Claude Montana Returns!

Well, he wants to at least.



The 61 year old designer whom we spotlighted a few months back, has his eyes set on the fashion world again according to WWD.

His very last show was in 2002.

Click here to see our spotlight on this legendary man!

What do ya say, should The King of the shoulder pads make a comeback? I think so.

Bring it on Mr. Montana!

xoxo Ferocious Fanny

Long Live Grunge!!

Wow where do I begin?
I'll start off by saying Grunge is one of my favorite genres of all time!
It made a lasting impact on both my life and popular culture despite its super brief lifespan.
Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains paved the way for modern alternative rock.





Born in Seattle Washington during the late 1980's, Grunge music is described as messy and un-refined with roots tracing back to punk and metal. It is comprised of distorted electric guitars, grumbling vocals, and lyrics that express a number of topics from Social rejection to Politics.


The simplicity of Grunge rock translated to clothing too. A stripped down anti-fashion attitude developed to coincide with the gritty sound which included untidy hair, flannel shirts, ill fitting jeans, baby doll dresses and anything else that could be found at thrift stores for cheap.

Ironically, this look hit mainstream and now Grunge is considered a fashion statement. Famed designer Marc Jacobs brought it to the catwalk during the mid 1990's.



Mary-Kate Olsen is particularly known for resurrecting the grunge look with her own high fashion twist in 2006. Since then girls everywhere strive to create the perfect 'homeless chic' ensemble.

Despite it's current oversaturation, I will forever love grunge and what it stood for. Cheers to rebels of the underground!

xoxo, Ferocious Fanny.

SPOTLIGHT: Carlos Falchi

If you haven't heard of Carlos Falchi, today is your lucky day!

Carlos Falchi is a Brazilian-born handbag and accessories designer well renowned for his high quality pieces and his use of exotic skins and leathers.

At the age of twenty, he moved to New York where he worked as a busboy.
It was here that he came in contact with rock and rollers and started designing stage costumes for
Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, and even the king himself, Elvis Presley!

Falchi got his big break in the 1970's when he showed his designs to
Geraldine Stutz, former president of Henri Bendel.


For over 30 years, Falchi has been designing bags with classic style.
His bags are soft and unstructured and often combine colors and patterns for a whimsical look.

His bags are showcased in movies such as Sex and the City and
 enjoyed by celebrities from Madonna and Cher to Rihanna and Blake Lively.



Carlos Falchi has also made an impact in the environment!
He has tried to create farm-bred, exotic skins which would protect the species, boost employment in developing regions, and provide environmental controls.

In 2004,  he received the Lifetime Award from the Accessories Council.
Many of his bags are also showcased in the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Musuem of Art.

Recently, Falchi made a line of more cost efficient bags for Target and HSN with the same craftsmanship that is evident in all of his work.

Here's to you Carlos Falchi for creating bags with an exotic flair that has never ceased!!

xoxo
Flirty Fanny

SPOTLIGHT: Claude Montana

Claude who???? I said the same thing when I first heard of this amazing designer a few years ago.
Many of the 'it' trends we see on runway and even the streets are inspired by Claude Montana. Read on to find out what a significant impact he made in one of my favorite eras--the 1980's!


French native Claude Montana started out designing papier-mache jewelry at 20 years old. A few years later, he began designing biker's leathers and mastered the technique. His very first collection came alive in 1976.


In 1979 House of Montana was born. His affinity for sharp silhouettes in luxurious fabric like cashmere, leather, and silk made him a huge success. Throughout the 80's he was hailed an innovator of high fashion, most notably for sparking the shoulder pad trend alongside Thierry Mugler. Montana's shows were elaborate and full of energy, everyone who is everyone flew in to see them. Including me....in my dreams of course.


In 1992 Claude Montana designed a haute couture collection for Lanvin, winning two consecutive awards.

House of Montana closed up shop in 1997 but it's influence lives on in every shoulder pad, every leather glove, and every sharp tailored jacket. Here's to you Mr Montana!

xoxo Ferocious Fanny.

Vintage Trend: Color Block

Color Block, is a pattern that consists of two or more colors in geometric shapes. It's origins lie in 1960's London where mod fashion was all the rage amongst British youngsters.

The term 'Block' refers to various sized squares and rectangles that were used in original Color Block garments. Think of the building blocks you used in Kindergarten, I loved those!

One of the most recognized Color Block patterns is from a painting by abstract artist Piet Mondrian. Yves Saint Laurent used his creative brilliance to whirl it into fashion by putting this gorgeous painting on an elegant dress.

The 'Mondrian' shift was a part of YSL's famous Fall 1965 collection. Doesn't it remind you of a Rubix cube?

Since then Color Block has been a classic that returns to the spotlight every once in a while. Currently we are experiencing a revival in this trend but in a subtler way with simpler shapes and hues more vibrant than primary/pastel shades in the past.

Remember those Herve Leger dresses that were so popular in the late 00's? Yep, those were a rendition of Color Block.

