Lots of pretty pictures to begin the week, all courtesy of famed photographer Arthur Elgort, who is credited with bringing in the 'snapshot' style of high fashion photography in the 70s. He was most active in the 70s, 80s and early 90s and has shot all the top models and still works for Vogue and others today.
Only a couple of weeks now until the Vintage Fashion Emporium (downstairs at the Sydney Antiques Centre) launches their brand new monthly Vintage Bazaar. Held on the first Saturday of every month there will be seventeen stalls of vintage goodness - eleven permanent and six visitors - plus yummy high tea, live vintage flavoured music AND a styling service for those looking for something in particular or planning an event. Or perhaps a whole new wardrobe? It goes without saying that I'm looking forward to it. 
Further to my last post here is a selection of favourite shots of Marilyn taken in 1962. She was slim, luminous and chic in that last year of her life (let's not debate here what her actual state-of-mind may have been). 1962 was the year that she was hired, fired and then hired again on the film Somethings Got to Give (images 1 & 7) and that she left New York and memories of Arthur Miller behind to buy her own house in Brentwood, LA. That year she sang happy birthday for the US President, vowed to push Elizabeth Taylor from the cover of all the tabloids, posed for Bert Stern for the famous last sitting (image 6) and began working on an autobiography with photographer George Barris (images 2, 3, 4 & 5)
Some Norma Jeane modelling shots to start the week. I love the colour intensity of these 1940s Kodachrome photographs. Marilyn's look evolved through the decades - 40s, 50s and 60s - so that her beauty always remained in style. I love the girl-next-door prettiness of her 1940s dark blond phase, but I do believe Marilyn was at the height of her beauty in the last year of her life.
My mother found this fascinating photograph amongst my grandmother's things the other day (my grandmother - always called nanny by my brother and I - sadly passed away three weeks ago). The photograph is actually a mock wedding snapshot, an exercise to show off what my nanny and others had created in sewing school. My nanny is the 'bridesmaid' on the right and the photo was taken when she was about 15 years old, so probably in 1940. Aren't the dresses spectacular? My nanny went on to design and sew her own wedding dress six years later, as well as all her bridesmaids gowns. She was a prodigious seamstress; I have one skirt in my wardrobe that she made for my mother in the 1980s that I always get compliments on when I wear it.
I've been a pretty pastel loving girl all my life but over the last couple of months I've become increasingly drawn to bright primary colours particularly reds, oranges, yellows and greens. This dress, however, has been in my wardrobe for a few years. A 1970s tennis style frock, the husband calls this my rainbow dress, and I decided to give it a spin again this Australia Day. The shoes are from Zomp.
These sultry images are from a swimwear shoot for the December 1963 issue of US Vogue photographed by well-known NY based music photographer Art Kane. The theme is the bandeau swimsuit, very much back in vogue again now, although perhaps it never really went away. After all there's nothing quite like a strapless swimsuit to create a nice even tan.
