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Sunday 2 August 2015

Vintage Swimsuit Edition

Melanie Kobayashi, Bag and a Beret, vintage swimsuit
Why is this woman laughing? Because she grew a bust overnight by way of a vintage Jantzen swimsuit, size 14, with built-in vertical-wired cups and Reebok sock fillers. Yes, my new favourite swimsuit, care of Pao of Project Minima and her mother who used to wear it, from the clothing swap at our recent blogger meetup. Oh thank you, Pao!! I feel like a schtar! "Oh daarling, that's faaaabulous." 
Melanie Kobayashi of Bag and a Beret, vintage swimsuit
The features of the suit that I love most are the zip up the back and the leg openings that don't choke my thighs, not to mention that it's, gulp, super-fecking-amazing in general. There's a button missing on the left side, but nobody looks at the boobal area anyway. [Edit: As Pao pointed out in the comments, there's only supposed to be one button - it's designed that way. And now I love it even more!]
Mel Kobayashi, Bag and a Beret, vintage Jantzen swimsuit
I'm feeling fierce here, channeling Swindon. My reading glasses are, of course, for reading a steamy paperback novel whilst reclining on my lounger and sipping a strawberry margarita poolside at the Beverly Hills Hilton. Right, Anne?

I'm employing the Sheila stair pose. My angle should be a bit more acute to achieve maximum results. I have yet to master the Corey hand (details on that HERE, Sheila Ephemera's blog).
I heard that exchange in a coffee shop a few months ago. Her reply was serious, no camp or sarcasm at all. I've always wondered how my life would be different if I were a person like that.
Mel Kobayashi, Bag and a Beret
Switching drinks. "Who took my champagne? My yacht is waiting. Cannes is waiting!" I did a mini shoot in the morning with flat hair, above, but this suit demanded something more dynamic so I did a shoot last night with sproinged hair and flatforms. Love that plateau of hair, although I'm not sure what to make of the foothills on my chest.
Mel Kobayashi, Bag and a Beret, vintage Jantzen swimsuit
Smoke and mirrors and wires and socks, my friends, although I would say I am more comfortable in this swimsuit than the one I wear now. The fabric is not too squeezy and I can move without bits creeping up my buttoxil area. Faaaabulous wire definition. 
Mel Kobayashi in vintage swimsuit, Bag and a Beret
And guess what? I did wear the suit out already. Last night. At 11pm. I locked myself in the concrete box so I had to go down to the sidewalk and ring O to let me in. And guess what? O didn't answer. He was playing with a new machine. No problem. I figured I could hang out in the dark deserted park in my swimsuit with my camera. GAAAA! I called again. Thankfully he heard and beeped me in; otherwise, these photos would have been much, much more interesting.
That's me when I got home, sweaty-faced because I was just a touch PANICKING!! HEEELP!!! I'll never forget my keys again. Maybe. 

I'm enjoying reading the wrap-up posts from the blogger meetup. Thanks again for coming! Life is getting back to routine and I am recommencing my blogger rounds bit by bit. Everyone who didn't come has been so patient. Mwah!!! Missed you. I have to see what you've been up to!! 



52 comments:

  1. Just fabulous.
    I would have loved meeting you in the bloggers meet up. Must meet sometime
    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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  2. Wonderful. I imagined you saying "Oh daarling, that's faaaabulous." in a thick Swedish accent a la Greta Garbo and could very easily imagine you on that lounger. You look fabulous. The suit is fabulous and I want one exactly like it! Bravo to Pao and her Mum. And thank heavens you managed to get back in. That swimsuit could've taken you on all sorts of unexpected adventures!

    http://www.petitesilvervixen.blogspot.co.uk/

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  3. I've really enjoyed reading about the blogger meet-up.
    That swim-suit is absolutely stunning on you, I love it!
    The only problem is, there's nowhere to keep your keys.
    I hope you're having a perfect weekend :D

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  4. heehee. You mean those are just decorative pockets? Well, keys would be too bulky anyway. You're a pin-up girl for sure. You do look fabulous in that suit and are accessorized to perfection. By the way, it's only meant to have one button, see how that side is a little different with the stitches? Your adventures outside are the stuff of movies. Maybe a video in the making, or a Vogoff spread...

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  5. That swimsuit is amaaaaaaazing! I love the white trim detail and the way it jumps out against the black to add such curves.
    And that blogger meetup is prvding me with so much reading material!! I am slowly working my way through all the blogs for all the style inspiration and enjoying it so very much. Thanks for putting that together.

