Gloria Vanderbilt: An Appreciation

 
Gloria Vanderbilt was a debutante often unfairly labeled a dilettante. She was creating collages, decoupaging and decorating in an inspired American Country Style long before those things were mainstream. Her art was whimsical, folk-inspired yet modern and very, very feminine. I loved what I saw in magazines yet still couldn't decide if she was a genuine talent. She was.

The Coopers surrounded by Gloria's art and design skills

Her 1976 foray into fashion (blue jeans of all things)* was a highly successful venture let alone feminist statement. Yet still I questioned her motives.

Odd publicity shot to say the least...

The years gave her the respect she deserved. She remained active as an artist and a searcher for all of life's gifts. Now that she has died—at age 95—it's time to recognize her as one of the most fascinating and creative of women.

Glamorous shot by Avedon

Gloria Vanderbilt's background and history are well-documented. I hope you investigate how she became the 1920's "poor little rich girl", shocking the world with her marriages—one when she was 20 to world renowned conductor Leopold Stokowski, 42 years her senior—and love affairs (including Frank Sinatra).

With Stokowski in 1950

 
She was almost always in the public eye but accepted the curiosity and notoriety even during personal tragedies (the suicide of her son Carter in 1988). In recent years her status as Anderson Cooper's mother may have been her greatest fame. The CNN reporter and anchor spoke of her often and produced a conversation, "Nothing Left Unsaid", for HBO in 2016 that is candid and loving.

Anderson and Gloria

How does Gloria fit in my universe of all things fashion? Here's where we begin to see how fashion is really a component of style, and style is where the art is. That makes us artists every time we get dressed, and it makes us admirers of those who have the art in their dna. That would be Gloria.

* The company still exists, but Gloria sold her rights and interests in it many years ago.

So Right It's Sarong

 
I love nothing more than a good play on words, but that's not the only reason for this blog. Could the sarong be the next trend?

Sarongs, or variations on the name, are worn by both men and women in Indonesia, Malayasia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the Indian subcontinent. Patterns, colors and ways of tying can vary, but the sarong is a single length of fabric that becomes a lower garment. We dare not call it a skirt.

On the road again with Bing and Bob

My earliest encounter with a sarong was the Hollywood version, popularized in films with exotic locales. I'm willing to bet it was one of the Bing Crosby/Bob Hope "Road" movies that often featured Dorothy Lamour wearing a sarong. She became known as "The Sarong Girl" following her 1936 movie debut in "The Jungle Princess", wearing a sarong designed by Edith Head.

The jungle princess

You will note that Dorothy's sarong covered top as well as bottom. I wonder what came first—Edith Head's sarong or the bath towel?

But I am getting off subject. 2019's sarong trend just may be a sarong worn over pants or worn as a skirt with a button down or blouse. Street-style not beach-style. I love the idea...

...and on Bella it looks good.

Survey Says...

 
About a year ago, my friend Durell Godfrey and I had the idea to create a book about fashion for Women of a Certain Age. We're both in our seventies and still interested in expressing our style and looking good. The book never took off for various reasons I've mentioned before:

https://allwaysinfashion.blogspot.com/2019/03/allways-in-fashion-forever.html

To gauge interest in the project, it was suggested we poll a group of women to see how they felt about fashion, and we did just that. 100 women from their early 50s to mid 80s responded to the survey. They live on both coasts and in the middle, up north and down south. Some are still working, some retired, many doing a bit of both. Every one that came back via snail mail or email was fun to read and became part of our quasi-scientific survey.

Because we rarely talk about it, most of us think we are The Only One—the only one who hates her arms or that roll of fat around her mid-section or hates her legs or gets thrown a loop when dressing for a special occasion. Even those women who said they didn't care about fashion admitted they were frustrated with their inability to find things they liked at prices they could afford. Love it or hate it, everyone was interested enough to have an opinion.

It seems such a waste to let those surveys sit at the bottom of a box marked "Always in Fashion Book Proposal", so here are the questions and the results:

T H E   F A S H I O N    S U R V E Y  

1) Is fashion more or less important to you now than when you were in your ‘30s? 

a) more important 
b) less important 
c) the same importance 

About half said fashion had the same importance.

2) Do you wish you could branch out but are nervous to try new looks? 

a) I like to experiment 
b) I prefer what I know works 

Answers were 50/50.

3) Is it hard to clean out your closet and get rid of things you no longer wear? 

a) I try to do that 
b) I hate to give things up 

More than half clean out their closets. 

4) What’s your biggest challenge(s) when shopping for clothing today?  

a) finding clothes that fit 
b) finding styles I like 
c) finding items that fit my price range 

More than half are challenged to find things they liked.



