As you try to lead a greener life, do you ever wonder if turning off the water when you brush your teeth really makes a difference? Or if carrying a reusable grocery bag in your car can really save the planet?

It’s easy to lose sight of the big picture but I assure you that all of your little baby steps can add up to a very large footprint that does a whole lot o’ good.

For instance, take all those teeny tiny bubbles in a bottle of champagne. Billions of them are shipped around the globe each year and I was recently delighted to learn that champagne will be getting a whole lot greener. By creating a new standardized bottle that weighs a mere 2.3 ounces less, the industry will be reducing their carbon emissions by 8,000 metric tons annually. That’s the equivalent of taking about 4,000 small cars off the road!

The new eco-friendly bottles also produce 7% less carbon emissions during production and require fewer shipments since they can now squeeze an extra 2,400 bottles on each truck. Who knew 2 measly ounces would pack such a punch!

Unfortunately, since champagnes are aged at least 18 months, any official celebration will have to wait until 2012 when the new eco-friendly bottles make their appearance. In the meantime, why not celebrate with a champagne-colored beauty like today’s VPOD?

This vintage 1960s cashmere sweater is oh-so-pretty with its lace appliques and detachable mink collar. Plus it will set you back a whole lot less than a vintage bottle of Dom Perignon.

That makes it a find worth celebrating for a vintage fashionista!

Available at Twin Hearts Vintage.

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“Fashion is an opportunity to be chic, to conspire between reality and desire.” – Louis Feraud

Women love men who love women and one designer who loved and adored us and proved it with every stitch was Louis Feraud.

Beloved by the Parisian elite in the 1960s, stylish women traipsed through the streets in his fabulous designs looking oh-so-polished and chic. A team player, he assembled a group of experts that included color gurus and stylists to come up with what he called “weather forecasts” to predict fashion trends as he was always looking toward the future.

And he did a heck of a job because now the future is here and today’s VPOD, a vintage 1960s wool coat he designed for Saks Fifth Avenue, looks as stylish as ever with its clean lines, sharp trim and meticulous craftsmanship.

It’s a Feraud fantasy for a vintage fashionista!

Available at Vintage Blue Moon.

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If you own a computer then you fully understand the concept of re-booting, the process that shuts down your machine and reloads the operating system. But re-booting isn’t just good for electronic gadgets. It’s good for your closet, too.

Just like a computer can reach limits on its RAM or end up with a cluttered cache, your closet can reach the confines of its walls and become a cluttered mess if you don’t take the time to re-set it occasionally. And what better time than now?

Once you’ve spent some time evaluating what you’ve got, eliminating (or storing) items that you won’t be using, re-assessing the gems that you’d forgotten about, and re-arranging things in a cohesive way, your creative fashion muscles will be firing at full speed—much the way your computer always works better after a re-boot.

And speaking of re-booting, you might want to reward yourself for your Closet Re-Boot by leaving room for one of today’s VPODs. Classic, Hip, or Boho—these vintage boots from the 1960s and 1970s can satisfy a variety of fashion looks with style.

They’re a quick and easy way to re-boot for a vintage fashionista!

Available at Kakkoii Mono. | Discovered at TheFind.com

(To receive the VPOD via email along with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

I was at the Pickwick Vintage Show on Sunday and so I missed watching all the Red Carpet arrivals at the 2010 Emmys. Instead I had to settle for paging through the pictures on the Best and Worst-Dressed Lists yesterday.

And since I was raised with the understanding that if you can’t say something nice about someone you shouldn’t say anything at all, I won’t call out any one particular lady  for her unfortunate dress selection. I will say, however, that I thought the Worst-Dressed lists could have been twice as long and the Best-Dressed lists correspondingly shorter.

Three cheers for Keri Russell, though, who was a sure-fire fashion winner and an oh-so-stunning vintage fashionista.

Think you need to run out and buy a new dress for every occasion? Think again!

This lovely lass chose to wear a vintage 1970s Jean-Louis Scherrer chiffon gown that had been sitting in her closet for a decade. Lucky for us she pulled it out and paired it with tastefully chosen Jimmy Choos and a Judith Leiber bag to create a young, fresh look that really allowed her to shine.

And that’s my biggest beef with what I saw at this year’s Emmys. I believe that clothes should accent a woman’s natural beauty and best features. I believe that you should notice the woman first, and the dress and accessories second. And while I completely understand the Hollywood process that allows so many unflattering dresses to appear on so many gorgeous women, it really makes me sad.

Why? Because at Sunday’s vintage show I saw several evening gowns and cocktail dresses that would have been far more lovely than some of the the new designs that were flaunted at the Emmys. So today’s VPOD features four vintage Red Carpet-worthy frocks:

I’ll let you guess which dress I’d put on which worst-dressed celebrity but surely you’ll agree these these lovelies would have made several of the women appear much more lovely on Sunday night.

Whether you’re a fan of the 1980s red satin stunner or the sparkling beaded chiffon cocktail dress, or whether you prefer the 1960s citrus chiffon evening gown over the 1960s Suzy Perette asymmetrical cocktail number, I hope you’ll join me in wishing for more vintage fashions on the rest of this season’s Red Carpets.

After all, any of these beauties would be a fab choice for any celebrity or non-celebrity vintage fashionista!

All available at Mill Crest Vintage.

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It’s the first week of school for many students and that got me thinking about some of my old teachers.

Mr. Tarone, if you’re out there, just let me say that while I remember very little of your 7th grade geometry class, I do remember that each of the circles in today’s VPOD has a diameter that is twice its radius and that I can find that diameter by dividing the circumference of each ring by pi.

And while I can honestly say I never needed to calculate the circumference of a circle outside of your class, all the proofs that I toiled over in your homework assignments did somehow instill a love and appreciation for shape, symmetry and order that has served me quite well over here in the fashion world.

