A Shopper's True Paradise

Any trendy girl knows that vacation is no time to suddenly stop shopping--if anything, it is merely an excuse to spend more! After all, most tourist destinations make it easy nowadays to buy a gorgeous dress and an expensive necklace in the same store, which could be dangerous for a person's wallet, but great for their closet.

The International Market Place is stuffed to the brim with necklaces, bracelets, and clothing. Photographed by me.

In Hawaii, visitors are now able to choose where to spend their hard-earned cash, whether it be at luxury stores like Prada and Dior, the good old ABC Store, or a treasure box of a shopping center like the International Market Place. And, as many tourists can attest to, areas like Waikiki are abound with fun gift shops, where leis of every shade and Hawaiian dresses of every print are easily found.

Hawaiian Moon sells traditional Hawaiian clothing, all made in Hawaii. Photographed by me.

With stores like 88 Tees and The Clothes Chick located near most hotels, finding vintage clothing and accessories outside of the mainland no longer has to be a struggle. Availability doesn't necessarily equal affordable, as we all know, and the former store is infamous for its $30 t-shirts and jackets.

For vintage lovers not willing to spend thirty dollars for a shirt, the previously mentioned International Market Place is a must see and is full of deals just waiting to be discovered.

During my visit, the only purchase I walked away with was a set of two flower bracelets. Although the simple design and light colors reminds me of the forties and fifties, my main reason for buying the pieces was due to the pushy (but friendly) salesperson and low price ($5 for two!).

Banana Wind carries neat gifts and other items you never would have thought of before. Photographed by me.

Shoving the designer stores and hotel gift shops aside, my absolute favorite store in Oahu is the Waikiki Beach Walk's Hawaiian Moon, a shop selling traditional Hawaiian clothing.

One of my two dresses purchased on the trip was from this store, and I like to think that, had I somehow acquired extra cash, I'd have come home with another! Luckily for people not visiting Honolulu anytime soon, Hawaiian Moon sells their entire collection online.

Like any other major vacation spot, there are numerous places in Oahu (and the other islands, I'm sure) specializing in items other than clothing and accessories. One of these stores is Banana Wind, also found in the Beach Walk, which sells one of a kind gifts, home accessories, and unique jewelery.

The hand painted sarongs at Banana Wind. Photographed by me.

Regardless of any sale encountered in the streets of Waikiki and surrounding areas, Oahu is still a very expensive place to shop. This is more than likely due to it being a major tourist area, but one should keep it in mind before heading out for a vacation. But how can one resist those Hawaiian dresses and shirts?

Note: This post doesn't follow the typical style of Marcelled, but don't worry; the topics following will return to the normal focus on vintage trends. Read more...

Blue Hawaii

Aloha, everyone! Tomorrow I'm flying out to Oahu for some fun in the sun, so there will be no posts on Marcelled for the next week or so. Don't worry, though, as when I return there will be plenty of topics to write about! For now, enjoy these vintage photographs depicting Hawaiian fashions from the 1950s and 1960s.

Even tour buses were fun in 1969! Tom Spaulding on Flickr.com.


1950s family near their home in Oahu. Srk1941 on Flickr.com.


The USS Arizona Memorial in 1969, back when bags were actually allowed! Happy Hooligan on Flickr.com.


The famous Hawaiian dresses and leis. Cosmorama on Flickr.com.

Read more...

Little Magic Glasses

Covering horn-rimmed glasses is similar to covering blue jeans. Where do you begin? How can you possibly describe every style out there without writing a novel? You can't, really, which is why it is best to focus on styles from individual decades - in this case, the 1960s.

"Everything is so much clearer with our new glasses!" ViewImages.com.

During the sixties, if one wasn't heading down the hippie path by wearing wire-rimmed, funky frames, chances are they stuck to their trusty horn-rimmed glasses. Just take a look at any old yearbook (this one from 1967 will do) for proof!

Musicians and actors, always in touch with the latest fashions, helped promote the eyewear. Although Buddy Holly died in 1959, his signature thick frames lived on through the 1960s. Even the Zodiac Killer, whoever he was, donned a pair, and two of his victims - Paul Stine and Bryan Hartnell - did the same.

Weezer lead singer Rivers Cuomo is known for his signature horn-rimmed glasses. Engagements.ca.

