Category: Vintage or Vintage Inspired

Esther Williams, Vintage Swim Wear and Aquatic Fun

07/082015

Esther Williams was a competitive swimmer and actress in the 1940’s through the 1950’s. As a teenager, she enjoyed going to the local pool so much that she took a job working counting towels to earn the entry fee. The male lifeguards took to giving her lessons and taught her the butterfly, which at the time was a “male only” stroke. (1) In 1940, she was part of the Olympic team going to Tokyo when WWII broke out, which cancelled the competitions and her dreams of international fame.

At the time the sport news took a lot of pictures of female swimmers and Esther was beautiful, tall and very athletic. Billy Rose spotted her and brought her to the audition for his Aquacade. Johnny Weissmuller, and Olympic gold medal swimmer and Tarzan star chose her out of seventy five women who had auditioned. That was the beginning of Williams’ career in synchronized swimming.

The Aquacade was a choreographed musical, and cast in its spectacular show were hundreds of swimmers, with diving scenes, lots of singing and all kinds of special effects with water and props for water sports. Williams was the featured Aquabelle female star, along with the Aquadonis male lead, Johnny Weissmueller.

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After that show was over, MGM made Williams an offer and she signed a contract to do films. She asked for two clauses in her contract. One was that she be given a pass to swim in The Beverly Hills Hotel pool, so that she could swim daily, and two that she “not appear on camera for nine months, to allow for acting, singing, dancing, and dictions lessons.” (2) Her film debut was with Mickey Rooney in 1942, in Andy Hardy’s Double life.

By 1944 MGM came up with new subgenre, aqua musicals. They built Williams a $250,000 swimming pool. “It had underwater windows, colored fountains and hydraulic lifts. (3) In 1944 Williams was cast as the leading actress with Red Skelton in Mr. Coed. Halfway through the filming, the name of the movie was changed to Bathing Beauty, which left Skelton as the supporting lead. The movie was the second most successful film of 1944, with Gone with the Wind in the lead. In the 1949 movie Neptune’s Daughter, Williams co-starred with Ricardo Montalban. Together they sang “Baby its Cold Outside.” The song won the Academy Award for the Best Original Song at the 22nd Academy Award.” (4)

By the mid 1940’s, the MGM musicals were well known, and popular worldwide. Between the early 1940’s and the late 1950’s Esther was in 26 films, most of which were for MGM, except for the last few. She was a box office hit; once she spotted fourteen magazines on the same day at a newsstand with her photo on the cover. In 1952, Williams starred in Million Dollar Mermaid, which ended up becoming her nickname for the remainder of the time she was at MGM. In 1960, Williams was in an aqua-special, Esther Williams at Cypress Gardens. In 1966, she was “inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.” (5)

Williams was married four times. Her first husband, Leonard Kovner, she met while she was in college. They divorced in 1944. She had three children with her second husband, Ben Gage, whom she married in 1945. She was quoted as saying “There I was, diving off platforms with Ben in Neptune’s Daughter, going underwater in silver lame with Kim in Pagan Love Song and learning how to water ski with Susie in Easy to Love…and somehow I stayed a size 10 through it all.” (6) Her third husband, Fernando Lamas, preferred that she not appear in movies after their marriage. They remained together until his death in 1982. She later married Edward Bell in 1994.

Esther Williams also had a mind for business. If you like vintage inspired swimwear you could actually buy an Esther Williams designed swimsuit.   She was quoted as saying “I put you in a suit that contains you and you will swim in it. I don’t want you in two Dixie cups and a fish line.”(7) One can buy Esther Williams paper dolls on her website, which is: http://esther-williams.com/

Her name was used as a namesake for a line of swimming pools and swimming pool accessories, along with Johnny Weissmueller, whom she began her career with. She became involved in teaching parents how to teach their children to swim, with her video line Swim, Baby, Swim. She also co-wrote, along with author Digby Diehl, her autobiography The Million Dollar Mermaid.   She met her fourth husband, Edward Bell, when he called her to schedule her appearance “as a commentator for synchronized swimming at the 1984 Summer Olympics (8).

Williams died at ninety one of natural causes. The Hollywood Walk of Fame bears a star at 1560 Vine Street, for her contribution to the film industry. She was an inspiration to many; and the whole sport of swimming became more popular as a recreation due to her love for the water.

