Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti ( 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987) better known as Dalida (داليدا)
+Before Beyonce there was Dalida.+
This exotic beauty of Italian descent and born in Cairo, Egypt rose to international fame throughout the 1960s and all the way to her suicide in the 1980s. A suicide over a broken heart only days after appearing in television interviews perfectly normal…love was her worst enemy in life.
She sold upwards of 140 million albums; Beyonce has sold 17 million solo, and 17 million with Destiny’s Child which really puts it into perspective (although, our girl Rihanna has sold upwards of 230 million records, so . . . ).
Special thanks to +THE ULTIMATE FASHION HISTORY+ Channel and its fabulous curator Amanda Halley for introducing us to this dazzling Diva. I’m sure we will focus on her again in future posts! The more you dive into her memory, the more incredible she becomes.
There was actually a biopic released in 2017 about her which we are dying to see! Check out the trailer here.
This is a wonderful disco extravaganza from 1979-1980 (?) entitled “GIGI IN PARADISCO”. It’s a total odyssey of 1970s crazy euro party glamour!
Let us know what you think in +COMMENTS+ below…
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance…
Fresh off our VMP DRAG FASHION FLAUNT at this year’s Vintage Marketplace, we can’t stop thinking about how incredible drag queens are, especially those of the {PAST} who paved the way for the {PRESENT} culture and creativity and will continue to invoke its {FUTURE}.
We know everyone who is anyone keeps up with RuPaul’s Drag Race, and the past season’s ALL STARS edition featured a wickedly hilarious Snatch Game that had Brooklyn babe AJA take on one of Herstory’s most legendary queens – founder of the House of LaBeija, and star of the cult 1968 documentary “The Queen”, Crystal LaBeija!
And she took her on with gusto and glamour, and also delivered this beautiful spirit back into the forum of the mainstream…much in the way Jinx Monsoon brought us Little Edie of “Grey Gardens”, and Sasha Velour took on Marlene Dietrich; keeping these divinities alive for younger generations is absolutely key!
How sad it is when you hear a young man or woman denote they have no idea who these iconic legends are . . . stay educated, kids!
“The Queen” is a fabulous film directed by Frank Simon, and provides an up close and candid look at the behind of the scenes of the 1967 All-America Camp Beauty Contest in New York City. It is a wonderful portrait of a time gone by. . . New York City is rough and tough, and men from all around America shack up in tiny hotel rooms in anticipation of the pageant discussing the difficulties of being gay in America. They are all fabulous, and its wonderful to see their final transformations from the male versions of them you see in rehearsals. This transformation truly proves the power of style and image to invoke strength from within.
Illustrated herstory by Laurel Lynn-Leake
By far, the most fabulous moment has to be Crystal’s freak out when she is named fourth place storms out and then rips everyone a new one backstage. Absolutely ICONIC…you are going to have to see it to believe it! And if you are a fan of Drag Race, you will really appreciate what Aja brought to the table even more.
We stumbled upon a full version of the film on Youtube, so check it out below and enjoy!
+Look out for Andy Warhol’s cameo (he was a judge in the pageant)+
We love moments like this in pop culture where the {PAST} races into the {PRESENT} and ultimately shapes our {FUTURE}. . . rebel queens like Crystal LaBeija will live on far past those who chose not to be the truest, most incredible versions of themselves.
I don’t need you to tell me I’m beautiful! I KNOW I’M BEAUTIFUL!!!
And really, we should all fell this way! Screw the haters- you rock!
Listen to that spirit within you, and let it free…
We found this 80s vintage mens cardigan a couple months ago, and are still reeling for this piece’s unusual and unique qualities! It really couldn’t be more perfect for The Eye of Faith {Vintage}, so we knew we had to provide the opportunity for some stylishly discerning individual out there to rock this in the real world.
Apart from the wicked palette and the beautiful color blocking throughout, this cardigan features cool design features such as classic ivy style brass buttons, and a collection of really wild screen printed patches all in a preppy ivy league motif that include a pair of converse sneakers, A dapper bouffant gent with sunglasses who features another dapper gent as a shirt? , an ivy league track team, H.O.T. and my favourite . . . “OH YEAH!”
