While I was perusing the racks at Bygones Vintage Clothing while attending The Process in Richmond, VA, I happened upon a new-to-me brand of reproduction dresses called Lazy Bones. It appears to be a sort of Australian-based Anthropologie-type shop, with vintage-inspired clothing and home goods. From the website:
“Lazybones takes a fresh and whimsical approach to designing clothing and homewares for modern, relaxed living. Inspired by vintage, Lazybones clothing has become well known for its quirky signature prints, delicate embroidery and jacquard knitwear. Our homewares including bedding, ceramics and wallpaper inspires a fresh and playful approach to creating unique spaces within our homes. Our aim is to continually evolve each season designing products that surprise and delight our customers who have grown to love our brand across the world.”
With a name like Lazy Bones, there’s a great sense of humor here, along with an ease in the clothing that suggests you could still be lazy and look fabulously lazy. A lot of the pieces do remind me of comfy vintage finds, things that I buy to lounge or dance in, because of the fabric choices, prints, and easy shapes. Here are some of my favorites from Lazy Bones:
(Edited to add that there’s a USA website with better shipping options for those of us in the states at http://lazybonesusa.com/ – thanks for the tip, Jenny!)
Alice Dress in the Port Fairy printAllegra Dress in Sorrento printAlanna Dress in white with blue embroidery; also available in white with red embroideryThat elusive 20’s day dress reproduction! The Matilda Dress in indigo; also available in silver.I love that they offer slips! The Undressed Slip, also available in black, to go under everything!Verity cardigan, also available in blue and green – I love a patterned cardi!
I often wonder what inspired certain reproduction dresses – shapes and motifs are obvious, but what about the specifics? I love finding those rare inspiration pieces and found what I believe to be Trashy Diva’s inspiration for their fall collection Lilian Dress (which I immediately began panting over upon seeing it) – this wonderful 1940’s dress on eBay. The embroidery is spot on. While the dress has undergone some Trashy Diva modifications, I think they made some great choices like moving the embroidery closer to the shoulder, changing the embroidery colors to more peacock blues and greens, losing the hip seaming/detail, and giving it an overall sleeker, more Asian-inspired silhouette. The charm is not lost, though, as the embroidery in the original is just as magnificent as the repro, and that little row of buttons is divine on both.
The original inspiration? What say you, Trashy Diva?
Yes, I know I just posted about Trashy Diva last month, BUT YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND – they have just outdone themselves, following up their perfect-for-early-fall plaids with a collection of insanely elegant, whimsical, and ultimately flattering dresses that will work year round and make you the sassiest attendee of any soiree you may attend. It deserves a fashion standing ovation – let’s take this Asian-inspired collection dress by dress, because I can’t narrow it down.
The Dragon Lilian dress is just fab – if you’ve always wanted a cheongsam, but didn’t quite fit into the shape of that dress, I can already see that this dress is more forgiving and flattering. The skirt looks straight, but there are tucks that give the skirt more room and forgiveness for the posterior and hips. The awesome potential is off the charts.
I might die if I don’t own the Peacock Lillian dress, so I’ve already pre-ordered it to save myself from annihilation. I have been looking for a vintage dress similar to this for about a year now – something a little cocktail, a little sparkle, and elegant for gigs, but something I could still wear dancing if I needed to swing out. Blues, greens, gold, *drool*…SO HAPPY!
With “the bodice and sleeves…modeled after a 1937 vintage pattern,” the two tone Frenchie Dress is adorable, sexy, eye-catching, and actually looks really comfortable. Not to be overlooked are the wonderful vintage-inspired frog closures at the waist. The overall effect is slimming, with red drawing your eye in and the black slimming you from the sides.
The Soutache Sandy dress is, obviously, ornamented with lovely soutache embroidery. I am excited to see this detail limited to the waist, as it usually ornaments shoulders or a neckline and is sometimes used a bit too liberally. It makes a lovely focal point on the bodice of this flattering silhouette.
Last, but certainly not least, is the surprise dress of the collection – the Sadie Bustle dress. Yes, the heart pockets (!!!) are adorable on the front, but then you turn around and BOOM, there is a red cascade of ruffles, skyrocketing the sass levels into the stratosphere.
I think one of the Trashy Diva employees who posted on Facebook said it best about this collection: “I’m so excited it’s like Christmas! And I work here, heehee!” If the employees are that excited, you know it’s good!
