Ultra Swank - Retro Adventures

Inspiration • style • fashion

These Boots Are Made for Walkin’
Written by Patricia Greenwood in Fashion

These Boots Are Made for Walkin’

Before the advent of go-go boots, which arrived in America from Europe in the early 1960s, boot wearing for women was limited to outdoor activities and inclement weather. The go-go boot became a symbol for female empowerment and independence at a time when social equality movements were harbingers for styles and fashions. I suppose my love affair with boots began one evening in 1966 when...

Where are all the Good People?

It was contemporary artist Jack Johnson who asked the question “Where’d all the good people go? I’ve been changing channels, I don’t see them on the TV shows. Where’d all the good people go?” I was watching Mad Men the other night and seeing all the antics of the characters it got me thinking about the people of the late sixties and how the show...

Visions of a ’57 Chevy Bel Air
Written by Patricia Greenwood in Inspiration

Visions of a ’57 Chevy Bel Air

I love cars. Let me rephrase that. I love vintage cars manufactured in America from 1955 to 1975. I love the streamlined, the finned, the hard tops, the convertibles, the muscle types, the bold colored, but mostly, I love that fabulous automobile icon, the ’57 Chevy Bel Air. My admiration for this vehicle began many years ago, when I was quite small. What started out...

Retro Christmas Advertisements from Mid-Century America

Christmas is around the corner and to celebrate this magical holiday we are featuring a few samples of holiday related advertisements and imagery from 1946 and 1964, courtesy of Roger Wilkerson’s collection. To me, the hand drawn illustrations and images in mid-century advertisements are the epitome of style and warmth. They really show-off how talented advertising America were some 50-60 years ago. That fine attention to design and pseudo-realism really grabs...

South for Winter Photoset – From Brittany McLaren

Photographer Brittany McLaren sends us “South for Winter” with this Mad Men’esque inspired 1960s styled photo shoot. I love the melancholy and somewhat cold feeling this set gives me, not reminiscent of Mad Man Don Draper’s relationship with his ex-wife Betty. Or maybe it’s just that semi-sad 1960s nostalgia that’s shining through. Either way, I love the photos. What do you think?...

Why Cads Drive Sports Cars – He’s got one and you don’t

There is something about a sports car that just reeks of sex. Let’s face it, even if we see a balding middle aged man cruising the highway we automatically know several things about him. Firstly he’s got money, secondly he probably gets a lot of action and thirdly – there is a chance he could be a complete tosser. Now I don’t automatically assume the...

Look at Me – The Confounds of Living a Vintage Lifestyle

Every now and then in life you get a glimpse of what people really think of you when they slip up and make an assumption. Recently I was at a BBQ and a relative mentioned a fifties Cadillac that she spotted on a recent road trip. She then made a comment that people who drive those types of cars clearly enjoy being looked at. Now...

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