We have always promised to purvey unique and unusual pieces that can totally compare to and outmatch even current style standards, and this cardigan is no exception.
Super rare, and in MINT condition, so if you are tickled be sure to check out the listing in our {SHOP} before its gone!
The Kama Sutra is an ancient Hindu text written by Indian philosopher Vātsyāyana between 400 and 200 BCE, and is an in-depth manual on “virtuous and gracious living that discusses the nature of love, family life, and other aspects pertaining to pleasure-oriented faculties of human life” – however, today in popular culture it is probably most well-known for its comprehensive list of sexual positions.
From mild to wild and everything in between, the Kama Sutra is definitely an amazing resource to spice up your sex-life, and no one knew this better than the Victorians! Privately published by popular orientalist writer Sir. Richard Francis Burton in 1883, the erotic world of the Kama Sutra coupled with the discovery of the Khajuraho Group of Temples in the 1830s brought a special spice to the otherwise bland and well-mannered world of the Victorians.
Imagine the shock! Although, I’m sure we’re all aware of Queen Victoria’s kinks – having forced her husband Prince Albert to pierce his penis to help restrain it to ensure a flat front seam in his trousers….is this a myth? We might never know. But, we know that they were curious!
“So long as lips shall kiss,and eyes shall see,so long lives this ,and this gives life to thee.” …
Vātsyāyana
So, with these things in mind, we couldn’t help but take the opportunity to bring you a beautiful treasure from the {past} and invite it to the {present} to help invigorate the {future}!
This is a very rare and unusual piece that we are sure someone out there needs to rock!
Vintage 1970s KAMA SUTRA All-Over Illustrated Graphic Print Long Tunic Shirt
Well isn’t that just too totally up our alley . . . Ms. Robert Kelly sings “Zodiacs” a funky 1970s disco-era tune about our favourite astrological symbols; all performed in timelessly popping canary yellow!
Sorry Beyonce, but looks like Robert Kelly was rocking this shade of yellow far before the Queen B helped this colour take over the style scene; but that’s just the name of the game! If it was cool once, its gonna be cool forever – so, lest we forget:
{PAST}, {PRESENT}, and {FUTURE} unite!
Hold up, they don’t love you like WE love you Roberta!
Thanks for giving us this joyous tune. Hope you enjoyed it, too…
“The Stroll” was a slow rock n roll dance popular into the mid to late 1950s embraced by cool teens across America. Classic concept: boys on one side, girls on the other – the paired up couples then strut their stuff down the line. A precursor to the iconic Soul Train Line … we can’t help feel something spooky watching these teens slowly glide down the line in one of the original “strolls” captured on television.
Getting major Lynch vibes here . . . not sure exactly what it is? Perhaps it’s their eerily slow movements, and often times, complete lack of expression. Maybe its the grainy quality of the video and wondering where exactly this was filmed – the atmosphere is so strange.
But most definitely the fact that all this is but mere memory, and who knows what became of these kids or where they are now…
We might never know.
But we’d love to know what you thought, so leave a comment below!
Like every style discerning woman, a man needs a good hair-do too “…to give him all the confidence he needs” – at least according to these crazy 1950s / 60s archival films documenting some of the most popping hair crazes of the moment!
“No longer is it fashionable to have short backened sides; today a gentleman must concentrate on curls”, and perms, and matching partner twists!
God, there’s something so fantastic about watching these incredible dos be created and crafted so artfully by their technicians, and then enjoyed so outrightly by the men getting these out-of-this-world creations.
It means a lot to take pride your appearance, and most definitely at this time would have been perhaps quite strange to take it to this level – but these days we all know that books can most definitely be judged by their covers, so you might as well look your very best! And boy, did these boys know that . . .most particularly love the teen influences taking place here (ie. “The Twist” the dance, and matching partner hairstyle).
There is a huge resurgence of the male coiffure taking place these days, so don’t be surprised if you start seeing more complicated styles popping up in the {future} or near {present}. Even if we are wrong, it would sure be damn cool if they did!
It’s all about that transformative power of style, and if you can harness that ability, you got it made in the shade.
So, we hope you enjoy this cool blasts from the {past} and/or possibly {future}!