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  6. Gorgeous curves! Must get me some!
    You look über comfortable yet glamourpuss in your stair pose.
    Rather more than post lockout adventure! Yeeehah!
    Xo Jazzy Jack

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  7. Old Hollywood Glamour! You look amazing, and like that suit was custom sewn for you. I'm glad you escaped the darkness of Vancouver night because you look very magnetic! xox

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  8. Wow wow wow! You really scored some fabulous pieces thanks to Pao.

    That semi "Sheila pose" is working for you. Your legs are so long they almost don't fit in the frame!

    I would be wary about dipping into the pool with the sock fillers. I would suggest replacing them with some balloons at that point. Your swim suit will have built in floatation devices!

    I cannot imagine getting locked out in a bathing suit! LOL

    bisous
    Suzanne

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  9. That swimsuit it everything! You are definitely a star.

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  10. You are Faaaabulous! That swimsuit!!!!

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  11. LEGS!!!! NAKED LEGS!!!! Yowza. Pao's mom was something! I can see this working over slinky palazzo pants. For those times in the park.

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  12. OMG you ARE Fabulous!! Why, why, why don't they make swimsuits like that anymore??? Would much rather have some structure than sausage-casing "slimming" fabrics.

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  13. I just recently went to a museum where they had a 1920's swimsuit displayed and I thought to myself: "Wow. These really need to come back for us, cough, cough, classic women." And there you were!!! I swear you could be on the Sports Illustrated cover!

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  14. Now I swoon. And I have to tell a friend about this post because she has also bought a vintage bathing suit this summer which has made her life ... I would say ... amazing.

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  15. Va va Voom, woman!!
    You look fabulous!!!

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  16. Move over Esther Williams! I cannot even begin to describe how faaaaabulous you are. I mean that sincerely. And one button. Wow. They just don't make 'em like that any more. And they don't make 'em like you either. You are a beautiful rare gem. I would love to come to play with you but I will NOT be wearing my swimsuit. Caftan c'est moi!

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  17. Wow! Wow! Wow! I love how Pao gifts these treasures to you bit by, in this case, little bit...I love to think that she has twenty trunks filled with her mother's clothes. They not only fit you perfectly, but you have the panache, the je ne sais quois, to elevate the togs out of the stratosphere.

    Suzanne does have a good point...built in flotation devices...I smell a patent pending...

    Oooh...locked out and O out of the loupe...hahaha

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  18. What, you don't answer "Faaabulous" when someone asks how you are? You exude fabulous, so maybe nobody has to ask.

    You are also brave to do a swimsuit post. And why haven't you been offered a modeling contract? You look stunning! I love the eye make-up, love the story about getting locked out (eeeek!), and I love the swimsuit. Are those pockets? Mock pockets? Mockets?

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  19. Fabulous post and even more fabulous swimsuit, wouuuuu You're a RockStar!! a faaaabulous RockStar!
    Love those all style swimsuits, comfortable and incredibly well made, and you're so gorgeous!
    Hurrah for fabulousness!!
    besos

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  20. Ooh, I've locked myself outside when doing the stair pose - always have to watch for the keys. Thank goodness I have a sweet neighbour who will let me in. You are doing marvelous at the Stair Pose!

    Love this suit on you - your boobular region is schpectacular, dahling, no matter how it's padded (or not). Also love the winged eyeliner - schtar!

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  21. My Lord woman, you have legs for days in that stair photo! I think Pao's Mom is my new style icon - if the tiger onesie with matching skirt this swim suit are any indication of her wardrobe, she was one stylish dame! And of course they have been passed on to the perfect woman to carry on their fabulousness.

    I would love a bathing suit like that - I hate having to keep pulling them out of your crack whenever you stand up, sit down, etc. Glad you weren't trapped outside all night :)

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  22. Stunning!! Perfect!! You look soooo good in it. Why don't they nake them like that anymore? If I had your body I would wear it too. It will also make a beautiful top on a skirt. Yes do wear this as a bathing suit. It is more fashionable and more fabulous than what you can buy these days. The sandals are also the best choice. Can you hear I am enthousiast(ic).
    When I read about the one button, I thought... "Should there be two buttons then?" Honestly, I did. Very proud of myself.
    Greetje

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  23. Forgot to say... don't lie on your tummy with these wires... They might go in when you get up....whahaha.

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  24. you look absolutely divine in that swimsuit! That first photo is so full of positive energy....you have such a winning smile! and great energy!

    Such fabulous photographs these all are...I really like the one on the stars...your legs look a mile long.

    This black swimsuit is really a vintage treasure...and you rock it!!!

