vintage musings: Catherine Spaak

Catherine Spaak. Probably my best unknown muse. She’s been such a huge inspiration for me. She is cool, cute, sexy, classy, innocent, mysterious… All in one not so outstanding package. I mean, that is what I love about her, how subtle all those qualities come across. She is no sex bomb and she is no girl next door, she is something in between; something… almost normal and still almost iconic. A sexy kitten.

From a Belgium family, born in France, Catherine made a carrier in Italy. Actress, singer, model, wife, mother. Everything happened to her in her teens. What a busy and intense time that must have been. I believe little is known of her outside Italy/France and I feel her films are hard to find (oh yeah, forget about subtitles, lucky for me I understand about 70% italian, hihi).

Who is your vintage muse?

Winter Blues

60’s cord coat  etsy
tights can’t remember…
shoes  topshop

This is my everyday coat. The colour helps me beat the Winter blues a bit. I can’t bear to wear a black coat in Winter, just seeing people’s dark clothes when commuting everyday depresses me a little. Yes, I am suffering from Winter blues… I keep dreaming of Spring, sunshine, flowers blooming, short sleeves and pastel colours. Can’t wait!! Any tips on how to beat this feeling? I’ve been following all the recommendations (activities, healthy eating, keep warm, etc.) but its the same. Can’t wait for summer!

Rosemary’s Baby relax outfit

jumper  - etsy
skirt – etsy
socks – topshop
saddle shoes – ebay

I call this my Rosemary’s Baby outfit. It reminds me that scene when Mia Farrow’s trying to relax at home while listening to jazz and reading a book. Rosemary’s Baby is one of my favourite films, I love every single one of the outfits and I’m always trying to find similar ones on Etsy (without much luck btw). 1960s Mia Farrow is such a great inspiration!

College girl

shirt – rokit
skirt – etsy
socks – topshop
saddle shoes – ebay

I like when outfits come together effortlessly. This light wool skirt goes well with many of the tops I own and I ended up wearing it more often than I had thought! Truly a time saver in the mornings I have to rush out. I can create several different combinations which is my recent goal when buying clothes.

It's getting cold

Jumper 60s vintage filthyrebena
Skirt 60s vintage concettascloset
Shoes Hush Puppies alicjavintage

This is my perfect outfit for Autumn days. A warm cosy wool jumper and a wool mini skirt allow me to keep warm while still showing some skin. Perfect for a date or shopping or going out with friends. Casual, effortless, cute and mod inspired. Perfect!

yellow summer dreams

dress vintage limonimoni
shoes vintage ferragamo

I love this 60s dress, it was a great find on Etsy, super cheap and super cute. I love the matching belt. The day I wore it I was complimented with a “very Jackie O” comment. The fabric is slightly thick for the really hot summer days, but it is lovely for a late spring or late summer season. I never got to post any pics of it here, as usual, so here it is! A little something to brighten up these Autumn days. I won’t be able to wear anything like this in London probably until next June…

Crossfire

 

 

Everything I’m wearing is Vintage from Etsy

Last week, after a quick stop at Hole in the Wall, we’ve been to Crossfire @229 and I actually remembered to take pictures of what I was wearing. It was a fun night and we ended up staying until 5 am, which I believe is the latest I’ve ever stayed in this venue. Lots of familiar faces dancing around. Usually we spend most of the night in the Boogaloo room (aka RnB room), but I must say this time it was below my expectations… So we ended up staying and dancing in the Soul room for most of the night. Good chance to copy some moves from the amazing Northern Soul dancers there. We are not into what we call “white” 60’s music (garage, psych, etc) so we didn’t even venture into the Beat room, not even to take a peak. It was a decent night, full of Northern Soul, but I hope they change the RnB DJ’s for next time cause that’s the type of music we enjoy the most!

Anyways, if you’re into 60’s you must go to Crossfire. Enough said.

Modstock 2014

Long time no write! A very belated update, but did anyone go to Modstock this year? I did and it was great! Although some very dear friends could not make it, we managed to see other friends that even came from abroad. I literally danced all night and taking pictures totally slipped my mind, I only got 1 with a friend who came all the way from Japan. A very well spent night it was, and I can’t wait for the next one.