These classic glasses never did fall out of fashion, and can often be spotted on today's stars. Newer styles feature thinner frames (possibly to avoid the "geek" stereotype), but the inspiration is still clear. You don't have to be an A+ student to wear them, either! Read more...

Making a Splash

With swimming now on virtually every television viewer's mind, questions are popping up left and right over athlete's underwater wardrobes. Questions like, do those new Speedo swimsuits really make a difference? And what's the point of wearing a swim cap if you hardly have any hair, anyway?

"Our new swim caps double as gardens!" Corbis.com.

Swim caps weren't always designed with competition being the main concern - in fact, there was a time when every swimmer wore one, regardless of how intense their swim would be. For a significant period of time, many pools required the caps, only relaxing on the rules about thirty years ago.

Women wore swim caps for one particular reason above all: Their hair, of course! Why, can you imagine the effects of chlorine on those lovely locks? Neither could they, so every time they went out for a swim, their caps came along with them.

Today's athletes are equipped with personalized swim caps. GettyImages.com.

And we're not talking ordinary swim caps, either. After all, if you had to wear one, why not make it somewhat pleasant? During the 1950s and 1960s, colorful florals were all the rage, with some especially elaborate designs costing up to $50 in today's money. Expensive, but keeping hair healthy and dry seemed to justify the cost.

Now, the question that really matters: Think Michael Phelps would wear one? Read more...

The Bee's Knees

How often do pesky insects inspire trendy hairdos? Rarely, which is perhaps the reason behind the massive popularity of the buzzworthy beehive back in its heyday.

"Hello, you've reached 1-800-BEEHIVE." Corbis.com.

Although now often the butt of jokes, back in the sixties women took their beehives seriously, spending hours perfecting the heavily teased updo. Some chose to visit the salon for the perfect hive, but either way it involved liberal use of hair spray, rollers, and backcombing.

By the mid 1960s, the buzz over beehives could be heard everywhere, and the hairstyle reached new extremes. Using hair spray by the can and dozens of bobby pins, women gave real beehives a run for their money.

The advertisements for Chanel Paris-London 2008 featured updated beehives. TheFashionSpot.com.

As most trends go, the beehive craze gradually faded with the increasing regard for the 1970's less demanding styles. In recent years, however, watered-down versions have been spotted on runways and on stars. Looks like this is one hairstyle that hasn't buzzed off just yet! Read more...

Keep On The Sunny Side

What would summer be without a dark, rich sun tan? For many cultures, few things come close to the popularity of tanning on the beach, and once warm weather hits, beachgoers everywhere hit the sandy slopes to work on their own tan.

"Maybe it's just this highly saturated photo, but your tan looks great!" Corbis.com.

With "build-a-tan" lotions of every shade and tanning booths open in the dead of winter, it seems impossible to imagine a time when sunbathing wasn't the norm. But would you believe that it was only a little over 60 years ago?

The story of Coco Chanel's accidental burn while on vacation that caused a sudden sensation in the 1920s is a famously told tale, and, while very true, this crispy trend didn't make its full appearance until the mid 1940s.

Combining 1946's controversial bikini with the look of bronzed skin, fashion magazines and Hollywood stars promoted the trend to its fullest extent, and fashionistas quickly took notice. With the help of the recently introduced tanning oil and their new skimpy bathing suits, a creamy tan was suddenly very easy to achieve.

In this Gucci advertisement, the intense tan takes center stage. HerFamedGoodLooks.com.

By the 1960s, when groups like The Beach Boys performed in their perfect California tans and crooned of sunny weather, tanning had surpassed being a mere fad and had become a way of life for many.

And even now, despite frequent warnings of the effects from too much sun exposure, flaunting an even tan is still just as chic as it was in the 1940s. Just don't forget your cat eye sunglasses! Read more...

A Trend That Raised Some Brows

Women in the roaring 1920s were no strangers to pain. Their meticulous beauty methods - which included using vacuum cleaners as hair dryers, and makeup made from messy wax - for achieving the perfect curls and picturesque makeup involved tactics most would now consider forms of torture.

"You don't get it, this is my serious face!" ViewImages.com.

With all the trouble they endured to get the popular flapper look, it should come as no surprise that women decided to fashion their eyebrows into the famous thin, clownlike shape. Perhaps they were making an attempt to express their true, remorseful feelings over how much effort they placed into creating the perfect face.

