Blameless Inspired ~ Red Dresses by Gail Carriger

On the cover of Blameless (which may be my favorite cover partly because of the "oops" which you see in action here) Donna wears a loved wine red traveling suit.

It reminds me of a steampunk version of this famous one by Chanel.

Suit  Coco Chanel, 1938  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Here are a couple of outfits from my wardrobe that I put together to match the cover of Blameless.

A formal outfit using my Jessica Wiggle dress $98, a black velvet and feather jacket gift from a friend, black velvet hat gift from another friend, beeded bag gift from my mum, grey hematite jewelry set gift from my mum, and black and white spectator shoes by Via Spiga $50 Nordstrom Rack. 

A funky casual outfit using a leather look pleated skirt from BCBG $50; a jersey red shirt with Asian style from a thrift store in SF $15; gold and black patent mini bag inherited from my grandmother, ace of spades earrings from Dark Garden $30; and plaid tights from Target a few years back $15.

Thinking about Blameless reminded me, yet again of my love of the red dress.Here are some I've gathered from about the net that I consider appropriate to the Rack. First, retro inspiration . . .

 1955 Christian Dior cocktail dress via The Victoria & Albert Museum; 1963  The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Screen shot from the movie Pinup Girl

Some retro takes:

 At the races; Queen Dita

Paris Fashion Week Cristian Dior Haute Couture 2010

Self at Sword & Laser interview with pencil dress & Leopard; and rocking the red with white at WorldCon 2011 and best arm candy ever, the BFF

The Jessica Wiggle with black & white in Germany, and with black

And now for some modern options!

 Three looks from Elie Saab Spring 2013

Suzi Chin for Maggy Boutique Belted Dolman Sleeve Sheath Dress

I'm optimistic. Looks like red might be around for Spring 2013. Regardless, I'll wear it anyway.

Retro Rack is also on facebook where I post additional images and fashion thoughts.