Fashion Post - Mad Men ★

so if you've followed this blog for a while, you might have realised by now that i'm quite a big fan of vintage and retro fashion, particularly fashion from the 50's-60's!

you might also remember that i've mentioned what a BIG fan i am of the show 'Mad Men'

now if you've never seen the show, basically it's set in the 1960s, at a fictional advertising agency on Madison Avenue in New York City. 

it focuses on the character Don Draper (the creative director at the ad agency) as well as those in his life, both in and out of the office including his friends, family and work colleagues. 

The show follows the public and private lives of these characters and since it's set in the 60's, their wardrobes are just incredible, resulting in what is, quite possibly, the best dressed cast on TV!

the actors and actresses are always dressed to perfection in the most glorious outfits, dresses and suits! and although the story-lines are fantastic, if i'm honest i mostly just watch it for the clothes!!!

and although the guys always look verrry dapper in their suits, i'm not gonna lie, i watch it for the girl's wardrobes more than anything else!!! they always all look so fabulous!

another brilliant thing about the show is that it's not filled with generic style actresses, there are all sorts of wonderful women of all shapes and sizes. The 50's and 60's were a time of curves after all so it's only appropriate that the show's casting should follow accordingly...

right well... it's been a while since i did a fashion based post so today i thought i might post some photos of the gorrrrgeous Banana Republic 'Mad Men' inspired collection designed by Mad Men's fabulous costume designer extraordinaire Janie Bryant

as you can see, the clothes in the collection are just exquisite! ladylike dresses and separates + perfect accessories and shoes! it's all very VERY 'Mad Men' for sure!!!

so SOOO gorgeous! they all look like they've just stepped out of the Mad Men offices of 'Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce' 

and unsurprisingly i want just about EVERY dress from the collection! 

but hey, it's not just the women's stuff that's beautiful, the men's collection is just as divine!!!

my my, any fella in a Mad Men suit like that is sure to set hearts racing! i mean, why can't ALL guys dress like that nowadays!!!

anyway, moving on... quickly, before i start to drool over the beautiful girly dresses (and the guys!!!)

the collection is available for a limited time only and can be found in Banana Republic shops or alternatively, bought via the Banana Republic website.

you can shop the collection here - Mad Men Collection

there's also a whole bunch of accompanying accessories like handbags, shoes, hats, scarves, necklaces and sunglasses

now in all honesty, i would give just about anything to own a full 'Mad Men' inspired outfit from the collection, the only problem is... i don't know how i'd ever manage to pick just ONE dress!!!

(All images sourced from Banana Republic and AMC 

therefore all Copyright © belongs to them accordingly)

* * *

not much else to report on tonight, there'll probably be a new Creative Café post tomorrow night so look out for that

and until then, that's all folks... ◕‿◕ ★ xX

Super Sunday #9 ♥

so... it's the second Sunday and you know what that means...

it's time for another Super Sunday post!!!

wow, can't believe we've almost hit 10 Super Sunday posts already! that's flown by... scary stuff!

anyway, this week it's a fabulously fashionable little dedication

i figured that i'd rambled on about my favourite artists/illustrators for enough weeks in a row so i thought it would be nice to have a stylish post again

so without any further ado, this weeks Super Sunday post is dedicated to the fabulous, the fashionable, the totally estupendo y muy bueno... 

Jasmin Rodriguez aka Vintage Vandalizm

so who is she i hear you cry?!

well allow me to fill you in on this super styling señorita...

Jasmin Rodriguez (aka Vintage Vandalizm) is a Puerto Rican super duper stylist, model, writer, designer, blogger, artist and all round fashionista living in New York (update 2014, she now lives in Las Vegas!)

she writes the most awesome blog posts about her super fashionable life + always posts amazing photos of her shopping sprees/nights out/fashion shoots

now i follow quite a few fashion blogs (including Jane Aldridge's 'Sea of Shoes' and Tavi Gevinson's 'The Style Rookie') but Jasmin's blog has got to be my top fave. 