When I was a child I used to love Esther Williams movies. I found the synchronized swimming scenes thrilling. As an adult I still enjoy them, plus I like the spunky, playful character that Esther often played in her movies.  She often had the men in her life, in the movies, wondering where on earth they stood. Perhaps it was her quest to play hard to get. In Easy to Love she tried, and eventually succeeded in getting her manager to realize he was in love with her. Or in Neptune’s Daughter, perhaps she was possibly aiming to give herself time to figure out how she felt about the fella. She had originally thought that the Cuban soccer player, played by actor Richardo Montalban, was chasing her sister. Either way, she was charming, entertaining, stunning, and incredibly strong as a female athlete.

If you like vintage swim wear, Hawaiian shirts, dead stock and vintage sunglasses, and vintage wear I inserted a few pictures of summer-beach wear from David Owen’s Vintage Clothing shop. He has a lovely collection of vintage wear. The items are all further down the chain from mass produced items, as well as having a unique look.

The pictures of aquatic animals are from the New York Metro Transit System. They are at the Houston Street stop on the number 1 train, the downtown side. I took them awhile back and saved them for this post.

Whatever water sport you enjoy, I hope you enjoyed this post and are having a good time this summer. My favorite water sport here, in the city, is kayaking on the Hudson. It is free and sponsored by the Downtown Boathouse. I did go to Brighton Beach in Brooklyn recently for a swim and a stroll.

 

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Summer/Beach Wear Collection from

David Owen’s Vintage  Clothing

154 Orchard Street

New York, NY 10002

 

 

  1. “Swim Mark Shattered” Los Angeles Times. May 27, 1939. P.8, Pt.
  2. Williams 1999, p. 73.
  3. The New York Times, June 6th, 2013. P. 6
  4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Williams
  5. Sherrow 1996, p.333
  6. http://esther-williams.com/about-esther/
  7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Williams
  8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Williams

  All photos by Marilyn Lavender (except Flickr ones)  They lead to their source.  All written material by: © Marilyn Lavender, 2015.  “All Rights Reserved.”

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David Owen’s Vintage Clothing

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Grace Kelly A Slow Fashion Spring Inspiration

 

6 Essential Summer Accessories

07/012015

I can hardly believe it is July. Time has flown. I meant to get to this post awhile back but I have been super busy. These are just a few of the basic summer accessories, but these are ones that I consider kind of the basic essentials.

  1. A hat: Aside from shielding one’s face from the sun it helps protect your hair. Sunlight can be kind of harsh on hair. I also like to use a leave in conditioner to protect the hair sticking out of the hat. At my age I get brown spots from the sun, so I try to carry my hat with me whenever I can to help prevent getting more!
  2. Scarves: They brighten solid color outfits or blouses when wrapped around the shoulders or neck. There are days when I need to get dressed quickly and don’t have the time for an outfit that takes more time and effort to prepare. On those days (often after spending a lot of time on a post) I will wear a solid skirt or slacks, a solid blouse and a nice scarf. The floral scarf in this post was a gift from my daughter years ago. The blue with sunflowers scarf; I bought at David Owen’s Vintage shop.
  3. A shawl or large wrap scarf: Whether made of cotton, rayon or some other soft fabric. The train and buses are chilly; therefore I have seen countless ladies in NY armed with a wrap scarf. Anything from a rayon pashmina scarf that is so available from street vendors in NY to a nice Bavarian folk scarf, or in this post I wrapped myself with a sarong skirt fabric.
  4. Bracelets: All kinds of bracelets are fun. In the summer I particularly like charm bracelets since one doesn’t have to worry about them catching on thick winter sweaters. I made that charm bracelet of various silver charms. I also made the button bracelet and the tutti fruity one is one I made in the 1980’s. It has cute little lemon drop earrings to match!
  5. Obi belt: Mine was made by Wada Africa. At the moment that designer has moved to Japan and she doesn’t have obi belts in her shop. I inserted a post picture of one from the Etsy shop ThriftyUpenyu. I like obi belts for their array of color, and how one can immediately perk up a solid dress, or outfit by wearing it. So many women have a simple solid color t-shirt dress, or a lovely black solid outfit. I like to wear my obi belt year round as well.
  6. Earrings: Most of the time I still wear little post earrings, since those are my favorite. Summer is a time to break out the dangly and more bold, colorful earrings as well though. The bright lemons for instance, or air planes, are quirky and fun.  The fabric covered cloth earrings here are from Awoke Vintage in Willamsburg, Brooklyn, NY.

If you see a caption on the bottom of the photo, of a single item, that means it is from an Etsy shop.  If you click on them it should take you to the designer’s shop.

I put some emphasis on African print accessories here because I like them a lot. I think the various colors in the accessories are incredibly cheerful and that fun, playful aspect of summer is captured in the fabrics.

