Style that Inspires me

Right or wrong, I am in LOVE with fashion and various styles through the decades. There are just so many different kinds, but one style remains constant and one that I L-O-V-E and that is anything that is romantic and flirty and feminine.

To the left you see a beautiful woman with a soft romantic dress and parasol (to protect her skin from sun!) This Victorian style has always delighted me!! Oh how I wish we could dress like this (well.. sometimes.. ;-) ) It really does inspire me.

There are a couple of "periods" of time that I just love the fashion, the enthusiasm, just the basic culture: The Victorian Age, Rococo & Neoclassical Style, the 1920s and the 1940s. All of these fascinate me, and I always love looking at pictures of the clothes, the decor in their homes, the hair styles.. anything from these time periods. I thought today I would share with you a few pictures (that way if you are not familiar with the styles, you can see for yourself!)

Victorian Examples:

For one, I love the silhouette the dresses give the women. I love the lace and the "rosettes" and I especially love the fans!! When the egyptian and I were planning our wedding (pending his arrival in the states) - we came very close to having our wedding at a Victorian B&B. I actually bought a lace style Victorian wedding dress (which I have never worn.) We ended up not having this type of wedding due to costs for our out of town guests. I planned to wear a cameo necklace (I LOVE cameos) .. not familiar? Here is an example -

Perhaps one day he and I will renew our vows, and I will finally wear the dress!

I recently started collecting valentines from this time period. I found this amazing shop called, "What's on Second," here in downtown Birmingham. It is like plundering through your great grandmother's attic, except the attic is the size of a 3 story house! At the store they have  stacks and stacks of old love letters and valentines going as far back as they could collect. I bought a beautiful Valentine for $2 and the penmanship on this was amazing. It was between two friends, and seriously - I LOVE IT.

Rococo/Neoclassical Style:

This last picture says it all. LOVE it. Not sure if you remembered, but I LOVE Marie Antoinette. Don't ask me why.. I am just drawn to her story. I LOVE the style of this time, and the hairstyles - MY WORD! They were like pieces of art! I love the colors, I love the extravagance of it all. Just beautiful.

1920's:

Can we say sassy and fun? I like how it mixes a little of that Victorian style with a more "fringed" look. The cute little bobs and the fun hats and dresses- love it all. Even the fashion for the men, very classic with amazing hats!

Finally -one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE -

1940s:

Reminds me of the old black and while Hollywood movies and look! I LOVE the hair of this time period. I love the way the women wore bold lipstick and had porcelain skin. They carried a since of confidence about them and the fedoras were too sassy! These were working women, and celebrating their men coming home from war - but the spirit and style was amazing!!

SO that's my historical fashion loves. What about you? What decade or historical time period are you drawn to?

PS - I DO love the ancient greeks also!