Editorial: Numero June 2012

Source

Recently found this 60’s inspired editorial and thought it was fab. The model is Miranda Kerr and the photographer Nino Munoz. I want to live in that house!

Canal 125

Freddie Knit Top - Collectif

Trousers - Pendleton deadstock from SpanoVintage

Loafers - japanese from Emoda

Last Saturday it was our friend's birthday at Canal 125. It was a great night, despite the change of venues at the last minute, full of lovely and cool 60s loving people. The music was fantastic with the regular RnB 123 DJ's, of course, and although dance floor space was limited (so many people showed up), everyone couldn't help but dance! Lovely atmosphere as always in the mod's London scene, every one's always friendly and you can't help but feeling like you can depend on the person you've just met 2 minutes ago, fantastic!

I went quite casual really, though most people dressed up for the occasion, and the picture above is from right before we went out. I got some pictures of the night but they are so dark, I don't think it is worth sharing here...

Marriage Italian Style ~ 1964

*i do not take credit for any of the pictures, everything found via google*

I absolutely loved this filmed. I watched it for the first time a couple of years ago, it was my first Sophia Loren film. She is so beautiful, sexy and above all, such a talented lady it makes me a die hard fan. If you ever watched over 3 Sophia Loren films then you will know how incredible good she is at acting. Sure, not all of her films were fantastic, some of them were actually quite boring, but her acting was always top notch. She can play any role, it amazes me every time.

Marriage Italian Style is like a life long story of a woman, a prostitute, and man, a regular don juan. The struggles and length a woman has to go through in life until she finally gets what she wants and deserves, what always was promised but it took so long to arrive. It is a must watch classic, top performance by both Loren and Marcello Mastroianni.

Hole in the Wall

 

Dress - 70's vintage from SpanoVintage

Last week we've been to the night Hole in the Wall, organized by our friend Glen, in Mornington Crescent. It was lovely to see friends I haven't met for ages, seriously ages, and dance to good music. And I remembered to ask my boyfriend to take pictures! I seem to always forget recently, like I don't have a decent picture of New Year's eve... The dress I'm wearing in the pictures I got dirty cheap on sale from etsy and it's so cute, I love it!

I'll try to take more pictures of my outings from now on~

Barefoot In The Park ~ 1967

Today I've watched this darling comedy Barefoot In The Park . I just adore Jane Fonda, no surprise there, and she was enchanting in this film. She starts off by wearing a perfect baby blue swing coat with fur trims and I fell in love. The 1st and last picture were the best I could find while being too lazy to screen cap myself. All pictures were found on google, so credit to whoever produced them on the Internets. And then Jane is wearing this mustard turtle neck with brown cord high wait trousers and I feel like I will not be able to fall asleep until I reproduce the exact same combination.

Anyways, onto the film rather than the costumes, it was such a sweet and amusing story, I was laughing out loud by myself. A young couple of newlyweds facing the first complications of living together combined with family and neighbour problems, while still growing up and discovering themselves. I highly recommend it for a good laugh and eye candy, and I'm not only talking about the clothes (I look at a 31 year old Robert Redford and find myself sighing endlessly...).

Goodbye Autumn... Hello Winter...

60's wool dress - Vacation Vintage
vintage mink coat - Ebay
vintage Ferragamo - Sunnywood Vintage
cloche - some shop in Camden Town
bag - can't remember

London is definitely getting cold. Goodbye Autumn, you were quite beautiful this year. Hello Winter, I didn't really miss you. I am off at home today with a cold and in bed. I have a double chocolate muffin, a mug of hot milk and a pack of Lemsip by my side and I figured, "what a better day to start blogging?". It is raining outside, I'm burning my Blackberry Frost candle and watching Sex and the City season 6. I like to make my sick days moody enough. I've also updated the blog's banner. I know, how cliche, Audrey Hepburn. But I saw something similar online, thought it was really cute and decided to try making my own. I didn't know which image to put besides Audrey, she was the prettiest, so I kept the same idea. I quite like it, but I think I will grow tired of it. Maybe its too cute.

The photos above were taken by a couple of friends visiting London last month, on a day we strolled around Bricklane. I thank them, recently I do not have any pictures of myself, I just always seem to forget about registering my outfits! Hopefully, now that I am back blogging and all, this will change. I was going for a 60's look that ended up looking quite 20s as well, that was fun.