Hats

 Scarves

 

Shawl

  Obi belt

ThrfityUpenyu

  Earrings

ThriftyUpenyu

ThrftyUpenyu

 

Thriftyupenyu

Thriftyupenyu

 

Bracelets

Lovely extras:

 Sweater Clips

These are particularly fun if you like vintage, or vintage inspired clothing.  I bought mine from FoxgloveFawnlily on Etsy.  Next time I’d prefer to buy one that is smaller, however I like that this accessory brightens up my darker clothing, while giving it a more vintage look.

I hope that you are enjoying summer and getting outside for some fun activities!

FoxgloveFawnlily

FoxgloveFawnlily

 

foxglovefawnlily

FoxgloveFawnlily

 Cluth bag

ThrfityUpenyu

  Headband

ThrfityUpenyu

 

 All written material by: © Marilyn Lavender, 2015.  “All Rights Reserved.”

Aprons with Vintage Linens and “Granny Chic”

06/072015

I made these two aprons, for my daughter, Emily, using Tif’Fussell’s a ‘perfectly peach’ pinny recipe for making an apron from vintage and retro pieces. The only new things I bought, aside from thread, was ribbons since I didn’t have old sheets or other long pieces of fabric that I wanted to use for making the ties for the aprons. This “recipe,” as well numerous others for crafts projects or ideas for decorating your home in a lovely floral, or doily, “Granny Chic” style are available in the book, which was put together by Tif Fussell and her friend Rachelle Blondel. Both have a history of blogging, Rachel is still blogging. Tif is no longer blogging however one can view her older posts at: http://dottieangel.blogspot.com/ and Rachell’s still current blog is at: http://www.dockandnettle.com/  She also has her blog from at the time the book was written:http://talesoftedandagnes.blogspot.com/  I have found that looking through the old blog posts one often finds nice craft projects.

I was considering doing an entire post on this “Granny Chic” book; however it seems like it’d be easier to do various posts about some of the different projects as I go along. The book is great, by the way, especially for those who have a notion to be “crafty.” There are covered lamp shades you can create with floral fabrics, round pillows, bottles covered in fabric, these are just to name a few.  If you’d like a glimpse into Dottie Angel’s world you can go to Flickr and view her albums like Mossy Shed, which display photos of Tif Fussell’s lovely home and air streamer. I’d show you some pictures; however they are not available for download. You can view them at: https://www.flickr.com/search/?q=dottie+angel   I have spent an hour or two viewing these albums a few times since they are so inspiring!! The other good news is that Tif has a pattern coming out for her “Dottie Angel Frock” this month with Simplicity patterns. I am eager to buy it as soon as it comes out since her dresses are marvelously simple and beautiful.  I created a small gallery below, of a picture of the book and a few photos I took of the book, and some of its pictures inside.

The first apron I made was relatively simple to create; it is the orange and yellow one in this post. I used one side of a vintage pillowcase, added a vintage placemat, sewed down the center of the placemat to create large pockets and added some colorful ribbons to the top. Emily had just folded over the ribbons in the photos and I didn’t realize it! I used an old t-shirt’s orange lace for the lace.  I found the t- shirt at a clothing swap.  We all know I like to recycle things, find a new use for them.

The second apron was significantly more work, yet it was really fun to create it. I used a retro pillowcase my mother had embroidered years ago, a few pieces of vintage linens and some small pieces of fabric, or patches of embroidery to cover stains, or spots, where the fabric was wearing thin on the blue vintage piece in the center of the apron.  I was very pleased with the lovely collaged look of the final outcome of the project. I have a history of enjoying making collages so that part came naturally to me. The corner pieces in the apron that are patchwork quilted is from a fair in Pennsylvania, where I bought several of those squares for a low price from a quilter about thirty years ago.

The second apron was significantly more work, yet it was really fun to create it. I used a retro pillowcase my mother had embroidered years ago, a few pieces of vintage linens and some small pieces of fabric, or patches of embroidery to cover stains, or spots, where the fabric was wearing thin on the blue vintage piece in the center of the apron.  I was very pleased with the lovely collaged look of the final outcome of the project. I have a history of enjoying making collages so that part came naturally to me. The corner pieces in the apron that are patchwork quilted is from a fair in Pennsylvania, where I bought several of those squares for a low price from a quilter about thirty years ago.

I hope you enjoyed this post about making these lovely aprons. I certainly enjoyed making them, and Emily will enjoy having them. I want to make a couple for myself now! I need to go hunting for more vintage pieces to add to what I have!

