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No Accounting for Taste

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  • Go outside 🌞 Juniors summer corduroy ensemble by Chee Armstrong, as seen in Mademoiselle, June 1948 // #1940sfashion
  • Lovely spring colors: Joset Walker dresses photographed by Genevieve Naylor, 1949 // #josetwalker #1940sfashion #genevievenaylor #vintagepalette
  • Happy St. Patrick’s day! To celebrate the color green, let’s peek at the house Barbara Stanwyck had built in 1937. Stanwyck loved green, and this beautiful wallpaper in the master suite faced her exquisite onyx bathtub. Many of the other decor decisions were made after she sold the house to Jack Oakie and his first wife Venita Vardon, but it’s an incredible piece of Hollywood history at any rate. Fireplace detail from her bedroom, original bathroom floor and milk glass wall from her son’s suite, dressing room detail from a later redesign, wallpaper details from telephone room and downstairs powder room, wall and linoleum floor from Jack Oakie’s trophy room. More to follow over at @noaccountingfortaste.home
  • Scenes from the last week of California winter
  • Not sure how I managed to stand directly in this lens flare situation but I feel so #blessed 😇 Today’s outfit is a little glimpse of spring: #1950s Jantzen sweater, #1940s gabardine swing jacket from @playclothesvintage, 50s scarf by Sally Gee (see post before last for more info on the designer), and pants by @revellecollection. Sidenote, who else is enjoying this later light? I see you spring and I’m dressing for you already // #ootd #truevintageootd #wearvintage #vintagestyle #1950sstyle
  • “Fresh-as-paint yellow, a greatcoat of Forstmann wool fleece, a coat to take over the work of another year’s neutral, a coat that need never go into storage. By Lo Balbo, about $125… Winged platter (an important new hat shape) in bright navy blue straw by Lilly Daché.” Benedetto Lo Balbo was, as you might imagine, born in Italy and came to New York in 1899 at the age of 15. He worked his way through the garment industry and formed the partnership of Leto, Cohn & Lo Balbo, designing interesting coats and suits that were popular from the mid-1940s through the early 50s. Photo by Erwin Blumenfeld for Vogue, January 1951. // #vintagepalette #1950s #1950sfashion
  • Today’s outfit features a scarf by Sally Gee, who was in fact a real person. Sally Goldenstein was born in Romania in 1903 and came to New York with her family in 1913. In 1928 she married Philip Goldenstein, and their Novelty Veil Co. made scarves and other ladies’ accessories under the name Sally Gee starting in the early 1940s. This one is probably from the 1950s, when Sally was traveling frequently to Paris. Sally Gee remained in the family, run by their sons Buddy and Howard for years. Sally died in 1979 and left behind almost as many scarves as Vera to show for her decades in the business. // #fashionhistory #1950sfashion
  • Trying to dress like it’s spring over here but tbh this is our coldest time of winter and all I want to do is be cozy. “Vested interests, the four-part costume, interesting for the vest, the combination of burning gold shades with calm ones, for the whole air of elegant ease, promising more causal fashions to come. Crompton velveteen vest, $19; wool tweed jacket, $35, wool tweed skirt, $23; rayon crepe shirt, $11. By B. H. Wragge.” Photo by Serge Balkin for Vogue, September 1, 1948. // #bhwragge #1940sfashion #vintagepalette
  • The registration on this page isn’t great but I do like the concept: “Golden investment, one dress that will double your money in versatility. Made in Miron’s gold wool flannel, it’s wearable not one way but half a dozen. Left, the fake topaz studs and detatchable peplum slick it up for weekending in town. Right, the same dress is played down for dinner in the dorm by removing the peplum and changing to wooden studs ($2 a set). Dress, $17.95, and peplum, $3.95, by Rosenfled.” Kodachrome by James Abbé Jr for Mademoiselle, August 1944. The dress with all options pictured would have cost $24 then, which would be nearly $350 in today’s dollar. // #1940sfashion

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About Me

My name is Jessica, and I love old things. I wear, collect, research and sometimes sell vintage clothing. This is some documentation along the way.

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No Accounting For Taste is a personal blog of Jessica Parker. All words and original photographs are copyright Jessica Parker, 2007-2018