This is such a hot little 1940’s dress and manages, at the same time, to be really beautiful – the shape and the black satin make it foxy, while the amazing floral cutouts with pink insets soften the look, tied together by tone on tone embroidery. Delicious! Auction ends tomorrow, someone snap this beauty up!
If you have ever come across a 1920’s beaded gown for sale, odds are the retailer was asking upwards of $1,000 for the dress, if in mint condition. If not in mint condition, then the seller was still asking hundreds of dollars for the garment. Even then, there was no guarantee that the dress would not disintegrate upon wearing, and dancing in it was out of the question.
I could only lust after these dresses, wishing I could cut a rug and hear the soft swishing of beads like the dancers in the Great Gatsby movie.
The unattainable is now attainable. Leluxe Clothing Company offers hand beaded dresses in modern materials that give you the quality and craftsmanship of a 1920’s beaded dress without the worry that the dress will fall apart.
According to the web site, “LeLuxe Clothing Company was founded in 2000 with the goal of continuing the traditions of design and craftsmanship of a bygone era. Working in the costume houses of Hollywood, owner Jill Schliesmann realized the fragile creations of diaphanous cottons, laces, and beaded silks were being lost to time. She and her husband, Shane Burroughs, recognized a void that needed to be filled – a style that needed to be revived so that those creations could live again. LeLuxe Clothing Company makes the fun and luxury of the Jazz Age accessible to the Twenty-first Century. The combined experiences of Ms. Schliesmann and Mr. Burroughs gives them insight into the specialized needs of the entertainment industry, the demands of cutting-edge fashion, and the fascinating sphere of collecting, preserving, and restoring vintage clothing. LeLuxe Clothing Company not only offers faithful reproductions of period designs, but also a number of exclusive designs created in the spirit of the 1920’s – dresses that embody creative energy, sharp design, and a wonderful sense of whimsy.”
These dresses are stunning. And sparkly. And wearable! They come in a variety of lengths and the owners have noted which dresses are best for dancing. The fit on 1920’s dresses does not have to be exact, which makes these dresses easy to size because the dress can be as fitted or loose as you want it to be. All of the dresses have different measurements, there is no uniform sizing, so pay close attention to the measurements before purchasing or dismissing.
The dresses are mesh, so a slip is an essential part of the ensemble. Leluxe also offers slips that are made to go under these dresses in a number of different colors. Depending on the look you want or the dress you have chosen, you can mix up the shape and the color of the slip.
As if the beaded dresses weren’t enough to make Leluxe fabulous, they also carry dreamy white cotton dresses with vintage embroidery. Everything is so lovely here!
It’s going to be hard to narrow this down and not post every dress on the web site, but here’s a sampling of these glorious dresses (most come in multiple colors):
The DuchessThe GarconneThe Fleur-de-lis (the red is not on the web site, but should be available soon)The EgyptianThe Deco StarThe Spider (this dress would be wicked cool on Halloween!)The VampGatsby Lawn DressThe Forget-Me-Not
The latest batch of eBay offerings are as sweet as refined sugar, with florals and pastels in abundance.
Pink crepe with embroidery at the neck.30's/40's day dress in a rose printPaisley/flower print dress with tie sleevesLavender 1940's dress with button detail
Oh, this dress! It is a truly exquisite piece from Anthropologie – the little cherries are made with wonderful embroidery techniques, the skirt is twirly with an additional layer of flounce at the green gingham on the bottom, it is made of a wonderful lightweight cotton, there is elastic smocking in the back for a more custom fit, the gingham has green piping, and there is a wonderful fabric covered button front and center on the chest.
I purchased this dress in 2002 from eBay, after pining over it in the Anthropologie catalog, and wore it for years until it no longer fit. There are so many happy memories of the ECU Swing Dance Club and dances at the Durham Armory in this dress! Once it was time to say goodbye, I listed it on eBay and it promptly sold for more than I had paid for it – not only is it gorgeous, it’s a sound clothing investment.
I am showing a picture of me wearing this dress, circa 2003, because the dress form in the eBay auction picture doesn’t really fill out the dress and it’s always better to see it on real person. If I hadn’t sworn off halter dresses, I’d keep this auction to myself. 😉
Lindy Shopper 