Fun, frugal fashion: Mix highbrow with bargains

Back in 1998, actress Sharon Stone made waves when she wore her then-husband's white shirt to the Oscars. Of course, she paired it with a sumptuous silk, lavender Vera Wang skirt.

That was high/low dressing at its best.

These days, flip through the fashion mags and you'll no doubt come across more than one A-list actress in a dress you could find at low-price fashion mecca H&M - but paired with sky-high, sky-priced Christian Louboutins.

That idea of pairing a single, expensive designer piece with secondhand steals or discount deals makes smart fashion sense for anyone, whether you're a starving student or a highly paid actress.

We asked local stylists to hit the racks - of boutiques, thrift shops and mass-market retailers - to put together outfits centered around a pricier, designer item that instantly elevates the inexpensive accessories and pieces worn with it.

YEKATHERINA BRUNER'S PICK

1950s micro-check "secretary" suit, $140 at Black Cat Vintage.

• Why: "What I liked about this suit is it's short sleeved, so I love it because it's perfect for Tucson. It's very classic, and when you have classic pieces like this, they are going to be timeless."

Black Cat Vintage

232-2101

Owner Claudine Villardito is based in Tucson and sells through her e-commerce site, www.blackcatvintage.com . Her shop's filled with clothes (even wedding dresses), accessories and shoes from days gone by - and there's stuff for dudes, too.

NATASHA RAO'S PICK

Kooba "Rose" handbag, $295 at W Boutique in St. Philip's Plaza.

• Why: "When you have a handbag of good quality, it just brings everything else up. You look very chic and pulled together."

Rao loved the straw-and-leather bag's classic, neutral color, too. "It's versatile. The gray is great."

W Boutique

4340 N. Campbell Ave. in St. Philip's Plaza, 577-3470; and 7049 N. Oracle Road in Casas Adobes Plaza, 877-8790.

Both spots feature everything from fancy duds to kick-around-on-the-weekend clothes, but each offers different lines. The Campbell location carries Alice + Olivia and J Brand as well as comfy cotton brand Michael Stars. That boutique carries shoes, too. Over on Oracle, you'll find sumptuous knits by Velvet and iconic Diane von Furstenberg. Both spots have jewelry and accessories.

1950s Clothing Styles - News


Fun, frugal fashion: Mix highbrow with bargains

Model Bailey Milbauer checks her look in a 1950s Stratton dead stock makeup and perfume compact from Black Cat Vintage. The short-sleeved jacket is half of a vintage suit from Black Cat. The jeans and accessories are from Target.



Exhibit reveals Pam Glover's lesser-known work -- clothing design

The fashion illustrations, from Glover's work in Australia and in California during the 1950s, were underneath, inaccessible since 1973. The drawings, in decisive, black strokes, demonstrate her mastery of line and instantly capture the couture style



Michael Caine in Get Carter: Killer Suit
Michael Caine in Get Carter: Killer Suit

Dormeuil tonik mohair was popular during the late 1950s and throughout the 60's, in particular with the Mod crowd. Dormeuil (House of Dormeuil) actually coined the term 'tonik' in 1958. They sold this luxury cloth in an astonishing 20 oz per square



Go, See, Do for July 22

VINTAGE CLOTHING SALE: The costume shop at Twin City Stage will have a vintage clothing sale from 8 am to 2 pm, Saturday in the lobby of the Arts Council Theatre, 610 Coliseum Drive. Women's and children's vintage clothing from the 1950s,'60s and'70s,



Interview: Shaun White Talks New Target Collection, "Friends With Benefits ...
Interview: Shaun White Talks New Target Collection, "Friends With Benefits ...

When you think of Target, some people think 1950s mom, like super safe. We can't do that. We actually spent a lot of time just pushing and what's great is that they're open to it. Shaun: When we talked about skinny denim their heads almost exploded.




50 Style Clothing – Elegant Innocence

50s Style clothing remains an inspiration, even though the bloom time for most of these elements is long gone wardrobe. It is a quality that many innocent '50s fashion, to affect a large number of fans continue and it is doubtful that the clothing since 1950 may never completely out of fashion.

Some of the influences that have marked the 50s style clothing "Peddle Pusher 'pants

Jackets, coats, skirts and sweaters embroidered designs is often present. Monograms began as a drawing on collars and pockets of the clothing style of the 50s popular, and decorative buttons were often used to add furtherpersonality to these garments.

Although there were some A-line skirts seen during the 50s the fashion rage was more involved with pleated, circle and gathered skirt designs. A classic look from the 1950s is a circle skirt with a poodle appliqué.

For men the 50s clothes involved suits that had a more streamlined silhouette. Greys and blues were popular color choices. Even the neckties began to show slimmer lines and many of the men’s ties were very plain, with only a tie-clip to add decoration. Pink shirts for men were a definite fashion faux pas as far as most 1950s males were concerned.

Dungarees were the predecessor to today’s jeans and during the 1950s this ubiquitous wardrobe item was beginning to show up in the closets of both males and females.

Hawaiian print shirts were another must have items for any well dressed man of the 50s. Today many of these shirts have become items that are eagerly sought by those who collect vintage Mode.

50s style clothing in the changes over time and soon the balloon skirts, shoes and Mary Jane Strapless dresses gave way to new fashion ideas. Started at the end of the 50s-era clothing, a subject new junction formed a new sense of personal freedom and was driven self-fulfillment for both sexes.


1950s Clothing Styles - Bookshelf

Survey of historic costume, a history of Western dress

Survey of historic costume, a history of Western dress

Customers came to know and look for the clothing produced by individual designers whose styles they preferred. In Italy after World War II, Rome, Florence, ...

Changing clothes in China, fashion, history, nation

Changing clothes in China, fashion, history, nation

... a remnant tradition than on contemporary shifts in clothing styles.4 In 1958 , ... 7 See Antonia Finnane, "Yu Feng and the 1950s Dress Reform Campaign: ...

Chinese Dress, From the Qing Dynasty to the Present

Chinese Dress, From the Qing Dynasty to the Present

447 Clothing Styles Though later there would be drastic changes in ... For a time in the 1950s, when Soviet fashion was popular, some left-wing women and ...

Analyzing cultures, an introduction and handbook

Analyzing cultures, an introduction and handbook

Outside the Western world, however, clothing styles continue to be anchored in ... Until the early 1950s, females in Western culture rarely wore pants. ...

The American Past: A Survey of American History

The American Past: A Survey of American History

By the end of the 1950s, clothing manufacture was (by some criteria) the third ... fall of France and able to come up only with variations on prewar styles. ...

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