Vintage Maven Shareen Mitchell's Run On New Reality Show

The queen of second hand clothing and owner of 'Shareen Vintage' located in both New York and Los Angeles, is soon going to be featured on the Discovery Channel's spin off Planet Green's new reality show 'Dresscue Me'.  The show is set to run for eight weeks beginning on April 19th at 10:30 p.m.

Each week,  'Dresscue Me' will follow the self taught vintage fashion maven on her quest to change women's lives forever by connecting them to style.  The show will also get up close and personal into the behind the scenes of the vintage fashion business.  Before there was ever a 'Shareen Vintage', Shareen Mitchell was a self proclaimed jack of all trades and did whatever she had to in order to make ends meet.  This included everything from cleaning houses to babysitting round the clock for neighbors.  She even tried her hand at being a thespian for awhile, and has a lengthy resume on IMDB as a bit part actress on quite a few t.v. series.  In 2003 she decided to go into vintage retail and began her search for rare clothing finds as her passion for fashion grew.  She opened her shop Shareen's Vintage in a warehouse in downtown L.A. and set it up like a home with furniture which rendered a comfy vibe to the aesthetics.  A lack of dressing rooms is the reason she put a 'No Boys Allowed' sign in the front shop window...

   

In Shareen's vintage warehouse there are no two pieces alike and the really good stuff is said to get ripped from the racks rather quickly.  Everyone wants first dibs on her one of a kind gems! She hand picks each new 'old' piece and brings it back to life by cleaning, steaming, mending and sometimes altering to bring each find up to par with current trends. I was really surprised after visiting her website online at www.shareenvintage.com  to see that even given her cult status as vintage fashionista extraordinaire, her goods that range from the 1920's to the 1990's are extremely affordable!


Being proprietors of vintage couture, all of us here at Retro Threadz are looking forward to the first episode of 'Dresscue Me'!  Make sure you check it out!       


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Whatever Happened to Grace Jones?

Recently I was reading about the days of Studio 54 and this got me to thinking...What ever happened to Grace Jones?  Remember her? The scarily sexy androgynous Jamaican-American singer, model and actress?

Born in Jamaica, she moved to New York in 1965 and became a successful model in the city but gained her fame as a clothes horse in Paris more so because her looks were considered 'too strong' for American magazines.

She also studied theatre in Syracuse and became an extremely capable actress which overshadowed her musical talents in America, but not in Europe where her status as a recording artist was much higher.  She made some low-budget films in the late 70's, early 80's and became a mainstream actress after starring alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1984 movie Conan The Destroyer.

Jones made a record deal with Island Records in 1977 and put out a bunch of dance club hits.  It's said to be known that she is responsible for adapting and emerging a new wave style in music and she definitely incorporated performance art into her grooves.  In 81' her album "Pull Up to the Bumper" spent 7 weeks at #2 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club charts. 

So where is she now?  Although she hasn't made an appearance in any mainstream films since the late 90's, it seems as though the 60'something Ms. Jones is still rocking the microphone in all her glory.  Here she is performing at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark wild as ever!  

She's also been spotted several years ago during New York Fashion Week participating in the Jean Paul-Goude African Fashion Collection.

A press article last year stated that the infamous Lady GaGa was said to be interested in working with Grace Jones on a musical collaboration to which Jones replied..."She asked, but I said no....I'd prefer to work with someone who is more original and someone who is not trying to copy me actually"...She also added that she probably wouldn't waste her time seeing GaGa in concert.

Bad move on your part Grace, she could have given you a 'leg up' and some new found media exposure as well.  And what the heck? If the Queen of Pop Madonna even gave her approval for 'style dupes' to Gaga, you should have too! After all...Imitation is the best form of flattery. Get over your damn self!


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Vintage Film Classic 'Taxi Driver' Inspired Spring Style

Do you remember the classic 1976 four time Academy Award nominated movie Taxi Driver with Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster?  There was a lot of controversy about the film due to the fact that Foster was just 14 years old when she took on the heavy role of playing Iris, a teenage prostitute.

