The Feathery Fascinator and Avedon

Taking inspiration from this 1995 photo of Stephanie Seymour by Avedon with our just in at RARE vintage feathery fascinator made in France...

Stephanie Seymour by Avedon

What's new and vintage at RARE vintage...

Beatrice Lissague feathered fascinator with dotted veil available for purchase here

xo, Juliana

The Strong Architecture of Thierry Mugler

We have just received a wonderful collection of Thierry Mugler 80s pieces at RARE vintage and what I find remarkable about the collection is their sense of Frank Gehry architecture - Mugler's designs wrapped a woman's body in torque and sensual curves.  Waists are defined, curves are exaggerated, there are points and seams sharply wrapping and defining jackets, collars, the hips of a dress...  

I will be posting more pieces over the next week but thought I would start with this electric blue mini dress with iconic Mugler exaggerated shoulders, blues snaps, a nipped in waist and a slight curve to the skirt...

JUST IN...

love, kisses and be strong, be beautiful in Mugler, Juliana

Just in: A Rare and Extraordinary Tina Chow Wenge Wood Cuff

Do you remember reading the New York Times (actual newspaper in your hands) and on the third page there was always a box with an ad for Bergdorf Goodman - I use to love seeing those ads.  Here is one from 1989 I believe and it shows a new African inspired rose wenge wood cuff by Tina Chow.  This is such an amazing photo - the model (does anyone recognize her?), the pose and of course, the two wood cuffs.

and so just to make it all that much more amazing, I am thrilled to have a wenge wood cuff for sale at RARE vintage!  Ours does not have the turquoise inlay like the one in the ad - if someone has a cuff with the turquoise, please send me a photo!

Circa 1989 Tina Chow wenge wood cuff available for purchase at RARE vintage

You can see that Tina Chow carefully chose the wood for this extraordinary piece by its beautiful graining.  Even though this piece is African inspired there is a refined elegance to it that is always a hall mark of her jewelry.  It is not only an incredible statement piece to wear but a remarkable objet d'art...

love, kisses and so happy to have another beautiful and rare piece of Tina Chow, Juliana

Merry Christmas from New York!

Hope you were naughty and nice for Christmas!

Christmas in New York... and all is sparkly and bright...

Photos by me for RARE VINTAGE

Happy Holidays from RARE vintage!!!

Kate Moss, British Vogue and the John Galliano Camiknicker

camiknicker

noun
a piece of women's underwear consisting of a light top to cover the upper body, connected to a pair of knickers
Cambridge Dictionary

Camiknicker is such a great word don't you think?  I don't think you would be able to go into the lovely new lingerie department at Barneys (one of the few new departments I actually like that Barneys renovated...) and ask for a camiknicker.  But at RARE vintage, you could go in and say, "I saw the most beautiful John Galliano camiknicker in the December British Vogue on Kate Moss with John Galliano, would you happen to have that one??"  And the answer you would hear would be, "Why yes, we have that exact one!"

Early John Galliano silk camiknicker as seen on Kate Moss in British Vogue

Kate Moss wearing John Galliano from RARE vintage December 2013 British Vogue

You can see in these detail photos just how exquisite this piece is - all of the hand work and the different silks.  Really beautiful and romantic...  I LOVE these early Galliano pieces...

RARE vintage, we've got your knickers covered : ))

To purchase or for more information, please email info@rarevintage.com or phone 212.581.7273

Back to Work!

I have had an epic summer and fall.  My husband and I embarked upon a minor renovation of our Long Island house, that turned into a major renovation, RARE vintage has moved into a new, larger space in our building and we are choosing a new school for my twin children for next year.  It has been a challenging time, to say the least, but as I move through it - and see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, I am feeling very grateful.  Our house in Long Island seems to have heaved a huge sigh of relief, saying this is the house I always knew I could be!  Thank you!  

RARE vintage is still a work in progress, our fixtures have been delayed but are on their way and hello!  isn't it nice we outgrew our beautiful but smaller space?!  We are going on our seventh year of RARE vintage and I truly do believe that we are the only luxury vintage store in Manhattan. We have seen Kate Moss with John Galliano in the pages of December British Vogue wearing John Galliano from RARE vintage, Lady Gaga wore a dress that had belonged to Ava Gardner but found its way to RARE vintage and then found its way to Lady Gaga who wore it while singing a song with Kermit the frog on 'Lady Gaga and the Muppet's Holiday Spectacular' and in September the beautiful bride, Malgosia Bella, was married in an Azzedine Alaia dress from RARE vintage, that Mr. Alaia personally fitted for her.  Malgosia then wore a red Valentino haute couture dress for the party after the ceremony and a flowing lime  silk YSL caftan the day after all from RARE vintage.   So I can tell you fashion dreams really do come true.  

And probably what has been the hardest and has meant the most to me, has been the middle school application process for our children.  I admit to feeling completely overwhelmed, applying two children out at the same time, trying to find the next school where they will be happy and continue to thrive but now I have come to a place where I am feeling good and serene and even enjoying this next phase - it is just such a shock to hear schools speak about college.  My babies, are still just babies to me.  Even though my daughter is already starting to fit into some shoes we have at RARE vintage...