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  25. No Fear of Fashion: Hahaha! I don't want any cave-in's. And if I put flotation devices in there, they would pop.

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  26. You are magnificent in the swimsuit! And the poses? Sublime! Your hair is as much a work of art as you are!

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  27. You look so marvelously chic! Goodness! I wish I had a fashion magazine of my own, because I would invite you to be a swimsuit model for it, if I did.

    Big hugs & happy August long weekend wishes!
    ♥ Jessica

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  28. plain gorgeous!!!
    and is´t easy to forget the keys while only wearing a swimsuit with no pockets? although i´m sure that following experience is something one don´t really need!
    and if i have to read another word about the meeting i start to cry......
    xxxxxxx

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  29. Stunning! Oh, why don't they make swimmers like that anymore? So much more flattering and elegant than the stringy affairs you see pulled down to the navel and halfway up the butt cheeks!!! You look gloriously beautiful ...
    M x

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  30. Dear Melanie: "Oh daarling, YOU are faaaabulous." And those shoes are absolutely friggin perfect.
    This post, the photos, and the yacht reference, reminds me of Margurite Duras' "The Sailor From Gilbraltar" - have you read it?
    xo

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  31. Love this suit one and the smart verbiage that accompanied! Love your unique look; this suit is really fabulous, maybe you re one of those people, try it...you might like it.)
    You are fabulous, after all.
    xx, Elle
    http://mydailycostume.com

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  32. it was designed with one button. See how the stitching by the button is? Looks like the button opens. Awesome suit

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  33. Oh wow! That is one amazing swimsuit, and you look utterly incredible in it! Legs a mile long, high hair, and fabulous platforms - you're stunning, Melanie! xxx

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  34. Too much divine gorgeousness in one post! I remember a pair of vintage bathers I had that had a label inside that said "keep firm breasts"! Can you knock on those knockers? Do they double as percussion instruments? You look amazing.

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  35. First off, I'm still laughing just thinking of you running around the park in the swimsuit, but quite scary to be locked out. You are one crazy woman! Now, that vintage swim suit is to die for!!!! I want to play dress up with that little item for sure. How on earth did you make a size 14 appear to fit you? So wish you could join our pool party in that, you would fit right in.

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  36. Utterly mindfeckingly OMG fabulous. What a schtunning schtar you are!

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  37. You are breathtaking. :D What a lovely bathing costume, too. I didn't know they made things to swim in that were *comfortable.* I'll have to look into one of those.

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  38. Any swimsuit that doesn't hike up in the buttoxil area is good in my books. Did I spell that right? I'm too lazy to go back and look ... And holy smokes, did you ever come away with some good scores in the vintage clothing department!

    You look amazing in that Stair Pose. That one is definitely a keeper in your Repertoire of Poses. :)

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  39. Oh my gosh this has got to be THE best swimsuit ever made. It's utterly perfect. Your hair looks faaaabulous too (I've always wondered what it would be like to be that sort of person too...). All in all I'm blown away - you are a stunner! X

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  40. At least you were looking super fab-u-lous when you locked yourself out. What an amazing swimsuit and so stylish, nothing like the things we have on offer these days. You could wrap a skirt around that one and wear it out.

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  41. Daaaaaaaaannggg!! Looking NOICE! I'm serious! You look AMAZING!

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  42. I love it when you go all Zoolander model on us!

    Gave you a shout out ...

    http://thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com/2015/08/four-year-fashion-retrospective.html

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  43. You look absolutely, positively amaaaaazing. Gah. I need to work out more. Heh.

    - Anna

    www.melodicthriftychic.com

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  44. Oh the suit! The shoes! The Miz Bagg! You have blown me away with your fabulousness! Pao's mom had some amazing clothes, didn't she? And you look so amazing in them too. I am just bereft of the words...

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  45. You are fab in that fabulous swimsuit.

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  46. You are fab in that fabulous swimsuit.

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  47. Omigod, yes you, and that swimsuit are supremely gorgeous! BLUE STEEL it baby!

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  48. Oh I would be panicky if I locked myself out! Thank goodness O heard you and let you in! You look so beautiful, great poses and smile, as always. It looks like this swimsuit was made for your measurements! xxx

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  49. You look AMAZING in that swimsuit! Reebok socks? Who knew? And never bemoan your small bosom (I did, mine, when I was a teenager). Small bosom gals look chic and fab long after their bigger-bosomed friend have resorted to tucking them into their pants.

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  50. Looks cool and fab.I like your swimsuit.
    Swimsuits Direct

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  51. Awesome!! You look fab!!
    xo
    Lynn

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