Best Dressed: Jenna Fischer at the Emmys!

I know we have already put a photograph of Jenna Fischer looking amazing last night in Versace from RARE vintage at the Emmys  on the blog but we just wanted to give a special shout out because she has been making everyone's best dressed list (of course!)

 

Fall's Biggest Trend: Leopard!

Unless you have not picked up a single magazine or stepped into a single store recently or looked at the internet in which case means you must be living in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere as a survivalist, you will have noticed that one of the biggest trends for fall is leopard.  

There are leopard jumpsuits (like the one from Lanvin which I can't decide if it is totally wonderful or really horrible), 

leopard boots (I am usually not a huge fan of leopard boots but I am loving the Balmain booties with the perfect heel), there are leopard bags, scarves, belts and skirts.

Of course, we have a lil' something leopard in mind for you!  A vintage 1980s Bill Blass leopard print pony hair skirt.  It is a pencil skirt (which is another fall trend!).  How amazing would this look with, well, the beautiful Jean Louis Scherrer blouse we photographed it with and a pair of the great sexy tough open toed lace up booties.

1980s Bill Blass leopard print pony hair skirt.  Size 6. 

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What is Glamorous Right Now? Jenna Fischer at the Emmys!

In Versace!  From RARE vintage!!

Crystal Clear Kelly

We actually had this same Hermes clear Kelly bag from 1996  awhile back and it sold very quickly.  It is a wonderful addition for a collector of Hermes or for someone who craves a more whimsical Kelly bag.  Or for someone who is tired of never being able to find something in their bags (really some bags are so big and deep that they should come with flashlights!)  The Kelly is in pristine condition!!  (sorry about the photos - it was a little difficult to photograph.  You can double click the photos to see the bag a little better)

 1996 Hermes Clear Kelly bag with gilt metal turn lock hardware.

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Toujours L' Amour: Yves Saint Laurent

Here is what a big belt (really big!) can do for a LBD:

 Anna dello Russo in Francesco Scognamiglio

Here is how a belt can define the waist:

 Kate Moss in Azzedine Alaia

Here is what a little imagination and a bit of rope can do for your outfit:

 Giovanna Battaglia in ?? some rope?  Doesn't Giovanna always look amazing?

Those are just three examples of why a great belt is a great accessory and can transform an outfit into something very personal.  I love buying belts for RARE because they are the little item that makes a big impact.

Here are four belts from Yves Saint Laurent beautifully crafted - they don't make 'em like this any more!  They are the perfect addition to something you already have.  They are the secret weapon of a stylish wardrobe.  You can wear them at the waist or on the hips and they will fit a variety of sizes!  We love that!  Except for the last belt which is quite small ☹ (unless you are small then ☺) and is meant to be worn at the waist.

Black and blue suede tasseled fringe belt gilt metal Yves Saint Laurent belt

 Red and green suede tasseled fringe gilt metal Yves Saint Laurent belt

Color me happy!  Pink and red Yves Saint Laurent belt

 The mysterious Orientalist belt in green, orange, yellow, red and pink from Grand Mix Color Master YSL.

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Those who buy my things must have imagination too - Yves Saint Laurent

A long time ago, in a faraway land there lived a Sun King named Yves Mathieu Saint Laurent who created dreams and phantoms and magic for his people.   His passion was creating clothing that imagined life miles from his kingdom to a land of folklore and of peasants lavishly dressed in flowy tops with waists cinched by trailing ribbons and billowing skirts with muslin petticoats.    

With a little imagination you can dress up in an ensemble of black chiffon and faded rose pink and travel miles from where you are to the kingdom of YSL.

1979 Russian Ensemble

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HALSTON: One Love. One Seam. One Butterfly

The Studio 54 partying side of Halston has long overshadowed the brilliance and innovation of Halston's designs.  Some of his dresses, like the one we will be adding to the blog shortly, you just look at in amazement and wonderment because you can not even imagine how he did it.  

