Vintage Celebs part 1. Gillian Anderson

We are always hearing about celebrities wearing vintage, as it is afterall, the only sure fire way of wearing something that no one else will have. They know wearing vintage means never having that awful "she's wearing the same as me!" moment. However, there does seem to be several names that repeatedly crop up when vintage is being discussed; Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, The Olsens, Jamie Winston et al. And whilst there is no denying these ladies look phenomenal, I thought i'd try and start highlighting those people who wear vintage that perhaps you weren't aware of.

I'm starting today with Gillian Anderson. Yep, her of Mulder and Scully fame, that 1990's sci-fi series, The X Files, and more recently (and dramatically), Great Expectations.

Here is Ms Anderson looking very un-Havisham-like at the BAFTA's in February. She is wearing a 1950's Sybil Connelly couture gown. It doesn't scream VINTAGE and could easily be a modern day piece. It's subtle and flattering and complements her skin tone perfectly. Well chosen, lady. 

How about a bit of vintage Christian Dior? In 2011 at a celebration of 10 years of InStyle. Not flashy, not revealing, this ice white gown stands out from the crowd as relaxed, elegant and classy. And what girl doesn't love pockets? 

A personal favourite of mine was this 1968 Ossie Clark number. Revealing and daring, but cut so well, it's pure art. 

Gillian is a brilliant example of an elegant women wanting to wear vintage in an classic, understated way. And I for one, think she pulls it off rather well. 

xx

Sandy & New Website Soon!

Gosh, our hearts go out to all in New York at the moment. The pictures look horrendous of what Sandy did to the city overnight. We heard from one customer who; "had no power" and was "conserving cell phone battery", eek. Hope everyone stays safe and warm. Love that city. One of my fave places in the world, most vibrant shops, restaurants, bars, galleries. Those New Yorkers will pull together and pick themselves up from this, i'm sure. Meanwhile, we're all thinking of you guys. xx

On another note, we are getting sooooo close to the launch of the New Website!! Eek! Excited! Have been photographing some GORGEOUS one off vintage pieces for the launch and we are planning to do a promotion for your first shop, so watch this space! Hope y'all like it, but do let us know what you'd like to see, what you like/dislike about it etc We will always try and and answer your emails as promptly as we can (enquiries@scarletvintage.co.uk). Meanwhile, here is a little sneak peak of one of the new (vintage!) pieces coming to the site....

CFDA/Vogue

Well, this week saw the outing of fashion savvy celebs at the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund event at Chateau Marmont and later Bouchon.

There was a plethora of lovely ladies (and gents, hello Mr Beckham...) in attendance. Out very own VB was dressed in one her own creations, a little tennis style outfit in all white (only the uber-rich can wear all white without worrying about grubbiness and dry cleaning bills). She was joined in the evening by the high priestess of fashion, Ms Wintour, who must have a portrait in an attic somewhere, because she never seems to age.

Earlier in the day at Marmont, January Jones was one of the best dressed in a very vintage looking jump suit whilst cosying up to James Marsden. C'mon, who doesn't love pockets!

Perfectly relaxed, but chic look for an afternoon's party/meeting. LOVE. 

Winter draws on....

Phew, it is feeeeeeeerrrreeeeeeezing out there! I can feel snow in the air! And it sort of came out of nowhere (well, if you don't read weather forecasts...) So of course, I have no proper winter clothes out of storage. Luckily, if you are in the same predicament, we have some stonking vintage coats and capes in at the moment. My favourite is obviously the sable and astrakhan that has been gracing our mannequin all week. The type of coat that would have been a favourite with Ginger Rogers, i'm sure. It has just the right amount of Hollywood glamour and practicality to fit that particular leading lady. Here is a pic of said coat, expertly captured by super bloggers indiebath.wordpress.com

If the high end glamour of the above doesn't float your boat, how about an insanely practical cape? We have a number of different styles and lengths to suit. A long black velvet cape, a short brown capelet or a black with flame red lining, mid length. 

