Carolyn Murphy in a 1960s Roberto Capucci Ball Gown from RARE vintage at the Met Gala!

I was very lucky to attend Monday night's Met Gala and it was a thrilling and enchanted evening of handsome men, dapper and elegant, in white tie and decorations and the women in silk ball gowns.  There seemed to have been a little confusion about the meaning of white tie - which is, a black tail coat, a waistcoat, a wing collared shirt and a white bow tie.  I was a little uncertain how it would look but when I walked up the red carpeted steps and shook hands with a very handsome Bradley Cooper in white tie, I knew he was beautiful - oops!  I mean, I knew it was going to be beautiful : )  

We had cocktails as usual in the Charles Engelhard Court which was a dream with ice blue silk velvet sofas, men in white tie (some but not all, naughty, naughty) and women in silk ball gowns and all of us swanning about long trains.  My train included : )

The beautiful Carolyn Murphy was inspired by the classically beautiful Hitchock ice-cool-blonde beauty Grace Kelly but made the look her own by wearing a midnight blue, rare and significant, 1960s Roberto Capucci ball gown my store, RARE vintage.  And she looked amazing!

Carolyn Murphy at the Met Gala in our RARE vintage 1960s Roberto Capucci ball gown.

We all knew it was The One the moment she tried it on and Capucci, an Italian designer, was as consumed with form and architecture as Charles James so it was a meaningful tribute to Mr. James.  

More to come tomorrow on the Met Gala!

love, kisses and Met Gala memories, Juliana

Dream Cars: Rita Hayworth's Ghia Cadillac

One of my first cars was a Toyota something or other and every time I opened the door, slightly depressed, I thought: this car does not represent who I am.  Cars, like clothing, express who you are.  And cars, like clothing, can be an expression of both practicality and dreams. 

Since then I have owned a BMW 5 series and probably my favorite car, an Audi S6 station wagon - yes, a station wagon.  But this Audi station wagon was a Beast!  Black on black and with awesome 340 horsepower.  0 to 60 in a few seconds and very satisfying for merging on the LIE. Now, I have a BMW X5 and while I love it because, in world of potholes, it makes driving in Manhattan a little easier and it is a SUV with some attitude.  

But I am always looking, always dreaming about my dream car... sometimes it is the Fiat Gucci 500 but then I am not really sure that that kind of flash is really me either and I have two children, two dogs, one bunny and a husband and a whole lot of stuff I am usually dragging from New York to Long Island and back again.  Thank goodness our fish, Bubble 07, can stay in New York...

I really kind of love muscle cars and to my son's delight I rented a Challenger when I was in Los Angeles recently - but then my son was super annoyed when he realized I passed on a Camaro.  But I loved the Challenger in white and it was really fun driving it around in LA. And the parking valets were always happy to get 'The Stallion' for a girl.  

So about Dream Cars.  Rita Hayworth.  The Bombshell who married the Aga Kahn who bought his wife a white Ghia Cadillac circa 1950s .  The Rita Hayworth Cadillac is now a deep candy-apple red and was restored and exhibited at the LaJolla Concours.  Vintage car chic...  is it me?  Is it you?  I guess like any horse with some horsepower, maybe we need a stable...

Special thanks to my husband who showed me Rita Hayworth's car and most certainly did not approve this post... : )

love, kisses and what dream cars may come, Juliana

High & Mighty: The Beehive is Back! In Vogue! And on Moi!

I can not believe that the Met Gala, Punk: Chaos to Couture, is almost here - thankfully still a month and a half away - because, frankly my dears, I don't have a thing to wear!  I have been so busy finding dresses for our RARE vintage clients, I have not had a moment to think about me.  Anyway, I trust that the vintage fashion Gods will bestow something wonderful...  hopefully soon : )

In the March issue of Vogue, Contributing Editor to Vogue, Marina Rust, tried out the beehive.  She called the beehive "very flirty hair, a conversation starter, and it makes you easier to find!"

