10 Gifts for 1930s & 1940s Fashionistas

Taking take the guesswork out of vintage shopping for you—these essentials will be the foundation of your vintage flair, taking you from summer to winter. They will anchor whatever other fashionable pieces you already have in your closet (or populating your purse & dresser!).

Most of these have been tried and tested by myself, or better yet, the celebrated starlets that used them. Here is short list of your 10 absolute must-haves to channel your inner starlet, whether she most resembles Elizabeth Taylor, or Grace Kelly, or Audrey Hepburn, or Marilyn Monroe, or....

Trying the Strangest Marilyn Monroe Beauty Tip

You never know. That hitchhiker beckoning to you from the side of the road might just be a famous celebrity. They might be Marilyn Monroe!

I just finished reading Goddess by Anthony Summers. In it, he relates a story of Marilyn waiting by the side of a road, trying to hitch a ride from an unsuspecting passerby (there had been a mishap with her scheduling that day). But car after car drove by, not realizing they were passing up the opportunity to meet the immortal Marilyn Monroe.

DIY, Fashion, Her Favorite Things, Marilyn Monroe, Beauty TipsStefanie CosmanAugust 21, 2017Marilyn MonroeComment

Classic Actress Jean Harlow’s Favorite Jewelry

In a recent blog post, I wrote about charm bracelets in Hollywood history. Even Queen Victoria wore them (she was kind of the Olivia Palermo of her time). Today I am going to write about something a bit different -- a piece of jewelry that Jean Harlow believed made her lucky.

In the book Platinum Girl by Eve Golden, Harlow's childhood friend relates the following tale; it seems that one time, young Jean was disciplined at Ferry Hall, a prep school for privileged young girls. It wasn't for making out in the hall, or cussing, or smoking in the back of the school.

It was for wearing an ankle bracelet.

Fashion, Supernatural, Jean Harlow, Classic CinemaStefanie CosmanJuly 17, 2017Charm Bracelets, Jean Harlow, Lucky, SuperstitionComment

1930s Fashion: How Charm Bracelets Held Hollywood's Secrets (And Still Do)

When I was a little girl, my mother gave me a charm bracelet she had worn as a child. Picked up from a souvenir shop in San Francisco, the bracelet oozed with kitsch... a small spinner with a true/false dial could tell the future, much like a Magic 8 ball. A small telephone had a rotary dial that actually spun! I was so mesmerized that later in life, I used various events in my life... including my first trip to Europe... to collect charms to tell the story of where I had been. Gibraltar was a monkey... Santiago de Compostela was a shell with a tiny cross inside... and for the Tower of London, a miniature guillotine (macabre, I know!).

Grace Kelly Fashion Inspiration: my thrift store wedding dress

Most girls dream about what their wedding dress will look like when they grow up... and the $ they are willing to spend on their dream dress once they get there is, to some, bordering on insanity. The national average is over $1400! That is a lot of money for a dress you are going to wear once, although I am all about unique life experiences so I can't begrudge any gal her one day of being a princess.

Classic Cinema, DIY, Fashion, Inspiration, Love, WeddingStefanie CosmanMay 15, 2017wedding, dress, conversion, grace kellyComment

Channeling Joan Crawford's Incredible Method to Overcome Any Fear

Oh Joan.

Is there anyone who inspires more images of kind of terrifying, vamp-like makeup and images of wire hangers?

If you don't know what I am talking about and you are in the mood for a deeply disturbing film, go watch Mommie Dearest. But honestly, I wouldn't recommend it. I made my poor husband sit down and watch it with me in preparation for FX's "Feud". When Joan wanders into her little girl's room and sees wire hangers in her closet, she screams like a banshee, "NO... WIRE... HANGERS!!!"

Classic Cinema, Fashion, Inspiration, Joan CrawfordStefanie CosmanMarch 27, 2017Joan Crawford, classic cinemaComment

Leopard Print [Science of Seduction]

The science of fashion is always a curious thing. I recently learned that cheetah/leopard prints make you more attractive. The scientific term is "Misattribution of Arousal" ... but since you probably don't want to sift through a bunch of medical journals, I will boil it down the main points: Ravenous wildcats have sharp teeth and want to eat you, therefore when one wears wildcat print men think of sharp teeth and being devoured, inciting a fear reaction, which somehow also increases feelings of attraction.

Fashion, Classic CinemaStefanie CosmanFebruary 27, 2017Jeanne Crain, Leopard, Fashion, Classic Cinema, Gentlemen Marry Brunettes, Jane RussellComment

The Best Coco Chanel Quote Really is True

Have you heard of the poem “Andrea del Sarto” by Robert Frost? Or the Geodesic Dome?

Perhaps not, but if you ever looked at yourself in the mirror and said “Less is More” as you removed that extra piece of jewelry or scarf, you were channeling both. The phrase originated in the poem, but the minimalist architecture made it famous.

Fashion, Designer, MinimalistStefanie CosmanFebruary 13, 2017fashion, chanel, minimalistComment

A Fashion Rebellion... at Our Fingertips?

I am in-love with Carole Lombard's films lately. And as usual, I had to pause several times while watching Love Before Breakfast, in which she plays a stubborn, sharp-tongued woman who is caught in a love triangle that somewhat resembles a comedic Gone with the Wind.

My first use of the remote was to rewind numerous times as her love interest hands her a cocktail he describes as a "Goodwin". I knew of a Gibson, but a Goodwin? Did I hear him correctly? This will surely send me down the cocktail history rabbit hole. I will let you know if I ever emerge...'