L.A salutes Lesley M.M. Blume and her book about forgotten fashionable things

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A dimly lighted private back room at the Soho House, with a cascading Champagne tower in the center and “Sunset Boulevard” playing on a flat-screen TV, felt appropriately Old Hollywood on Tuesday night as fashion lovers and nostalgia enthusiasts gathered to celebrate Lesley M.M. Blume’s book “Let’s Bring Back: An Encyclopedia of Forgotten-Yet-Delightful, Chic, Useful, Curious, and Otherwise Commendable Things From Times Gone By.”

The A-Z encyclopedia lists items and ideas Blume wishes would be revived and started as a column on the Huffington Post in 2007. A wide range of items are explored -- cable cars as well as calling cards and style-related paraphernalia including bustles, bloomers and Peggy Guggenheim’s sunglasses collection.

Blume herself looked right out of the 1930s in a striking black satin dress and turban. But her eye was really on a 1940s black Adrian dress with a hammered silk belt, hand-picked along with several other vintage pieces by Cameron Silver of Decades, who showcased the gowns for the evening. “I’ve had my eye on this dress for awhile,” said Blume, “and I’m so happy it’s here.”

Besides the fashion, Blume claims that the ‘30s and ‘40s also inspired many interesting topics in her book. “Old Hollywood really did provide some of the most decadent, scandalous and deliciously rich content,” she said.

Given subjects from the era that are mentioned in the book -- Tallulah Bankhead, Fanny Brice, the Garden of Allah, one would have to agree.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Photos, from top: the cover of “Let’s Bring Back’; author Lesley M.M Blume at the Soho House in West Hollywood. Credit: David Crotty / PatrickMcMullan.com. A Champagne tree at the party for Blume. Credit: David Crotty / PatrickMcMullan.com