripes if it absolutely fits a flamboyant personality, but not on top AND bottom…that goes for anyone of any size.

• Even if you are plus sized, don’t fool yourself that you don’t have a basic body shape. Not all plus size women are apple shaped. Follow other fit recommendations for hourglass, apple or pear figures and look for those cuts. A tunic that hangs from the bust may equalize an apple figure or a very straight figure, but does not flatter an hourglass-shaped woman. To create shape, creatively use layers or belts or choose garments with a tailored waist.

Bags That Don’t Eat Meat?

(At left: Messenger Bag? “Murse”?  Either way, if it’s leather, it is apparently not “vegan.” Even if it was vegan-approved, I would not eat it either way.)

Merchants of vintage and brand-spanking newly manufactured ladies handbags and men’s valises have used the term “vegan” to describe a satchel for some time now. Actually, if I could be so bold as to say that it started with small online sellers and was adopted by the big guns later, but I have no documented proof. It is just a foggy recollection.  So…what IS this “vegan purse” thing now that some of you are scrambling around for that perfect gift for the gal in your life? Okay, I guess there are some guys who carry messenger bags that some would refer to as a “Murse,” or “Manbag,” but for those of you who do, you probably won’t get one for Christmas because you already have one and its really hard to pin a murse-less male down if he really wants to clean out his pockets and do so. If you peg wrong, it could be anywhere form offensive to pulled out only on airline travels to collecting dust.  I digress.

Apparently, a “Vegan” bag contains no animal byproducts, such as leather, fur, bone or whale baleen. In fact, it goes as far as to not contain any animal products that don’t harm the animal to take, such as wool, angora (which is sort of like wool), shedded peacock feathers and any chemical made with eggs as an ingredient. Before we get into a debate about unborn baby chickens, if the eggs are not fertilized, there is no baby chicken in there.  Chickens lay eggs regardless of a rooster being present. It takes two to put a chicken in the oven…I mean…a bun in the oven.  So, in other words, it could be a PVC purse, otherwise affectionately known as “pleather.” Somehow “leatherette” doesn’t seem to have surfaced since 1983. It could also consist of cotton, bamboo fiber, hard plastic, rubber or the like. Now, even though many link “vegan” to “environmentalist,” many vegan bags contain highly manufactured materials to avoid wool and leather.

The term that is new to me in personal accessories that carry stuff is “vegetarian.”  How can there be a vegetarian handbag or suitcase? They don’t eat. Unless they really do, when they go bump in the night. Or maybe they get filled with bed bugs and they walk across the floor themselves just like ants may carry a branch together. Eww.  That’s unpleasant like the amount of spackle that went into Jack Lord’s hair. “Vegetarian” bags do not contain leather, but they can contain any form of wool. If any bag-making material had dairy products in it, which I challenge you to find, they could have that too.

So, if the gal (we would suppose it was a gal) on your list is vegan or vegetarian, do some investigation and see if it extends to her accessory choices. Some folks are vegetarian of vegan due to health or food sensitivities and wear leather shoes, etcetera, but some may not. Hopefully, your recipient will be gracious. And doesn’t eat it.

Gifts for Her: NARS Cosmetics (Splurge)

A sale was held after the estate clean out of a town socialite. Back in her day, she was always in the press for her role as patron of the arts and many charities. Since she paraded around a small Southern town, her name was never quite on the lips of the New York social set. Specific possessions were sold, at her request, to benefit her favorite cause. Several ladies, and men who purchased gifts for ladies sifted through the Avon bottles and glass perfume applicators and asked if there might be leftovers of “Haughty Lillies” or “Sundrenched Shoulders.” While the tubes of art deco lipsticks might be collectible in their own right for their brass cases, they were purely looking for the contents to smear on their Lipgloss, well past the recommended pitch date for lip stains.

I wonder what women and makeup designers will search for in 30 years, hoping for a glimpse of their old favorite color, which might have long congealed in their containers.  More so, I wonder what cosmetics today will be sought after tomorrow.

If you are looking for a high end makeup gift for a lady on your list, the offerings of Francois Nars comes to mind. He is responsible for many editorial looks in Richard Avedon’s photos, as well as in the pages of Vogue.  Most famously, he makes up Kate Moss, and in the 90s, Madonna. For the holiday season, the Bento Box lip set was introduced. It takes the concept quite literally, pairing a rectangular box with a chopstick-like applicator and two soup-bowl-like lip pots, shown above and below. In the $125 range, it may not exactly be a modest stocking stuffer, but it may have collectible appeal in some future age.  Too steep?  Nars also has individual Lip Lacquer colors for $24, with colors such as Diablo (A Spicy Red), Sweet Charity (pale lilac), Hit Wired (hot pink) and Chelsea Girls.

