Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Betty Brosmer

American pin-up Betty Brosmer (born August 2, 1935), has been called the worlds first true supermodel. And with all rights! After winning more than fifty beauty pageants she became the highest payed pin-up in the US in the 50s. She has had her face on over 300 magazine covers and books, appeared in thousands of magazines, on billboards in calendars and on music album covers. She was also the first model to receive residuals every time her pictures was published, and one of the first models who owned the rights to many of her photos and negatives. I guess you can say that Betty Brosmer certainly had (and still has) it. With her blond locks, big eyes, pretty smile, and amazing body, it's understandable how she got so successful. Her body is a thing of it's own though... With the measurements 38''-18''-36'' (96.5 - 45.5 - 91.5 cm), she had the greatest hourglass figure of all time! Whether or not her tiny waist is the result of tightlacing is not known. But if it is, she must have started her waist training at a very young age, considering she started her modeling career as a teenager... Anyway, here she is!


























After marrying bodybuilder and entrepreneur Joe Weider in 1961, Betty Brosmer - now Betty Weider, the couple started working together in the health and fitness business. In 1981 she co-founded SHAPE Magazine, the first health and fitness publication for women.


Source


The photo above was taken in 2011, at the opening ceremony of Muscle and Grace at the Joe and Betty Weider Museum of Physical Culture. So you see, she still looks gorgeous! She will soon turn 79 years old, but is still active, writing two magazine columns; Body by Betty and Health by Betty, which appear in the leading health and fitness magazines around the world.

For more info about Betty, go to her website here!












Monday, July 28, 2014

Ulyana Sergeenko Fall 2014 Couture

One of my favorite designers is Ulyana Sergeenko. I could fill my whole wardrobe with her clothes, and I feel it doesn't matter for what year or what season she creates her clothes, they are all timeless pieces that I would still wear fifty years from now. So even though most people don't want to think about fall in the middle of the lovely summer, I will still show you my favorites from her Fall 2014 Couture Collection today - because you don't have to wait for fall to wear all these lovely things!










































To see the whole collection visit Style.com!












Friday, July 25, 2014

Fabergé Friday

This Friday I have three Fabergé objects for you! But even though they weren't really made to go together in a set, they fit very well together. The set consisting of three miniatures: a magnifying glass, a pencil and a patch box. They were created around the year 1900!




The magnifying glass - only 2.7'' (6.9 cm) long - is made of glass, gold, and pale yellow enamel over a guilloché ground.




The pencil was created by workmaster Karl Gustav Hjalmar Armfelt, and is only 1.7'' (4.2 cm) long. It is made of two-colored gold, with a holder covered in salmon pink enamel over a guilloché ground. It also has a gold hoop at the base.




The third item is a miniature patch box with the dimensions 0.3'' x 0.8'' x 0.6'' (0.8 x 2.1 x 1.4 cm). It is also made of gold, covered in pink enamel over a guilloché ground. The lid is decorated with a sepia caduceus, and the thumbpiece is set with rose-cut diamonds.




And here they are together. A very good example how good the quality and finish was even in Fabergé's smallest creations. They are now all part of the Royal Collection.










Wednesday, July 23, 2014

A Shipwreck And A Photographer

Ever since photographer Benjamin Von Wong did his first shoot underwater, he dreamed of taking the water-shoots out of the swimming pool, and into the real ocean - where real shipwrecks can be found... When he went on a vacation in Bali, he decided to make this dream come true. After finding two models who were also trained free-divers, seven support divers, obtaining special permission to use a fifty-year-old underwater shipwreck, and also finding a designer - Ali Charisma - who let them use some of his older runway dresses, which were going to get ruined by the salty water, Von Wong and his team dived down 25 meters under the surface. And this is the magical, ethereal result...
























Monday, July 21, 2014

Marlene...

If you like vintage clothes - and vintage lingerie - you probably know about the retro lingerie company What Katie Did. I've already blogged about some of their fabulous stuff before, but as I love them, here we go again! One of their styles is called Marlene, and this is the set I lust mostly for right now...




Marlene comes in red and peach, or...




...Black and peach, with a bullet bra, panties, and garter belt. I don't own a bullet bra yet, so maybe it's time to get one, to wear under 50s sweaters. They're great for poking peoples eyes out if they stare too much! Haha!







If you want to shape your waist a little, there are also color-matched, art deco inspired Marlene girdles. They are high waisted, with medium control and hooks in the side. As it's soon my birthday, I think it's only right that someone gets these for me! Right?...

For more of What Katie Did, visit their website here, or just click on the banner below. I will not be held responsible for anyone spending too much money on their stuff though! Hehe...





vintage lingerie, stockings and girdles by What Katie Did

Friday, July 18, 2014

Fabergé Friday

Summer is here, and flowers are everywhere! Unfortunately they will all wither and die too soon... But some flowers bloom forever. Like this Convolvulus by Fabergé for example. It was made around the year 1900!






The flowers are made of enameled gold, with centers of rose-cut diamonds, gold stems, and leaves of nephrite. The plant sits in a bowenite trough, and it's dimensions are 4.4'' x 2.6'' x 1'' (11.1 x 6.5 x 2.5 cm). In 1908 it was bought by Vita Sackville-West from Fabergé's London branch. After that it was owned by Sir Bernard Eckstein, who sold it at Sotheby's on February 8, 1949. It was subsequently presented by the royal family to Queen Mary for her birthday on May 26 that same year. It is now part of the Royal Collection








Wednesday, July 16, 2014

The Unchanging World Of Ballet

One thing I love about ballet is that this art form has been standing still in time for such a long time. Of course new, modern works are created all the time, and the demands on ballet dancers to be more agile, stronger, fitter, and have better technique grow all the time. But basically it has stayed the same since it first evolved. We still do the same barre exercises, pirouettes and stretches ballet dancers have always done. And in five hundred years from now, we will probably still get up in the morning and start doing our pliés to warm up. Among all the fast changes going on in the world today, I think it feels reassuring some things will never change too much...

In 1936 photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt did a shoot for LIFE Magazine's December issue of that year. It featured New York's School of American Ballet, and except for the girls having different hair styles and a bit softer bodies than today's ballet dancers, everything looks a lot the same as the dance studios of 2014!


















































Hyper Smash