Perhaps that’s why I’m mesmerized by this vintage 1960s necklace by Christian Dior. It’s a geometric marvel with its circles, spheres and perpendicular lines.

And it’s a very chic find for a vintage fashionista!

Available at Atelier-Mayer.

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I have a little styling rule-of-thumb that seems to work pretty well for me and it’s quite simple:

If I’m wearing a contemporary outfit, I pair it with vintage shoes. If I’m wearing a vintage outfit, I wear contemporary shoes.

After all, no one wants to be too matchy-matchy! Plus head-to-toe vintage is awfully hard to pull off without looking like you were styled by a costume designer for a period piece like Mad Men.

So I’ve got plenty of vintage high heels that I love to wear with jeans and plenty of contemporary sandals to pair with my vintage summer dresses.

Of course, when the shoes are as spectacular as today’s VPOD, they’re enough to steal the fashion show. Certainly these were designed with evening in mind, but how sharp would these vintage beaded satin pumps look with a pair of linen trousers, a crisp white blouse and a chunky vintage necklace?

They’re oh-so-chic and I couldn’t help but smile every time I looked down at the beaded coral crabs knowing I got them on sale for oh….about $35 each.

What a pair of pure joy for a vintage fashionista!

Available at Hollywhirl. | Discovered at TheFind.com.

(To receive the VPOD via email with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

Maybe you’re a woman who works 60 hours a week to keep your 401(k) plump and yet still somehow finds time to head off to Pilates or spinning class three times a week to keep your body trim. But not every gal’s a Wonder Woman!

Some women are looking for ways to hide their saggy triceps and prefer their dresses in the low three-digit versus the high four-digit range. And while it requires very little effort to find skimpy, high-priced fashion fare, scouting out reasonably priced, conservative-yet-still-very-stylish fashions is a bit more tricky.

Yes, tricky. But not impossible. Just take a peek at today’s VPOD.

This vintage 1960s black satin dress by Claralura can atone for a multitude of body shape issues while still looking oh-so-chic. This beauty has just a touch of rhinestones with fabulous chiffon angel sleeves that will make you feel beautiful even if you don’t sport a six-pack of abs or a six-figure retirement account.

And that makes it a fabulous find for a vintage fashionista!

Available at Couture Allure.| Discovered at TheFind.com.

(To receive the VPOD via email with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

Wow! A 90-piece collection of vintage Braniff uniforms, shoes, luggage and accessories designed by none other than Pucci, Halson and Narducci of Dallas is now available on eBay.

The collection was amassed by a former Braniff flight attendant who flew for over 20 years. And I guess if you or I had to wear a uniform designed by Pucci or Halston, we might actually tuck it away and preserve it, too!

One of the most exciting finds in the collection is the Pucci handbag shown below (between the two luggage pieces). This is a one-of-a-kind prototype. Keep that in mind when you see the asking price for this collection.

Another very collectible piece is that famous Space Bubble hat. Made to look like a space helmet and protect flight attendant’s hair from wind and rain, the bold idea never really caught on. I guess women just didn’t want to look like astronauts! But there are lots of other pieces from Gemini IV, the first Pucci collection in 1965, through Pucci V, the last collection in 1974, that would take a lot of willpower not to work into a modern wardrobe. The leggings and boots, for instance, would be quite fun.

And let’s not forget about the Halston pieces that are in the collection as well. They are a great contrast to the pyschedelic look of Pucci with their earthy tones, simpler designs and printed logo signature “H”’s.

But before you go digging for your credit card, be aware that this comprehensive collection of Braniff uniforms from 1963 to 1983 won’t come cheap. The current asking price is $250,000, although offers are welcome.

Of course, it won’t cost you a penny to take a peek at all the pieces pictured and read the fabulous history in this eBay listing.

Look out America. The fourth season of Mad Men started this past Sunday and that means plenty of vintage fashion eye candy on Sunday nights. This popular and highly acclaimed television series is becoming known as much for its clothes as it is for its characters!

In fact, this year AMC has teamed up with Banana Republic for a casting call contest in which one lucky winner will receive a walk-on role in a Mad Men episode. Full contest details  are available here but in a nutshell here’s what you have to do to enter:

1. Get you entry code from a Banana Republic store while supplies last.
2. Upload a picture of yourself showing off your Mad Men style.
3. Get your friends to vote for you between now and September 17th.

As an example, here’s an entry by the daughter of Naomi, a fabulous vintage clothing seller on eBay (and I’m sure she’d love for you all to click on this pic and vote for her budding vintage fashionista!)

Of course, if you plan to enter the contest, what you choose to wear will be tres importante! And today’s VPOD would be a perfect choice.

This beaded dress and matching cape from the 1960s is simply luscious with its yummy melon hue, beaded fringe trim and shoulder bow.

It’s a Mad Men-inspired find for a vintage fashionista!

Available at Shrimpton Couture.

(To receive the VPOD via email with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

I find lots of women think vintage clothing is all about flapper dresses, Mad Men-style clothing and dazzling evening gowns that celebrities model on the Red Carpet. But because modern clothing takes its inspiration from the fashions of decades gone by, vintage clothing is also about pieces that could easily play hide-and-seek and hold their own against the merchandise displayed at mainstream shopping stores like J. Crew, Banana Republic and Anthropologie.

Take today’s VPOD for instance. This knit wool piece from the 1960s is part sweater and part blazer. Play up the orange color for summer when you pair it with shorts. Then, in the fall, focus on the cocoa brown when you layer it with your favorite denim.

For under $60, it’s a bargain of a find for a modern girl who’s also a vintage fashionista!

Available at LA Vintage.

(To receive the VPOD via email with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)