21
Mar
2013
Posted by Nicole in 1960s, Film, How to 4 Comments

It’s been movie stars all over the place at Circa lately – and Natalie Wood holds a special place in my heart.

A few years ago I was fortunate enough to purchase some costumes from the film “The Mystery of Natalie Wood” – I still have some, but most went off to happy homes including a Kimbra film clip for her song “Settle Down” and Candice DeVille’s personal wardrobe.

A costume from a film about Miss Wood is one thing, but an actual costume she wore in one of her major roles is another thing entirely.

Then Peter walked in the door with a box full of sparkles – the costume that Miss Wood wore as Gypsy Rose Lee for the finale in “Gypsy (1962)”. Here she is:

And here she is strutting her stuff and singing “Let Me Entertain You”.


If you’re reading this via email, click here to see the video.

The costumes were designed by Orry-Kelly, the Australian who had previously won three Academy Awards including one for Marilyn Monroe’s beaded dresses in “Some Like it Hot”.


Any excuse for a MM pic.

I wish I’d known about Orry-Kelly when I was a costume student: he would have been my idol. Plus he lived with Cary Grant for a decade! He received a fourth Academy Award nomination for “Gypsy” and according to Wikipedia, when he died two years later “His pallbearers included Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Billy Wilder and George Cukor and his eulogy was read by Jack Warner.” That’s one heck of a supporting cast to see you into the next world.

Back to Miss Wood – I can tell you that there are four pieces to the Gypsy costume: essential for a strip tease… to undress in stages – and here is the order that Miss Wood removed them – the skirt, the jacket, the high waisted knicker and the strapless bra. The set was split – the undergarments were sold last year.


An example of what they would have looked like on, if you weren’t as petite as Miss Wood: the bra and knicker should meet, so that it looks like a one piece garment. It’s a pity the set was split up but so it goes. The best pieces are still the jacket and skirt.

The jacket is tiny: it has a hook and eye at the dazzling rhinestone encrusted collar and a pair of big press studs to secure at the base – Natalie wore it crossed over about three inches, but the modern size 8 mannequin is too enormous for her costume. There are half-sleeves, and a big train that hangs down almost to the floor, with a beaded tassle and more rhinestones.

Then the skirt – it wraps around, secured with a large hook and eye, producing a draped effect over her hips. There are more hooks that perhaps attached to her undergarments – she must have been quite curvy for her tiny frame, because the skirt fell down when I put it on my vintage mannequins.

The skirt also has a tail, capped with a beaded tassle and rhinestones – plus several weights to keep it down, and a loop so she could pick it up and play with it. She must have done this a bit, because the skirt “tail” had the most damage.

Are you wondering why the mannequin is standing on a yellow sheet? This was so I could pick up all the beads and rhinestones as they fell off. It was my task to secure the beadwork, mend the holes and generally restore the costume so it could be displayed without endangering the condition. Everything I did was on the sheet, to capture all of the beads.

Tell me more?
The ensemble is made of silver bugle beads machine sewn onto silk jersey in feathered lines and partially lined in fine nylon. Then additional bugle beads were hand sewn in areas that needed to be more heavily ornamented (like the bust), or perhaps they were repairs? Then thousands of rhinestones of various sizes were glued onto the fabric. Additional glass crystals set in prongs were hand stitched on too.

I was thrilled to see pencil marks under the bugle beads indicating that they had a beading machine to apply a specific design but then realised – this is Hollywood! Of course they had a beading machine, they wouldn’t just pop down to Clegs and buy it by the metre like us plebs.

Working with two sizes of needles (a sharps and a thin beading needle) I moved my hands gently over a section at a time, searching for loose beads, loose threads and loose rhinestones – the latter fell off and were collected. The first two were secured with the required needle on the underside. I used pure cotton thread, like the one that was used on the original costume (even though polyester thread is stronger, I prefer authenticity if I can get it).

It was a painstaking process and I limited myself to 45 minutes at a time, because my eyes would start to go funny after a while. I’m surprised I wasn’t dreaming of rhinestones!

