Clearly being Luscious means that we are fans of Vogue. All those delicious photos, the thick glossy pages of gorgeousness, keeping us on track with trends, style and beauty.

Check out the various editions, plus the main Vogue website.

• Vogue (US) - launched in 1892
• Vogue (UK) - launched in 1916
• Vogue (France) - launched in 1920
• Vogue (Italy) - launched in 1964
• Vogue (Spain)
• Vogue (Portugal) - note: cover photo only
• Vogue (Germany)
• Vogue (Greece)
• Vogue (Japan)
• Vogue (Korea)
• Vogue (China) - launched in 2005
• Vogue (Taiwan)
• Vogue (Australia)
• Vogue (India) - launched in 2007
• Vogue (Brazil) - note: this is fan blog in lieu of an official site
• Vogue (Russia)
• Vogue (Turkey) - launched in 2010
• Vogue (Mexico/Latin America)
• Vogue Living (Australia)
• Vogue Entertaining and Travel (Australia)
• Casa Vogue (Italy)
• Bambini Vogue (Italy)
• Teen Vogue
• Men's Vogue
• Vogue TV

Learn more about the history of Vogue from this Bookrags History site, as well as trusty old Wikipedia.

And, of course, you can't miss the 2009 documentary, The September Issue, starring the legendary Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington in the Vogue (US) offices.

Here is a little pictorial dedication to Vogue covers from the 60s and 70s, with other periods to come in the next few weeks. Here are our photo galleries:

• Vintage Vogue - covers up to the 1950s
• Vintage Vogue - covers from 1960-1964
• Vintage Vogue - covers from 1965-1969
• Vintage Vogue - covers from the 70s, 80s and 90s

You might like to contrast these one to the current (2010) ones:

• Vogue 2010 - covers from all international editions throughout the year 

HEAPS more photos here!

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After the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) awarded famed photographer Arthur Elgort with a special tribute, we thought it was fitting to delve into his past and unveil why he is captures fashion and femininity so beautifully.

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As the designer of Kate Middleton’s royal wedding dress, we though it was time to get the background on Sarah Burton from Alexander McQueen.

He trained her in design and product construction by either intense mentoring or the complete opposite, leaving her to rely on her own initiative and confidence. While she may not have known at the time, these lessons would mold her into the designer she is today.

 

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For us here at Luscious, there is nothing like a good urban-fashion-legend to get us inspired to try something new. In this fable, there lived a fabulous fashionista socialite and muse for Yves Saint Laurent called Nan Kempner.

One evening she hit the town to dine out, working the classic Le Smoking Tuxedo. On being told by the maitre d’ that she wasn’t allowed to dine in trousers, Nan did what any sexy, confident- and hungry- woman would do … She stripped off the pants, handed them to her husband and in an instant created the Drazer: the blazer-come-dress ensemble. 

So in memory of Nan, show some legs, don a poised shoulder pad and beat the recession by stealing one from your boyfriend’s wardrobe and cinching it in at the waist with a belt.

Chloe Sevigny shows us to revive Nan’s stunning look with her smart off-white tux with quirky accessories; or for a more-winter appropriate look: simply add tights!

More pictures of Nan Kempner and her clothes (including her suit closet!)...

Get more insight into Nan Kempner.

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It should come as no surprise to regular visitors to this Luscious website that I am a lover of vintage, especially from the 40s, 50s and 60s.

Having tried lots of different styles over the years, it's the feminine frocks, shoes and accessories of the 50s that work best for my personality and figure, and certainly with my need to have "proper" makeup including powder and red juicy lips, a cinched waist, neat hair and stocking with high heels.

Photo, left: Lena Hoschek - Spring Summer 2010 Collection

My love of Bettie Page, burlesque and Hollywood glamour (think Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren and Ava Gardner), mixed with a fascination with the Stepford Wife-like portrayal of 1950s housewives, add a quirkiness to the conservative (all that passion desperate to spring forth from beneath the petticoats - isn't it bizarre?).

Note: Just because I like the styles, does not mean I support the repression of women!

Ultimately, I suppose it means I like smart, glamorous, independent, well-dressed women in heels, with wicked lingerie underneath.

These days, it's about mixing that vintage look with modern styles that are cut to suit a curvy figure - Christina Hendricks in a good role model for this, and we can thank Mad Men, Dita Von Teese and Bernie Dexter for encouraging the look.

Here are some images which showcase this, with links to photo galleries at the end of this piece.

Bettie Page:

Designs by Lena Hoschek:

Bernie Dexter:

Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren and Ava Gardner:

Gretchen Mol as Bettie Page in The Notorious Bettie Page:

Beyonce, Karen Elson and Katy Perry with the Bettie Page fringe:

Dita Von Teese:

Glasses:

I've found lots of lovely frocks on the fabulous bluevelvetvintage.com website so please show your support by visiting their site. See some of them in this photo gallery. They also have a FB page.

