Category(s): Y BLOG

Braces or Suspenders as our American brothers and sisters call them, are in their simplest form a material strap worn over the shoulders used to hold up trousers and often underwear before the invention of modern elastic. Not to be confused with they type we use to keep up our stockings.

In modern popular culture braces have made an unlikely comeback, the return of the well dressed gentleman appears to be fashionable at the moment, 20’s to 40’s fashion is certainly creeping back on to the high street and into a number of celebrity wardrobes.  The rise i popularity of period drama and wartime television shows appears to be having the desired effect.

I must admit I do think they look fab on girls too, they look great teamed with a pair of tailored shorts or a skirt.

Ashton Kutcher, Ed Weswick, Daniel Craig, Usher, Alicia Keys, Drew Barrymore & Beyonce are amongst many who have been seen sporting the latest must have fashion accessory.

We have vintage braces instore for just £8.00.  Pop in and try them for your self, or maybe smarten up yourself or a man in your life.. Have a look at our pics for inspiration on how to wear…

Category(s): Y BLOG

Vintage shoppers…Forget the 12 days of Christmas, for the whole of December, Yep that’s right, no need to run for your glasses, the whole of December, Little Treasures is holding a special advent calendar bonanza.

These offers will last for one day only each so you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled to grab the bargains.

Keep an eye on our page and your inbox for further details. Don’t miss out.  We will be emailing you the night before so you can check your advent window every day.  

 

Category(s): Y BLOG

Trilby’s and Fedora’s are styles of hat which are often confused with each other. This is not altogether surprising as they are very similar  in appearance and have familiar origins. However, for the more discerning hat collector there is a clear difference.

The Trilby was a popular style in England and the Fedora respectively was more popular in the US. Often Trilby’s are called Fedoras in the US. The main difference between the two is that the Trilby has a shorter brim which is angled down at the front and slightly turned up at the back whereas the fedora Has a wider brim which is more level.

The names of these two hat styles also have familiar origins. The Trilby’s name comes from te George Du Maurier Novel suitably named “Trilby”. The hat was worn on the first showing and subsequently became known as the Trilby. The name for the Fedora also came from a play, this time a Victorien Sardou Play written for Sarah Bernhardt called yep, you guessed it, “Fedora”. In the play Bernhardt played Princess Fédora, the heroine of the play, and she wore a hat similar to what is now known as the Fedora. As a result of the play the fedora subsequently became quite a popular female fashion which lasted into the early part of the 20th century.

In the 1960’s the Trilby really became more popular than the Fedora, it almost completely replaced the wider brimmed Fedora. Of all things the lowering roofs of previously taller American cars was one of the noted reasons which made it impractical to wear a hat with a larger brim and tall crown.

Hats in general almost completely went out of fashion in the 70s when men’s headwear became less fashionable and men instead began to focus more on hairstyles rather than headwear. The Trilby style resurged in popularity in the early 2000s, when it was marketed to both men and women in an attempt to capitalise on a retro fashion trend. Both the fedora and the Trilby have remained popular since then.

Traditionally the Trilby was made from rabbit hair felt but it is now commonly made from many other materials, including tweed, straw, wool and often these days they are mass produced using man made fibres.

Trilby’s and Fedora’s alike have been associated with various musical genres, such as Ska, Jazz, Soul and have also been associated with subcultures such as Mods and Two Tone, these hats have no doubt had a profound involvement in popular culture.

A notable and maybe even the most famous wearer of the trilby has to be Frank Sinatra, the other notable artist to have worn the hats in the mainstream media was Michael Jackson. 

These days everyone seems to be wearing them again, from Bruno Mars to Jay Z, goes to show how a classic style can really merge through genres and eras.

Category(s): Y BLOG

Love them or hate them there’s no denying the impact of the Aloha / Hawaiian shirt on fashion worldwide.

The Aloha shirt as it is commonly referred to, is a dress shirt originating in Hawaii.  The printed shirts are mainly short-sleeved and collared with buttons, they also usually have a pocket sewn on at the chest. Aloha shirts started to be exported to the mainland United States and elsewhere post world war II.  And although the modern Aloha shirt was devised in the early 1930s they really became popular wear for people outside of Hawaii in the 1940’s. 

After World War II, servicemen and servicewomen returned to home with aloha shirts and fabrics which had been made in Hawaii.  The fabric is often cloth with retro style flowers, bamboo prints, birds, aloha girls and other abstract patterns.

These patterns had a strong influence in the style of the 40’s and 50’s and are often the images which are most closely related to those eras and the idea of what we now call retro. The popularity of the Aloha shirt boomed in the United States and the UK, major celebrities were wearing the new trend. President Truman wore Aloha shirts regularly as did John Wayne & Elvis Presley.  This has been emulated even more recently and even the hip hop artist Jay-Z has been seen sporting the look.

Original Aloha shirts have become highly sought after collectors items, with a fiercely loyal following. Vintage shirts have being sold for thousands of pounds. The most popular and sought after Hawaiian shirts are undoubtedly those around from the 30s – 50s.   the ones to look for are the rayon ones as a large percentage of Aloha shirts from that period were made of rayon, rayon is generally thought of as a more comfortable material to wear in summer.

