Loving my Ceil Chapman Gown Especially in my Novelty Socks

  This gown is my wonderful wounded bird, despite all its issues. The dress has had a life, been at parties, weddings and yes on stage. I got this gown years ago from a playhouse and was told it came from a very wealthy lady. She had fun in this dress. It has aged and the lady is long gone,but this style will remain classic . 

I was having a bad day , so this dress really cheered me up. Putting on an old damaged dress might seem silly to most, but it made me smile. I'm not about to tell you too much about the designer, because you can always Google her and I would bore you. All I can say, is that she was famous for her sculptural draping techniques, and the beautiful fabrics that she used. And I suppose I should mention that she designed a very famous dress that Marilyn Monroe had to be squeezed into, love that she was a huge fan of Chapman. In someways, I feel closer to Marilyn when I'm wearing a dress designer that she adored. This gown is too small for my frame, its a 32 bust and 26 waist, but it fits sort of. I think I need a  proper undergarment, so it fits better in the bust. I just didn't want to hurt myself by squeezing into this lovely gown. All I can say is that Marilyn was a brave gal!  I wonder if she liked novelty socks like myself.

                                      This will probably be the last time I will try on this dress before it's either fixed or sold. Hopefully the gals that were interested are real. There are so many scammers on the internet. You sometimes feel you cannot even trust "real" people. I do hope I can get this dress restored, so I can ask for a pretty penny. I need to pay bills!!!!  I hate when I do all this work and I get F***** LOWBALLED!!!!

 

 

                    Images found on Tumblr. Does anyone use Tumblr anymore?

               Lastly is gorgeous Marilyn in her Ceil Chapman, that she did not fit properly. Good for her!!!! Harold Lloyd took this photo with 3D stereoscopic photography. Sadly it wasn't used for her famous Life magazine cover from 1952. The photographer Philippe Halsman took that famous photo. Marilyn's dress was sculpted or what we call today a body- con dress with tons of ruching or gathering through out the entire dress

    I hope to one day again have a Ceil Chapman dress perhaps like this. I guess I should be happy just to own a gown, although it will need a lot of work. I plan to list it on my social media and keep it tucked away safe from sunlight and heat in my new studio outside of town. Big changes for me, hooray!

Thanks for checking out my blog! 

I hope you have a cool Yuletide and as Tiny Tim said in A Christmas Carol from 1843

" God bless us Every one! "

Emma Domb for the Holidays.

 Note to self... If the black and gold one does not sell before the holidays, I am going to wear it to the Brian Setzer concert, hehe. I just love my vintage closet I have soooooo much to choose from since I'm a vintage dealer. These dresses are both available now on my Etsy shop , my personal website or just Google Todressvintage and there you go. Sorry I can't model the antique white gown, the size it too small for me. I do have photos of me in the other dress. Its about a medium, but I have it pinned to me. My husband took photos of me in the dress, that was a fun afternoon.  I just like to have fun with my vintage.

 http://todressvintage.com/products/vintage-50s-emma-domb-black-and-gold-formal-dress-m

Here's the link to the long formal dress-http://todressvintage.com/products/vintage-50s-emma-domb-white-and-silver-formal-ball-gown-s

 I'm wearing it here with my bear or mink faux fur hat that I got from Port Townsend, the best seaport town in Washington. Cheers!

Happy Birthday To Norma Jeane ( Marilyn Monroe)

Vintage Helen Rose Dress and Lucille Ball

I just love this dress, fits like a glove . Its the type of dress that is so timeless, very contemporary.
It has been listed on my Etsy shop this past week.  I will be getting it dry cleaned and ready for purchase this week. Stay tuned. Update: This Helen Rose  dress is soon to be on my new website.

I love a dress with history attached, its by Helen Rose . She was a famous Hollywood designer from the 1936 to 1968-for stars like Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor and numerous others, she made these actresses so glamorous.

 Just this week I discovered my favorite movie that features her fashions  can be found in The Long, Long Trailer from 1953. I was so excited to discover this!  Helen Rose created so many fashions for this movie, and they are even being copied today.

- In this flick  you will see sweet party frocks, casual day dresses, a gorgeous wedding gown, and of course Lucy in cute jeans with blouses done in gingham checks and colorful stripes. Too cute for words.

  Enjoy this romp through the movie...

   Click on images for full shot.

My Skotch Kooler from 1953  is in the movie. Gotta love Ebay!

 The original costumes by Helen Rose for Lucille Ball- 1953

  Movie stills not in the movie.

 Hope you enjoyed these wonderful fashions from Helen Rose. Check out this summer movie, its a blast !!!