vintage bags

buying vintage designer bags instead of new styles means that you’ll get something rare, chic and durable for a price that’s usually significantly lower than the one you’ll have to pay for a new style. vintage designer bags are, furthermore, said to be of better quality than the ones sold now, mostly due to the fact that 20 or 30 years ago, the brand in question produced less bags but paid more attention to details and craftsmanship.

here are a few bags that you can consider:

1) chanel tassel bag

Chanel Tassel bag

Mary-Kate Olsen

 2) ysl vintage envelope clutch

3) vintage celine doctor bag

Celine doctor bag

Kris Jenner

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vintage icons: marlon brando

marlon brando, jr. was an american screen and stage actor. considered to be one of the most important actors in american cinema, brando was one of only three professional actors, along with charlie chaplin and marilyn monroe, named by time magazine as one of its 100 persons of the century in 1999.

Marlon Brando

brando had a significant impact on film acting. while he became notorious for his 'mumbling' diction and exuding a raw animal magnetism, his mercurial performances were nonetheless highly regarded and he is widely considered as one of the greatest and most influential actors of the 20th century. director martin scorsese said of him, 'he is the marker. there's 'before brando' and 'after brando'.' actor jack nicholson once said, 'when marlon dies, everybody moves up one.' brando was ranked by the american film institute as the fourth greatest screen legend among male movie stars whose screen debuts occurred in or before 1950.

Marlon Brando in The Godfather

marlon brando is a cultural icon whose popularity has endured for over six decades. his rise to national attention in the 1950s had a profound effect on the motion picture industry and influenced the broader scope of american culture. sociologist dr. suzanne mcdonald-walker states: 'marlon brando, sporting leather jacket, jeans and moody glare, became a cultural icon summing up 'the road' in all its maverick glory.' his portrayal of the gang leader johnny strabler in the wild one has become an iconic image, used both as a symbol of rebelliousness and a fashion accessory that includes a perfecto style motorcycle jacket, a tilted cap, jeans and sunglasses. johnny's haircut inspired a craze for sideburns, followed by james dean and elvis presley, among others.

brando was also considered a sex symbol, one of the earliest in the film industry to achieve widespread attention due to his enigmatic and sexy persona and the reports of his dalliances and relationships with various major hollywood celebrities. film scholar linda williams writes: 'marlon brando (was) the quintessential american male sex symbol of the late fifties and early sixties'.

so influential was this icon that dolce & gabbana paid tribute to brando in their spring 2010 collection.

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vintage icons: audrey hepburn

audrey hepburn was a british actress and humanitarian. recognised as both a film and fashion icon, hepburn was active during hollywood's golden age. she has since been ranked as the third greatest female screen legend in the history of american cinema and been placed in the international best dressed list hall of fame.

Audrey Hepburn

born in ixelles, a district of brussels, hepburn spent her childhood between belgium, england and the netherlands, including german-occupied arnhem during the second world war. in amsterdam, she studied ballet with sonia gaskell before moving to london in 1948 to continue ballet training with marie rambert and perform as a chorus girl in west end musical theatre productions.

after appearing in several british films and starring in the 1951 broadway play gigi, hepburn played the academy award-winning lead role in roman holiday (1953). hepburn remains one of few people who have won academy, emmy, grammy and tony awards.

she appeared in fewer films as her life went on, devoting much of her later life to unicef. although contributing to the organisation since 1954, she worked in some of the most profoundly disadvantaged communities of africa, south america and asia between 1988 and 1992. she was awarded the presidential medal of freedom in recognition of her work as a unicef goodwill ambassador in late 1992, but a month later, aged 63, hepburn died of appendiceal cancer at her home in switzerland in early 1993.

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vintage icon: grace kelly

grace patricia kelly was an american actress who, in april 1956, married rainier iii, prince of monaco, to become princess consort of monaco, styled as her serene highness the princess of monaco and commonly referred to as princess grace.

Grace Kelly

after embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of 20, grace kelly appeared in new york city theatrical productions as well as in more than forty episodes of live drama productions broadcast during the early 1950s golden age of television. 

in october 1953, with the release of mogambo, she became a movie star, a status confirmed in 1954 with a golden globe award and academy award nomination as well as leading roles in five films, including 'the country girl', in which she gave a deglamorized, academy award-winning performance. she retired from acting at 26 to enter upon her duties in monaco.

wedding of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainer

she and prince rainier had three children: caroline, albert and stéphanie. she also retained her american roots, maintaining dual american and monégasque citizenships. she died after suffering a stroke on september 14, 1982, when she lost control of her automobile and crashed. her daughter, princess stéphanie, was in the car with her and survived the accident.

Nicole Kidman as Grace Kelly

in june 1999, the american film institute ranked her number thirteenth in their list of top female stars of american cinema. 

The Hermes Kelly bag

while pregnant with her daughter caroline in 1956, princess grace was frequently photographed clutching a distinctive leather hand-bag manufactured by hermes. the purse, or sac à dépêches, was likely a shield to prevent Kelly's pregnancy from being exposed to the prying eyes of the paparazzi. the photographs, however, popularised the purse and became so closely associated with the fashion icon that the purse would thereafter be known as the kelly bag.

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vintage men

i know, most of you will be blasting me for how little coverage i am giving when it comes to vintage styles for men. well, don't blame me. i wish that i was a trendsetter back then too but in the past, men's fashion was a tad bland hence the less attention given.