At Little Treasures we have a large supply of vintage Hawaiian shirts in store, and as we’re coming to the end of the summer they are on SALE, selling at the marvellously reduced price of £5.00 each – and shhhh, don’t tell anyone, but i heard a little whisper that we might be having an Indian summer, so why not head down and find yourself a bargain, and don’t forget they look great on girls too, tied at the front with some high waited shorts or jeans.

Or reworked for the pooch! x

Category(s): Y BLOG

Born Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in 1929 to a wealthy family.  The girl, who would soon become the most famous woman in the world, always had an eye for style.  

An object of fascination to generations of americans and the subject of countless books and articles. Few Public Figures understood the power of fashion the way Jacqueline Kennedy did.      

Much of Jackies influence came directly from the streets of Paris where she worked  early on in her career as a photographer. Infact, it was the Parisian born American designer and family friend Oleg Cassini who helped her to realise her staple look when he was famously chosen by Jackie to create her white house wardrobe.

 

Known for actively sketching designs for her own clothes, Jacqueline Kennedy’s sense of style drew interest from the worlds media, more so than any first lady before her.  Her style was immediately copied by commercial manufacturers.  Jackies style however, was not only applied to her wardrobe, she is also credited with the restoration and renovation of the White house.   Upon moving into the white house Mrs Kennedy created the White House Heritage association, this was designed to publicise the historical value of the White House.  In doing so she had the White House declared as a museum which enabled her to set up a fine arts committee.  Enabling the White House to accept gifts of antique furniture which would be better suited than the furnishings which had been acquired during the Truman era. 

 

In the post presidential years Jackie still managed to captivate the imagination of the public.  Her style evolved from the conservative wardrobe of the First Lady to a more complex variations of styles.

 

The union of Jacqueline Bouvier and JFK created one of the worlds most powerful and influential couples in history, and her second Marriage to the worlds richest man, Aristotle Onassis was just another reason for us to be enchanted by her.

 

Few people have managed to capture the imaginations of the public in the same way Jackie did. So here is a little tribute in pictures to the woman who captivated us all. 

 

The recent UK screening of the hit TV show The Kennedy’s on the BBC makes us think that the Jackie Kennedy / Onassis look is going to be bigger than ever.

  

                                

Category(s): Y BLOG

Vintage, retro, pre worn, pre loved, whatever you want to call it there’s no denying vintage is having a clothing revolution.  Vintage fashion has made an unprecedented fashion comeback, and here we’re going to take a look at how and why we have once again fallen in love with vintage…

There is no doubt that popular culture has played a huge role in cementing our love affair with vintage.  Our ever increasing human desire, fuelled by the media, to emulate stars from a more glamorous era has played a large role.

The burlesque look is a particular style which has become popular, and to achieve the look effectively you really do need to know your vintage from your primark.

Iconic pin ups like Betty Page first gave us the look which has captivated us for generations, while nowadays artists such as Dita Von Tesse, Christina Aguillera and Katy Perry are making the style more desirable focussing very much on glamour and offering more modern takes on burlesque.  This however is just one example, we will go into more detail in future blogs.

Yes that’s right, Vintage is green, so you can feel less guilt about shopping and maybe even a little smug and proud of yourself for picking up that 1950’s circle skirt or those vintage van dal shoes.                                                

 

Category(s): Y BLOG

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray – who could forget the immortal first line of that 80’s Billy Joel hit, and guess where it all started, yep that’s right the fabulous 1950’s!

The 1950’s were yet another era of great social change, Television became more widespread, the koreas were at war, the cold war was brimming away under the surface, but regardless, Britain, all but recovered from world war 2, was starting to enjoy itself again. We even had a new Queen to celebrate. 

                  

Politically the clashes between communism and capitalism were dominating the scene, the space race, the arms race and nuclear power were buzz words of the time.  Although these undoubtedly influenced the fashion of the 50’s I think we saw more of this in the 60’s when the newer synthetic materials were made more readily available. 

 

In the 50’s rock and roll was the music of the decade, and music, as we know, has an effect on the masses like nothing else. Rockabilly was rock and roll’s earliest incarnation, combining rock and roll and country, and boy did it change things, everything from the way we behaved to the way we dressed it was effectively a revolution for the teenagers of the time.

 

So to the Fashion…

 

50’s hair was short, soft and curly, straight hair was a no no.  The 50’s look required commitment, often hours of preparation was required to achieve the desired pinned up look.  

 

The make up was peaches and cream flawless skin, eyebrows were thinner and eye liner was liquid.

 

The clothes in the earlier 50’s were typically designed to accentuate an hourglass figure with emphasis on a smaller waistline, this was achieved by either the fuller skirt or by the contrasting tubular skirt, both cut high to emphasise a small waist.  

 

Petticoats were a very important part of the overall look of the 50’s full skirts, as they needed support to look good. Twin sets and ballet pumps were staples in any self respecting girls wardrobe and accessories such as neck scarfs and gloves were becoming more commonplace.