Photo, right: 50s-60s cocktail dress in black silk crepe from bluevelvetvintage.com

See our Luscious photo galleries:

• Mad Men-inspired glasses
• Veruschka
• Inspired by Bettie Page
• More inspiration from the 40s-60s
• Christina Hendricks
• Mad Men: The mad 60s revival
• Luscious lips: Natasha's top picks
• Dita Von Teese
• Audrey Hepburn: Bridal frock inspiration
• Grace Kelly
• Sophia Loren

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One day, American socialite and style icon Babe Paley was in a hurry when leaving her house, so she wrapped her silk scarf around the handle of her purse.

Snapped by photographers, the image quickly circulated around the top fashion magazines of the world. And so began a trend that is still going stylishly strong to this day.

Photo: Babe Paley (with Bill Paley in the background) by Slim Aarons

Learn about some of our luscious style icon choices or get a quick insight into How to tie a Hermes scarf (Frocking up: What Wear When).

Pay homage to the wearers of scarves before you and be inspired to wear your scarf in new ways this season:

Around a hat, a la Audrey Hepburn.

Under a shirt collar, a la Doris Day.

On your head, and then topped off with oversized sunnies, a la Jackie O.

Super long, a la Victoria Beckham.

Draped over the head, a la Edie Sedgwick.

Short and chic, a la Grace Kelly.
(Grace Kelly even used an Hermes scarf as a sling after breaking her arm)

As a belt, a la Anne Hathaway.

As a turban, a la Lana Turner.

Read more about scarves and Babe Paley:

• "In fashion, scarf it up" by Mackenzie Carpenter on scrippsnews.com
• “You can’t be too rich or too thin” from Barry Popik
• "Style inspiration - Babe Paley" by Brett Valenstein from DesignBabylonstyle

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Diamonds may be a girl best friend, but a jewellery box is nothing without a string of pearls.

A woman must never underestimate the ability of this little creation of mother nature’s to transform any outfit. For inspiration, here’s who has done it best.

Coco Chanel wore pearls every day and taught women the art costume jewellery, Coco Chanel used to mix genuine pearls with strand after strand of fake pearls.

Wearing the real thing Coco was known to add a strand or two of fake pearls making it seem as though she was wearing lots and lots of genuine pearls. As she wore ‘opera length’ pearl necklaces, the effect was stunning.

1920s socialite and enigmatic beauty Sara Murphy wore her long strand of pearls to the beach everyday.

She would loop them around her back so as not to mar her tan; and, she said, because the sun was good for them. For this, she became a style-setter and muse.

Jackie O also faked it, her $80 famous and much-photographed triple strand pearl choker fake pearls sold at auction for $211, 500.

Actress and jewellery collector Elizabeth Taylor owns the most famous pearl, La Peregrina. Given to her in 1969 by then-husband Richard, La Peregrina, an enormous, pear-shaped white pearl, was found by a slave in the early 1500s in the Gulf of Panama.

First given as a wedding gift to Mary Tudor, the daughter of King Henry VIII, the rare and extraordinary gem was owned by a succession of royalty before being purchased at auction by Burton for Taylor as a Valentine’s Day gift.

Audrey Hepburn created a pearl sensation in Breakfast at Tiffany. Her little black dress was the perfect backdrop for the six-strand pearl and rhinestone necklace she sported as adorable Holly Golightly.

Modern day style icon Sarah Jessica Parker, and just as importantly Carrie Bradshaw, is definitely a girl who knows her pearls.

While Carrie often flirted with pearls in the series, she traded in her signature gold nameplate necklace for a strand of Mikimoto pearls for the film version of Sex and the City.

Meanwhile Sarah Jessica Parker made layered oversize pearl necklaces oh-so-chic in her Gap ads last year.

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Coco Chanel

Just as any wardrobe is incomplete without a Chanel 2.55 quilted handbag, a Luscious woman’s bookshelf is equally incomplete without this set of three Chanel memoirs on Coco Chanel.

Chanel Fashion, Chanel Fine Jewellery and Chanel Perfume come in their own black quilted slipcase, lined with red leather and features a silver Double-C logo.

Valued at $550.00, the book set was produced exclusively for Assouline by Chanel. Visit www.assouline.com for more.

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Louis Vuitton

Founded in 1854, Louis Vuitton was originally known for their impeccable luggage and trunks (still revered today) and moved into fashion in the mid-20th century, bringing the famed Monogram to handbags, purses, scarves and accessories. More recently, thanks to the merger with Moet Hennessy (hence the LVMH moniker) and the artistic direction of Marc Jacobs, the business expanded to clothing and footwear.