5) Are there things you absolutely-will-not-wear?  

a) cropped pants  
b) full skirts 
c) pencil skirts 
d) sleeveless anything  
e) elastic pants 
f) heels 
g) jeans
h) shorts 
i) bathing suits 
j) sandals 

Full skirts, cropped pants, sleeveless anything and shorts topped the list. 



6) What style of dressing do you feel most comfortable in? 

a) relaxed casual 
b) Bohemian 
c) simple tailored
d) feminine 
e) bold and dramatic 
f) I don’t have one style

Relaxed casual and simple tailored were most chosen. 



7) Would you occasionally splurge on a pricey item?  

a) jewelry 
b) handbag  
c) shoes
d) clothing 
e) I’m not even tempted 

Almost everyone would spurge on something, especially clothing.

8) How often do you make a special effort to get dressed each day? 

a) every day 
b) if I have someplace special to go 

More than half make an effort daily.



9) How often do you shop online?

a) most of the time 
b) about half the time 
c) sometimes
 d) rarely if ever

“Sometimes” and “rarely” were the surprising answers.

10) What do you most like about shopping online? 

a) the convenience 
b) the variety 
c) the prices 
d) the fun of finding something unexpected 

Those that did liked the convenience.
 

11) Do you like to shop with friends or on your own? 

a) with friends 
b) on my own 

Almost everyone preferred to shop alone. Even those who liked “social shopping” preferred to shop alone when on a mission.

12) Which are your favorite stores to shop? Circle all that apply. 

a) mid-range department store like Macy’s or Nordstrom 
b) high end store like Saks or Neiman’s 
c) trendy store like Zara or Anthropologie 
d) specialty store like Talbot’s or Chico’s 
e) classics store like J Crew, GAP or Banana Republic 
f) budget conscious store like Target, TJ Maxx or Marshall’s 
g) consignment or thrift shop 

Answers were pretty evenly divided, with trendy stores and budget conscious stores receiving the most.

13) Do you enjoy dressing for special occasions? 

a) I like dressing up 
b) special occasions throw me in a tizzy 

Almost 90% of respondents like dressing up.

14) Do you have a physical feature you play up? 

"The legs are the last to go" seems to be a truism among respondents. Others are still proud to show off small waists, nice bosoms or slim figures.

15) Do you have a physical feature you play down? 

20% of respondents are unhappy about their stomachs.There does not seem to be a body part someone doesn't like.
  


16) Who are your style icons (movies or celebrities)?  

Audrey Hepburn by far led the pack, followed closely by Diane Keaton and Katherine Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn is a natural choice for the demographic. Diane Keaton dresses unexpectedly and to the beat of her own drum. Perhaps that is part of the admiration. Kate Hepburn, also outspoken, mastered the tailored look many of our respondents strive to adopt for themselves.

How do these compare with your own thoughts? Designers, manufacturers, fashion editors and retailers please take note!

Dressing by the Boards

13 Seven Sisters

When Cleveland's department stores announced their College Boards, they weren't talking about the organization formed in 1899 to expand access to higher education.

The College Boards were a predominantly 1950s-1960s marketing tool to attract college coeds, especially freshmen who were anxious to fit into their schools' particular fashion sense. The Board consisted of a dozen or so supposed authorities on what their particular colleges required in terms of wardrobe. They were hired to work for six weeks, from mid-July until late-August, peak off-to-college shopping time.

It was an honor to be a College Board member, I thought, not that far from being Miss America. Their names, colleges and photos would be printed in the department store ad under a fetching headline such as:

"Introducing our 1958 College Board!"

Members didn't represent just any college, either. They were almost all from the Seven Sisters— Barnard, Smith, Mount Holyoke, Vassar, Bryn Mawr, Wellesley, and Radcliffe. There was the odd local student from Oberlin or Ohio State, but who cared what anyone wore in Ohio? It was the Ivy League that mattered, and it was that preppy style we sought to emulate even in high school.

I never met a College Board member. They didn't seem to be "on duty" when I was downtown shopping. Instead I got my fashion advice from August Seventeen magazine and their "Back to School" issue or August Glamour's "10 Best-Dressed College Girls"*.

 
By the time I really was headed to college, to art school, in 1960, I'd put my circle pins away and laid my Peter Pan collars to rest. Instead I was buying opaque black nun's stockings to stand in for the black tights Beatniks wore. No College Board in that department.

I see why it's so hard to get dressed today. We don't have anyone telling us what to wear, how many shirts to buy, what styles are "in" or what will make us look hopelessly out of step. We have no one to please but ourselves. And when was the last time you looked in the mirror without hesitation and said, "Gee, I look good today."

*Yes, Glamour actually called it that from 1957 until 1969, when the honor was changed to "Top 10 College Girls". It took a few more years for them to become Women.