 

 

By the late 50’s things began to change again with Dior creating the A Line style that became so popular in the 60’s and Chanel creating the much loved Jackie Kennedy Box look that was emulated time and time again all over the high street.

  

In the late 1950’s we also saw Givenchy, Audrey Hepburns partner in crime, cater for the more petite frames with his creation labelled the Sack.  The sack was later used by Mary Quant (http://www.littletreasuresvintage.co.uk/index.php/2011/04/mary-quant/) as a model from which she created her iconic mini shift dress.

 

Men were not left out off this mass change in fashion, they adopted the looks of their icons and wore slim fitting suits, thin ties, rolled up sleeves on casual shirts and chunky glasses. hair was styled to emulate the celebrities of the time with the ducktail, as famously emulated in Grease by John Travolta being the most popular look.   

  

For women and men alike there were many Icons of the big screen.  Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly and Brigitte Bardot were captivating females and influencing their wardrobes.   For the men it was James Dean, Elvis & Buddy Holly.  The enduring images of these iconic stars still resonates within us and transports us back to that fabulous era.

 

In essence the second world war and all of it’s limitations in the 40’s left people longing to be able to indulge in glamour again, and to be able to use materials in abundance. Women and men, particularly the younger generations, were stronger and more liberated post war, and the 50’s enabled them to have that little bit more fun with their wardrobes.

 

Vive la 1950’s long live the fashion and all who wear it….

 

 

 

Category(s): Y BLOG

In Hastings we love the 1940’s. There is no doubt in my mind that this has been helped along by Tv Series ‘Foyles War’, which is set in our lovely little home town of Hastings in the early 40’s, during the second world war. That coupled with the recent success of the BBC1 series Land girls, seems to have sent us into a 40’s frenzy.

                                                                 

The cut of Dresses in the 40’s was feminine, in at the waist with emphasis on wide lapels and padded shoulders, often tea dress style with mid length sleeves.  

             

The late post war 1940’s brought with it our vintage love for Hawaiian prints and themes. Husbands and fathers were returning from war with gifts for their loved ones, and these gifts came in a range of glorious colours and styles. Hawaiian prints were, and still are, a must have for the vintage lover. We happen to have a great range of vintage Hawaiian shirts in store right now.

            

Category(s): Y BLOG

With the launch of our new shoe department hot on our heels we thought we’d pay homage to one of our favurite things, yep that’s right, girls and boys alike, we all love shoes. 

From brogues to stilettos, flip flops to wellies, shoes never fail to capture our imaginations, I my self have a hefty 100+ so buying them in for the shop helps me to curb this enthusiasm slightly.

For men oxfords and brogues have long been classic styles worn by business professionals, while slip ons such as loafers may suggest more informal attitudes, and trainers are associated with fitness and or comfort. For women, well us girls have a great variety to choose from. Pumps, stilettos, kitten heels, mules, courts, too many to go into this week in the detail they deserve.    

At Little Treasures though, we focus on the vintage, and we now have a whole room upstairs, dedicated to our love of vintage footwear.  Labels range from Van dal to Bally, Lilley and Skinner to Carvella, Gabor to Vintage Clarks.   

If that wasn’t enough to get your running shoes on, wait until you see our prices!  Aiming to please all of our eclectic group of shoppers, we keep prices low.  You’ll more than likely find yourself walking of with a piece of vintage shoe joy for around £15.00 a pair. 

Category(s): Y BLOG

With the nuptials of Wills and Kate hot on everones lips, the only thing we can think about here at little treasures, let alone write about, is Weddings….  

And what is the most important thing about weddings?  Well apart from snogging the best man and catching the bouquet, yep that’s right, it’s the DRESS

Now, to the wedding of the moment. Didn’t she look amazing? She really did do us all proud, we loved her amazing vintage Grace Kelly inspired 40’s/50’s style dress, designed by British designer Sarah Burton, long term assistant to Britain’s own fashion great, Alexander McQueen. With it’s deep V neckline, antique lace, by french lacemakers Sophie Hallette, and corseted bodice, the style was perfect.  Understated, yet grand enough to hold it’s own in the venue. 

Kate’s dress was, as we expected, a far cry from the one that her late mother in law wore in the 80’s. I’m not sure that back then anyone really realised the effect Diana’s dress would have on popular culture. From nowhere, all of a sudden, everywhere you looked, there were brides in Diana-esque meringues

Kate is far more media aware than Diana was at this stage of her royal life, and I’m sure she is already aware that whatever she wears will be analysed and copied far and wide.  

Kate has tapped into the current trend for wearing vintage style beautifully, and has worn a dress which will be emulated worldwide for many years to come.  She even managed to keep everyone happy by adding Rose, Thistle, Daffodil and Shamrock detail to the dress to represent each nation of the U.K. 

We often have vintage wedding dresses in store, ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime. So if you’re a lucky bride to be, take a peek at our website from time to time, you never know you might find just what you’re looking for.

In the meantime have a look at these pics, they made us smile.