Pink Fire Pointer July 2009

Celebrity Vintage Spot - Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchette is one of my absolute favorite actresses. If she is in a movie I must see it. She is probably one of the few people in the world that would make me nervous should I get to meet her. So I was just overjoyed to see that like all of my favorite fabulous girls she is a vintage fashionista at heart.

Here she is in making her debut Celebrity Vintage Spot here on the blog in a classic Ossie Clark gown in the most wonderful orange -red
and Oh what A debut it is

Vogue Australia 50th Anniversary Dinner

Vogue Australia 50th Anniversary Dinner

Vogue Australia 50th Anniversary Dinner

Cate Blanchett at Vogue Australias 50th Anniversary Party, Sydney

Perfection

It's also a somewhat ironic twist given that I just wrote about the demise of the Ossie Clark relaunched version in this week's Herald De Paris column. How can you compete with an original Ossie Clark when an original looks like this when worn by a girl like Cate?

NEW FEATURE! Pre-Orders!

I am super excited to tell you that I have now added a
Pre-Order feature to Shrimpton Couture!

There is such a high demand for the pieces that my independent designers are doing that it seemed to be the only thing to do!

You can now get a first glimpse of new items coming in from the designers and make sure you secure your order right away!
Pre-orders will be released at set times and all at once so it is fair to everyone

(girls were getting mad at me trying to place their orders through the blog and having to wait for other girls to respond to emails back - yeesh what drama!!)

New stock availability will be announce through here, through twitter and through email
(GO sign up if you are not on the mailing list yet- top right corner on the site)

These three pieces from The Glamourai are now available for pre-order

CRYSTALLINE CRUMBLE COLLAR

DRIZZLED NECTAR NECKLACE

TWINED TULLE TASSLE NECKLACE
SOLD

Punk Ballerina


Hello lovelies, Angie from Norwegian Wood here again! Did I mention that I like to mix opposites when I design? Probably not (since I've only blogged here twice before) but blending opposing styles is one of my favorite things to do, just to mix things up a bit and see what the results will be. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much, but when it DOES work, the results can be magical.


This next harness is the embodiment of this idea, the mixture of tough studs and faux lambskin perfectly temper the delicate mini-pleated sheer fabric and the art deco inspired clasps. Without the studs, the harness would be too girly, and without the ruffles, it would be a WEE bit too S&M, which is a WHOLE other market that I'm a little wary to get into....as it is I already have enough dudes on Flickr favoriting pictures of me in knee socks and tights....ew.


This design started simply while I was at one of my favorite trim shops here in Montreal, and I stumbled upon a bag of black faux lambskin covered elastic. It was just shoved in a corner on a shelf, and when I saw it I had one of those grabby panic moments where I get all paranoid that someone is going to come up beside me and snatch it right from under my nose (I get a similar feeling when a stylish girl stands beside me while I'm thrifting...doesn't everyone?) So I quickly grabbed it and proceeded to carry it around the store like a baby. I'm in love with this elastic, it's as simple as that.

So I tucked it away in my sewing room, trying to imagine the perfect project, because experimenting with it and making something less than stellar was just NOT an option. So once again, when Cherie contacted me about this project, this was one of the first materials I thought of using.


I had also been hoarding away the vintage sheer pleated fabric for at LEAST 10 years. I know. Ridiculous. This means I have moved this fabric across two provinces and five apartments. My name is Angie, I have an addiction to vintage fabric. So I was happy when I pulled it out and finally had the perfect use for it. The clasps were something I sourced out specifically for this project, I love the art deco style detailing and the pewter colours. These were again something I found in another favorite trim shop, where the little old man who runs it will often pull things out of dusty old boxes in the back room, just for me! The studs were the final detail, and as soon as I held one up to the harness to see how it would look, I knew they would be the finishing touch. That little bit of toughness that was needed lies in those studs, the perfect balance for a punk ballerina.

xo
Angie

Feathered & Fringed


Hello dears, Angie from Norwegian Wood here again. I'm popping in to let you all know that as of tonight, all my goodies for the Shrimpton Couture site are in the mail, on their way to the protective and able hands of Cherie! Over the next few days I'll post pics of the 6 pieces I created for this mini collection; 4 deluxe harnesses and 2 very special necklaces.


The first piece I'm SO excited to reveal to you is the Feathered & Fringed harness! As any of you who are followers of Norwegian Wood know, I'm pretty obsessed with the idea of adding things to my shoulders, so when Cherie told me to "go wild, do whatever you want!" my mind immediately screamed "put feathers on your shoulders, do it, DO IT!!"


So the next step was to find the perfect feathers. I hunted down these lovely vintage feather pads at a small local trim shop, and snipped and trimmed them until they were the perfect little shoulder sized half moons. Then I laid them out on the shoulder pads to have a look and thought....

"Huh. Doesn't really seem "WOW" enough. It obviously needs some fringe."


And of course, why stop at one layer? I was inspired by the natural colours in the feathers, and decided to do three layers of fringe in olive green, cream and black. Finally I felt satisfied and began putting the harness together. I recently found these great antique brass coloured clasps, but was only able to find six of them, so I knew they had to be saved for a special project, and this one seemed to be calling out for them. I toyed around with adding more straps or adding something else to the bottom of the harness, but in the end I decided that anything else would just compete with the feathers. Time to listen to my moms old adage "Angie, for gods sake, don't gild a lily!"

xo
Angie

Celebrity Vintage Spot - Geri Halliwell

Geri Halliwell wears a gorgeous vintage lace dress to the Cartier International Polo Day 2009

The Cartier International Polo Day

The Cartier International Polo Day


Want the look?

How about this

or this?