Ralph Rucci who had been an assistant for Halston said that Halston had the ability to take a bolt of chiffon (we're talking about a huge bolt of chiffon)  and, without a pattern, create a bias cut dress that wound its way perfectly and sensuously across the body using just one seam.  Yes kids you read that right: one single seam.  Halston may have been up all night and up to all kinds of things but he could still go to the studio the next day and create a butterfly.

This is the back of the dress which plunges deeply.

The original owner of this dress said she felt like a butterfly when she wore this dress.  In a woodland fairy shade of green, the dress flutters itself against the body.  Beautiful, ethereal, precise this is an Ideal Piece.

Hello Gorgeous!

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Imitation is the Surest Form of Flattery

May I have your attention please?
May I have your attention please?
Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?
I repeat, will the real Slim Shady please stand up?
We're gonna have a problem here..

 The Real Slim Shady by Eminem

Copies will always be undesirable.  A copy of an Hermes bag will never replace an actual Hermes bag.

It is amazing just how small the world wide web is.   What is here can be over there in no time at all.  Here and there begin to become meaningless.  An idea can wake up in New York and then find itself in LA in a matter of hours and that is one of the reasons our blog has become essential to RARE and also one of the reasons we will have very exciting news about the RARE vintage website coming soon.  So, whether we are giving you something to dye for or something to live for (and somehow something to live for has a somewhat more morose ring to it) we know that the world wide web is a small place and that imitation is the surest form of flattery.  

 

I'm Slim Shady, yes I'm the real Shady
All you other Slim Shady's are just imitating

Exciting and Original News Coming Soon to the RARE vintage blog!

Cuff Love

I love Hermes when Hermes gets tough.  The House of Hermes was founded on leather and whips.  Not as naughty as it sounds, of course ☺ we're talking about harnesses and bridles (you with the dirty mind!) 

These gold plated Medor cuffs are tough and elegant and timeless.  They are also Perfect (with a capital P!) for the minimalist trend this fall.  And trust us you will want to wear them every single day!!  We have two different widths available. 

Large Hermes gold plated Medor cuff

Medium Hermes Medor gold plated cuff

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To-Dye For!

I just want to thank everyone who came out for our opening show of Joe Eula's fashion illustrations!  Nothing like ice cold rosé from Provence on a hot day, Joe Eula's illustrations for Halston and totally iconic Halston pieces to put everyone in a great mood!!

Halston tie-dyed Ali MacGraw, Babe Paley, Naomi Sims and Liza Minelli.  He liked the sensuous quality of tie-dye.  He tie-dyed chiffon, caftans, velvets, even a hat (wouldn't THAT be amazing to find!).  The Halston tie-dye pieces are pretty much unique works of art.  Each piece is hand done and no two are alike.  These were pieces that were sold only at the Halston boutique.  

How to Tie-Dye: 

(Recipe from Up-Tied, who did the tie-dye pieces for Halston - how is that for authenticity!)

1. Decide on a shape: a rosette, a bunch, a gather, a pleat or a marble and tie with an elastic (which the die will not permeate and can be easily snipped).

2.  Submerge the fabric in simmering (not boiling) dye solution.

3. Length of soaking depends on the fabric.  (Cottons take the longest, silk takes the dye quickly)

4. Run!  Don't drip!! And rinse in cold water.  This could take as many as five rinses.

5. Bedazzle!  Dazzling variations can be created by twisting the elastic around the bunched material and using a medicine dropper or squeeze bottle to drop the dye into folds and crevices of the cloth.

The tie-dye pieces are extremely rare and we are thrilled to be able to offer an amazing crushed velvet tie-dye thirties style pajama by Halston.  The pajama was an evening staple for Haltson and I personally love pajamas so the idea of putting on a silk chiffon or velvet pajama and going out is a dream come true!  And part of the dream is not looking like Julian Schnabel in his pajamas

(well this is the Painter at Rest, a work in progress, so here I approve.  Photo by Annie Leibovitz)

- I completely admire Julian Schnabel's paintings but the whole out and about in your actual pajamas is not my thing.   But out and about in Halston is another story!

