cocktail fashion Elizabeth Taylor’s favorite designer, Doris Geddes, at Netanya’s

Famous Sling Cocktail and strapless dress have same exotic origin

Susan De Tresor (above) will be offering haute couture gowns from 1940s fit and flare faux sarong styles to 1980s beaded Halstons at the upcoming Vintage Clothing & Textile Show slated for October 30th at the Pickwick Gardens in Burbank. 

At a recent Caskey-Lees Textile Show, she offered a heavily-beaded 1960s paisley evening gown designed by Doris Geddes for $500.
The circa 1968 dress with wide sleeves originated in Singapore. Geddes boutique was located in the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. There are even photos of Elizabeth Taylor wearing a Geddes strapless gown in Singapore in 1957.
The Raffles Hotel was not only famous for housing Geddes’ couture collection. It was also the site of the invention of a very important drink concoction: the Singapore Sling. The cocktail was invented by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon between 1910 and 1915.
Susan’s business, Tresor de Vintage, specializes in vintage designer apparel. This includes vintage dresses, cocktail dresses and evening gowns, a huge collection of beaded shells and vintage sweaters, suits, separates and lingerie. Just in time for the cooler winter weather, they also carry an array of wool and cashmere coats, as well as fur capelets, stoles, vintage jackets and coats.

The Vintage Clothing & Textile Show

now in its 28th year, features 65 exhibitors. 

General admission is $7, and early buying is $20. Show hours are from 9-3. Early buying is at 8:00 a.m. Parking is free. The Pickwick Gardens are located at 1001 Riverside Drive in Burbank. Call (310) 455-2886 for more information.

Photo: Netanya Caskey
producer

Lingerie lines the shelves, rack for Valentine's Vintage Fashion Expo

Girdles, garters, nighties, slips and peignoir sets will be among the vintage lingerie flying off the shelves at the upcoming Vintage Fashion Expo in Santa Monica, slated for February 6th and 7th.Just in time for Valentine’s Day, women will be buying themselves sexy gifts, and so will their significant others.Among the most revered manufacturers of silk and rayon undergarments are Artemis, Mondaine, Radcliffe, Trillium, Lady Love, Barbizon, Corette, Miss New Yorker, Barbara Lee, and Saks Fifth Avenue.Dealers who specialize in vintage lingerie at the show include but are not limited to Margaret Laxauge of Mermaid’s Haven, Wendy Bishop of Bloomers, and Lysa Rose of L.A. Vintage Boudoir.The special guest for both days will be Leigh Leshner, author and vintage jewelry expert, who will provide vintage jewelry appraisals from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on both days.At 2:00 p.m. each day James Zimmer and Cynthia Harper of the UCLA Vintage Dance Group will be leading dance performances.Show hours are Saturday early buy at 9:00 a.m. and regular admission from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The show is open from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday (admission is free to students on Sunday with student ID).For more information, call (707) 793-0773.

Janet finally Picks up her first purse purchase in Little's space

Janet’s purse collecting was finally consumated at the Del Mar Show. She was first invited into the world of vintage fashion, and purses in particular, by Purse Princess Lori Blaser, but she hadn’t picked up her first purse purchase until three shows later, at the Del Mar Show.She bought the delicate bag from Jeanne Little, who needed some time to do a little restoration on the purse. It was a 1940s black faille handbag with a jeweled frame.”This was a very popular style and they often came in black or navy,” said Jeanne. “But neither Lori (Blaser) or I have seen one this shape and if we haven’t seen it than it’s not around.”Little had it priced at $265, but it was soon off to its new home.Little, owner of Little Treasures, can be contacted at (562) 598-1423

1940s box purse may look small, but it fits it all

Lori Blaser calls her 1940s textured metal cocktail purse by Italian company Walborg, a lipstick-keys-ID purse, because not much will fit in the glamorous bag. Or, so she claimed, until she put it to the test.It fits the average Blackerry or I-phone, and reading glasses. The only thing that was little too bulky, was a camera.”I have never seen one like this,” said Blaser. This says a lot, since Blaser has co-authored the definitive book on historic purses, and a has a personal collection in the hundreds.Although some of her purses date back to the 1500s and are museum quality, she does collect modern purses like the metal one she brought to the Del Mar Show.Blaser celebrated her 54th birthday at the January Del Mar Show. She stayed with her friend and fellow purse collector Mary who lives in Dana Point. Blaser’s husband, Carey Michael Blaser, was recently awarded the greatest honor of his life, by becoming the 1001st friend on the Facebook Collector Network.Blaser was born in Detroit, Michigan but her family moved when she was three. She is now a California girl through and through.