Buy the products on the NARS company website, or select retailers, such as Saks and Sephora.

What do you think? Future cosmetic collectible? Worthy splurge? Or Needless Luxury?

A “Let’s Not Think About The Holidays Yet” Sale at Liz Claiborne

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Liz Claiborne New York Outlets. All opinions are 100% mine.

(At left, a young Liz Claiborne in 1949)

Before her name was seen at TJ Maxx, Liz Claiborne was quite the high-end gal. According to the Vintage Fashion Guild label resource, she started her career sketching for Tina Leser, and later, behind Anne Fogarty, she was the most well-known designers to have designed under the Youth Guild label. She designed classic, but youthful, clothing in the 60s and 70s before ascending to fashion fame with her own design house in 1976. Now, not only is the name associated with runway fashions, but it has been lent to countless ready to wear and department store lines. While Ms. Claiborne passed away in 2007, her name and conglomerate live on.

Recently, I was surprised that Mexx (“metropolitan” clothing for gals and guys) and Kate Spade were a part of this empire. One learns something new every day.

There is in fact, a chain of outlet stores, Liz Claiborne New York Outlets, that carries items from the, of course, Liz Claiborne New York label. Shoppers right now can pick up fall fashions at 40% off and “differently seasoned” items at up to 70% off. From the looks of the website, the bread and butter of the line and the sore features classic basics, such as buttoned-down oxfords, foundations, flat-front slacks and suits for women. No word on whether the occasional men’s item pops in.   This is a prime opportunity to pick up a gift with tried and true style for a birthday or for Christmas.  The gals in your life will thank you.

I will not tell you how many days there are until Christmas, because I don’t want to get a quick swat of a cane or slap of a gauntlet.

Ladies and Characters: End the Color Rut

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of BH Cosmetics. All opinions are 100% mine.

Depending on how you look at it, the VintageGent-ette prefers old classic favorites or gets into a rut when it comes to cosmetics.

“I had an incident as a teenager. I somehow thought that my complexion and hair color mimicked the jet haired porcelain combination of Liz Taylor, but I was a little off. I blame the Clarion computer for allowing me to ’self assess’ my hair and skin color. The truth is, I wanted purple lipstick.

After that major fashion incident, not realized until photos were taken with me made up like this, I was afraid to try color again, hence the five years of milking a tube of Raisin colored lipstick from the makeup counter at Penneys. It was a sort of ‘just darker than my natural lip color’ color that you would think I didn’t have any lipstick on. After I milked that tube for five years, they discontinued it, and I went through a red lipstick/black eyeliner Hollywood starlet phase. But then again, you have to have the ‘right red.’

Now, I am hesitant to try new colors of lipstick and eyeshadow because of the money you have to sink into it. If I change my look, I am $40 in the hole once you add the lip pencils, eye pencils and then I might not even like it. Of course, that’s only at the drug store. At the makeup counter, that could be $200 so I better darn well like it. I don’t mind spending money if I like it…but how will I know? The store lighting is so different.”

BH cosmetics has full palates of 120 and 88 eyeshadow colors, plus a lip color collection as well. For under $30, all sorts of looks can be experimented with to settle on a signature color or to change looks from day to night to costume ball. The lip palates are under $20.00, incidentally. They are highly pigmented, so a little goes a very long way.  This also works well if you happen to work in the theater and need to help costume actors.  Of course, use a disposable applicators after each dunk in the makeup, or if its a long run, you may want to consider getting a palette for each of the female or principals or magical characters, such as fairies and woodsprites and alien beings regardless of gender that may need their share of blue and green eyeshadow to bring out their gills.

A Good Source for Replacement Beads

Recently, we found a treasure trove of my great aunt’s costume jewelry.  It was never really “lost.”  It has been sitting in a trunk in my parent’s garage for the past ten years unbeknownst to all of us.  When she and my great uncle moved out of the family home, they downsized to a small cottage, sending a trunk load of family memorabilia to my parent’s house for storage.  They have long passed on and the trunk remained undisturbed, until my parents made plans to move.

Some of the paste jewelry was destroyed by the humidity, but there were still semi-precious stone jewelry that is salvageable.  The only problem is that some of the toggles are missing and the thread is crispy. When I picked one up, a few beads were lost.

Since there are folks in the family who sell antiques or putter around with restoration, we thought it would be a good idea to look into Wholesale Beads & Gemstones. The beads and findings that I found at Beadofcambay.com fit the bill. The jewelry that was salvageable wasn’t rhinestone, but contained some irregularly shaped stones. I didn’t know the proper “lingo” to describe them in an internet search. The site had pictures of each shaped to help me stumble through.

