Saturday, July 31, 2010

A -wimoweh, in the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight...

Well, this Yves Saint Laurent enormous scarf has already sold but we have a -wimoweh, in the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight Part Two coming next week so hush my darlings and stay tuned but in the meantime... in the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight...   

 
 
Are you team Hippo or team Dog?  I just can't decide...

The Importance of Being Eula

I found this great image of Joe Eula and Halston at work in the Phaidon Halston book by Patricia Mears and Steven Bluttal.  It really shows the wonderful and creative connection between Halston and Eula and the drawings.


Photograph by Harry Benson

Friday, July 30, 2010

Sense and Sensibility: Joe Eula fashion illustrations for Halston

When I was first shown these Joe Eula fashion illustrations for Halston, it was a moment of coup de foudre.  Not only because here was Liza!  Karen B!  Pat C!  but because here was also the sensibility of Halston.  Here were, not only the women who wore his clothes so well,  but here also was the man who with quick strokes of his brush and pen was able to capture not just the likeness of Halston's clothing but the spirit and movement of the clothing.  And here also was a moment in time preserved, pin hole pricks and all, of a glorious moment in American fashion.  

This is the time that American fashion designers stormed the revered halls of Versailles to go mano to mano (or dress to dress) with the giants of French couture, Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Dior, Ungaro and Pierre Cardin. Josephine Baker performed for the French, and Liza Minelli, wearing Halston, performed for the Americans.  Joe Eula using black oven paint and a broom sketched the Eiffel Tower for the American sets (oh those crazy American kids!) and here began the coup de foudre for American fashion.  

I heard a story about Joe Eula and Halston:  Halston became enraged when a journalist started walking over Joe Eula's sketches of a collection.  Halston was furious yelling did he not realize that he was walking on the work of a great artist?!  Eula was a great artist and one of the most gifted fashion illustrators.   

I feel very fortunate to have been entrusted with a wonderful group of Joe Eula's fashion illustrations for Halston from the Chuck and Candy Pratts Price collection.  Enjoy! 

 Joe Eula fashion illustrations for Halston. Circa 1980.  Prices ranging from $660 to $800.

PURCHASE

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

RARE vintage, Joe Eula and The New York Times!

I am so excited, I don't even know what I am most excited about:  a collection of Joe Eula fashion illustrations!  For Halston!!  The New York Times!!!  I think Eric Wilson, a wonderful writer for The Grey Lady, said it best for the Fashion and Style section of the New York Times: you can read the article here.
 
 Liza Minelli "Bananas' by Joe Eula
 
They will be on the blog and 1stdibs.com tomorrow!!!!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Sneak Peek! A Collection of Gianni Versace Metal Mesh Dresses!

More, more, more!  
How do you like it, how do you like it
More, more, more
More, more, more
by Andrea True

more to come....

 1982 Gianni Versace metal mesh Oroton dress

Color Me Happy

This one shoulder color-block gown from Christian Lacroix is anything but ye olde basic black dress that we all already have hanging in our closet.  It is sophisticated and elegant but also fun and a bit impudent with neon piping.   Just some red lips,  a high ponytail or a big chignon and you are ready to show the chic colorful side of your sense of style.

 1980s Christian Lacroix one-shoulder color block gown.  Size 6.

PURCHASE

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Hoedown Throwdown: Christian Dior

Okay.  Welcome to my world.  The tune in the air is Miley Cyrus (yes, you read that right, Miley Awesome Cyrus!)  singing Hoedown Throwdown.   There is a dance to Hoedown Throwdown that my seven year old daughter knows move for move.  

Pop it, lock it, polka dot it
Country fivin', hip hop hip
Put your arms in the air, move side to side
Jump to the left, stick it, glide 

So when I saw this Christian Dior gown with metallic polka dots,   I thought to myself, Pop it, lock it, polka dot it.  I know: SCARY!  


move side to side... whoa!  what was I saying?  Oh yes, Christian Dior.  Haute bohemia.  Vibes of Talitha Getty.  Now this is what I was talking about!  


