xoxo, maximalist girl
and other style personas, from the wardrobe of Elsie Madeira
This is my friend Elsie, and this week we shot a style feature with her cowgirl-meets-disco queen-meets-cool girl, one-of-a-kind wardrobe.
The collection is curated and modeled by Elsie — a squash teammate turned fashion focal for this story. We discovered our shared appreciation for vintage fashion last year when Elsie shared an eclectic piece from her mom’s vintage collection: a betasseled cowhide cape.
Needless to say, I was intrigued; thus it only took a few other encounters with garments from her collection for me to float the idea of doing a shoot together.
We arranged to shoot the looks in Elsie’s home — a sun filled bungalow where she had gathered fabulous pieces from her mom’s vintage collection, along with some pieces from her own closet. Her wardrobe really gets its charm from the fact that it’s a union of two generations worth of good style.
In what I consider to be a stroke of genius, Elsie’s mom, Laurie, has kept many amazing garments over the years; styles ranging from workwear to streetwear, hailing from the American West to the South of France, pieces to dance in, pieces to date in, and all having one thing in common: their induction to Laurie’s closet, and their bestowal to Elsie’s.
We kicked off the shoot with a charming 1940s sportswear button down. Nevermind the femme darting, rounded collar, and rhinestone buttons — the coup de charm comes in the form of individual pop art cartoons gracing the entire shirt.
Each cartoon is unique, with dryly humorous French quips accompanying every illustration.
I love a sportswear style short sleeve button down. They are easy and comfortable to wear, and you can usually find them with great patterns and prints from the 80s / 90s.
Of course this one takes the cake with its comics à la française, and it’s the exact type of moodboard piece to kick off perusing cheeky button downs on the vintagenet — a few noteworthy prints to check out: more comics, women in a crowd, acrobats!
Then there’s always the option of layering it under an edgy trench for that full-on French girl cool vibe. Enter: another incredible piece from Laurie’s archives, a waxed canvas barn coat with studded collar.
A pairing that reaches its maximum cool potential with light wash barrel leg denim.
So many amazing details: the pockets, the snaps, the storm shield!
And while the tasseled cowgirl cape didn’t make it into this shoot, we gave westernwear a fair shot.
Recipe includes: cowboy boots, a true wrangler style shirt (complete with pearl snaps), loose fit cotton weave trousers, and a to-die-for vintage Ralph Lauren denim jacket.
Ralph Lauren is one of those brands that ages like a fine wine. It’s something about the cuts, the pockets, the denim washes…a je ne sais quoi appeal. IMO it’s always worth a look at the RL vintage selects because the shapes are timeless and the patinas just get better with time.
Ok we’ve given you cool girl streetwear, we’ve given you western workwear — feels like a good time for a party look. We were both gaga over this sheer doublestrappy tank, with molten streams of gold beads trickling down the top.
Laurie wore this top at Studio 54 when she was in her 20s … does it get more fabulous than that?!
This top has slinky disco energy, but is also divinely chic — and I think you could play it either way depending on how you pair it. Elsie’s got it with black high waist trousers and Manolos. Full stop. She managed to style it in a way that checks both boxes.
And now for a little selection of chic tops inspired by Elsie’s gold number: beaded sheer vest, gorgeous sheer mermaid energy, and this gold beading is incredible. Or how about abandoning this whole “shirt” concept and going for the Studio-54-worthy metal disco halter bra that you never knew you needed until just now.
Speaking of Studio 54, Laurie recalls wearing this black cashmere Halston midi dress to the nightclub’s goodbye party for co-owner Steve Rubell [pre incarceration], and none other than Andy Warhol himself was in attendance. If this dress could talk!
A waist-defining black belt was just the thing to accent the dress; nothing more, nothing less. Complete with a plunging open back, this pinnacle of elegance is a testament to the timelessness of a feminine cut LBD.
Now, I really have saved the best look for last. In addition to the absolute MAXIMALISM on display, the completed look is an amalgamation of the mother/daughter vintage collections. The triple threat ensemble is comprised of pieces each with their own vibrant print and color combinations.
The shirt is one that Laurie got while living in Paris after college. The marvelous thing is that the brand, Souleiado, is still making a nearly identical variation of this shirt 50 years later; a testament to the timelessness of the design and color schematic.
The wedges, the result of a 2013 designer collab, are from Elsie’s closet. The obvious choice for this outfit, given the 3 unique patterns on each shoe.
A few more designer platforms for your maximalist enjoyment: silk magenta from Versace, multicolor glitter from Saint Laurent, gravity defying lifts from Alexander McQueen, pineapple perfection from Kate Spade, groovy strappy wrappy sandals from Stuart Weitzman, and tie-dye moonwalkers from Christian Louboutin.
The pants, well, I think those are truly one-of-a-kind. Elsie snapped them up as a matching tunic/pants set at a flea market in Brooklyn. Unbranded, her guess is the set may have been handmade from an old tapestry.
All I can say is, well done, Elsie. It’s a set which I never could have conceptualized into a wearable piece of clothing — it took a discerning eye to see the potential in that patternwork, and it’s there!
And let us not forget the bell bottoms avec fringe:
It’s so fun seeing what vintage pieces other people are drawn to. It keeps me curious about styles I never would have tried, inspires me to pair garments in new ways, and makes me grateful for the style stories I get to hear along the way.
Say hi in the comments, share this post with a friend, eat an apple a day, and have a nice weekend!
xx, Georgia