By Hunter Oatman-Stanford — Despite the fondness among certain politicians and pundits for “traditional marriage,” a nostalgic-sounding concept that conjures a soft-focus Polaroid of grandma and grandpa, few consider the actual roots of our marital traditions, when matrimony was little more than a business deal among unequals. Even today, legal marriage isn't measured by the affection between two people, but by the ability of a couple to share Social Security and tax benefits. In reality, it’s the idea of marrying for...

Leading the Charge Against Casual Style, Armed With Antique Clothes and a Bike

By Lisa Hix — Tziporah Salamon is used to being photographed—by everyone from New York City tourists to famous "New York Times" street-fashion photographer Bill Cunningham. She's impossible for shutterbugs to resist, when they catch her riding around the city on her turquoise Bianchi, often a symphony of lush colors, decked head-to-toe in exquisite, embroidered, antique fabrics. Salamon also caught the eye of 30-year-old photographer Ari Seth Cohen, who made waves in the fashion world when he launched his...

From World War II Parachute to the World's Most Romantic Wedding Dress

By Ben Marks — Apparently there's a small wedding in England this week. While we're sure that Kate Middleton's wedding dress will be a fashion tour de force, we're also sure that it can't possibly be as romantic as this one, which is from the collection of the Smithsonian. Here's their description: "This wedding dress was made from a nylon parachute that saved the groom's life during World War II. Maj. Claude Hensinger, a B-29 pilot, and his crew, were returning from a bombing raid over Yowata, Japan,...

Good Girls and Bad Boys: How to Achieve That Cool '50s Rockabilly Look

By Maribeth Keane and Brad Quinn — Jayne Mansfield is buried in my hometown. You could drive past the cemetery and see her heart-shaped headstone from the road. We had our own historical society, a tiny little museum, if you can even call it that. I remember going on a class trip there once. Some of her things were displayed, like long sequined cocktail dresses and some of her little personal effects. That stayed with me into my adult years: “Wow, as cheesy as my little hick town is, Jayne Mansfield is buried...

Dress Hound Cherie Federau Explains How She Makes Vintage Work for Her

By Maribeth Keane and Jessica Lewis — I’ve pretty much always been a little bit fashion-nutty, ever since I was about 16 years old and I discovered Vogue. I started like a lot of other people, buying vintage to recreate the looks that I saw but couldn’t afford as a teenager. Then slowly over the years, as my hobby turned into more of an obsession, I became interested in the designers behind the labels and it just snowballed from there. Everyone I knew was constantly coming to me to dress them and lend them vintage clothes....