The Heat Has Sapped My Chic!

I know the title is slightly cryptic, so let me explain.  It has been crazy hot and humid here in New York, the kind of heat you can't escape even in the shade.  The heat radiates from the ground, the plants, it's all around you.  There isn't any relief when the wind blows either, it feels like the wind is just pushing around air that's been in a sauna with a bunch of sweaty men, yuck.  I can withstand a couple days like that, but this has been going on all week and looks like it will be continuing into the weekend.  I have tried to put together heat resistant summer outfits to share with you, but after the first two days of sweat inducing swelter, I am just too hot to try to be chic.  So while I bake here, I have cooked up a main course of cute vintage summer styles for you to indulge in. Enjoy!

If you wanted to go for a dip in 1899, this is the suit you would have donned. April-Mo, Flickr.

A cute madras shirtdress looks completely current even though it's from Vogue Magazine,  1934.  Ms. Blue Sky Flickr.

While stripes are still en vogue today, perhaps this stripes on stripes look from 1951 BAZAAR is a bit much.  Silverbluestar Flickr.

Summer Dressing Circa 1960's, April-Mo, Flickr.

Model Veruschka dolled up like a flower child, wearing Arthur Willians, photographed by Rubartelli.
Vogue,April 1968.

French ELLE, July 1970. Models wearing Lanvin and Chanel.  Classics never go out of style.

And when all else fails just wear some appropraitely placed flowers to stay cool.  Vogue Magazine, March 1964.  Fashion Covers Magazines, Flickr.

I hope you enjoyed this tres chic look at fashions' past.  Let me know what you think in the comments section, I might make this a weekly post.  Do you have a favorite fashion decade?

Let's Discuss: Crazy Heels and the Towering Heights

An assortment of mad, multi-story shoes from Alexander McQueen's seasons past.

I am really petite, and take great pleasure in donning a lovely pair of heels to give me a little boost.  However I do have a limit, my high heel height limit is 3.5".  If I go beyond that limit I become a teetering, tripping mess.  I know some women would scoff at my inability to wear a 4" heel, but even 4" heels seem quaint compared to the new heights that heels have reached.  Not only has the heel height been climbing, the rest of the shoe has been pushing the limits of what would be considered footwear and what should be a sculptural work of art.

I know crazy high heels are nothing new, designers have been sending them down the runways the last few years.  I recall a wave of shock when Alexander McQueen's armadillo shoes hit the runway a couple years ago.  Sensationalist artwork mostly, but then women started wearing these feats of engineering, well it was mostly Lady Gaga, but others soon followed suit.  Now those seriously strange soles are no longer the trademark of ostentatious designers, maintstream shoe manufacturers are selling sky-high, sculptural stems. I have gathered up a selection of current styles that are dangerously high and/or wonderfully strange.

Outfit Chronicles: Paint Splatter Pattern

This summer, in comparison to previous years, has been fairly mild.  However there have been days that are the complete opposite of mild, when the area is hit with a bout of 90 degree heat and humidity.  On days where it feels too hot to care what you look like I dress in easy separates, nothing too clingy, all made of super light, breathable and washable fabrics. Here is one of the warm weather survival looks that I have styled for those lovely (not really) hot and humid summer days.