I learned the difference between oval and olive shaped beads. More importantly, I found some hexagon faceted smokey quartz beads that fit the bill.   In truth, I wouldn’t have been able to describe them to ask for them by name so the photos helped. Next time if you are looking, whether you are looking for sterling silver, or semi-precious gem beads, the site is definitely worth a visit.  Discounts range up to 30%, so you can afford the process of trial and error.

My advice would be to document any repairs or replaced beads, just in case there are any questions in the future.  It also reminds you when things were done. My memory can be as crispy as the thread was, so that would be key.  The nice thing is that instead of being socked away in the drawer, family members get to wear it.

I have an idea.  Buy a necklace for your sweetheart, and then buy a number of similar beads at Beads Of Cambay.  Scatter them about the table and say, “See, I made it all by myself for you!”

Personal Online Shoe Boutique Even For The Weird

Sometimes, its hard to search for shoes because the internet and some shoe sites tend to organize their wares in a very literal way. You can search for the parts, such as color and heel style. What if you are wanting to search for the sum of the parts? Most of the search features won’t look at the heel and straps and decide something is a gladiator sandal. You will be sifting through rows and pages and rows and pages for something that meets your subjective criteria.

While they haven’t expanded to men’s shoes yet, there is an easier answer for ladies shoes. MustHaveShoes is set up in a most interesting way. The front page does not assault you with color and widgets. It is just a search box with lists of popular searches. However, when you type in to the search box, your own custom shoe boutique emerges, with a banner that relates thematically to what you have chosen, plus photos of all the applicable shoes that you can arrange in several different ways. I have searched peeptoe pump, European, yellow cork wedge and I have found many styles exactly tailored to what I searched for. Just for the heck of it, I typed “weird” in the box just to see how subjective it could be.

I was a little surprised that my “just for the heck of it” search came up with results.   There are only limited sizes available.   Wouldn’t it be funny if these were an undiscovered style and by Monday they were all snapped up by readers for some reason?   I have not seen anything like them, that’s for sure. Of course, I am sure that the system searches a number of tags and is not really passing its own judgment on footwear, whether it is weird, sexy, cute, or busy.  Yes, you will find results for all of those adjectives too.

My cousin was talking with her boyfriend when they first met, saying that she thinks flowers are so impractical.  Why don’t people send people something useful, like shoes, instead?  Wouldn’t you know that when she arrived at work one day, a delivery came.  It was a shoebox that read, “Hope you enjoy your flowers,” with a pair of shoes, of course, inside.  By the way, the two of them have been married for over twelve years now.

Wanted: YouTube Subscribers. Bounty: $300 Gift Certificate

Remember the club shirts that I posted that said “I Love My Boyfriend” and “I Love My Hubby?” I thought they served two purposes. It is very sweet for ladies to wear them to let the world know about their feelings. It certainly also helps out the guys at the club, so they can avoid rejection and avoid the gals that are definitely not into them and are just out to have a good time. AMI ClubWear, the online store that offers the shirts, is looking for subscribers on YouTube. In fact, they want you to join so much that they are offering you a chance to win a $300 gift certificate for you or your gal!

There are official contest rules. The most important part is that the contest begins at 12:01 a.m. EST on May 28, 2009 and ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on June 24, 2009. Although you may, of course, subscribe after that period, you will not be entered into the contest. No one will be notified that their entry is received. Rather, the winner will be notified within three days after the entry period of the contest via email. Also, before I forget: You must be a legal resident of the United States, and be 18 years old or older. International subscribers are most welcome, but you will be ineligible to win.

What would you do with the $300? Certainly, you wouldn’t take a fur coat to Las Vegas like this young lady thought:

Have fun, and check out the AMIClubwear YouTube channel to toss your name in the hat. If you don’t enter, you can’t win!

Undiscovered Talent from Around the Planet

When I see clothing shown on the runway, I always wonder where I can get them.  More particularly, I wonder where one can get the clothing that is shown on runways more than just in Paris.  There have been shows that I have seen on YouTube from Russia and Japan that had some very intriguing clothing.  While many readers like to wear head to toe vintage clothing, others are concerned with supporting emerging talent.  It just seems to take awhile for things to trickle down, if they ever do.

PlanetTogs seems to bridge the gap nicely. While many buyers and magazines are at Fashion Week, they are looking at what is going on in Brazil, and even Riga Fashion Week in Latvia. Often, the website is the only way to obtain the items within the United States, and sometimes the world.