Here’s a close up of the fabulousness – you can see the different types of beads and rhinestones, the prong set ones sit up higher than the glued ones, which sit flat. The dark misshapen bits are the remnants of silvered backing from absent rhinestones.

I tried gluing the dropped rhinestones back on but it didn’t work of course, they needed their intact backing and it had crumbled away. This is why sewing will always last better than glue, but back when Orry-Kelly inspected the finished costume, I’m sure he wasn’t thinking of the people who would still be admiring his work more than fifty years later.

The costume will be going on display in a couple of weeks in Brisbane – you can see it (if you’re over 18) at Club X, 160 Brisbane Road, Booval, Queensland.

3
Jan
2013
Posted by Nicole in 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, Sewing, Vintage 101 5 Comments

Learning to date vintage clothing is one of the challenges that the vintage lover faces: unfortunately, unlike vintage cars, clothes don’t come with VINs to help you on your mission – you need to read and interpret the clues in the style, fabric, construction and detailing. If you’re lucky, you’ll have some provenance too, but if incorrect that can send you in the wrong direction.

Books can be a great help, as can magazines, newspapers, films, TV – and the more you expose yourself to the fashions in their original settings, the better you get at it. When I was learning, I used to visualise which Golden Era of Hollywood movie star I could see in something: is it a Jean Harlow outfit (’30s), or more Rita Hayworth (’40s) or perhaps it’s something that Marilyn might have worn in “Bus Stop” (’50s)?

It’s not an exact science, and that’s why you often see people identify an item using a decade or more, but I’ve discovered that with skill, you can often narrow it down to a year or three.

Thankfully there is one easy tool at your disposal – some sewing pattern companies print dates onto their products. Also, you used to be able to order patterns through certain magazines and newspapers, and some had them as supplements too, so if you have the original publication or post-marked envelope, you’ll have a date there too.

Today I’ve been listing vintage patterns onto the webshop, and I like to play “Guess the Date” with the styles – and then I can turn it over and find out if I’m right.

Here are some for you to test your knowledge with: keep in mind a few things – the patterns all give you bonus clues with accessories, hairstyles, make up, poses, and style of graphic. Sewing patterns are rarely fashion forward, and generally represent popular designs that have already sold well in the community, so can be sometimes a little behind the times. Also: if the pattern sells well, and fashions haven’t changed much, they still might make it for a few years. The date should be from when it was first printed though.

Clicking on each pattern will take you to the webshop listing and you can see how accurate your guesses are! Good luck.








































27
Nov
2012
Posted by Nicole in 1950s, 1960s, Designers, Vintage 101 2 Comments

Today Miss Kate and I are working on a special gown for a special person and special event – a couture evening gown by local label Raoul Couture Melb. We’re tailoring it to fit the young lady and evening up the hem. In the process we discovered that it’s been taken out at some point in the last 55 years, so in a way we’re restoring it to the original design.

Here it is:

Raoul Couture was a fashion house based in Flinders Lane, and it was opened in about 1955. The head designer was Leonard Legge. All the garments I’ve seen with this label are top quality, and show an appreciation of fine fabrics – generally silk or wool, with embellishments. The label is one of the better ones, sitting well respected amongst collectable contemporaries like Le Louvre, Hall Ludlow and Magg.

The label was closed in 1963 and in the late ’60s, Leonard Legge became the head designer for Prue Acton, bringing classic couture techniques to modern fashion.

Here are some more examples of his craft, now available in Circa Vintage’s Lonsdale Street Salon.


Here’s the label – all of the pieces from Raoul Couture have featured this label, so as far as I know there is only one (unlike some designers, who bring out new designs).

You can see the contrast in stitching between the original couture technique on the right, and the amateur stitches on the left, when perhaps the label came unstuck on that side.

We also have a silk metallic and mink skirt suit in the webshop (click on the image to go through to the listing).

I also found this image in the State of Green blog, from a Beaumaris shop called Cherie Vintage – image found here.

Here’s a richer, stronger colour – an image of a Raoul Couture gown from Vogue 1960 by Helmut Newton, that I found on Pinterest. Thanks Julia – stunning!