And if your other extremities are feeling the cold, we have a plethora of gloves just in-pretty much name your colour/fabric etc and we will have it. And they are a bargainluscious £10-£15 a pair, what's not to love?

So, there you have it. This Winter wind will not get the best of us if we have some vintage lovliness to snuggle into! 

Bond Girl... (I wish!)

Well, yesterday saw the opening of the 23rd Bond movie and I for one cannot WAIT to see it. This is Daniel Craig's third outing as the charismatic, yet "blunt", Bond and, by all accounts he is really hitting his stride with the character. Those naysayers that waxed lyrical about the fact he was "too blond" to ever play the role successfully must surely have their words served to them on a plate now.

Looking at the offerings on the carpet, we had a real mix of fortunes; Craig was impeccable (as always-yep, *slightly* biased), his new Bond Girl Berenice Marlohe really knocked it out of the park, IMHO, in her scarlet Westwood. Classic Vivienne, worn with minimal embellishment and heavy, smoky eyes. Go to the top of the class, Ms Marlohe. Good choice of colour too...
Next up was Naomie Harris in the finale dress from the 2012 Marios Schwab runway. If i'm honest, this didn't seem to have the impact that the Westwood did. It somehow seemed a little, dare we say, casual? I'm not sure how, being full length, with black chiffon and sequins, but there you go.

Shame, because she looked amazing appearing in the film in this classic Amanda Wakeley dress that we found on Vogue.co.uk. It had far more of the old school glamour about it, which of course we are going to LOVE...

In fact this dress did remind us of a few of our own golden gowns in store, along with some stunning vintage furs, that would satisfy the tastes of any Bond Girl worth her Walther PPK....  

It's Dior, Darling!

Continuing on the theme of fabulous new pieces in this week, I bring you...ta-dah! A vintage Christian Dior beaded evening top. Absolutely love this piece. Would work perfectly with slim black cigarette pants or skinny jeans, a la Ms Moss. The bugle beading around the bottom of the top catches the light and all those sequins just shimmer in the light. If you are looking for a perfect Christmas top (pop it in your bag and then throw it on over your work trousers, voila! Christmas office party ready! This is also lined with silk chiffon, so it won't scratch against your skin. It is around a size 8/10, depending on how you wear it and is priced at £185.

Whilst we are still on the Dior theme, how about this little beauty that came in a little while ago and is currently residing in our window. The original Dior saddle bag, created in 1999 as one of the first cult bags by John Galliano, this is a little piece of (recent) fashion history. Complete with all it's accoutrements (Dior logo key chain etc) it's a great size and in pretty good condition considering how well loved it was by the previous owner. We have it priced at £200.

J'adore Dior! 

Gorgeous Designer Gowns Galore!

As I am here, thought i'd start to post a few things that came in recently that have yet to make it to the shop floor, but will be getting there soon. 

First up today, a ST-HUH-UNNNING Jonathan Saunders rainbow gown;

(photo courtesy of Vogue.co.uk)

Gosh, this is just darn amazing. This really is one of those, "Who's that girl.." dresses. It appeared on the catwalk for Saunders Autumn/Winter 2007/8 collection (http://www.jonathan-saunders.com/collections-archive-aw0708.html) It was also used for the opening of Lulu&Co, under the Fashion East umbrella (the boutique that champions up and coming new designers). Saunders is one of Lulu Kennedy's success stories, hence why she chose to bring him in. He was part of the capsule collection of hand picked designer dresses at Lulu&Co in Harvey Nichols. Here she is in the dress with George Lamb at the launch night in October last year.

(photo courtesy of www.thetrendboutique.co.uk)

Created to really make an entrance, this dress is super dramatic, and was originally meant as a catwalk gown. Being 100% silk means it is not only spectacular, but comfortable and cool as well. You can't see it from the picture, but the main dress is panelled with satin pieces and the sleeves are cuffed with the same. I think this may have been worn once, but no more than that. It is in amazing condition. This would have retailed at over £1000 and is a size 10/12. We have priced it at £480.