In the history of bathing suit fashion, achieving the right balance of modesty, material, and motion has been a major challenge. Not to mention sex appeal.   Maybe you’d prefer one of these styles from the past…   Many of us without “perfect bodies” have experienced some degree of anxiety while parading — or should I say skulking — from the relative safety of lying on a beach blanket to the exposure one must...

Six things (or more  — but who’s counting) about the history of department store MANNEQUINS that everyone needs to know   1. The Dutch word mannekijn, which meant “little man,” evolved to mannequin in France, where it first referred to an artist’s jointed model. By the 1800s, shops in Paris used full-size mannequins made of wicker or paper mache to display clothing. 2. Around the turn of the 20th century, the first...

Guess what! I’m giving away a $50 gift certificate to Etsy Etsy is one of the places I go to satisfy my vintage clothing cravings. Now you too can waste some of your valuable time obsessing over what to buy. All you have to do is go to my Astor Place Vintage page on Facebook, take my little “Author or Model” challenge and you’ll be automatically entered to win. That’s right. Even if you get every question wrong. I...

When did hats become a fashion statement for women? From the beginning of hat-wearing history, women were expected to have their heads covered by veils, kerchiefs, hoods, caps and wimples, but it was not until the end of the 16th century that structured hats were worn. The styles were based on the hats worn by the male aristocracy. In the late 17th century, women’s hat fashions finally came into their own. Just as hemlines have gone up...