I hope you all weren’t hoping that I’d do some Monday morning fashion quarterbacking and list my Best and Worst Dressed at last night’s Emmy Awards.

To be honest, I think creating a Worst Dressed list is just cruel.

No woman spends hours getting ready for one of the most exciting evenings of her life with the intention of seeing herself on a Worst Dressed list the next day (or within minutes in this Age of Twittering).

I’m sure every woman, those who hit the bulls-eye with their style and those who perhaps missed the mark a bit, stepped into their limos believing they looked gorgeous. And I’m sure every one of them felt glamorous as they were being blinded by flashes on the Red Carpet.

Considering that many of these stars probably didn’t select their dresses from among all those available in the Fashion Universe but instead made their selections from a very small edited number of choices delivered by their stylists, perhaps we should all back off from our criticism a bit.

I’m especially saddened to see all the controversy surrounding some of the youngest stars.

For instance, Ariel Winter, the 13-year-old middle daughter on Modern Family, is under attack for a classic lace evening gown that makes her look “too sexy” and that suggests she’s trying to channel Sofia Vergara and Christina Hendricks. Pleeeease!

If any of you have a 13-year-old girl in the house you know there’s no way you could force her to go out in public wearing something she doesn’t want to wear. Even if you disagree with their choices, these young gals are gonna want to wear something they love and that makes them feel beautiful and confident.

And I don’t know about you, but Ariel certainly looks like she feels beautiful and confident to me!

So while I earn a living talking about fashion, I prefer that we talk about it in a way that isn’t mean-spirited and demeaning. We’re all just doing the best we can and with all the conflicting messages sent by the fashion industry, any of us, and that includes the icons of this industry, can make a fashion faux-pas every now and again.

And it’s not the end of the world. Ours or theirs.

So if you like Ariel’s look and you want to channel the style, just grab today’s VPOD.

This vintage 1930s lace evening gown is sized to fit a real woman, not the twigs that inhabit fashion magazines. Like many dresses of this era, there’s a touch of broken netting. But just pin a brooch near this area on the hip and voila! No one will ever notice.

It’s a simple, elegant find for a Best-Dressed Vintage Crusader!

Available at Concetta’s Closet.

(To receive the VPOD free via email with detailed size and price information, sign up for the 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.

(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.)

Instead, just sneak a peek at my weekly eBay Roundup of Top Vintage Clothing Finds.

An eclectic mix of designer and non-designer vintage clothing, accessories and jewelry, these are pieces that have caught my discerning eye for their uniqueness, their contemporary feel or their highly collectible nature.

As always, buyer beware! Be sure to read the listings closely and contact the sellers with any questions.

This week’s finds include an amazing 1950s Lanvin evening gown, a super-rare Whiting & David Marion Davies mesh enamel bag, and a hip grey leather jacket. Enjoy (and watch for another weekly edition featuring handbags and costume jewelry coming soon!)

Get Ready, Get Set, BID!!!!!

CLICK IMAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Vintage 1950s Lanvin Evening Gown (millstreetvintage) | Vintage 1960s Silver Lame Opera Coat (last_century_glamour) | Vintage 1960s Coffee Bean Print Dress (timesupshop) | Vintage Whiting and Davis Snake Cuff Bracelet (jaza33) | Vintage 1940s Embroidered Blazer (wilmabean1) | Vintage Swatch Umbrella (want2auctionit) | Vintage 1980s Leather Jacket (cotton-love) | Vintage 1960s Lilly Pulitzer Dress (redsocksvintage) | Trio of Vintage Bakelite Bracelets (mahdiooch) | Vintage 1970s Christian Dior Leather Trench Coat (indiecultvintage) | Vintage Courreges Scarf (shelley-kins) | Vintage 1950s Emma Domb Evening Gown (jask48) | Vintage 1960s Estevez Dress (oldohio) | Vintage Whiting and Davis Marion Davies Mesh Bag (muffymammamail) | Vintage 1980s Leonard Cocktail Dress (ferryvintage) | Vintage Yves Saint Laurent Bambo Necklace (plasticplanet) | (Disclosure: Editorial selections are made by Zuburbia with no direct promotional consideration from Bay sellers. Zuburbia is, however, a member of the eBay Partner Network).

For instance, while most of the country hears “red carpet” and thinks of the immense hullabaloo surrounding the Oscars and Emmys and Golden Globes, the weekly red carpet events out here are more like the one I saw yesterday: a very short red carpet, a few feet of banners taped to a building wall for a backdrop, anywhere from one to a handful of press photographers, and no cheering crowds.

And while it’s fine to harbor a secret yearning to strut down a red carpet, if you think it’s just a silly dream, think again. That’s what a friend of a friend thought. Then she married a guy who’s brother toiled for years and finally hit it big as a producer/director. Now this woman finds herself at entertainment industry get-togethers rubbing shoulders with celebrities she used to see only on the TV in her living room.

So I guess what I’m saying is it’s probably not a bad idea to have at least one knockout, formal gown in your closet that you can grab in a pinch–just in case you get a last minute invite to a big Hollywood gala or simply an event in your own hometown.

Today’s VPOD features a vintage 1970s jersey gown that fits the elusive dressy-but-not-too-dressy category to a T. The stunning royal blue hue and the touch of beading make it just right for a winter event–and at a price point that doesn’t scream “Red Carpet.”

That makes it a fine find for a vintage fashionista!

Available at Retrodress.

(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 unsubscribe at any time.)