THE STUDIO: Vintage Vogue and Then Some..

Vintage class and elegance has been on my mind lately. Maybe constant reruns of The Persuaders has something to do with it, or maybe it's because of the European vs. North American style conversation that constantly arises. Whatever the reason, I did a little digging and found some stellar little vintage ads and editorials from magazine royalty like Vogue, Life, and Harper's Bazaar.

Finding and admiring these vintage ads prompts a whole flood of other questions and observations. There are the obvious sexist and occasionally racist ads, and many that focus on how a woman can become - or at least appear - slender and hour-glass figured. However, you'll also notice that models were much older than they are now. Today we have the Kate Moss inspired kid look (and 14 year old runway superstars... that'll come later) that goes hand-in-hand with teenage grunge. Back then it was womanly sophistication and straight elegance and to be honest, I think today's creative minds could use a little more of it. There are no raggedy edges and torn tights, no smudgy smokey eye and bedraggled hair. Yet.....these women are every bit as sexy. Low backs, low fronts, accentuated waists, but a sophistication and put-togetherness that we don't see in fashion today.

That's not entirely true, and that's another point of this post. In these ads from the 1940s-1990s, you'll see fur shawls and coats similar to those you see on 50% of the girls roaming around Toronto right now; you'll see large bows and headpieces and high-waisted pants with an emphasis on waist waist waist/hip ratio and the list goes on. Anyway, The Studio would like to issue you an advance warning that this post may be extremely long..

So without further ado..