The gown can be worn with or without its original Christian Dior black suede belt with gold hardware.  This dress is all about the life eclectic and is an explosion of long, flowy fun.  

 Christian Dior black chiffon gown with metallic polka dots. Size 6. $1400

PURCHASE

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Martha Stewart Tie-Dyes with the Proenza Schouler Boys! Meanwhile RARE vintage Tie Dyes with Christian Dior...

Martha Stewart is a woman who gets a lot done in a day.  She runs a magazine, has a daily television show, owns a compound in Bedford, a house in East Hampton, a cottage in Maine, apartments in the city, has a line of stuff for Walmart, can make a mean chicken with time left over to tie dye a shirt with the designers of Proenza Schouler.

This was a great shirt from Proenza Schouler this summer.  It was a big hit.  Comfy, classic and a good price.  No wonder it sold out so quickly.


I confess to not being crafty enough to tie dye my own shirt.  I would rather just go out and buy the one from Proenza Schouler.  So when having had a momentary delusion of DIY, I thankfully bought this Christian Dior floaty frock and thought, see I don't have to do a thing!  Leave the tie dying to my children (here I have a complete horror of the tie dye shirts they do in camp and bring home.  All of that color which looks like it is about to run onto everything!)  Much better to leave the tie dying to the petits mains of Christian Dior.  (Why do my children look at me blankly when I say this?!)

Isn't it beautiful, glorious and glamorous?!  Perfect with a pair of strappy heels or a jeweled flat.  Very boho and quite sexy with the deeply cut back.  


 Perfectly dreamy!
1970s Christian Dior tie dye dress. Size 6. $1600


PURCHASE

Friday, July 23, 2010

Who Wore it Better? You or Katie Holmes?

Katie Holmes wore this cheery, bright red sequin Fall/Winter 1993 ensemble from Giorgio Armani to the Met Gala Party of the Year for the opening of Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy.  She famously wore it with bright blue shoes.  Very Super Heroine!


Now, one of the many things that I like about vintage is that the pieces are usually unique and although they may not be the only one that was ever produced, the chances of someone else wearing the same vintage dress is pretty unlikely.  I will never forget the first year I went to one of the Met's Party of the Year: the theme was Goddess and there were three women wearing exactly the same white Goddess gown from Valentino.  Awkward! 

But wouldn't you love to find Valentino's 1992 black gown with white piping that Julia Roberts wore to the Academy Awards in 2001?   Even if Julia already wore it?  Hell yes!  (Calm down, we don't have that dress!  But we're working on it!)  So, when I saw this red sequin bustier with a full ball gown skirt lined in net by Armani (which is incredibly light and airy by the way) I had little red hearts of love popping over my head.
The question is, will you wear it with bright blue shoes too?  (Two mentions of Katie Holmes in one week on the RARE blog - very mysterious!)

1993 Giorgio Armani red sequin bustier and full ball gown skirt ensemble.  Size 6.
 

Price available upon request

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Bird is the Word or aka 'The Dude'

Well, don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word!

Surfin' Bird by the Trashmen


I don't know if our Judith Leiber Austrian crystal encrusted swan minaudiere is a surfin' bird but it is definitely cool enough to be one.  Cool is not usually the word I would choose to use to describe a Leiber bag but this little dude is cool and funky.  Take him to a beach shack for some steamed clams and a lobster roll in a flirty little summer flock or take him for a swan's night out at the opera in something grand like our incredible Gianfranco Ferre gown.

 Anatomy of a bird:


Okay,  I have to ask: what IS this little teeny tiny Judith Leiber comb for?  Someone's mustache?  
A-well-a everybody's heard about the bird
Bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word


Judith Leiber swan minaudiere $2200

PURCHASE

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