SOLD

Flights of Fancy


I've had uniforms on the brain for the past couple weeks. The subject keeps thrusting itself into my attention: whether through a daydream shared with a friend about the glories of British boarding schools, or references to WWII nurses during my subway reading time, uniforms keep popping up in my consciousness. I've always loved the concept of uniforms, and have always been vaguely disappointed by the fact that I've never had to wear one, except for sports (and somehow spandex crew unis simply aren't as romantic as wool skirts or severe cotton dresses). With my love of clothes, it may seem contrarian, but I'm utterly fascinated by situations where choice is removed from dressing.

In this vein, I'm also intrigued by moments when companies have to come up with new uniforms. One of the most memorable movements of this type happened in the Golden Age of air travel in the 60s. With myriad new airlines springing up overnight, everyone competed to have the funkiest and most forward-leaning uniforms on the block, with truly memorable results. Even Pucci got in on the game-- witness the Braniff Air photo below, with illustrations of the 4 "Phases" of his famous "Air-Strip". The results are truly inspiring for the modern viewer(as well as occasionally highly amusing.) I've assembled some of my favourite finds below.

Signing off for the Shrimpton team,

Alexandra






[Images via Dark Roasted Blend]




Spotted - Rhianna

Rhianna looks fierce in pearls & a black Alexander McQueen jumpsuit.
See my mini collection of McQueens here & snag a vintage version of the jumpsuit here

Sunnie Days Ahead


If you are a regular reader of The Glamourai's blog you know that for a while she has been customizing vintage sunnies. She takes the original frames and has the lenses replaced - selecting hues and graduations at whim to produce one of a kind fabulous pieces!

Her capsule collection of jewels and baubles that she has
(and still is making- watch for new necklaces in the next few days)
for Shrimpton Couture is a hit
and by hit I mean if you like a piece you better grab it cause they FLY out the door and are often reserved for their new owner before I even get them.
Which is good becasue then I cannot keep them all!

I kept seeing Kelly wearing these gorgeous creations on her blog and being me, decided I had to have a collection for my lovely clients. And again, being me, demanded that they be made from snooty designer frames to match all of the lovely vintage couture my gorgeous clients have. And my darling Kelly, has not only filled that request, but went straight to the top as far as designers go!

Her first official exclusive capsule collection of self-designed vintage couture sunnies are all made from vintage YSL frames.

SIX wonderful creations are headed my way!

Each is a one-of-a-kind creation and tres brilliant as one would expect.


SOLD

SOLD

SOLD

SOLD

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They will be on the shop by early next week - contact me to pre-order your pair!
_____________________________

Update:
Wanna see the Sunnies in action?

Check out The Glamourai's blog post today!
I took it upon myself to steal a snapshot


Not only is that pair of sunnies in the picture #6 down above BUT that fabulous necklace?
An exclusive sneak peek - yep that too is headed my way and will soon be up for grabs for a lucky Shrimpton Girl!

Update Two:
The soon to come sunnies & neck-piece had more NYC adventures - these shots where taken by Jessica from What I Wore on her lunch date with Kelly today!
Had to share



Cape Fear Not


Can I just say I have never seen anyone make a cape look quite so sexy so very/very hot as Cherie's mannequin does in her pictures. How does she do that? I give her some demure little number- O.K. it was black lace but still- and then she wraps those straps in all sorts of ways I hadn't imagined yet. "You wait here darling," Veronica says, handing Date No.9 a lychee martini.. "I'll just go slip into my- CAPE"




Well I did put quite a satin few ribbons on this one. Whoever ends up with this lovely will probably invent more ways to wear it. Please send us the pics if you time. Have always loved the drama of a cape so I took long full gathered Victorian skirt of divine fine/fine black Chantilly lace and Ripped it in half. Eyes closed. Otherwise I could mess up. The rest was simple, dear but simple; those are real 11mm pearls on that couture gold lace ruffled collar. Edges all now gracefully hand finished and you'd never know the trauma of its creation. I do love a ruff , just swoon over those complex gigantic lace spacecraft like collars orbiting the princess in the painting. I'm hoping to start a trend (o.k. Cherie and me that makes two so far) towards the ever practical cape and ruff for fall 2010. Particularily where I live as my car always gets stuck in the snow and I want to look good when handling the situation. Just like a princess in a painting. xoxoRSVP

Norwegian Wood hearts Shrimpton Couture


Hello lovelies, let me start off by saying that this is not the usual charming post written by Cherie, this is Angie of Norwegian Wood, surprise! Cherie has so kindly given myself and a few other designers the proverbial keys to the castle, the "keys" being a username, and the "castle" being the Shrimpton Couture blog! So I'm going to pop in every once in awhile and update you guys on the progress of the very special, one of a kind pieces I'm currently working on for Shrimpton Couture. It's been a crazy summer so far, which has caused me to think of these pieces as my top secret extra creative outlet, a chance to get out all the elaborate ideas that I usually wouldn't have as much time for and use some of my vintage trims that I'm not able to put into regular production, so stay tuned!

xo
Angie

1970s Holly's Harp

I think this might be the best Holly's harp dress I have ever come across. Its hand painted silk chiffon shot through with silver threads so it shimmers when it moves. Beautiful beaded applique work sits on each hip and the back and front collar. The amount of fabric in this dress is incredible and yet it weighs ounces




Nicole Ritchie is a Holly Harp fan and wore one that also had a floral print
(I am biased perhaps but think mine is better)

Can't live without it?
Click here to buy

RSVP Trunk Show

ONLY ONE WEEK LEFT

10-25% off the entire line for the duration of this event ONLY
These pieces are already SOLD
wanna chance missing your favorite one of a kind piece from this event?

SOLD

SOLD

SOLD