Or, more likely the case, they were simply following in the footsteps of celebrities like Greta Garbo and Louise Brooks.

In typical 1920s manner, the desired look wasn't easy to mimic. Women had no choice but to go to town with tweezers, often plucking until no trace of natural brows were left. Tweezers were then replaced with a stick of potentially lead-contaminated kohl eyeliner, which helped complete the illusion of dramatically high eyebrows.

The finished look, though leaving a permanent look of surprise on the wearer's face, was a welcomed change for those tired of the full, simple eyebrows that had reigned supreme for years.

The makeup for John Galliano's Fall 2007 collection was inspired by the 1920s. TheFashionSpot.com.

Painfully thin eyebrows proved to be all the rage well into the 1930s, but by the next decade fell out of fashion for full, well maintained arches. In the current era, some daring individuals have taken a note from flappers by shaving or plucking their eyebrows off completely, but this has yet to resonate with the fashion world as it did in the early 20th century.

And, considering the lengthy grow-out period for eyebrows, perhaps this is for the better. Read more...

Calling All Gibson Girls

Waists so tiny they could throw Barbie into a fit of jealousy, curled hair piled taller than one's head, and corsets so tight and constricting that women were forced to permanently adjust their posture - it's no wonder modern fashion has yet to tackle the Gibson Girl look in its entirety.

"I'm sorry, I can't suck in my stomach any more!" ViewImages.com.

Named after the creator, illustrator Charles Dana Gibson, the Gibson Girl was known as a beauty icon for women in the 1890s and early 1900s. Men loved her unbelievably perfect hourglass figure and fashionable bouffant, and women gradually learned to love it.

Eventually, after years of waddling in uncomfortable corsets, the Gibson Girl was no longer seen as the ideal woman. World War I had begun, and suddenly her high hopes and model figure felt outdated and meaningless in the midst of chaos. Women decided, in a reflection of the somber times, to ditch their corsets and extravagant gowns for narrow, shorter dresses and tailored coats.

For his Spring 2007 collection, designer Alexander McQueen created a toned down Gibson Girl. Style.com.

These days, corsets are rarely worn outside of costumes, and even then, they hardly come close to the extreme designs famous Gibson Girls like Camille Clifford and Alice Roosevelt donned, and rightfully so. Brings new meaning to the phrase, 'suffer for fashion,' doesn't it?

How to get the Gibson Girl look:
- Style your hair into a bouffant (Guide to the 1960s bouffant)
- Wear a form fitting gown with a nipped in waist and train (Golden Dot Mermaid Dress by Jovani, $400)
- Corset is optional! Read more...

Grinning Like a Cheshire Cat in Cat Eye Glasses

Meow! Summer isn't over just yet, so there's still plenty of time to find that perfect pair of sunglasses. If you're at a loss when it comes to what style to purchase, look no further than the family pet - the cat, that is.

"Well, aren't we just a bunch of cool cats?" The Owls Go on Flickr.com.

For women in the 1940s-60s, cat eye sunglasses were, well, the cat's pajamas. However, most people recognize the frames solely from the 1950s, when teenagers and adults alike wore the glasses in every shade of color imaginable and with embellishments of all shapes and sizes.

It was during this decade and the 1960s when eyewear began turning into more than merely protection from the sun - many people went by the philosophy of, if you're going to have to wear a pair, why not make it flashy and fun?

Tom Ford's take on cat eye sunglasses, in a style called 'Anouk.' Sunglasses-Direct.co.uk.

Fifty years ago, during the famously glamorous 1950s, these shades only cost you around $3. Nowadays, designers like Tom Ford and Gucci charge upwards of $250 for their modern take on the cat's eye. There's something else from the past I wouldn't taking back - reasonable prices!

Where to find cat eye sunglasses:
- Hey Viv!, $10 (Available in black, red, white, black/white, and pink/white)
- GoJane, $5 (Available in black, blue, pink, purple, white, and yellow)
- Hot Topic, $13 (Available in leopard print) Read more...

Ready to Get Marcelled?

Welcome to Marcelled, a new blog focusing on the famous (and not so famous) trends of past decades. The title derives from the so-called "Marcel wave," a hairstyle made famous in the 1920s and 1930s.

Although there will be a heavy focus on fashion and beauty, keep an eye out for occasional features on vintage movies, music, and lifestyles. Feel free to leave any additional ideas for future posts in the comments! Read more...