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We Goofed: Vera & Vera

  • While we've only heard from one reader who spotted our Vera Maxwell mistake in Alligators... we can't believe we made such a dumb mistake and we want to correct it. We confused two designers, both named Vera, and the woman we wanted to identify in our book is Vera Neumann (see page 182 in the hardback edition). Vera Maxwell was also a design legend, with a career spanning fifty years, but it is Neumann whose screen prints appeared on everything from dresses to napkins and tablecloths.

Clothes Quotes

  • A batch of vintage classics, with thanks to Hester Hull of Birmingham, Michigan:

    “Nothing is thought rare which is not new, and follow’d; yet we know that what was worn some 20 years ago comes into grace again.”—Francis Beumont

    "The purse is the mirror of the soul.”—Anna Quindlen, 1987

    “When in doubt, wear red.”—Bill Blass, 1982

    “These gems have life in them: their colors speak, say what words fail of.”—George Eliot

    “And she always took the clothes created for her one step further by adding something of her own, some small personal detail which enhanced the whole.”—Givenchy on Audrey Hepburn

    “Large handbags to carry all the family’s ration books were also practical rather than fashionable accessories.”—Carol Harris in Women Under Fire in World War II

    “Skirts couldn’t get any shorter and remain legal.”—Amy Greene, 1970

    If you adore her, you must adorn her. There lies the secret of a happy marriage.”—Anne Fogarty, 1959

    Just make sure no one has exactly the same dress I do. I want all mine to be original and no fat little women hopping around in the same dress.”—Jacqueline Kennedy

    “When a man says he likes a woman in a skirt, I tell him to try one.”—Katharine Hepburn

    "A woman’s dress should be like a barbed wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view.”—Sophia Loren

    “Each day Beryl would appear in the yard, looking as if she had stepped off the pages of Vogue. Silk shirt, perfectly cut jodhpurs, shining leather boots, little kid leather gloves. A broadbrimmed hat and leather whip tucked under her arm completed the ensemble. It was first class all the way with Beryl. That was all she knew. ‘ Tell them to bring the horses around, will you sweetie?’ she would say when she was ready.”—Mary S. Lovell in the biography of Beryl Markham (first woman to fly the Atlantic east to west), Straight on’ Til Morning

    “Just to flirt again---in a skirt again/ There’s no romance when you dance/ Cheek to cheek and pants to pants /Oh for an old fashioned dress!”—Irving Berlin.

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Looking For Your Inner Diva?

Fasion_makeover_bookAlmost two years ago, when we were making the rounds promoting Alligators, we were lucky to meet a woman named Brenda Kinsel. Brenda, who is a professional image consultant and author of multiple books, had been asked by a San Francisco-area bookstore to interview us about vintage fashion and about our experiences writing the book together. She was amazing—funny, smart, well prepared—and she made us look good!

Flash forward a year or so, and Brenda asked both of us to contribute to her newest book, Brenda Kinsel's Fashion Makeover...30 Days to Diva Style . We couldn't resist, and now, as of this week, "diva style" has arrived in bookstores everywhere. You'll find tips from Alison on How to Make an Entrance,  and Melissa contributed a list of 10 items that will give any woman The Vintage Advantage. But there's so much more. Brenda has packed her 216-page book with advice on everything from dressing for a date to how to shop for jewelry, and everything revolves around her step-by-step 30-day beauty camp. If you are hungry to just freshen your look, or ready for a head-to-toe style redo, here's a good place to start. And to learn much more about Brenda, check out brendakinsel.com, an entertaining and informative website.

October 31, 2007 in Books, Weblogs | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (1)

Where Is Hooti Couture?

  • 2009 HOURS FOR SPRING, BEGINNING WED., MARCH 4: OPEN EVERY DAY, 11-8

    Come to Brooklyn; it's easy! You'll find Hooti at:

    321 Flatbush Avenue (at Seventh Avenue) Closest neighborhoods: Park Slope, Prospect Heights

    Best subway lines: B & Q trains (exit at Seventh Avenue and you'll find Hooti across the street)

    Phone: 718-857-1977

Find Your Way to Hooti!

What Is Alligators...?

  • Alligators, Old Mink & New Money, One Woman's Adventures in Vintage Clothing was written by sisters Alison and Melissa Houtte and is available in the U.S. and Canada in both hardback (top; William Morrow/Harper Collins) and paperback (Avon Trade). You can also buy the UK edition (Orion Publishing) in hardback in England, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales. Orion's paperback edition (below) is also now on sale.

    Orionpbcover_3

Alligators & the Media

  • Woman's Day, March 2007 issue; Heat magazine, UK Feb. 3-9, 2007, and many reviews and touts from 2005/2006, when our book was first published: People magazine ("charming memoir"); New York Post (3 1/2 star review); Women's Wear Daily; New York Times; OK magazine; TimeOut New York; All Things Considered, NPR (Jan. 15; you can hear it at npr.org); Glamour (British edition, "a must for all vintage die-hards"); InStyle, (British edition, "a charming journey"); Madison magazine (Australia); Body & Soul magazine; and Newsday, Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Dallas Morning News, Miami New Times, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury, The Scotsman (Glasgow, Scotland), Pacific Sun and Sacramento Bee

Amazon

How To Turn Alligators Into A Book Party

  • Do you think your book group would enjoy Alligators? If so, here's a suggestion for turning the discussion into a vintage-themed event, thanks to Alligators fan Moya Stone. Moya assembled questions about the book—"Who is Andre Leon Talley and where does Alison run into him," "How did Alison name her store?"...you get the picture—then put them on handsome little cards whose edges had been finished with pinking shears. She attached strands of yarn to each card, and soon she had what looked like hang tags from a Fifth Avenue boutique. She also stamped the back of each card with one of an assortment of fashion "emblems" like a shoe or a purse. Finally, all the cards went into a large alligator bag, to be selected by her party-goers/readers, one question at a time. Our only regret: We wish we had been there!

When In Doubt...Look It Up

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