And, honey, ain't that the truth!  Last year, the fabulously talented John D'Orazio, created a larger then life beehive for me to wear to the Met gala.  We festooned it with beautiful colorful bugs and butterflies from Evolution (inspired by Elsa Schiaparelli's 1938 metal insect and synthetic necklace that was worn by Millicent Rogers and is in the collection of the Costume Institute at the Met).

So in the March issue of Vogue,

Marina Rust's editor sent her to John D'Orazio because he did a "wild, over-the-top beehive for one of the guests at the Met gala". 

John recalling my do said, "it was decorated with beetles in honor of the Schiaparelli exhibit, which called for something exotic, for glamour."

And, yes, it was a real conversation starter!  

My hair:

in Vogue:

In Vogue!

While I was away on vacation and checking my email, I had a huge surprise from a client who sent a note that I was in the July issue of Vogue.  Vogue!  Me!

I should say that as a little girl, I was completely crazy for fashion (not much has changed : ) and Vogue was my obsession.  As soon as I learned to read I was buying (or making my parents buy) Vogue - and even before I could read, I am certain I was looking at the photos.  Through the pages of Vogue, I traveled in excitement to a dream world where I was surrounded by the most beautiful haute couture from Paris, Milan and New York.  It was always a thrilling journey and the photography in Vogue captured mesmerizing dresses in silks, incredible embroidery skillfully done by hand and enough shoes and handbags to start a lifelong passion for accessories - amongst other sartorial obsessions!  

So in the pages where Diana Vreeland suggested that we tie black tulle bows on our wrists, where the Duchess of Windsor was photographed at the Chateau de Candé by Cecil Beaton in her wedding trousseau Schiaparelli printed with a lobster, where Natalia Vodianova was a sullen Alice in Wonderland in the most ravishing blue Lacroix Haute Couture, where Vionnet's dresses floated, where Alix became Madame Gres and her classically inspired dresses draped the pages, where Pierre Cardin's futurism became the present in the 1960s and then a part of our past in the Vogue archives- in other word: so many of my idols have been in Vogue.

It was a huge honor for me to be mentioned in the article on this year's Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations Met Gala.  Here is the article and a few photos of the hair do and the insects that adorned it.

The fabulous hair was created by the masterful John D'Orazio who made it even bigger then I could have imagined possible.  In the photo below my giant hair meets the little insects...  John was so focused he was not even a little bit squeamish.

Almost ready to go.  The hair was so big I basically had to crawl in and out of the car!  The insects are real and there were butterflies in the front.  

My hair in the great Vogue video from the Met Gala which you can see in its entirety here

Thank you Vogue!

This is What Happens When You run Into The Very Fabulous Anna Dello Russo

You leave Corso Como with an apple on your head.

On my way to Corso Como I bumped into the very fabulous Anna Dello Russo.  First I noticed the mesmerizing bright orange pony hair Celine slippers and then the big orange sherbet colored Celine bag, then the pale pink pants and then the green nail polish and I thought wait a minute, this is no mere fashionista, this is the legendary, Fear No Fashion Icon Anna Dello Russo with her dog, Cucciolina!

photo by Juliana Cairone for RARE vintage

I was obviously feeling very inspired as I left Corso Como with a tiny little hat with a beautiful nude colored little veil and a bright, shiny, red apple on top.  When am I going to wear it?   Don't ask but I know it will bring a smile and probably a few snickers (insert husband and my children snickering here - though actually think my daughter will adore it and she will probably wear it before I do!)  So thank you Anna Dello Russo for the fearless fashion inspiration!

  

My little chapeau is by Alessandra Zanaria. It is a unique piece and is Made In Italy (part three)!

Alessandra Zanaria

Viale Majno, 3

Milano

alessandrazanaria.com

Friday Favorites!

You know when you see something and you just immediately fall madly, passionately in love and know that it has to be yours?  Please.  Were you thinking men??!  No, loves,  I'm talking about clothes and jewelry!  This is a fashion blog after all.  'Madly, passionately in love with Daniel Craig and have to have him' is another blog ; ) I'll be starting that one any day now...

