Posts Tagged ‘Rocker Bride’

Kimberly Manning Aker is a gal with style by the mile, and truly lives the retro fashion life from her fab 40′s all-business gal suit to her pin-up girl vintage bathing suit. She’s got a fierce roll-back up do and I’ve never seen her look anything less than stunning. When she’s out carousing with her tribe of slick and fabulous retro folks, they cut a stylish swath through a crowd like the  parting of the Red Sea. It’s not a costume party, it’s a way of life: harkening to a time when a raised eyebrow, a dry martini and a well cut LBD were de rigueur for a hot night out. Defying the world of hoochie-mama Hollywood and instead, embracing old Hollywood is the idea. Looking good and living well is the best revenge….I am pleased to welcome Kimberly Manning Aker, our new Retro Bride Blogger. She’ll be showcasing her own retro wedding, and sharing ideas from her vast knowledge of fashion history, and showing us the ropes….Carolyn Gerin

Mysterious and capivating Retro Bride...

Retro Bride: I began wearing Vintage clothing at the age of 13. It was after a particular time in history when people started wearing old clothing as a fashion statement of sorts.  I attribute the “acceptance” of vintage dressing to the very group of people who changed the face of fashion – the Hippies. My predecessors, the Hippies made it fashionable to be unfashionable, when fashion meant au current with rather strict rules and levels of acceptability.  With their social revolution came a fashion revolution. For most it was not subscribing to social dictates. For me it meant a way paved for a young girl to dress differently.

Buy the time I was old enough to create my own fashion style, beyond my daily kiltie shoes, maroon cashmere sweaters, knee sox and prep school kilts with blazers, (Oh, that’s where Ralph Lauren got it!)  I started wearing Victorian blouses with my jeans purchased for a quarter. I then started wearing 1920s raccoon coats, cast offs from my classmates grandfather’s – vododeedodo! I wore 1920s cloches to look like Ali Mac Graw, or 1940s jackets with my prep school kilts, or 1930s gowns, with Frye boots.  It wasn’t until the 1980s that I bought modern couture. I had always preferred the styles of old movies to what was in fashion.  Even the Couture didn’t make me happy. Then, one day I discovered a large subculture of Retro people – and it was like finding my TRIBE, my home, my way.

After that blessed day I cultivated my personal style, and it became my life style. I married a man whom I met through the Rockabilly scene; he has a great personal style complete with the best 1930s matinee star mustache this side of the Pecos.

Together we have created a retro home. As an Interior Decorator (I specialize in creating my clients dreams-their dreams, not mine) I often help with historic restoration, or Vintage/Retro styled rooms or homes.

We travel retro, wear our Vintage to England, Yosemite, New York, Safeway….
It’s a personal style in a sea of flannel and denim.  So many people want to live La Vita Retro, but are timid.  I say to them, be Fearless!

About Retro Bride

Kimberly Manning Aker is an Interior Decorator in the San Francisco Bay area. She, along with her 2 partners are show producers for the annual Vintage Clothing and Style Festival.
Kimberly adores restoring vintage clothing, and vintage furniture. She has lived La Vita Retro since the early 80s and has produced many Retro themed events and gives tours and lectures on fashion history and the art and architect of the Bay Area. A former world traveling Gypsy, who once lived in England, the Bahamas, Singapore, France, Hong Kong and New York City she has settled comfortably in the flat lands of Oakland California and is renovating a 1912 house.  She and her husband had a retro wedding and share their passion for La Vita Retro with her many friends and acquaintances (who can be spotted all over the Bay area- and indeed the world!) She does not view La Vita Retro as a “sub culture” but as a life style choice.

www.kmacreate.com
www.vintageclothingstylefestival.com

 

Rock and roll glamour? Check.
Edge factor? Check.
A reinterpretation of luxury jewelry
(with a hint of irony?) Check.

Heavy Metal Glamour Puss

If you are bone tired of those red carpet girls dripping with their predictable Harry Winston Queen Mum gems, (valued at 10 years wages) cast your eyes on Rock Candy Design.

Reinterpreting what “fine jewelry” is, and truly pushing the envelope, Sheryl Gould takes jawbreaker sized “gem shapes” and casts ‘em out of sterling silver (in a send up of traditional boutique ateliers) rendered in a classy, modern and ironic way. What’s not to adore about wearable glamour puss day-to-dinner dazzlers, that deliver you from the cubicle to cocktail party effortlessly? What’s not to love about friends and foes alike asking where on earth did you get that big hunk of glam hanging around your neck?? Blessedly, not at Tiffanys, because if you’re reading this, we’re pretty certain that you’re a little hipper than the girls who shop there anyway….

This hunk of gorge will be taking up residence in my jewelry box.

Sheryl so impressed us here at Antibride.com, that she rocked our runway at the Operation Aisle Style event at the W Hotel SF this past March. Our runway models who wore her creations had everyone drooling….and scrambling to get their orders in tout suite….

Extra Credit: If I were a bridesmaid, and I was given this Rock of Love necklace, pictured left, I would forgive any bridesmaids dress transgressions upon receipt of gift….

You can’t get it at Barney’s, Harry Winston, or any chain store. To own and adore this under-the-radar artistry and rock your own runway go here:

with http://rockcandydesign.com

Rock Candy Design is a sexy jewelry collection, ranging from raw & chunky to refined & chic. Designer Sheryl Gould, inspired by past & present pop culture, rock n roll & fashion, combines sterling silver, original cast designs, semi precious stones & vintage finds, to create unique “unisexy” necklaces, bracelets, rings & earrings.?? In the spirit of rebellion, ignoring norms, morals, & design rules, delicate items are turned heavy, common goods are turned precious. The collection pairs seemingly unrelated elements, resulting in the pleasantly unexpected. Dubbed “elegant rock ‘n’ roll” by an adoring client, the edgy, glam line has attitude, beauty & style.