Lana Del Rey

Readers,

Happy almost Memorial Weekend! My husband and I have been trying to listen to more albums lately rather than watching TV. I am listening to Lana Del Rey this morning and I have to say I love her. I know the wheels of marketing re-created her image but they did a hell of a good job. Her voice is great too, regardless of her disastrous SNL singing appearance, I think she has an amazing set of pipes.

I have a lot of goals for myself this weekend which include: finally giving my husband a junk drawer, organizing my crazy closet, getting rid of clothing that doesn't fit, and starting Pilates again. Organizing my closet I hope will make my morning dressing for work easier; I will actually blow-dry my sopping wet hair before wandering aimlessly over to the coffee pot. I have to admit I like Lana Del Rey with red hair much better BUT I'm sure she doesn't care what I think ;) Enjoy.

XOXO

JADATO

History of the Mini-Skirt

Hello readers,

Researching the history of fashion is something I am very passionate about and I am enjoying sharing my findings for blog posts. I remember reading in my fashion courses, while working for The Art Institutes, about the history of the bikini/sandals/mini-skirts. The mini-skirt has been around a lot longer than you think and boys/girls appreciate the invention. For Thursday let's explore the history of the mini-skirt and I will show you a few of my favorites lately. Remember, the mini-skirt is not for everyone so just like all fashion trends.

In the Beginning Was . . . the Miniskirt
"High in the mountains in some of Europe’s oldest villages, archaeologists have recently unearthed ancient figurines dating between 5400-4700 B.C. What is remarkable about the figurines is not only their age, but also that the female figurines appear to be beautifully dressed in miniskirts not unlike the fashionable miniskirts of the 1960s, prompting some scholars to speculate that miniskirts were common in the earliest of civilizations (Derbyshire 2007). Interestingly, these figurines are not the only evidence of “ancient miniskirts. For example, an ancient Egyptian fresco shows a female acrobatic dancer wearing a “mini skirt” seemingly made out of cotton that shows off both her hips and her legs (Gandolfi 1989)." (http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/05/25_miniskirt.html)

XOXO

JADATO

London 1927 & Street Fashion

Happy Friday!

Most of you probably don't know this but I lived in London in 2005 for a glorious study abroad. I discovered this beautiful film today on Vimeo and I wanted to share with you. Isn't it neat to see in film such a historic city so long ago? I also wanted to post some awesome London street fashion.

Happy Friday and Happy Mother's Day Weekend. Give you mom a hug, take her out for a movie, get her some dinner, and tell her how much you love her. I will post more from my visit to my hometown this weekend for Mother's Day after some epic thrift shopping I  hope to have. Have a great weekend!

XOXO

JADATO

Wear Denim More!

Readers!

I realized looking through my closet that I have A TON of denim. Like A TON. That being said it has become a daunting task trying to put together different outfits with denim but still maintain an original look. After thinking about denim today I started thinking about the history of denim. Where did it come from? When did we start producing it? What year did denim appear? I hope this article inspires you to wear denim in a different way boys and girls; I hope it teaches you a little history on denim too. Happy ALMOST Friday!

(Original article from: The Story of Denim)

THE STORY OF DENIM

When and how was denim created?

Denim as we know it was never created but evolved and still does today over time. During the 1600’s historians believe the French made garments using wool-blended fabrics called “serge de nimes”. Around the same time, Italians produced apparel from a fabric called “genes” supposedly named after the city of Genoa. Both were natural indigo twill fabrics.

When was denim first made using only cotton fiber?

Historians differ on this matter and there is no definitive answer. During the 18th century is about as accurate as we can get.

Who made the first pair of jeans?

Levi Strauss historian Lynn Downey claims Mr. Levi Strauss “was the inventor of the quintessentially American and now global garment.”

Was denim just used for strong work wear garments?

Absolutely. Levi Strauss made durable garments for gold miners fusing rivets for reinformcemetns. Lee Jeans made overalls for mechanics who painted to protect their good clothes.

What happened to make jeans so popular worldwide?

Denim jeans blasted onto the international consciousness after the release of two moves, the Wild Ones (1953) starring Marlon Brando, and Rebel without a Cause (1955) starring James Dean. In both movies, the rebellious young protagonists wore blue jeans, black leather jackets and tight white t-shirts. The stars of these films became sex symbols.
This young non nonconformist image attracted youth all over the world. Who were struggling to define their own role in society? Jeans became a universal symbol and expression of individulism as did the t-shirt and leather jacket.
By the mid 1960’s youthful rebels on motorcycles morphed into long hair-haired hippies in the tie-dyed t-shirts and bleached faded or patched denim jeans. Girls wore many of the same boy’s cloths because there were no women’s jeans available on the market. Buying jeans was not easy in the late 1960’s. In Toronto where we grew up, the only place you could buy them was downtown in the equestrian shop named Thrifty’s where saddles, bridles, boots, and riding hats were available. As were jeans. Thrifty’s noticed customers coming to their store who were not even slightly interested in horses, just to buy jeans, so they started to carry Levi Red Tab products in all sizes. IN those days styles were few but sizes were unlimited. At the time this writer was a size 27 waist and 32 inch inseam. Thrifty’s carried every single size.
Gaps story is similar to Thrifty’s by offering an unlimited size range they turned themselves into a national retail phenomenon.
Jeans in those days were unwashed and Levi marketed their products as “shrink to Fit” which an accurate description of their products. Shrinkage was high and we’d always have to “guess” the shrinkage and buy jeans larger than our actual size. Then we’d take our jeans home and wash them, usually by wearing then into a shower and sure enough they shrunk. Sometimes excessively, sometimes perfect, in those days there were no returns. We just had to guess the right size and be lucky.
AS a retail store like Thrifty’s in Canada of the Gap in The USA or Miller’s outpost became famous, they expanded their concepts throughout the country, while Levi expanded across the world. And in every region Levi arrived, denim mills were built to support their new activity.
In those days, demand was so high it was even difficult to find enough indigo dyestuff which is why in some vintage stores you can find other shades of blue that don’t fade, Substituting indigo, denim makers used sulfur or pad azoic dyes because real indigo was simply not adequately available.

And in the late 70’s and 80’s what happened?

Disco and Harold Melvyn arrived in the mid 70’s. Jeans flipped from being symbols of freedom and rebellion to status symbols. Girls jeans were tight fitting, fabrics were dark and Gloria Vanderbilt introduced skinny stretch black denim jeans. And in clubs, “designer” jeans had wild designs on back pockets, and were marketed by unrestricted sex appeal, the most famous brands being Calvin Klein, Jordache, and Sassoon.