One Direction goes vintage?

however, once you understand that fashion is a never-ending cycle that always takes on a modern-day twist, the possibilities for style become endless. vintage clothing has always been a popular phenomenon, but knowing where to find it, how to wear it and which era is 'in' is the ultimate challenge.

from the '50s to the '80s (and soon the '90s), everything from saddle shoes and spandex to big collars and big hair eventually sees a reemergence on the fashion scene. every era has a comeback, as today's designers simply update the styles from other time periods. so basically, it's the concepts from different decades that return, rather than the actual article of clothing. 

here are some items that one can include in their closet to achieve that retro-look!

1) dirty denim 

Denim by Diesel

otherwise known as 'washed-out' or 'distressed', this denim is treated to give jeans and jean jackets a second-hand look.

2) button-down shirts 

Charlie Sheen

popular vintage-looking collared shirts include 'utility' shirts; a button-down with a small chest pocket on one side and a patch or insignia that reads 'joe's gas station', for instance. you can also find shirts, in either brown, blue or green, with some stripes on the shirt, usually in another shade of the shirt's base color. another popular vintage detail is a shirt collar made from a different fabric, usually a knit.

3) converse and nike

the '80s have returned in full force, especially in the world of sports apparel. you can find old-school white nikes with the original nike 'swoosh' in most sporting goods stores. even '80-style converse all-stars (low or high-top) have made a huge comeback.

4) sunglasses

oversized shades are super popular for men and they're reminiscent of the good old '60s and '70s. even '80s-style aviators are flying high on the fashion scale.

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vintage make-up

yes, you've guessed it! more videos. enjoy the tutorials that i've ripped off the net for you!

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vintage couture

once in a while, i take a breather from the writing and allow images to do the talking. well, today is one of those days. so sit back, relax and enjoy the two videos that i pick out for your viewing pleasure.

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the vintage lady: carat

authentic vintage jewellery could generally be considered to be so if it is older than 20 years, although styles of the 1930's to 1960's are most popular and largely recognized as vintage. much hype surrounds vintage jewellery in the fashion world, so there are a lot of modern pieces widely available attempting to imitate vintage style jewellery. 

Renee Zellweger: vintage Cartier

vintage style jewellery typically features oval shapes, filigree patterning, diamond and princess cut crystals, pearls, cameos and gemstones.

vintage style jewellery has become so popular largely due to certain trend setting celebrities who habitually wear it. among those top trend setting celebrities are keira knightly, kate middleton and dita von teese.

Kate Middleton

kate middleton has quickly become a popular trend setter for vintage jewellery as her style is quite unique, standing out, compared to the likes of most other celebs around her age. kate middleton's style is always lady like, elegant, dignified, timeless and graceful, as most women would like to be perceived, which is why she has become a fashion icon.

Keira Knightly: vintage Bulgari

keira knightly tends to draw on fashions from the 1920's to 1960's, finding much inspiration from her earlier era movies. her style is typically lady like and elegant also but a bit more relaxed than kate middleton, often opting for loose fitting, glowing garments.

Dita von Teese

dita von teese's style is very much defined by classic vintage retro styles and burleque glamour. while dita von teese may be a lesser known celeb, she is originally famous for burlesque dancing and currently more so for her fashion sense which is built on top of that.

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taking ad-vintage

this week is dedicated to a dear friend who was first featured here. she is into all things vintage and retro. often, i would joke with her that i am bringing my trash over so that she can rummage through it and keep whatever she likes. however, jokes aside, i thought that as the end of the year draws closer and most of us start getting into reflection and recollection mode, it will be good to look at fashion from the vintage and retro point-of-view.

before we go into the fashion proper, we need to understand the terms. there will be a couple more during the week but let's just get the biggest one out of the way first. 

vintage clothing is a generic term for new or second hand garments originating from a previous era. the phrase is also used in connection with a retail outlet, for instance, 'vintage clothing store'. generally speaking, clothing which was produced before the 1920s is referred to as antique clothing and clothing from the 1920s to 1960s is considered vintage. retro, short for retrospective, or 'vintage style' usually refers to clothing that imitates the style of a previous era. reproduction, or repro, clothing is a newly-made, copy of an older garment. clothing produced more recently is usually called modern or contemporary fashion.

as with traditions, here are a couple of topless and shirtless male models with female swimwear models who have zero relation to the rest of the post.

Shirtless Beefcake Hunks for sale?

Maxim Girls: April Rose, Amanda Mertz, Kaitlynn Carter, Melanie Iglesias

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timeless fashion

this week, halloween kicks into high gear. you will hear more talk about events, costumes and parties but that's in the past here on The Online Edition. if you came to this blog looking for material about halloween, please click here!

moving forward this week, we are going back in time! (i love the irony...) i am serious. after a week of just celebration and festive cheer, i think it's time to get back into the mode of fashion and to get us all in tune again, we should get in touch with our fashion roots and heritage.

all week long, we will visit different time periods, different eras, different events and look at how fashion was like back then. you can say that we are going retro or vintage, call it what you want but get your bell bottoms ready as we zip back in time.

like always, well-toned bodies (this time from korea) and they have nothing to do with a word that i wrote about!

image from korea.com

picture from asianbite

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