Vintage – Bellissima Kids

Costume Test photos of Kids from Famous Films

Elizabeth Taylor costume test for National Velvet.

These Costume tests of kids from famous films fascinate me of course. My background of fashion/costume designer, actress, filmmaker and film buff make it impossible for me not to be fascinated! What we don’t see when we see a film is all of the work and preparation – all of the filming of just the costumes before the film is under way.

Costume test photos are a necessity for filmmakers and designers to get a clear picture of how colors, fabrics, and styles and also hair and makeup will appear on the big screen and also how various costumes play together. The snapshots sometimes reveal a different side of the star in costume and tell a little story all of its own. The photos sometimes become an art form in their own right. And much of the wardrobe and costumes from films has influenced fashion…including children’s fashion.
Continue reading “Costume Test photos of Kids from Famous Films”

Homespun Vintage Designer Interview!

This is a guest post from Talia Handler, graduating student in Kidswear at Parsons, the New School for Design.

A couple weeks ago I took a trip to Los Angeles. While I was there, I had the pleasure of meeting one of the lovely designers for a fantastic childrenswear brand called Homespun Vintage. These ladies have such an inspiring passion for what they do, and their passion is clear in their vintage inspired creations. Check out their Spring/Summer lookbook here. And below is an interview with the talented pair who run HSV.

Who are the creaters of Homespun Vintage, and how did you meet?

HSV was started by Kathlene Linehan & Corrie Sullivan, two second-hand loving, inspiration-seeking moms. We met at a church creative retreat in Big Bear through a mutual friend.

How did you come to create your line?

Kathlene had been stockpiling vintage pieces and Corrie had a smallbusiness doing appliqued kids onesies & t-shirts. The idea came to combine the two and create some nostalgic one of a kind pieces that have been modernized a bit. With the success of that, we decided to produce our own “vintage inspired” line to allow for a larger variety of sizes and bigger growth opportunities.

What have been the biggest rewards of having a line of your own?

Creative freedom and flexibility. Seeing kids (other than our own) wearing our pieces

Where do you see your line going in the future?

We would like to hire a team of people to do our sourcing, pr and sales, so we could concentrate more time on original creations.
We’d like to expand into more international markets. It would be fun to do a collaboration with another line or artist.
As vintage becomes more mainstream in the kids arena, we think there are many untapped possibilities in that realm. Also – a runway show – we’d love to be part of kids fashion show.

Vintage Child Safety – Number 3

It seems that I’m not the only fascinated by Vintage Child Safety, so here is another installment! If you missed the last two, they are here and here.

This above contraption is wild. In 1938, the British Government gave everyone, including babies, gas masks to protect them in case the Germans dropped poison gas bombs on Britain. This gas mask was for children up to two years old. There is an asbestos filter on the side of the mask, to absorb poisonous gases. The rubber tube shaped like a concertina with a handle was pushed back and forth to pump air into the mask. Child Welfare Centres gave lessons on how to use the mask. Despite instruction courses, few parents were totally happy with encasing their child in an airtight chamber. In fact there was some question over its safety. During demonstrations there were reports that babies fell asleep and became unnaturally still inside the masks! It is likely that the pump didn’t push enough air into the mask and the babies came close to suffocating!

The harness above is better than the kid falling out of the car in the case of “accidental door openings” as the ad says, so that’s something!

This one is barely safer than the kid rolling around on the seat. In fact, the seat would be safer as being this close to the windshield proved lethal in accidents.

Via

It’s good to see that there actually was an Official Safety Manual for kids and this is one of their posters. It seems that they were relying more on the kids than the adults to be responsible about safety. All I could think when I saw this was that I had never seen a kid playing under a a leaf pile but I guess it was the thing to do in those days.

Vintage Dollhouse

I am just reveling in this very authentic Swedish dollhouse from the 60’s. The detail and accuracy of the furniture, wallpaper and everything actually is just fascinating. Nothing was overlooked. It’s from the beautiful blog of Hilda Grahat and this delightful dollhouse was her mother’s. How sweet that they preserved it all so perfectly…and I can’t stop looking at it! What about you?

Chickanella Bella Vintage Children’s Swimwear

We have been going to the beach quite a bit this summer – in fact, we are going tomorrow, and it got me thinking about what people used to wear to the beach and how cute the suits were and how they protected the bathers more from the sun….and then I came across Chickanella Bella, and their vintage inspired swimwear, which is pretty adorable. Take a look at their full range here which is made in the US.

Tea Party Mania…and Afternoon Teas

Rained-out tea party in New Orleans

It’s no secret that I love afternoon tea, especially on a lovely Friday afternoon! And in my quest to find a really perfect tea party set for my girls, I was inspired to do this post as an homage to The Tea Party and the classic Afternoon Tea!

I would love to take the girls one day to the Fashion High Tea at Hôtel Le Bristol in Paris. The tradition began in 2005 and since then it’s seen designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Chloé and Celine present their collections to guests at the elegant Le Bristol bar.

I can also hardly wait to take the girls to the Plaza Hotel for the Eloise afternoon tea…that’s a bit closer to us than Paris!

I am so taken with this Alice in Wonderland shoot by Annie Liebovitz for Vogue from 2009 – many top designers dressed Natalia Vodianova in their version of Alice. Ensemble above by Christian Lacroix (pictured right)

Tutu Tea Party – Via

What a charming beach tea party. Via

Some priceless vintage tea party photos –via

I have my eye on this Beatrix Potter Tea Set by Reutter Porcelain

Mother Garden Wooden Japanese Hi Tea Set

Vintage Furniture For Children

Here are some sweet vintage furniture for kids finds for the day! I am particularly enthralled by this vintage German contraption designed by Hans Brockhage and Erwin Andra in the 1950s-the “Schaukelwagen” can be flipped one way to use as a child-sized play car or tilted upside-down to become a rocking chair.

Nifty, bunk bed, desk and storage piece by Luigi Colani, 1975. From Quittenbaum

Adorable crib at Pierre Bergé & Associés auction house

Sarah Strachan Vintage Rag Dolls

What beautiful and original Vintage style 1950’s and 60’s dolls by Sarah Strachan. The patterned dresses are hand painted, and well, just exquisite! I also love how she has photographed them in front of the 50’s looking wallpaper. Sarah used to work for Jim Henson, making his creatures and now she makes these lovely creatures of her own. Available here!

Via

Christian Dior in Russia- 1959

I just came across these fascinating shots that were taken during the Dior Fashion Show in Russia in 1959. It was the first time a Paris couturier had shown a collection behind the iron curtain. Being a huge fan of classic Dior, I am completely thrilled at my find. And the expressions on the faces of some of these people are priceless. They were clearly not used to seeing anything like those elegant ladies in such finery!

Via