I came across the Ros Hommerson Harper shoe in my Zulily email this morning and did a double take because the shape of the shoe is almost exactly like a pair of late 1930’s shoes I own, down to the mix of fabric and leather in the shoe and that quintessential shape where it comes to a V on the vamp. The heel could be thicker and there are some other obvious modern updates, but then this isn’t necessarily a vintage shoe reproduction company. Buy it on the Drew shoes website for $129.00 or get it on Zulily for a limited time for $64.99.
Why is this dress worth it? Aside from the gorgeousness and divine detail, this dress is durable and danceable (unlike its original vintage counterparts). I have this dress in silver and have worn it on three occasions since I purchased it in June, with rave reviews at each event. When you spin, the little car wash panels at the bottom flare out nicely, and there’s that delicious sound of swishing beads. My only warning for this dress would be if you are dancing in this dress, you may need to pin it to your bra – the dress did not feel heavy when I was wearing it, but the beads are heavier than fabric and the centrifugal force of the spins caused the straps of this dress to head towards the walls, rather than remaining firmly on my shoulders. Once secured, this was no longer a problem.
Wouldn’t you like to be the ultimate flapper for Halloween? Or every day? 😉
The little black dress originated in the 1920’s from Coco Chanel‘s revolutionary designs, which took the black dress from a mourning garb to the quintessential cocktail dress. Hollywood costumers of the 1930’s and 1940’s re-envisioned the black dress for the film industry because black showed up well in black and white film. Eventually, the black dress became a staple in closets everywhere, from silver screen to secretary. For me, the little black dresses of the 1940’s lend themselves to two sorts of character interpretations: first, as the femme fatale of film noir fame and, second, as a quintessential big band singer dress, a la Marilyn Maxwell in Swing Fever.
Perhaps there is a tie that binds these two categories, aside from the dress, as both the femme fatale and the big band singer can be irresistible. I think the dress helps. 😉
There was usually nothing little about the dresses themselves, as they may have been outfitted with sequins, embroidery, shoulder pads, cutouts, elegant draping, peplums, or other dress details that give the dress that 1940’s look of elegance with a dash of vamp. eBay has a sampling of these dresses right now, so get them while they’re hot! My picks from eBay:
Lindy Shopper 