Vintage Finds of the Week: Mad Men Secretary Accessories

In honor of the new season of Mad Men (starting this weekend!) I thought it would be fun to find some vintage accessories fit for a 1960's secretary. Here we go:

Practice your typing skills!

Vintage 1962 Textbook; 20th Century Typewriting-$12.95-Virginia Jane

Perfect for your desk!

Flip Down Speed Read Electric Clock-$40-vintagebutterfly94

Spend your weekends making an abundence of pencil skirts.

The Perfect Pencil Skirt c. 1962 Pattern McCalls 6441-$5-rickrackshack

Perfect for under those snug cardigans!
Mad Men Vintage Bullet Bra-$12-lemonsqueezie

Add a little sparkle to your day!

Vintage Earrings Large Rhinestone Flowers-$12-designarchives

Fashionable History: Swim Wear By Decade-1970's

In the 1970's, swim wear is all about being sexy. Sheer suits are introduced as well as the thong. String bikinis also become very popular. The best photos I could find to showcase this come from Sports Illustrated. The SI Vault has a great selection of some of their best shots and models. Here's a few:

Cheryl Tiegs in a sheer suit.

Monique Moura de Carvalho in a string bikini. This is a beautiful photo.

Christie Brinkley in a sweet and sexy one piece.

Christie Brinkley in a thong bikini.

Newly Listed This Week!

I managed to get three vintage sewing patterns from the 1960's listed in my Etsy shop Femme Fatale Vintage this past week. One sold right away! Here are the other two that are still available. Click on the photo to go to the listing.

1962 McCalls Suit Pattern. Very Mad Men!

1960's Butterick Mary Quant Dress Pattern!

Weekend Reading: Links a la Mode

Feminine Mystique

Edited by Debutante Clothing
The caliber of blog posts amongst the IFB members never ceases to amaze me. We run the gamut of style and fashion here. This week’s picks definitely appeal to the dueling femmes in me – the old fashioned gal and the powerful feminist. The debutante in me loved all the lovely posts about pearls including modern choices from Fashion Hippo, as well as the history of Mikimoto pearls by Fabulous Finds Gal. But nothing makes me clutch my pearls more than affordable Chanel looks by HiFashion. The feminist in me was thrilled to see smart posts about smart girls and smart fashion. Threadbared talks about academia and fashion, while 39th and Broadway explores the continuing inequality even within such a female driven industry like fashion. Enjoy!

Links à la Mode : August 6th

• 39th and Broadway: – Women are the backbone of the fashion industry, yet inequality reins supreme


• A Few Goody Gumdrops: – lets out her inner rockstar with Alexander McQueen’s Skull Knuckle Duster Whipsnake Clutch in Red! To-Die-For!


• A typical Atypical: – The Phenomena of “The Sale”


• Debutante Clothing: – contributes back to school style for “Hot for Teacher” at Style Sample Magazine


• Dramatis Personae: – reviews the B&Lu Femme Dress.


• Fabulous Finds and Co. – Mikimoto Pearls – The Story Behind The Cadillac Of Pearls.


• Fashion Hippo: – Modern Pearl Necklaces that aren’t your grandma’s pearls


• Fashion Talk by Lovely Lovisa: – I am the Resurrection


• fête à fête: – Get plumper lips with Givenchy Le Makeup’s new Gloss Interdit collection. Also, lip gloss giveaway to three lucky readers!


• Hi Fashion – Coco avant Chanel – how to get the Chanel look for less


• Individual Chic: – What makes a good ballet flat


• Retro Chick: – Iconic British Union Jack style.


• The Capitol Fashionista – Arise Magazine – the magazine that keeps you informed about what’s happening in Africa and around the globe.


• The Coveted: – Review of the New Bobbi Brown Nude Collection with Video Tutorial


• The Demoiselles: – Elle gets bombarded with subversive, negative advertising by Estee Lauder, and decides to take action.


• The Fashion Planner: – shows you how to build your back to school wardrobe


• The Recessionista: – Happy 80th to Jackie and Mad Men’s Casting Call for that 60’s look


• Threadbared: – Pondering the mutual near-exclusivity of academic fashion studies and style blogs


• Unfunded: – unveils Creative Recreation’s new women’s line.


• Work Chic: – get 10% off Fit in Clouds foldable flats

Mid-Week Inspiration: Vanity Fair's "Ain't We Got Style"

I gasped with excitement when I opened my August issue of Vanity Fair. The clever stylists recreated scenes from seven Depression classic movies, with young fresh Hollywood faces in designer clothes. The images are amazing in their own right and the homage to Hollywood and the 3o's, both glamorous and down on it's luck is spot on. Here are four of the seven images.

It Happened One Night. One of my favorite movies. Here James Marsden is Clark Gable and Rose Byrne is Claudette Colbert. Photographed by Michael Roberts.

42nd Street. I love the outfits in this one, from the tap dancer's flimsy shorts and bobby sox to the vamps on the right in their pencil skirts and seamed hosiery. Photographed by Norman Jean Roy.

Letty Lynton. What's not to love here? Mila Kunis in Joan Crawford's role in that Givenchy dress! The original Letty Lynton dress by Adrian was hit and sold over 500,000 copies.
Not to shabby for the Depression. Photographed by Mark Seliger.

My Man Godfrey. Channing Tatum as William Powell in Armani, and Amanda Seyfried as Carole Lombard in Galliano. Photographed by Norman Jean Roy.

Vintage Finds of the Week: Lace Trim

I've got some new project ideas in mind and have been compiling a list of trims I need. With a little searching on Etsy I have found some beautiful vintage lace trims for this week's vintage finds. I can't believe I am not hoarding them all for myself! Take a look:

6 Yards of Vintage Mint Green Lace Panel- $18-little red mercantile

Vintage Lingerie Lace in Three Colors-$5-Trumperies

3 Yards Beautiful Vintage English Cotton Lace-$4-My Sweet Wren


Vintage White and Blue Floral Lace Trim-$5-Zaama

Newly Listed This Week!

I have listed two wonderful vintage items from the 1960's to my Etsy shop, Femme Fatale Vintage this past week. Take a peek below and click on the photo to see the item listing!