The American born fashion designer Marc Jacobs has recently used this vintage cult film icon as his muse for his Spring 2011 collection during the New York Fashion Week.  Inspired by the 70's, he incorporated the theme to this movie within his runway show by creating styles that brought back the floppy hats, gold sequin platforms, zigzag knits, peasant blouses and hot pants.

Palazzo pant jumpsuits, dresses with thigh high slits, satin jackets and a wild palette of colors consisting of poppy, red, maize and desert orange, fuchsia and bright violet.

Other designers such as Chanel, Moschino & Linda Farrow for Luella have come on board with accessories as well as their own creative interpretations of this 70's retro look with over sized sunglasses, patent clutches and silk scarves.

Although it's a unique concept, this fashion trend will by all means have a difficult transition to everyday life because in all reality..hot pants are rarely hot unless you're a size 3 stick figure eh?!

 granzia.ninemsn.com.au , plaztikmag.com , stylefrizz.com , caseclothesed.com , millionnews.whowhatwear.com , fashionschooldaily.com 

Rated PG Sexy

What's sexy?  Is it true that 'less is more'?  Nowadays it seems quite the opposite as we are seeming to conform to the European standards of modesty on all media fronts and even more so in today's fashions. Case in point, naked models walked the runway at London Fashion Week for Charlie Le Mindu! Way to shop your hats!

The 1940's & 50's was supposed to be the eras of the pristine 'good girl' but they managed to sneak a little naughty in there for sure!  My mother said she remembers back in the day her mother wearing a black sheer button down blouse with just a black bra underneath.  How did they get away with that back then?!  Maybe grandma was just a rebel? Check out this sheer lace number Rita Hayworth wore in the 1942 musical comedy 'You Were Never Lovlier'.  This now vintage scandalous dress was definitely ahead of it's time!

My mom's story of my grandmother's risque fashion choice led me to do a little scoping out on sheers as a current day trend.  I've been reading a lot about the New York Fashion Week still as articles are still trickling in and continue to pop up in the style section of the news as well as in the fash mags.  I came across Proenza Schouler.  Never heard of them, but they are fairly new being that they've only been around since 2002.  Proenza Schouler is a New York based modern design label that focuses their inspirations primarily on women's wear & accessories.


I Google'd them and went looking to see what I could find and their spring 2011 collection at the New York Fashion week was 'sheer heaven'!  I really dig how they couple the aspect of maintaining modesty with the sheer and sexy vibe of the delicate fabrics leaving much to the imagination by accompanying the styles with appropriate under garments such as boy shorts and camis.  

Sheer is definitely 'in' for Spring/Summer 2011 so make sure you keep it classy and not trashy and wear it rated PG Sexy!


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Au Revoir Galliano...

Without going into too much detail because the story has already made media frenzy, Galliano was dismissed from Dior on March 1st after a video went viral showing him on a drunken rampage spewing anti-semitic remarks.  The eccentric Galliano has never been known for his sensibility but he has reigned as the King of haute’ couture for quite some time.  He has been the head designer for Dior since 1997.

The question on the lips of almost everyone during the 2011 Fashion Week in Paris this past week was “who will replace John Galliano?”  So who is rumored to become his predecessor? It's being said that fashion critics are placing their bets on Givenchy designer Richard Tisci who is famous for his S & M inspired creations.

In spite of Galliano getting the boot, Dior stated that the Fall/Winter show for the 2011-2012 collection will still be taking place tomorrow however, it’s still up in the air as to whether or not Galliano’s signature line presentation will take place on Sunday.

By no doubt, he has tarnished his reputation in the fashion world and there is a lot of speculation that he will receive some sort of pardon in light of the fact that he was intoxicated.  Let's keep it real, everyone knows...'drunken words are sober thoughts'...

Au revoir Galliano... 

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