Black Cat Vintage  ::  Archival vintage clothing + accessories since 2005
  • Home
  • About
    • The collection
    • The owner
    • Press
  • Shop
    • Black Cat Vintage
    • Mrs. Robinson's Affairs
  • Blog
  • Contact

Anatomy of a Window Display: "Greetings from Phoenix"

2/21/2017

1 Comment

 
Franklin Photo Products
My grandfather "Francis," who bore a striking resemblance to Colonel Sanders, though his son looked just like Dean Martin.
Image courtesy of Maly Photo Archives

Though I never had the pleasure of meeting him, my maternal grandfather and I would have been great friends. A photographer and photo product printer by trade, he had an artistic nature, a quick wit and a gift for drinking dry Manhattans. When times were tough--which they often were--he did whatever was necessary to support his family, including working as a traveling salesman.
 
A prolific writer and dedicated family man, he survived those business trips by writing home at least once a day. Unbeknownst to me, one of his favorite media was the “big letter postcard” popularized by another Chicago-based printer, Curt Teich and Co., which was the inspiration for my most recent downtown display window.

Read More
1 Comment

Icons: Marchesa Luisa Casati

6/28/2016

1 Comment

 
Luisa Casati, 1912
Luisa Casati in 1912.
(Image courtesy of courtesy of Ryersson & Yaccarino / The Casati Archives)


It may be 120 degrees in Phoenix, but in the world of fashion, Summer 2016 has already begun to give way to Fall. Disparate though the specifics of Fall’s fashions may be, the take-away from each collection remains the same: high drama. Upon even closer inspection the seemingly incongruous designs appear to share a common muse: the Marchesa Luisa Casati.


Read More
1 Comment

Black Cat: What's in a name?

6/1/2015

 
Picture
Where's Don Draper when you need him?  Proof it took time to choose a name.
For my inaugural post, I thought it might be appropriate to explain why I chose Black Cat for my business name.  Why not Mint Car (90s!), Red Wagon (30s!) or Pink Popsicle (50s Barbie Dream House!)?  The truth is it took me months to choose Black Cat, and I still have the stacks of napkins, envelopes and scratch paper from business naming attempts both drunken and sober to prove it. 

Read More
    Claudine in her mother's European travel suit circa 1962

    The Little Black Book thoughts about life, luxury and the pursuit of vintage fashion.


    The author

    Claudine Villardito is a vintage fashion historian, collector, conservator and cat whisperer living in Tucson, Arizona.  Her archive of over 3,000 fully restored vintage items from the 1850s to the early 2000s is sold online at blackcatvintage.com.

    She began this blog because she got sick of people commenting that she should really write a book.

    Her work has been featured in Vogue Italia, Matchbook Magazine, Tokyo-based En Vie magazine, on AMC's Mad Men, and in theatrical productions and museum exhibits worldwide.  She also contributed a monthly editorial column to the award-winning online periodical 3 Story Magazine.

    Archives

    March 2020
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    July 2015
    June 2015

    Categories

    All
    All About My Mother
    Arizona Costume Institute
    Auctions
    Barbie
    Cats
    Collectors
    Creative Process
    Estates
    Events
    Fast Fashion
    Growing Pains
    Haute Couture
    History Repeats Itself
    Holidays
    Hollywood's Golden Era
    In The Beginning
    Legends + Icons
    Lost + Found
    Luisa Casati
    Madame Grès
    Recycling
    Restorations
    Vintage Curiosities
    Visual Display

    RSS Feed

Thanks for signing up!

Let's keep in touch. Sign up for our mailing list here.

HOME  |  PRIVACY  |  SITE MAP
Black Cat Vintage  |  Tucson, Arizona  |  602.247.7166

Proud member of
All content ©2020 Black Cat Vintage
Picture