Hmm what will the future bring in this colorful trend? I can't wait to see :)

xoxo Ferocious Fanny

Ad of the Month

The epitome of elegance aka Iman meets Yves Saint Laurent for his Rive Gauche collection in 1980.
Sweet ruffles and hair flowers plus a sassy facial expression and hoop earrings equal feeyuhhcceee. Snaps!

xoxo Ferocious Fanny

Vintage Ad of the Month: CHANEL

One of the best things about Chanel, is it seamlessly fits into any type of style. In this advertisement from the early 90's, supermodel Linda Evangelista jogs through the streets in a Jersey tracksuit. Two C's on a thick gilt chain??? Classic! Long live Chanel!
xoxo Ferocious Fanny

SPOTLIGHT: Sabrina

As part of Funky Fanny's ongoing dedication to bringing you Vintage, but also the History of Vintage, I attended a free fashion film offered by Parsons: School of Art and Design History celebrating the launch of their new MA Fashion Studies program, and here's the rundown on that Vintage Cinematic Classic.

In 1954 one of the most memorable films of the twentieth century came to the big screen: Sabrina.

This romantic comedy starring Audrey Hepburn is about a chauffeur's daughter 'Sabrina Fairchild' who is madly in love with the son of a wealthy family 'David Larrabe'. Dressed in rags, David never pays her any mind.

Costume designer Edith Head created this raga-muffin dress. Edith's dream was to make every outfit for the film but was only permitted to make this one.
Sabrina left for culinary school in Paris and came back a changed woman complete with fancy garments. Upon arrival, David stops to pick her up without even recognizing her.

Legendary designer Hubert de Givenchy created this sophisticated Black suit with matching gloves and a White head wrap. Audrey begged him to let her try his S/S 1953 samples and they fit perfectly. That marked the beginning of a life long friendship plus popularity among Hollywood stars. He made every ensemble Sabrina wears post-Paris.
 Sabrina gets invited to a Larrabe dinner party and shows up in the most elaborate White silk gown with gloves. She steals the night as David ditches his fiancee to dance with her. His brother Linus notices and fears it will cost corporate ties with the bride. So he takes matters into his own hands and attempts to make Sabrina fall in love with him instead.





In an office scene Linus invites Sabrina for ice cream. She wears a Black cocktail dress with matching gloves and crown. Audrey loved this dress because she says it "covered her bony chest and accentuated the shoulders."


Awwww peep the embellishment how adorable. I want one!
 Linus takes Sabrina on a boat trip. She wears a Plaid top tucked into White pleated shorts. That day he realizes that he's fallen in love but continues on with his plans to get rid of her.








In another office scene Sabrina shows up to visit Linus in a Black funnel neck coat by Givenchy . Beneath it is a simple sweater and capris combo with ballerina flats that shows off her slim figure. Here she got the news that Linus planned to ship her away to Paris for good.






In the last scene Sabrina heads for Paris in a Wool trench and gloves accompanied by her puppy *tears*. Linus realized he was making a mistake and caught the boat to meet his true love. They hugged and sailed off.

Edith Head won eight Oscars for best costumes although Hubert de Givenchy designed the majority of the outfits for Sabrina. Since she was appointed wardrobe supervisor and costume designer, Edith was upset when news broke that Audrey requested Givenchy to create her gowns instead. To prevent Edith from quitting, the director granted her wishes and all credit went to her.


Happy endings are the best!

xoxo Ferocious Fanny.

SPOTLIGHT: Lacoste or Haymaker?

Everyone knows what that little crocodile emblem represents but you're probably wondering why on earth the tag says Haymaker. This isn't a fake it's actually an authentic Lacoste shirt. So why doesn't it say so? Allow me to break everything down.

Originally, Lacoste was a brand of tennis shirts developed by French tennis star Rene Lacoste and knitwear company owner Andre Gillier in 1933. Each shirt had a croc logo representing Rene's nickname 'the crocodile'. In 1952 he signed an agreement with David Crystal, owner of Izod who combined the two brands to boost Izod's prestige.

By 1966, Lacoste shirts and polo dresses were made and distributed in the U.S. with variations of labels on clothing tags including Izod Lacoste and Haymaker, a sportswear division under Crystal.

These tennis style garments were very fashionable during the late 1960's to early 1980's when 'preppy' was THE look.

Today Izod and Lacoste are separate entities while David Crystal no longer exists.

For Spring 2010, luxury labels put a spin on retro tennis style as their interpretation of the current sportswear trend.

Who knew such a small symbol had so much history behind it?

xoxo Ferocious Fanny.

SPOTLIGHT: Andrea Pfister

Andrea Pfister is a one of a kind designer known for his love of detail and whimsical design.

Nope..contrary to the name,Andrea is not a woman, he is a man of genius shoe creations...
A magnificent couturier of opulent, colorful and innovative shoes if you will.
He is known for his sexy designs,high quality,and attention to comfortability.

Andrea was born in Pesaro, Italy on August 30,1942.
His shoes are also Italian made and created with attention to detail.

