Holiday Party Style 1966

Holiday Party Style 1966.

A few weeks ago, Madge featured one of the fashion magazines she found in a dusty pile.  That post, How to Dress looked at a fall issue of Glamour from the 40s.  Today we are boosting the glamour quotient with a November 1966 issue from Harper’s Bazaar that is loaded with fabulous holiday looks that could be right off of today’s runways.

This issue leads off with a bang with this fold-over cover of a silver sheath by Norman Norell. This gown was available in either the copper or fuchsia color block.   Madge loves the subtle details of the standup collar and loose sleeves that add interest to  the straight lines of the dress.  Do you have a favorite of the two?

Imagine her delight when, a few pages in, Madge spotted this ad for a dress from Promenade that is almost exactly like one currently in the shop.

This ad for a velveteen negligee is a hoot, although the idea of velveteen and negligee in the same sentence has Madge’s head spinning.

Despite the fact that Mr. & Mrs. Madge own an extensive collection of standards on LP and 78s, she still had to search her favorite music service, Emusic.com, to figure this tune out.  The only vocal selection was a Polly Bergen album with a cover shot of her, wait for it, wearing a negligee.

Well after all that angst and sofa fluffing, we certainly hope Steve showed up.

A breathtaking ad from Monet for their Marchesa collection.

Don’t you just love the bottle for this perfume?  Shocking was introduced by the House of Schiaparelli in 1937.   Schiap was in the midst of her surrealist period and ads from the 30s were created by collaborators Salvador Dali and Marcel Vertes.  There’s a wonderful article on this history of this iconic perfume with some of those ads on of my favorite blogs – Bois de Jasmin.

This two-page spread of Givenchy gowns, Fringes and Scallops shows two sides of the 1966 winter collection. On the left is a white satin crepe dress with a matching fringed floor-length cape.  On the right, a petal-tiered number in pale yellow silk faille.

More jewelry, this time a striking bracelet collection from Napier.  “Wrist makeup” is very witty”

One of the main photo shoots in this is entitled What’s Wicked and first up is this Elizabeth Arden silk chiffon gown with a black mink bodice and black satin straps. Madge would love this today in a faux fur.

Below is a Michael Kazan beaded dress, but the main focus of the photo are the glorious triangle rhinestone earrings from Vendome.

Both of these gowns are so of the era and yet still so stylish.  First up is pink crepe with a white wool beaded jacket from Leslie Morris.   The bracelet and earrings are by Mimi di N.

The facing page is a white crepe dress by Stella with a bolero of fuchsia and pink sequins with another fabulous pair of Vendome earrings. Wouldn’t you love to see these two gowns in color?

More baubles, this time an amazing collection from Weiss, a company that was known for the quality of their rhinestones.

Madge has a beautiful Weiss rhinestone daisy brooch in the shop right now.

And . . . more “wickedness” with these two dresses in sensational patterns, one by Arnold Scaasi  in a gold brocade and a piece by Sophie in a gold, green and silver obi print.

The other major fashion spread, Mosaic Paillettes features some gleaming jeweled gowns. This one by Marbel Junior evokes Moorish Spain with its spangled waves of multi-colored beading over coral silk.  The hair style is so quintessentially swinging sixties.

Yves St. Laurent is in a Medieval mood with this silver evening dress.

And possibly Madge’s favorite of all of these amazing gowns, one by Maria Antonelli featuring triangular pieces of metal stitched together with gold thread.  Che Bella!

Please leave a comment on which of these fabulous Holiday Party Style gowns is your personal favorite.

As we leave 1966 here’s a piece of advice from Clairol on the back cover of this Harper’s Bazaar issue.

Well said.