 

  All photos by Marilyn Lavender.  All written material by: © Marilyn Lavender, 2015.  “All Rights Reserved.”

Grace Kelly, A Slow Fashion Spring Inspiration

05/112015

I have always found Grace Kelly’s beauty, style and poise very inspiring. When I was a child when we lived in Europe for five years, at some point we went to Monaco. Perhaps this is why I have always liked Kelly, and remembered her. I thought the French Rivera was absolutely stunning and so I was not likely to forget such a beautiful place, and the woman within the Palace of Monaco.

Grace Kelly was known for her natural beauty, her use of very little makeup, and her wholesome appeal.   She has remained a fashion icon through the years with museums displaying her wedding dress and wardrobe. The Victoria and Albert Museum of London, in 2010, held an exhibit referred to as: “Grace Kelly Style Icon.” They had fifty of her outfits on display. In this post I intend to share my inspiration from Grace’s elegance, as well as show how basic, classic clothing is timeless. It looked great on Grace  sixty years ago and will also look great on us today. Trends come and go, classics are a large part of slow fashion and appreciating what will last.

Born into an affluent family in 1929, Grace Kelly grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her father was from an Irish family and won three gold medals in the Olympics for sculling. Years later he was appointed to the title of National Director of Fitness by President Roosevelt.   Her mother, who was of German descent was also interested in athletics and taught physical education at the University of Pennsylvania. Her mother was also active as a model and there were times that Grace posed with her in modeling sessions. When Grace was growing up she did some acting and dancing. She held a lead role in the play Don’t Feed the Animals, in 1942, which was produced by East Falls Old Academy (1). She was only twelve at that time. She continued acting and dancing into her high school years. Grace had two older sisters and a brother.

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Grace had two uncles who were involved in the theater. Her Uncle George was a playwright, and it was his encouragement, despite her father’s disapproval, that helped her to follow her heart into an acting career (2).

Prior to moving to Hollywood she worked as a model and in the theater. She attended acting school at New York City’s Academy of Dramatic Arts. (3) One of her teachers and directors made a derogatory remark about her voice. This drove Grace to practice her speech diligently and despite what he had said she achieved fame and had a blossoming career in acting, particularly in film.

In 1951 she was in her first film, Fourteen Hours and met Gary Cooper. The following year he decided he wanted her to play his wife in High Noon, a Western film. This film set Kelly on her path to fame. A year later she landed another role in Mambo, filmed in Africa, with Clark Cable and Ava Gardner. While there she had a brief romance with Clark Gable.   For this film she won the Best Supporting Actress Award, which is a Golden Globe Award.

 

In the 1950’s Kelly was in three Alfred Hitchcock films. One was ‘Dial M for Murder’, the others were Rear Window and to Catch A Thief. Her costars were men such as Cary Cooper, Bing Crosby, James Stewart, Ray Milland, and Frank Sinatra. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in The Country Girl, in which she played the wife of an alcoholic.

“Kelly headed the U.S. delegation at the Cannes Film Festival in April 1955 (4).” While in Monaco, she was invited by Prince Rainer III to participate in a photo shoot at his palace. There were numerous delays to their meeting, however, they began writing each other letters after their brief meeting and their romance blossomed despite the distance. She had been dating different men; there was a romance with Oleg Cassini, but her parents did not approve due to his being divorced. Prince Rainer came to America in 1955, and while here he met with Grace and her family. Her family approved of him, and three days later he proposed. When Alfred Hitchcock heard of her engagement he was quoted as saying “I am very happy that Grace has found such a good part.”

Their wedding was elaborate. Grace sailed to the French Rivera in April of 1956, aboard the SS Constitution. They had both a civil and religious ceremony (5). Their civil ceremony, in the Palace of Monaco was followed by a reception in which 3,000 citizens of Monaco attended (6). The newlyweds enjoyed a seven- week Mediterranean honeymoon upon Prince Rainer’s yacht Deo Juanvete II (7). Their wedding was a televised sensation, attracting an estimated 30 million viewers. Throughout their marriage it is said that they held a deep love for one another, despite the fact that their work and interest often kept them apart.

Grace seems to have had a wonderful knack for dealing with change. She went from being a leading actress, to a bride, princess and then a mother within a couple of years. Her first child, Princess Caroline was born just a little over nine months after her parents’ wedding. Her son, Prince Albert was born the following year and Princess Stephanie seven years later. Princess Grace maintained dual citizenship for the rest of her life.