Well, when I saw these Tina Chow rock crystal amfora shaped earrings, I knew they were perfect and that I had to have them.  I wear them all of the time and live in fear that my scarf will push one out and I will lose it.  

Here are My Friday Favorites!  My babies:

Tina Chow rock crystal amfora earrings.  Private collection.

RARE vintage in Gotham Magazine

Here are a few party pics in Gotham magazine from the opening night of the preview of our vintage Valentino Couture sale and the uber glamorous photographs of Italian film stars from the 1960s by the photographer, John Phillips.  The whole evening was molto chic!

Here I am with the oh so stylish Michelle Harper.  I wore a gold flecked YSL from the 1970s (one of my favorite dresses and I basically wear it constantly) and Michelle is in Valentino red!

PURCHASE

INQUIRY

@RareVintageNYC: Friday Favorites

I love the whimsical Krizia animal print sweaters I bought in Italy for RARE vintage and I confess that I kept one and it is my new #FF@RareVintageNYC Friday favorite.  I have been impatiently waiting for the weather to get cool enough to put it on.    And hallelujah, that day has arrived!

It is always fascinating to see how trendy vintage can be while not being trendy at all; the word is timeless. Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga and Ricardo Tisci for Givenchy may have gotten everyone in the mood for animal prints again but Krizia was the original wild child with animal instincts.

I am feeling very Gaga as you can see: no pants!

Panther sweater: 1980s Krizia Sunglasses: Tom Ford

OMG! This is What I Looked Like in 1987!

I have been home in my pajamas all day doing closet cleaning and I have found a stash of really great Prada shoes that I had completely forgotten about (woo hoo!), embroidery I had done from a class I had taken at FIT and these photos from 1985 which are too funny.  Okay, so let me set the scene:  The hair is huge!  We're talkin' Julia Roberts in Mystic Pizza huge.  

Julia Roberts circa 'huge hair' 1988

The dress is a tiny little thing I had bought at some amazing little store in the East Village long gone and that years later, I let a drag queen friend of mine borrow and I don't think she ever gave it back!  

Little doggie as a prop and you can see my undies and oh Lord is that cellulite?!

Hmmm... what is going on here with the trunk?!

and my sister, the glamorous gloved one!

Michelle Harper in RARE vintage!

Our friend, the glamorous and striking Michelle Harper, hosted a cocktail party last week that we had for our sale of Valentino Couture.

A few nights later, Michelle was stunning in our vintage Valentino Couture leopard organza dress with a beautifully embroidered Japanese inspired bodice at a preparty for Fashion's Night Out.

You can see more party pics on Vogue.com

A Whole Lot of Valentino Couture

As you know we are having an amazing sale of an amazing and iconic and rare collection of almost exclusively Valentino Couture on our blog and at our 57th Street store and on 1stdibs.com.  Here is an article about Valentino and our sale from 1stdibs written by Clair Watson.

Giovanna Battaglia's Best-of-Gala Gown- Revealed!

Mystery solved.  But we know, you know, Giovanna Battaglia's most memorable, most fantastic gown was 1992 Stephen Sprouse from yours truly, RARE vintage!  

And I have to thank Giovanna for knowing exactly what she wanted, when she saw it.  It was nothing less then AMAZING!

See the story on Style.Com

Photo from Style.Com

State of Style: RARE vintage

This past summer a new TV show called State of Style came into RARE vintage to film well, RARE vintage.  State of Style has featured Jean-Paul Gaultier, Christopher Bailey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Scott Schuman from The Sartorialist and the destination for vintage in New York City, RARE vintage.  Oh yes and it is also the international debut of our RARE vintage mascot, the one, the only, the rather full figured, Super B!

Juliana Cairone and RARE vintage in Hong Kong on Style.com!

Thank you Style.com for sharing my postcard from Hong Kong!  Click here to read it!