it's the fashion blog i go back to time and time again whether i need inspiration for a painting, a new illustration, make-up tips or ideas for an outfit, her blog never fails to supply exactly what i'm looking for!

so why is she one of my style icons?! (because let's face it, she is!)

well for starters her style is massively influenced by all things Pinup and Rockabilly (and we all know what a Pinup fan i am right...) she loves to mix styles from the 40's, 50's and 60's too, yet she puts her own unique twist on every look no matter which decade it's inspired by!

add to this the fact that she always dresses in a very pretty feminine way even if she's wearing trousers, she still manages to look feminine. it may sound daft but so many style bloggers nowadays just focus on wearing the latest trends and designer labels and disregard the rest!

as Jasmin herself put it "I think the world is too fixated on trends that people tend to forget who they are and what they like"

she's also an avid vintage shopper and despite having a wardrobe to die for packed with some verrrrry desirable designer pieces, some of her best looks have consisted of 'thrifted' vintage items or smart sale buys. she really is a super styling shopaholic! 

she always looks fabulous, she always dresses in her own unique style and she always looks totally gorgeous!

it doesn't seem to matter what she's doing, she could be out grocery shopping and you can bet she'll still be looking fab! it's that sense of glamour about her, it reminds me of Dita Von Teese (check out a previous Super Sunday post all about her here - Super Sunday #4) that timeless quality of glamour, no matter what the occasion or location.

Jasmin has it too and just like la Dita, she always dresses to impress

she's such a doll! i just love her, she ALWAYS looks fabulous

it's not fair really is it! she's super talented and let's face it... a total superstar!!!

she's modeled for a ton of awesome websites, magazines, brands etc etc and recently she even modeled for Bernie Dexter Clothing 

as you can see, she looks totally 50's fabulous in the pics from the shoot

i've been a fan of Jasmin's blog for about a year and a half now and i never get tired of her fun, fabulous and fashionable posts 

the thing is, living on the Isle of Man means i don't really have many places to get 50's fashion advice (apart from Charlotte... who is leaving me to go back to England!) so Jasmin's blog is a great source to go to (along with several other 50's/vintage fashion sites, of course) 

her blog is a great place to visit though, even if you're not a massive 50's fan, she has a generally awesome sense of style and is never afraid to be herself

it was actually around this time last year i first decided to have a go at drawing some VV inspired art

i can't believe it's been a year already! seems like only yesterday!!!

there are three VV pieces i worked on

there's...

'the Vintage Vandals'

inspired by this gorgeous Moschino dress from Jasmin's lookbook

you can read her full post about the illustrations HERE

there's also...

'Jasmin in Wonderland' (click image for full view)

inspired by this post where Jasmin co-ordinated outfits based on 4 characters from 'Alice in Wonderland' - wonderland fashion

you can read the VV post about the artwork HERE

Jasmin also hires out her styling expertise to people in New York, she'll be your personal stylist/shopper and find exactly the look you're looking for

i know my friend Charlotte (aka Loretta Jane's Vintage Boutique) is also a massive 'Vintage Vandalzim' fan and i guess it's our shared dream to one day head over to New York and go on a 50's fashion shopping spree with Jasmin

who knows! it might happen... one day

* * *

ok time for some lovely links

here's Jasmin's Twitter page - @VintageVandal

here's Vintage Vandalizm on tumblr - VV tumblr

here's the official Vintage Vandalizm facebook page - VV facebook

and of course, her super duper website/blog - Vintage Vandalizm

enough mindless gushing?! ok i'll stop now, but you KNOW she's awesome!

* * *

back to college for me tomorrow, assessment this week...

this is NOT a good thing and i AM going to be killed by my tutors because although i have about 19-20 pieces of artwork to show, i have 0 logbook pages

this = me dead soon

anyway, enjoy the rest of your Sunday dear readers

until next time, that's all folks...

◕‿◕ ♥

muchas gracias y adios

(that's thank you and goodbye in Spanish on behalf of Puerto Rico, i couldn't remember if i've done a thank you for them before but i know that Jasmin is Puerto Rican so i thought a Spanish farewell was fitting, gracias muñeca ♥)