3,000 pieces of costume jewelry 50% off

More than 3,000 pieces of vintage costume jewelry, from Spanish damascene brooches to signed rhinestone chokers, will be discounted 50% during The Estate Store’s January Clearance Sale.The sale is slated for January 2nd through 19th.The Estate Store carries vintage furniture, watches, jewelry, sterling silver, postcards, paper and old photos. It is located at 10899 Los Alamitos Blvd. in Los Alamitos. Call (562) 430-8819 for more information.

Bring What's Practical, not what's Prettiest

Contrary to what most fashionistas might think, the true shopper knows that The Vintage Fashion Expo is no place to show off their finest duds.The Princess of Purses would not dream of carrying one of the her Victorian beaded purses to a show where it might be damaged in all of the trying on and bargaining. She instead brings a colorful, but rather mundane souvenir handbag from the 1960s. The rickety straw purse with straw flowers is so unreliable that it is lined with a ziploc bag to store any of her small purchases in addition to her wallet, kleenex, Advil, and other travel necessities.She says it is not fair to blame the bag. It is all of the abuse she has put it through that has left it in such a tattered state.

Vintage Fashion Dealer and Dancer turned actress

Angie, a dreamy and rather soft spoken brunette often seen helping Elisabeth Dueball in her Vintage Fashion Expo Space was cast as a burlesque dancer in an upcoming French film.The director came to Los Angeles to find women who could play the part of burlesque dancers, according to Dueball. He was looking for a shy girl and felt that Angie might have fit the part. She auditioned and got the role as a dancer in a 1950s troupe.”I was new to the burlesque troupe,” she said.Her stage name is Evie Lovelle.The movie has already been filmed and is expected to be released next year.

Dog and Pony Show for the well dressed

Most flea market dealers dress prepared to move heavy pieces of furniture in and out of their vans, there is one dealer who dresses as if she were about to be interviewed on the red carpet.Lynn Conrad, who sells easier-to-handle jewelry, has the luxury of dressing a little more elegant.”I sell beautiful things and I like to wear beautiful things,” she said, adding that she creates and sells her own jewelry line by casting antique pieces in sterling silver. For those who want the real thing, her table top cases and miniature dress forms are decorated with antique jewelry pieces that are 100-200 years old. Many of her items are French and feature religious motifs.”I also have a horse line and a dog line of jewelry,” she said.

Minelli's boots dance for $125

An authentic pair of 1960s gold go-go boots from the Vincente Minnelli estate danced for $125 in the space of T.C Leary at The Groves in Irvine.”A friend of mine did the last clean up of the home before it was sold,” said Leary.The high heeled gold boots in a size six were not worn by Liza Minelli’s father, but instead belonged to his fourth wife.Vincente, born Lester Anthony Minnelli, was a costume and set designer in theater who worked his way up to stage director. The first movie that he directed, Cabin in the Sky (1943), was visibly influenced by the theater, which is where he got his start in show biz. Shortly after that, he directed Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), during which he fell in love with the film’s star, Judy Garland. The two had first met on the set of Strike Up The Band (1941), a Busby Berkeley film that Minnelli was asked to design a musical sequence for Garland and Mickey Rooney. The two began a courtship that eventually led to their marriage in June 1945. There one child together is Academy Award-winning actress and signer, Liza Minnelli. The amazing thing about the Minnelli family is that Liza is the looker.

You Tube Critic Lambasts Frank's annoying interviewing techniques

An interview with Vintage Fashion Expo dealer Juliana Goitein, on the subject of Bakelite, was ecently the subject of a harsh review on You Tube.As with many of Frank’s interviews, the rather tame discussion with Juliana over the rub and smell method of testing 1930s Bakelite was almost instantly available to the public through a number of social networking sites. It quickly became apparent that Facebook is the friendliest of all when he was almost instantly attacked by a critic on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo0j7t2gDq4).After posting it on You Tube, the reviewer, Missmarie273, claimed that the interviewer was annoying due to both repetition and straying from the subject. What the critic fails to realize is that the repetition is necessary because the unedited interview will be transcribed, edited and turned into a story. The straying from the subject was referring to asking Juliana about the president at the time of Bakelite’s creation. This is one of Frank’s techniques for creating a timeline. Since the internet provides a large degree of anonymity, there is often viciousness and unwarranted harsh blitzes. Both You Tube and Amazon reviews are attack and burn due to the vast pool of virtually anonymous people with no real accountability for what they write.Dozens of these interviews have been posted on Facebook and have received no criticism. Facebook brings the internet down to size. Rather than exposing one’s self to the vast internet world, Facebook is like a gated community. One can make that community as large or small as they like and in there is a certain degree of civility since everyone in that little social sphere is accountable to one another.Juliana can be contacted at (323) 493-3903.Bakelite is a thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from an elimination reaction of phenol with formaldehyde, usually with a wood flour filler. It was developed in 1907