Good morning, good morning, happy hump day! I'm actually quite droopy and this post is coming to you pre-coffee. But I will press on because I do actually have work to do today. Today's "Vintage Wednesday" set comes to us from Portia!

1571. by Portia featuring Forever21 jewelry

Portia and I have been doing this Polyvore thing for a long time, and I've seen her sets improve tremendously, not that they weren't ALWAYS good. This particular set swept me away into wistful longing for a trip to post-war Paris, the late 40s and early 50s. This is the kind of vintage styling that I like, old-school glamour with just a hint of modernism. The outfit in this set is totally 2009, let's be honest, but it definitely hearkens back to a bygone era, when women were women and men were men. It is characteristically soft and pretty, gentle and sophisticated with a touch of spice to give flavor. Well done, Portia, I am ever so impressed!

Buñuel’s Belle de Jour; a tribute to Yves Saint-Laurent

I felt this appropriate for Vintage Wednesdays, seeing as how the fashion world is mourning the loss of one of the top 5 greatest designers ever. I'm also a big fan of anything using "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg". Maturity rocks.

"Picnic in the Countryside" by Stylebubble

Okay, so most of this is not even remotely vintage...okay, none of it is. But that's not what Vintage Wednesdays are about. These clothes...a shirt and a pair of shorts...have so much character, texture, charm and charisma, that it should inspire anyone to check out the local thrift shop in hopes of finding such gems. Like Keith Richards, some things just get better with wrinkles. It's aptly named, the floral patchwork of the top is nothing if not perfect for a picnic. The shorts look sexy and comfortable and i just ADORE their button; big, fabric covered, like a pimped out belly button. I'm going to have to show this set to my sister too, because I KNOW she'll love that bag. I'm not big on flowers on bags but it definitely works with this ensamble. And I think the absence of shoes only go to show that this chick is barefoot in the grass, and I say, bravo to her!

"Cherry Cobbler" by cheekycharm

Good morning (late morning) kittens! Happy Vintage Wednesdays! Today, I present to you something vintage'y' - that is to say, little is genuinely vintage. But that matters not to me. When I decided to dedicate wednesday "vintage" wednesday, I never intended the set to be genuine, just to have the FEEL of vintage. And this does! It is attractive, *affordable*, and like the last post, environmental. Well done, cheekycharm!

Medium Brown Bag

So I've recently been using a few vintage items in my sets occasionally...and this is one of them. I was attracted to this dress because I liked how the white looked with the green and blue plaid fabric, and the button details are fun. For some reason, I always knew I'd style this dress with brown. White would have looked too clinical, and another color, too garish. It had to be brown. I also knew the shoes had to be oxfords, after a little searching. Anything else looks entirely out of place with this dress. I did want to portray this as an every day "shopping" outfit...just something to be out on the town in. So I included the shopping bags and, to me, they're absolutely indispensable. This is the sort of outfit that NEEDS some sort of context, otherwise it just looks like a costumey blast from the past. I liked the hair because it looked sort of disheveled and undone, and I thought, under the hat, that's perfect! It's 3 pm, you've done all your shopping and dealt with rude cashiers and people stealing your parking space and this going wrong and that going wrong...But no matter what, you will look FABULOUS through it all.

"The Night They Invented Champagne"

This is one of those sets that walk the line between vintage and classic. And that's kind of nice, that classic truly IS...'classic', rather than "derivative". That's really all Ihave to say about that.

"B Movie Babe" by Henedina

I was looking through "my comments" on Polyvore and, well long story short, i was reminded of this marvelous set. MARVELOUS. This would go on my top 5 all time favorite Polyvore sets list. At the time, I was in this whole "Ed Wood" phase in my life so I was particularly digging this, but it's just as awesome now as it was then. That screaming lady has been used and abused countless times, but this is the most effective moment for her. The dress is sexy in a B movie babe kind of way, but it is also PERFECT for the Creature from the Black Lagoon. I've tried to match the coolness of this set, and I just can't. I give up.

"Lillian Gish"

This is both vintage in style and vintage polyvore, created by myself 11 months ago. Well, at the speed life moves these days, heck yeah, that's vintage lol. It's an interesting thing to go back to these old sets and see, i guess, how far I've come. Frankly, if I were to edit this set, I'd change just about everything but the dress. and the background and the puppy. Really, the whole set has less to do with "fashion" than to do with pulling together colors and textures from a variety of places. I'm quite sure nothing in this set is genuine vintage clothes, but they are indisputably inspired by vintage...the antique lace and embroidery in the dress and the boots with the illusion of a lace-up front are reminicent of something you'd find in your great grandmother's attic and that's why this is featured on Vintage Wednesdays.

"Attic Treasures 2"
(apparently there was an Attic Treasures 1?)

Up in the attic, Down on my knees
Lifetimes of boxes, timeless to me
letters and photographs yellowed with years
some bringing laughter, some bringing tears

Time never changes the memories, the faces
of loved ones who bring to me
All that I come from, and all that I live for
And all that i'm going to be
My precious family is more than an heirloom to me
--Amy Grant

So this is one of mine, 9 months old. I remember those photographs on the ground were a very popular image at the time. Henedina had found that picture frame...and it was around this time folks were first introducing non cloth items...like the plant and the boxes and the books and everything. Using old letters as a background was very fashionable as well. This is really when Polyvore started to be about more than clothes...for better or worse. I still like the idea of fashion telling a story rather than just...telling a story...but I suppose that concept is difficult for many to grasp...I still don't fully understand it myself. But I love this set (and a number of the sets I made around the same time) because they're rooted in something deeper than the latest trends or Galliano's Fall/Winter line...they really are timeless.

"The Attic" by ToniB

This isn't just a vintage set, it's an attic full of it! This is such a charming set, laid out three dimentionally with books, shoes, trinkets and treasures strewn about the attic floor. Who hasn't invisioned going into grandma's attic in the house she's lived in for 60 years and finding this scene set before you? Masterfully excecuted and at the time, it was really an original(ish) idea. Great Job, girl!

"Kittenesque" by me, Gokarm

I went through a vintage phase myself awhile back. This is one of my favorites because the colors are a little richer and older, the kind of thing that gets more beautiful with age. That is, of course, what vintage is all about, that shabby chic thing. I have a few more of these vintage sets but I'll be saving those for Mid-Century Mondays.

"Gardens" by Suzanne4

I chose this set because if I Suzanne4 didn't score the first Vintage Wednesdays set, there would have been an imbalance in the universe, and I don't want to be the cause of that.

Seriously though, you can tell that she delights in these super girly, tea party-esque, decorated sets and the result is this wonderful stationary of feminine pleasantries. I chose this one in particular because spring is desperately trying to push winter over around here and I'm in the mood for some old-fashioned spring fever. The pastels, lace, and porcelain, with scraps of pretty fabric swatches and cameo pins...well it just doesn't GET much springier than this. Furthermore, its entitled "Gardens". It's a no-brainer. I loves it!