The price points vary widely, but they are much lower than many high fashion items from Paris designers, partly because of the name recognition.   There are many undiscovered designers that are creating things that are very different from what you would see in mainstream magazines.  At left is a denim skirt from an Australian designer, Pizzuto.  It is priced within reach at $124.00.  There are also items from designers from Serbia, Brazil, Singapore, Spain, and more.

All of the items are made within the country of their designer.  So, when you order an item from a Spanish designer, you will not receive an item made in China.  Often, designers use fabrics and raw materials that are locally sourced, and so are the garment makers.  You can be sure that you are supporting a designer’s creative team with your purchase.

Right now, the ladies have all the fun. Perhaps some day they will offer things for men as well.  In the meantime, ladies can sure to find items that no one else will show up to the party in, and you can feel confident that you can give a unique gift.

Latest Ladies Clubwear for Hot Summer Nights

The last time I went to a bona fide nightclub, rather than another type of nightspot like a piano lounge or a blues club, it was forever ago. You could see everyone there from the folks who apparently just rolled out of bed, to those in satin shirts, and those who look like they were wearing their bathing suits. In just a couple years, what one wore to a dance club ended up being worn day to day on the streets. I stopped going because it was less about people watching and the music and more about people having the excuse to be unruly, and you didn’t care who saw you.

I guess I am in need of an update! The virtual racks of AMI Clubwear has what women are wearing to clubs nowadays. The look, for the most part is “fun summer dress” rather than the “underwear on the outside” look that was big in the 90s.  Of course, there are microshort dresses, but there are also fun items for the gal that is not comfortable showing a lot of skin, but still is looking for something fun and body conscious.   The shirt, at left, made me smile.  They have the “I Love My Hubby” and “I Love My Boyfriend” shirt in a variety of colors, all with a sparkly L-O-V-E.   It says, “Hey, I am confident, I am out to have fun watching the band, but don’t ask for my number.  Ask for my girlfriend’s.”  I personally think that it is very sweet.  No hurt feelings, and that must be one special dude!

They also have a babydoll trench coat to offer.  In fact, they have several styles.  What is a babydoll trench coat?  It features the great buttons and ties that a trench style coat has.  Only, it is a shorter length to better match outfits that may feature leggings, or a microshort skirt.  It is also a lot less bulky and fits on the back of your chair without everyone stepping all over it.  This hasn’t been scientifically tested, but I know from experience that in close quarters, people aren’t always kind to long coats.  Coat checks aren’tde rigueur like they used to be, except at special events for the most part.

Like many companies that have their finger on the pulse on what is hot now, AMI is in Twitter.  You can follow them @Amiclubwear, if you would like all the latest updates.  I checked them out, and they tweet about items as they add them as well as fashion trends.  They were recently featured in Seventeen for prom accessories, according to yesterday’s tweet.

Now, they just need to school the guys on the showing up to a club in hospital scrubs.  You may think that being a doctor, or nurse tells girls you have money, but who wants a gold digger?  More so, who comes near anyone who smells like anesthetic and bandages?  Go home, take a shower, and change.  Maybe AMI will come out with men’s clothing soon too.

Ladies Can Nail It Safer These Days

Nail polish has been around, experts say, for 3,000 years.  The original formula contained a base of gum arabic, egg whites, gelatin, and beeswax. Ladies would dip their hands in for hours.  The modern concept of nail polish, however, emerged in the 1920s, inspired by the new lacquers that came out in the auto industry, so women started painting their nails instead of staining them.

I shouldn’t say just women. Some punk rockers adopted wearing black nail polish for men on occasion.  Then again, the Max Factor corporation probably didn’t have that quite in their vision.  Nor did they probably imagine I would use some in the ninth grade to write my initials on the back of my scientific calculator so none of my classmates would accidentally walk away with it.  I think it was some sort of color between pink and plum. Plum colored eyeshadow was big then. So was the Clarion computer.  Well, that might not have been “big” but it was something that you could turn the dials of at the store if you were bored.

I met a man who was repulsed by the use of nail polish on his lady’s hands and discouraged her from using them. I never understood what the aversion was, unless her nails were so rediculously long and had such ornamentation that it was almost like a handicap, preventing her from tending to her daily life for fear of marring them. However, they weren’t like that. Hmmm….

