In 2003, Ivy Baer Sherman visited an exhibit on a magazine called Flair that was in publication from 1950-1951 and showcased artists like Salvador Dali and Tennessee Williams in a unique publication compiled in various sizes, papers and formats. The exhibit inspired her to create her own an auxiliary platform for artists to explore their alter egos, and last November she did just that in the debut issue of Vintage Magazine. 

What was your original intent with Vintage Magazine?

The magazine itself is a place where writer’s and artists can come to hang out. Vintage is their portable museum. I try to get a sense of what they really want to do but haven’t been given the chance to do yet, let them relax and present something they love in a beautiful format.

And for the readers?

It’s a chance to explore, and everybody needs that. Something to sit down with, to take pause and enjoy, notice nuances, feel things, look at juxtapositions, textures…the beauty of what print can do.

Where do you derive inspiration for the issue or are there just artists banging down your door?

Banging down the door. When I was little there was a show called the Sandy Becker Show. Apparently I’m the only one who remembers this show. Sandy Becker used to have kids send in five squiggles, and he would create this whole world out it. I don’t have a plan ahead of time; I like to see what I’m going to get and then let it form.

So how much of the content reflects your own personal interest?

The content interest of others really. What others are telling me…what artists are bringing me. Then I shuffle it around. Form it.

Who reads Vintage Magazine?

Well educated people from college up. The nineteen to twenty-five group is loving it. People in Palm Beach, professors in London. Someone has a subscription in Mumbai. Libraries all over are picking it up. More boutique shops are carrying it. It’s been really interesting actually. I check my Facebook, and it has fashion and style-oriented fans all over the world.

Facebook at it’s finest.

I’ve been told this magazine is so anti-web, but there are levels and textures of a website that have yet to be explored. I’d like to use my website as a platform for that. It’s not about replicating the magazine on the web. Some art is meant to be appreciated on the web. Writing takes on a different form on the web. A sentence has a new form when it’s written on the web.

And advertising? There are rumors you’re quite secretive about Vinatage’s private financing. Eventually it has to generate revenue.

I’ve been going slow with the advertising. I think advertising can be beautiful and that needs to be embraced somehow but with dignity - a wonderful, creative feeling that I love. Advertising in this capacity then translating it on the web is a challenge. There has to be a format besides flashy banners running across - a proper way to present it.

Vintage Magazine is available at select carriers or by subscription at vintagezine.com.

Being a fashion designer and being an apparel maker used to be two separate things. People who cut shapes for products for Wal-Mart were hardly held a candle to masterminds like Coco Chanel trouncing down the catwalk at Fashion Weeks in New York, Paris and Milan.

But the population grew and the Lower East Side emerged. Designers “making it” doubled forcing the fashion forward into a state of constantly reinventing themselves. Then came Project Runway, Mizrahi took Target and the rest is fashion history. The separation between haves and have-nots was no longer a price point but a point of style.

New generations bred their own style -more distinct, more on point and changing faster than ever. If boho chic was hot in Spring, you can better your braided hair band Fall will paint you black and motorcross. With so many changes, the consumer gravitates towards also quickly changing and cheaper copy brands and braces herself for yet another eighties revival. An accessible atmosphere that provides something for everyone and fashion has it’s highest ever number of devotees.

But the mass marketing and something-for-everyone mentality has caused fashion to lose some of the elusive cache that once drew us devotees into the fold in the first place. How to hold onto old world fashion involves choice. Sure it’s easy to get a quick fix by rushing out to Top Shop, Zara and H&M for all of your trendy needs, but wait. Fashion styles are recurring and making thoughtful, choosy purchases keeps your wardrobe lux while allowing you to truly appreciate a piece. Hand-crafted and beautiful is what made fashion an art - not mass produced with single thread stitching. What you buy reflects who you are and your view of fashion.

So you waited (and saved) for months to buy that perfect buttery Italian leather Balenciaga or timeless pair of black Prada pumps. What you buy reflects who you are your view of fashion. And if history is any indication, like your personal devotion to fashion, those pieces will never fade.

Emma Dinzebach

As we slowly try to create outfits to wear work, shopping or cocktail hour during this painful ode to global warming, we have been calling on one summer essential time and again - the one-piece. Call ‘em rompers or jumpsuits or whatever have you, but thank god for these one piece wonders during these so brutal times. Once thought to be short, flowy numbers only models and petite fours could pull off. Single-piece suits transitioned in Spring to a must have item appropriate for many occasions.

Silk, satin, jacquard, pique - you name it, designers have created a single piece of material appropriate for various occasions. This week’s sample sales include jumpers by Pencey and Quail on Gilt.com, Free People on Ideeli.com and the Jodi Arnold Sample Sale. Even outside of Conde Nast, Manhattanites are sporting longer versions with capped sleeves to the office and shorter jumpers out to dine. Even more casual one-pieces look great for daytime strolls or beach cover-ups. For less casual occasions, choose wisely as rompers will make their way into fall and more transitional pieces look smarter and last longer paired with a blazer and suede moto booties.

Emma Dinzebach

With social networking sights, yahoo, amazon and every other online entity monitoring what we click and providing tired suggestions, we thought we went to regular stores to seek sanctity. That also may change. Wal-Mart announced last week that it aims to provide new security tags on clothing to better track inventory and tighten asset protections. The new security tags will be encoded with the product information and easily trackable to credit card purchases. This might make returns and proof of purchase easier, opponents are concerned about consumer privacy. Should stores be able to track your purchases without consent? Like clicking on dresses on Nordstrom, Wal-Mart and future retailers can track guest purchases. Think individualized weekly emails.

Advocates maintain that going that far requires a budget and technology years away. Some people even like the idea, claiming it’s like having a personal shopper for free. Plus human beings are creatures of pattern, and it’s likely that we will indeed like the suggested items based on our purchases.

New ideas and technology are advancing faster than our retailers, government and executives can weigh the potential costs to consumers and concern over lagging behind makes privacy an afterthought. Tracking physical purchases is another slide down the slippery slope of consumer privacy.

Emma Dinzebach