For a quick read, check out the Wikipedia page, or do the proper thing and visit the official Louis Vuitton website.

For a thoroughly biography, you can't miss the 400-page tome Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion and Architecture by Ian Luna, released in September 2009.

Other beautiful books to add to your collection: Louis Vuitton: Icons by Stephane Gerschel (2007), Louis Vuitton: The Birth of Modern Luxury by Paul-Gerard Pasols (2005), and the 2007 documentary, Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton by Loic Prigent.

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There’s something about vintage designer wear that gets us Luscious girls up in a spin.  That coveted image of the iconic Chanel tailored jacket or a classic 60’s Dior little black dress that truly epitomises female elegance.

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Here at Luscious, we are all about glowing from within and think there is nothing luscious about the C-word, so ladies brush up on brushing on the fake tan!

Fake tans are the fastest growing area of cosmetics, with more people becoming aware of the damage to skin cells from UV rays. Trends in tanning, much like our fashions, follow cycles in popularity. Pale skin is in, then out, then in again.

Since the 1990s, when budget airlines made foreign travel accessible to all, a summer tan was no longer enough – a year-round glow was required.

Now the fashion world is tanning down slightly with the "pale fashion tan" or "au-tan" (autumn tan). Porcelain beauties such as Daisy Lowe and Lily Cole are becoming new beauty icons, in a throwback to the early 1900s.

However, rather than matte white skin, a little mist of tan is still required to cover up skin imperfections and add a subtle shimmering sheen.

Thus we have not fallen out of love with self-tanning: we are actually buying more lotions, bronzers and mousses than ever. It’s just that we have now mastered our application skills so we look more naturally tanned rather than born-of-a-bottle.

In order to avoid the ‘tango’ tan sported by ballroom dancers, the ‘oompa loompa’ look from too much facial bronzer and the ‘dove into orange juice’ sheen sponsored by many d-grade celebrities, it couldn’t hurt to study up on pro-tanners of the past. And then also see our tans gone rogue on our Fashion Police page.

1500s Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth whitened her skin, as was the vogue in Tudor times, with a mixture of egg, powdered eggshells, poppy seeds, white lead and alum. The white lead ate into her skin, but she wasn't deterred - she applied more to cover the scars.

1920s Clara Bow and Coco Chanel
Bow used pancake make-up, invented in 1914, to enhance paper-white skin. On top she applied rice powder.

Coco Chanel collaborated with sunshine to make tans the height of fashion and a key component of Riviera chic. “Bronzed skin became emblematic of glamour rather than peasantry; of a leisured life rather than outdoor labour, thus the trend for brown skin began,” wrote Justine Picardie in her biography of Chanel.

1930s Mae West
West avoided sunlight to preserve the condition of her alabaster skin, never drank alcohol and banned anyone from smoking in her presence. Her tip for having silky white skin was a daily oil massage:

"It's gotta be warm, and you've gotta have a man put it on - all over."

1950s Elizabeth Taylor and Man-Tan
With her porcelain skin and violet eyes, Taylor defined beauty in the 1950s. It was only in the 1970s that she became a fan of the tan.

The first tanning product arrived on the market called Man-Tan. It contained dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a chemical derived from sugar cane and still the most effective ingredient for those seeking a sunless tan, as it causes a browning reaction with the amino acids on the skin's surface rather than simply staining the skin.

The rumour goes that its tanning properties were discovered by accident in the 1920s when a nurse treating a diabetic patient with DHA accidentally spilled it on his chest while connecting his drip. The following day she noticed it had coloured his skin.

 
1960s Brigitte Bardot
Bardot spent her youth on the beaches of St Tropez to achieve an amber tan.

1980s George Hamilton

In 1989, the Dynasty actor launched the George Hamilton Sun Care System and tanning salons across the US.

At 70 he's still true to his tan.

1990s Pamela Anderson
As CJ Parker in Baywatch, her light golden tan was achieved through a combination of lazing on California beaches and TV make-up.

Anderson later launched her own line of suntan lotions.

Remember: It's not safe to be in the sun without protection. Take a hat, a high SPF sunscreen and a sarong. And preferably a luscious friend to follow you around with an umbrella and to peel you a grape or two.

Has talk of tanning made you crave some time by the pool? Then check out our various stories and photo galleries:

•  Celebrating the Australian summer: Natasha's poolside decor (Hostess with the mostest)
• Water babies: Coco-nuts! (Hip & Healthy)

 Photos:

• Gucci: Spring Summer Cruise Resort campaigns
• Louis Vuitton: Spring Summer Cruise Resort campaigns
• Poolside: Photos by Slim Aarons
• Vintage poolside
• Australian summer: Celebrating the pool

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