In the past decade or so, the practice of women wearing nail polish has ebbed and flowed. The new trend has been having makers look for more ways to create nail polish without formaldehyde and other not so appealing ingredients that vintage ladies had to live with.  It may be okay at Maaco, but not on the human body.  The Olan brand, at left in cosmopolitan red, is one such offering on the Hello Gorgeous! website that lets a gal browse from the comfort of home (or I should also say “person who wants to put their initials on their calculator regardless of gender”).  I think Rita Hayworth, the original red nail trendsetter, and Uma Thurman, who influenced women again in the 90s, would have approved of the hue.

Men! Guard Your Vests

Guys, guard your vests!  The ladyfolk are after them! We have not seen the likes of this than circa 1988-1990 when the clothing makers were cranking out satin backed vets with floral tapestries. Of course, there were form fitting vests issued with some ladies pantsuits later on, in the 1990s, but they matched the fabric of the outfit and were meant to be a “versatile seperate” than a standout piece.

For fall and winter, “They” are saying the vest is back for women. I believe them, as I saw a few at an outlet store I went to recently. They had the little ring in the back where you could cinch it in, and were….you guessed it….tapestry! At first I thought they had just unpacked a forgotten box from twenty years ago, but it was by a label that I don’t think I saw back in the day.What does this mean?

Pay attention to the racks at the vintage stores to snag the matching vest to a suit if it got seperated before any ladyfolks get it ahead of you.   You may also see vests being sold at a higher premium.   In truth, sometimes a classic suit is in tatters and the only saving gtace is the vest.  In that way, it is good that it is being appreciated seperately.   The downside is that it may mimic the great Blazer Seperation of 2004-5, where skirts and pants were abandoned because everyone just wore the blazer.It is definitely a jungle out there.  Be fashionable, but be careful!

Made in the USA: Funky Maternity Clothes

Periodically, I get questions posed to me about how readers like to buy vintage and antique clothing, but for everyday basics, they prefer to purchase items that are made in the United States. Sometimes it is hard to find everything you need that fits that criteria. The ones that have it the toughest may be people that cannot fudge so much on the size. For example, there is specialty clothing out there, such as orthotics for shoes and maternity clothing.  Sure, you can purchase very large sweatshirts for your wife or sister who is pregnant, but she can’t exactly wear them to a special occasion, or wear them to work if she is working through some of her pregnancy.

There is actually a company named Due Maternity who has a wide range of items, all made in the USA.  There are many psychedelic and funky patterns that are groovy enough for the slightly retro gal.   There is also something called the bella band which allows women to wear some of their existing pants that they just need to loosen the button on. It covers the waist area and smooths out and covers any undone buttons or zippers and supports the stomach as well.   It is not something I would have ever thought was a consideration, and I have never heard of it, but it sounds like a real economical idea to get the most out of their clothes.

Something for the Ladies: Denim Sale!

If you are have a teenage girl or trendy petite gal in your life, Heavenly Couture is having a denim sale. They specialize in teen clothes and seem to really know what is trendy at the moment. There are some Cheap Jeans prices of only $13.80 site wide. It is hard to find discount clothes that are not made in China, and they only offer items from North America.

Buying jeans for a gal is a sensitive topic.  It is a difficult thing to do unless someone directs you to the cut and color they want.   There are so many magazine articles that discuss what cut is right for a figure shape, but even that makes it a guessing game.  As far as the cuts that are in style, everything from flared to straight leg are available.  Stove pipe, boot cut, slit front, and more.   Luckily, Get Heavenly has a return policy so if it isn’t right, you can exchange it if it has not been worn (aside from a quick try on) and has the original tags attached.

It seems that the denim finish with the streaks and the brown undertones has now fallen by the wayside but it is still available.  Some called this the “fallen off a horse and dragged in the mud look.” The official term is “dirty wash.” There are still lots of other shaded finishes, and different washes, but there are more solid colors like “dark denim” (dark indigo), white, and turquiose.

Looks are Deceiving

Okay ladies, here is a question for you:

What do you think about the dress on the left?  How would you describe it?  It seems to me to be a very trendy selection for the rest of the summer.   The straps are wide enough to not suffer from tacky bra strap syndrome.  The vertical stripes are elongating without making a woman look like a retractable awning or an inmate.    The colors sort of harken back to tribal designs or the tiki era.

Would you BELIEVE that this is a maternity dress?  No way?  Yes way!   Maternity clothes have definitely come a long way from my mom’s photoprint “seagulls on a sunset” ruched blouse with navy rickrack trim!

Kiki’s Fashions has maternity clothes starting at $9.99. There is an offer of free shipping over $75 (coupon code: freeship). I usually advocate finding historical clothing, but finding authentic maternity clothing in any particular size is usually a big challenge as they were typically handed down and worn to threads. Just ask my aunts who all wore the seagull outfit in the early 70s.