I have more Raoul Coutures, so I’ll add images as I find them – if you’ve got some RCs, you’re welcome to send me images and I’ll add them too, with full credits of course.

23
Nov
2012
Posted by Nicole in 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, New in store

Here are some pics of some of the evening dresses we now have available in the salon – they’re all from the late ’40s to the late ’60s and sized between and 8 and a 12. We have other gowns too, of course, especially of other sizes.

22
Nov
2012
Posted by Nicole in 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, Circa event, fashion parade 1 Comment

A little while ago we put on a fashion parade for the Australian Sewing Guild – this one was a little different to our usual formats, for a specialised audience and we combined the parade with my popular talk on ladies fashions of the ’20s to the ’70s.

Instead of me just standing up the front and showing dresses, the dresses were worn by models, who strolled around and let the audience touch the fabrics and see them up close.

It was a great success and I loved the opportunity to focus more on the fabrics, the construction techniques and the detailing than usual – here are some of the frocks as worn by our lovely models Apple, Carolina, Lola and Carley. Esther helped behind the scenes with dressing.

Here are some of the many frocks that were paraded: we took a few liberties with accessories: they’re not all period correct, but I think they’re suitable for each era to help create a look.


Carley looking very chic and summery in 1920s fuji silk day wear.


Apple in 1920s silk crepe with cutouts and embroidered detailing.


Carolina, stunning in 1930s silk evening gown – now available in the salon for purchase.


Carley in my WW2 Red Cross nurses uniform.


Lola in cotton print 1950s sundress – coming soon to the webshop.


Carolina in 1950s silk ballgown – this one is featured in my book “Love Vintage” and I now suspect it was made by Sydney couturier Beril Jents.


Carley in 1960s polyester dress with machine smocking – now available in the salon.


Apple in sheer floral party dress, early 1970s – coming soon to the webshop.


Lola in early 1970s cotton print Laura Ashley – everyone loved this one especially, we all seem to have worn something similar at the time!


A surprise finish was not a dress at all but Carolina in a silk pantsuit! Now available in the salon.


My favourite photo – the happy audience! The parade went really well and the feedback I got was wonderful. Here are some words from the National Newsletter about the event:

“Nicole spoke on the history of fashion and fabric through the 20th century and with four beautiful models paraded clothes from the ’20s to the ’70s…there were a lot of gasps of joy and no one wanted her to leave. As we said our goodbyes the audience were slow to leave, wanting to savour the moment a little longer”.

Thank you to Fay for inviting us to be a part of your event and sharing these great photos, the lovely models, Esther for dressing and Sue, the editor of the Newsletter – it was a lot of fun and a great to meet like-minded people. I hope we can work together again!

23
Oct
2012
Posted by Nicole in 1930s, 1960s, lingerie, Vintage 101

This month we’ve been listing lots of new accessories to the webshop – and I’ve added a link to the blog and the webshop so you can see the new listings on Facebook – a downside of having over a thousand products available online, it’s hard to see what’s new.

Vintage hosiery is a topic close to my heart: like Dita it was lingerie that first summoned me into vintage and I bought my first seamed stockings and garter belt aged fourteen. I thought you might like a short history on the subject.

Hosiery goes way back in fashion history, all the way back to the Ancient World but the earliest examples in my collection are from the late Victorian era when ladies would wear cotton, silk or wool stockings under their copious skirts, secured with garters around their thighs.

Early ’20th century versions are also made of rayon or “artificial silk” as it was called at first. Early stockings were “fully fashioned”, or knitted in the shape of a foot and leg and sewn up the centre back creating a seam.

Silk stockings were the finest, most expensive and the sheerest – cotton and rayon were popular for ladies who needed hard-wearing hosiery, like maids. Suspender straps were first attached to some corsets during the Edwardian age (early 1900s) to hold them up but most still wore garters until the ’30s when suspender belts became an essential part of a lady’s wardrobe.

Ladies would darn their ripped stockings using matching threads, available in small packets. I’ve got a number of stockings from the ’20s and ’30s with hand-stitched mends – they were expensive and so looked after, unlike today when we tend to throw them out.