An original image:

  Photo by Ormond Gigli

1971 crushed velvet Halston hand tie-dyed pajama ensemble.  

Price available upon request.

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Houston We (finally! I know) Have a Winner!

Congratulations to Cristina E. !  The winner of the Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche silk blouse!!

September "Enter to Win' will be announced tomorrow!  Stay tuned!!

Beanie Baby

What is black and blue and Swarovski crystal-ed all over?  
A beanie baby!  

Of course our Judith Leiber beanie is quite the glamorous baby.  It is sparkly, happy and in a very beautiful organic bean shape (which feels really nice in your hand I might add).  

Black and Blue Judith Leiber minaudiere


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RARE vintage Accessory Week Continues! More Chanel!

Chanel Q & A:

Q: Can you go wrong with investing in a Chanel accessory?

A:  Is this a trick question?

Let's look over the facts:  Mademoiselle designed the first quilted leather 2.55 bag in February 1955.  And fifty five years later the 2.55 has, radically, remained a constant for the House of Chanel.  The brilliant-ness of Karl is that he takes what is familiar about Chanel and reinterprets it in new and completely unexpected ways.  Would Mademoiselle have envisioned the quilted bag as a wide corset belt with gold hearts dangling from it?  I imagine that she may have.  We have to give Coco Chanel credit for reopening her house in 1953 and despite everyone predicting doom, she revived the House and went on to dress sexy young girls like Romy Schneider.  So,  no you can not go wrong with investing in Chanel accessoires.

This belt is very wicked jolie Madame.  It cinches the waist in Chanel's signature quilted lambskin leather and has dangling whimsical locks of love hearts with jeweled red centers.  Definitely a must-have for any collector and lover of Chanel!

Chanel quilted leather corset belt with dangling hearts.
 

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The Dress that will make you cry all over again

Breathtakingly beautiful.  This is assumed to be the last dress Alexander McQueen worked on. 

Photo by John Day

The Verdura Heart Entwined with Diamond Ribbons

Wouldn't that be nice?  But then again, really, just so bothersome: you have to take out insurance, keep it in a bank vault, worry about it dropping off when you do finally have a chance to wear it (okay so despite all those annoying little details, I would suffer and love to own this actual piece!) but then again you will have nothing to worry about when you wear this Verdura-style brooch from Iradj Moini.  

 Deep red cabochons are set in metal with a rhinestone ribbon.

 Iradj Moini Verdura style brooch.


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A Whiter Shade of Pale

And the mirror told its tale... 

  

her face, at first just ghostly,
turned a whiter shade of pale

She said, 'There is no reason
and the truth is plain to see.'

But I wandered through my playing cards
and would not let her be
one of sixteen vestal virgins
who were leaving for the coast
and although my eyes were open
they might have just as well've been closed...

  Procol Harum 'A Whiter Shade of Pale'

Thierry Mugler on the edge of a fairy tale spins a story of Beauty, she is who you want to be, summer is fleeting...  beauty will always be missed.  She falls in love with a bit of mystery - a cotton piqué dress in a forest of dreams... 

 Thierry Mugler Cotton Dress. Size 2.

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Begin the Began: Accessory Week at RARE! Take Your Chanel to Namibia

You stand at the edge of a giant sand dune as the Atlantic Ocean crashes onto the beach, blinking in the bright sun, you see bleached whalebones strewn about and ancient shipwrecks.  You know your journey across the desert, over volcanic mountains and through desolate salt pans has taken you someplace like no other.  Your wardrobe of North Face has kept you protected and comfortable.  Your hiking boots have kept you grounded.  Your lips are dry from the heat of the day.  You take a long cold drink of water and reach into your white 1980s Chanel packback for a tube of Dr. Hauschka's lip balm.  

(You didn't think we would go all the way to Namibia without being practical and  yet ever so stylish did you?!)

 1980s Chanel white lambskin back pack with interlaced chain straps.

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