In 1963..at the age of 21,he began his career designing for Lanvin and Jean Patou.
He showed his first collection in 1965 and began production for his own line in 1967.
In 1974 his ready-to-wear line was finally launched.

He also designed for Bruno Magli and Mariuccia Mandeli,as well as collaborated with Anne Klein from 1974 to 1993.

Pfister has an eye for shoe perfection..starting with color, shape, proportion and styling...
Quite notably, vibrant color and then continuing with jewels, sequins, glitter or appliqués. He also uses handcrafted embroidery, silks and plastics.

His most notably famous style was the birdcage shoe in 1979, which is a flat pump with a closed-back, opened-toe, and the main body constructed in an open latticework of thin leather straps. This later became copied by many using plastic instead of leather.

He is THE leading designer in making sexy shoes in a variety of themes such as starry skies, the sea, music, the circus, Las Vegas, fruit and some with cocktail glass heels like this Martini inspired shoe design..



He loves motif appliqué..as do I!And has designed for Elizabeth Taylor and MADONNA
le sighhh..

Pfister has always said: "If a beautiful woman’s feet hurt, she becomes ugly."
We couldn't agree more!

Kudos to Sir Andrea Pfister for creating some of the most interesting shoe designs we've ever laid eyes upon.

Vintage Gucci Appraisals..

We ADORE Vintage Gucci and always get questions of the who's,where's, and how's to know a specific items value.

Well,here's a great service that will make that much easier!

The House of Gucci and Christie's have joined forces to create 

Gucci Collector

The 1st Gucci-certified online appraisal service for Vintage Gucci items.

Seems pretty easy too and with the history of Christie's in the auction world it's sure to put you at ease on that fabulous piece you've been holding onto,wanting to sell,or just wanting to know the value of.

Upload your photo and submit an appraisal request and a team of Christie's experts as well as Gucci's archivists will assess the item and provide an auction estimate for qualifying submissions.

(Select owners will have a chance to sell their items to Gucci or in a future Christie's auction as well)

FYI..For collectors who have Gucci up the wazoo(you lucky lady you!)..You may submit up to six items per request..

So..run and grab your yumminess and get to gettin!

Big "Vintage Gucci is divine" Hugs

The Vintage Wondergirl

Blue Jean Baby..

Denim is America’s most known contribution to fashion. It’s begi

nning can be routed to Levi Strauss in the early 1800’s. He changed the fashion game by creating a tough fabric that was durable for hard working labor jobs.

Altering the name from ‘overalls’ to ‘jeans’. The fabric called ‘jeans’ comes from the French word "genes" which is the name for blue denim fabric.

Different styles and variations of denim appear and reappear but never go out of style.

The 50’s introduced the world to 'rebel teens' in the famous movie 'Grease' like The Thunderbirds who wore denim jeans with their leather jackets.

The 70’s and 80’s introduced bell-bottoms,

Embroidery jeans for all the peace loving hippies,

Designer denim like Sergio Valente, Calvin Klein and Jordache jeans became mainstream during the later years.

The fashion world is always in a state of reinvention and alteration.
It's style has been around for a years, yet the blue jean will remain a classic piece of clothing for a timeless generation.

Peace/Love/Free Hugs

*FoxyFanny*

SPOTLIGHT..Halston

With 4th of July upon us you can feel the excitement of summer in the air.

Barbecues,picnics,and fireworks are essential and hot summer weather means even hotter summer fashion!

So, in honor of celebrating all things American..
We're delighted to highlight one of the most influential American designers,
Roy Halston Frowick, aka Halston.


Born in Iowa and raised in Indiana,Halston began his career as a milliner.
He moved to NYC in 1957 and worked his way up to co-designer at millinery Lilly Daché before moving on to head milliner at Bergdorf Goodman.

One of his major notable moments came when he designed the pillbox hat that Jacqueline Kennedy wore to her husband’s presidential inauguration.

In 1968 he launched his eponymous womenswear label.
He was widely known for
unique and comfortable styles like caftans,tunics,and for popularizing the ultrasuede shirtdress.

His success quickly transformed him into a trendsetting icon of the ‘70’s and a fixture on the Studio 54 scene.
All of the disco mamas and celebrities of the era wore his creations including Bianca Jagger, Liza Minnelli, Anjelica Huston, and Lauren Bacall.


Despite his status as fashion royalty he also was one of the first designers to offer accessible high fashion to women of all income levels with his revolutionary licensing agreement with
JC Penney.

Although it was said to have been the catalyst for the demise of his career it was equal parts controversy and an accomplishment for a designer of the time.

And so we hail this man who was once dubbed as "The premier fashion designer of all America."

Next time you’re browsing in a vintage or thrift store and you come across
a Halston piece,know you’ve come upon a piece of American history.

Champagne wishes for a Safe & Happy 4th to all..

Big Red lipstick kisses..

~Fetish Fanny







images courtesy of life.com and steppinoutliza.blogspot.com