Silk stockings were replaced with nylon versions during WW2, but most of the nylon stockings you see are post 1947. During the 1950s seamless stockings were made on new knitting machines and so seamed and fully fashioned ones became rare.

“Denier” indicates the fineness of the weave: the lower the number, the finer the stocking. 8 is the lowest, 15 denier is the most common and opaques are between 30 and 80 or more.

By the early 1960s almost all stockings were seamless, and stronger types of nylon are introduced including “micromesh”. Up until this point, most hosiery is manufactured in various shades of skin colour, ie, tans and nudes. Blacks were much less popular, mostly worn by older ladies and widows.

With the explosion of colour in the ’60s, hosiery expands into different hues, textures, patterns and prints – and as skirts become higher, ladies felt exposed with their stockings and suspenders and started wearing pantyhose (first invented in ’59).

If you’re unsure if hosiery from the ’60s or ’70s are stockings or pantyhose, keep in mind that during this transitional period packets took care to alert the shopper to the latter, so if neither is identified, they’re probably stockings.

By the late 1970s, stockings had become a nostalgic fashion worn for pleasure rather than practicality as pantyhose have taken over the market, with only old ladies and the odd fourteen year old wearing stockings.

Unlike other types of garment, hosiery fashions change slowly and I’ve found many packets that have been updated as times change, but the product inside remains the same here – here are some examples, now available from the webshop. I love oddities like these.

Click on each image to see the listing – 1930s cotton lisle fully fashioned stockings by Jeanette, repackaged in a 1950s box.

Mid 1960s Kolotex Clings stockings: the cover design has been altered when shoe heel fashions changed (a layer has been added to the carpet to hide the now unfashionable stiletto heel and pointy toe).

Late 1960s Prestige stockings with loose cover added to box, with seasonal Christmas design.

Both of those ’60s packet designs were still being sold well into the ’80s so revisiting them shocks me a little, as you couldn’t get away with selling many other fashion items over such a long period of time. You can see more vintage hosiery here.

28
Jul
2012
Posted by Nicole in 1930s, 1950s, 1960s

Last Friday night, Tim and went off to see Mikelangelo and the Tin Star with Saint Clare and a cast of talented friends for his send off at the Regal Ballroom, prior to heading to the Edinburgh Festival and the Famous Spiegeltent.

An extra special treat, was Circa dressed Saint Clare for her three outfits – a ’30s evening gown, a ’50s party dress and a ’60s picnic dress.

Here are some pics by Jess Rizzi – good enough for the pool room, I think!

Thank you Jess, Saint Clare and Mikelangelo for letting me share them: it was a pleasure and I hope we can do it again sometime soon.

28
Jun
2012
Posted by Nicole in 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, Circa event, Exhibitions 1 Comment

Earlier this week I bumped out the “Fashion through the Decades” exhibition at Australia on Collins: if you missed it, here are some pics.

It was well received and with a bit of luck, hopefully we’ll be able to stage another one some time.

The 1940s lady is dressed head to toe in items from my own wardrobe! I wore the clown print dress to Charlotte Smith’s event at last year’s Writer’s Festival and the art deco style brooch usually graces my ’50s wool boucle jacket. Such a pity there wasn’t a pink wig to complete the ensemble (not very 1940s, I know).

This is the first time Circa has exhibited fashion from the ’90s but don’t get excited: I’m not ready to consider the 1990s as old enough to be “vintage”, just that it helps with the context of this exhibition.

Thank you to Australia on Collins and Kinc Agency for offering Circa this opportunity and Kelley from the Lindy Charm School for Girls for her assistance. Most of all, thank you to everyone who came along and saw the displays.









20
Jun
2012
Posted by Nicole in 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, Shop talk 1 Comment

As you know, Circa is currently on sale – about half of the shop is currently half price or more and as we get closer to Circa’s closing date next month, more will be reduced.