After her wedding in 1956 Grace began focusing her efforts on philanthropic work, since as Princess of Monaco she could no longer continue acting. She founded AMADE, a non- profit that is recognized by the UN for its Non-Governmental work in protecting “moral and physical integrity” and “spiritual well-being of children throughout the world, without distinction of race, nationality or religion and in a spirit of complete political independence.” (8) The organization remains active today and is currently run by Grace’s daughter, Princess Caroline. She also was an active voice in support of breast feeding for the La Leche League.

 

Grace also formed the Princess Grace Foundation in 1964, to support local artisans in Monaco. “In 1983, following her death, Princess Caroline assumed the duties of President of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation. Prince Albert is Vice-President (9).””

During her lifetime Grace anonymously continued to fund and assist artists, throughout the various arts of film, dance and theater in the United States. “The Princess Grace Foundation-USA (PGF-USA) was established following the death of Kelly to continue the work that she had done (10).” This Foundation remains active today and thus far has “has awarded nearly 500 artists at more than 100 institutions in the U.S. with more than $7 million to date (11).”

In the fall of 1982 Grace was driving home to Monaco, from her country home in Roc Agel when she had a stroke. Her car went off a cliff, and down a steep embankment. Her daughter Stephanie had unsuccessfully tried to regain control of the car (11). Grace was unconscious when the paramedic arrived, however her injuries were “irreparable” and the next day Prince Rainer decided to take her off of life support (12). Her daughter, Princess Stephanie had suffered a mild concussion “and a hairline fracture on the seventh cervical vertebra. She was unable to attend her mother’s funeral due to her injuries (13).” She was buried on September 18, 1982 at the Saint Nichols Cathedral in Monaco (14). In 2005, Prince Rainer, “who never remarried, was buried alongside her following his death in 2005(15).”

Grace Kelly was “inaugurated into the Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1960(16).”   “Modern designers Tommy Hilfiger and Zac Posen have citied her as a fashion inspiration (17).” When she was married her dress was designed by Helen Rose, a MGM Academy Award winner (18). “Her wedding dress was worked on for six weeks by three dozen seamstresses (19).”

I hoped you enjoyed this post about Grace Kelly and find some inspiration in it. I also hope all the mothers out there had a nice Mother’s Day!

  1. Leigh, Wendy (2007). True Grace: The Life and Times of an American Princess. New York: Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN0-312-34236-5.
  2. http://www.gracekellyonline.com/biography/
  3. http://www.gracekellyonline.com/biography/
  4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly
  5. The Big Week in Monaco: Movies’ Pretty Princess Assumes a Real Life Title. Life 40 (18) (Time Inc.). 30 April 1956. p. 37. ISSN0024-3019. She had to go through two weddings, separately required by the Napoleonic Code of Monaco and the laws of the Roman Catholic Church. ‘I’m halfway married,’ she exclaimed after the first wedding, a 16-minute civil ceremony in his crimson-damasked throne …”
  6. Hintz, Martin (2004). Monaco. Children’s Press. ISBN978-0-516-24251-4 & Choron, Sandra; Choron, Harry (2010). Planet Wedding: A Nuptial-pedia. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-618-74658-3
  7. Choron, Sandra; Choron, Harry (2010). Planet Wedding: A Nuptial-pedia. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 103. ISBN978-0-618-74658-3 & Taraborrelli 2003, p. 149
  8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCO
  9. Princess Grace Foundation[dead link]
  10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly
  11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly
  12. Werner, Jennifer (2014). Grace Kelly of Monaco: The Inspiring Story of How An American Film Star Became a Princess. BookCaps Study Guides. pp. 40–44. ISBN9781629172484.
  13. Leigh, Wendy (2007). True Grace: The Life and Death of an American Princess. New York, NY: Thomas Dunne Books. p. 245. ISBN978-0-312-34236-4.
  14. “BBC On This Day September 14th 1982”. BBC News. September 14, 1985. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  15. “Death of Princess Grace – history – central”. British Council. Retrieved March 13, 2010.[dead link]
  16. “The International Best-Dressed List Hall of Fame”. Vanity Fair. June 7, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  17. Jacobs, Laura (May 2010). “Grace Kelly’s Forever Look”. Vanity Fair. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  18. Choron, Sandra; Choron, Harry (2010). Planet Wedding: A Nuptial-pedia. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 103. ISBN978-0-618-74658-3.
  19. Choron, Sandra; Choron, Harry (2010). Planet Wedding: A Nuptial-pedia. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 103. ISBN978-0-618-74658-3.

  All written material by: © Marilyn Lavender, 2015.  “All Rights Reserved.”

All photos from Flickr,  they link to their source.

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