You can pick up some of these bargains:
Scarves $10
Belts $10
Dresses from $35
Handbags $30
Hosiery $10
Coats from $60
Brand new 1950s raincoats in assorted colours from $55

Here’s a sample of what’s available – with modelling by Hannah. Hover over each one for details, sizes and prices.

These dresses are only available in the Fitzroy shop, and there’s only one of each – we have lots more of various sizes and eras too. Come and see us and snaffle a good and beautiful vintage buy for your wardrobe!

13
Jun
2012
Posted by Nicole in 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, Calendar, Exhibitions 1 Comment

Circa Vintage is working with Australia on Collins to bring you an exhibition of 80 years of Australian fashion:

“Collector, author and vintage clothing expert Nicole Jenkins has assembled the exhibition by selecting iconic styles from Australian fashion designers. ‘Vintage clothing is truly representative of how we’ve lived, loved and enjoyed life. This exhibition showcases evening wear created by Australian designers and provides a snapshot into our social lives at that time.’

The history of Australian style is rich and over the decades we have adapted the sophistication of European haute couture and married it with our own sense of style, creating an industry that is renowned internationally for exceptional talent, individuality and quality.”

What: Fashion through the Decades – An exhibition of Australian style from the 1920s to the 1990s.
When: June 18th to 24th: 10am-6pm, Mon-Thurs, 10am-8pm, Fri, 10am-5pm Sat, 12noon-5pm, Sun.
Where: Australia on Collins shopping centre, Level 5, 260 Collins Street, Melbourne
Cost: free!

As a special treat, one of the dresses on display will be the Leroy Alcorso 1956 Olympics dress. I’ve decided to keep it so that I can submit it to the Australian Dress Register, which means that it will be available for talks, parades and exhibitions like this one at Australia on Collins.

More information can be found at the Australia on Collins website.

21
May
2012
Posted by Nicole in 1960s, Seen at Circa, Style icon 4 Comments

I have a rule that I should never be at Circa without my lipstick, and that’s partly to get in the mood and partly out of respect for my customers – and I never know who will walk in the door.

I have a mental “Dream List” of people I’d like to dress, mostly creative performers, people with a strong sense of their own style and personality. If they have a good sense of colour it’s a big bonus, as I love colour – and for some time I’ve hoped to meet Florence Welch, who is so strong and idiosyncratic, a breath of fresh air in this day when most stars seek to reveal as much flesh as possible.

Saturday for me was an early start, with half the day at the Southland pop-up shop and then off for an afternoon at Circa on Gertrude. The joint was jumping: Poppy Cherry had come in with an actor for a final costume fitting for “Only the Young Die Good” and there were lots of people around. Mr Newton had just come in and loved Miss Kate’s look so much he took her outside for a photo out the front of Circa.

Then Florence and her friend came in – and found the perfect dress.

Florence in late ’60s Biba style rayon print dress by Melbourne label “St Tropez” with fitted bodice and enormously full sleeves. We’ve been calling this dress (which only came in on Friday) the Pre-Raphaelite dress and now it’s found the right home.

I love it when that happens! Thank you for popping by, Florence and I hope you enjoy your new Circa vintage pieces.

8
Feb
2012
Posted by Nicole in 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, Calendar, Exhibitions, Style icon

Those lovely people at Bendigo Art Gallery are presenting another exhibition of fashion from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

What: Grace Kelly: Style Icon exhibition
When: 11th March – 17 June 2012, open 10 am to 5 pm daily.
Where: Bendigo Art Gallery, 42 View Street Bendigo
Cost: $20 adults, concessions apply.

Tickets can be booked online here. More information at the BAG website.

From the website:
“Grace Kelly: Style Icon will highlight the spectacular wardrobe of Grace Kelly and examine her glamorous Hollywood image and enduring appeal. The exhibition features dresses from such films as High Society as well as the gown she wore to accept her Oscar in 1955. It also explores the evolution of her style as Princess Grace of Monaco, from her extensive wedding trousseau to her haute couture gowns of the 1960s and 1970s by her favourite couturiers Dior, Balenciaga, Givenchy and Yves St Laurent.”

Can’t wait to see this one!

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