So sometimes I have wondered over these last few months, why can't I be more like the 'Enjoli eight hour perfume for the twenty four hour woman' ad I grew up with??  I kept feeling more like I needed Calgon to 'take me away'.  But here we are, and you know what, I am finding out that I can bring home the bacon and fry it up in the pan!  And a little Calgon moment doesn't hurt : ))

So here is to new beginnings - lots of exciting things are going to be happening at RARE vintage in 2014 and, now, it is time to get back to work! 

Remember these?!

and...

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:

Victoria Floethe and LOOK.TV at RARE vintage!

Our lovely client, Victoria Floethe, who looks amazing in pretty much everything she puts on at RARE vintage, has a show, Sexy.  Not sexy. on Look TV and she came in for a bit of fashion week style advice with the über stylist Sally Lyndley (who had styled me for a Vogue shoot way back in the early days of RARE vintage).

Here it is!  Enjoy!  Thank you Victoria!  And PS I still totally love the Le Gaspi on you!



You can see more of Look TV here and follow Victoria's show here

The Life of a Dress...

One day, on the Yale campus in Connecticut, I went to see a collection and to hear a little bit about the collection and the adventures of the woman who had purchased the dresses, blouses and gloves I was looking at.  It was not so easy to let go of the dresses that had traveled with her to Paris, London, India and had kept her company as a young working woman in New York.  But she knew it was time. 

We buy clothes that we are excited to buy - you know that feeling of obsession - the happiness in bringing something much desired home, that quiet moment when you try on your new purchase in your bedroom and then it goes in and out of your closet as you go about your life.  You may kiss, you may fall in love, you may have an important moment at work, you may go for a delightful lunch or read a favorite book while wearing your favorite dress.  And those memories imbue the dress with something special.

And then it is time, time to let the dress go.  

I go to see the dress, fall in love too and it comes to RARE vintage, waiting for its new home.

Then someone comes in and she too falls in love and the dress goes on to its new home and to its new life.

This is the life of a dress.  And here is the new life the dress goes on to.  Julia Restoin Roifeld in a 1970s John Anthony dress from RARE vintage.

(and by the way, Julia in her John Anthony was Vogue UK's best dressed for the week of 7/27/12!!)

Sunday at Home with La Comtesse Jean de Polignac

RARE vintage is in the house.  The house of La Comtesse Jean de Polignac.

Diana Vreeland, editor-in-chief of Vogue in 1968, said in the Introduction to Vogue's Book of Gardens, Houses, People "Few things are more fascinating then to see how people live during their private hours - in the rooms they love, the gardens they have planted, among their personal possessions..."

La Comtesse Jean de Polignac, originally known as Marguerite di Pietro, was the only child of Jeanne Lanvin.  And La Mere Lanvin doted on her only daughter.  She started creating charming and beautifully made clothing for her daughter and then opened a children's store and then eventually she began designing for both the mothers and the daughters.

Robe de petite fille.  1923.  A dreamy bit of haute couture for a little girl... so much nicer then The Gap don't you think?  Or even Bonpoint for that matter...

detail...

For the smartly dressed little girl in 1924 - I would love to order one too:

In fact, such was Lanvin's devotion to her daughter that the Lanvin label is a Paul Iribe drawing of a mother and daughter holding hands.

Mamma and child circa 1925:

La Mere Lanvin's dreams for her daughter were realized when she married well to the Count Jean de Polignac and became the Countess Marie-Blanche de Polignac.

Marie-Blanche in her wedding dress by la Mere Lanvin:

and a few beautiful details... 

And in a Louis Sue and Henri Gonse decorated apartment on la rue Barbet-de-Jouy, la Comtesse entertained musicians, painters and artists - wearing Jeanne Lanvin of course.

I love this apartment which still seems astoundingly modern.  There is a mixture of sparseness and rococo romance that seems to me timeless.  There is a bit of fantasy but not too much fantasy - it feels like a real home and not a stage setting for an overwrought drama.  On Sunday evenings Marie-Blanche who was a great opera singer (and in fact, you can find recordings of her on Amazon)  entertained at home.

The dining room's murals were painted by the great Christian Berard who did many of the drawings for Vogue in the 1930s.  The walls were a pale blue and moldings were a crisp white and chairs were upholstered in a deep red velvet.

The bedroom is in a pale blue with an upholstered head board in pale blue and trimmed in white.  At the foot of the bed is a whimsical Venetian bench.  (so sorry, I thought had a photo of this but can't seem to find it)

And the bathroom- which I really love - is mirrored with a collection of blue and rose colored glass.  And spouting from the wall is a faucet in the shape of a large bronze triton.  I don't know about you but I could spend hours getting ready in that bathroom...

Photos from Vogue and Lanvin.

I am always interested in purchasing for RARE vintage pieces from Jeanne Lanvin - please contact info@rarevintage.com or phone us at 212.581.7273 if you have a bit of beauty from Madame Lanvin.  I would be thrilled to find accessories as well.

  

Pimp My Ride and My Nails

RARE vintage Beauty News...

So I was walking down the street one day and I saw this

and I thought: I would love to wear that exact color on my nails!  So I walked into the Mercedes-Benz dealership on Park Avenue and asked if they sold nail polish?  They looked at me like I was crazy and had security escort me out.  

But I could not stop obsessing over that color.  I called the Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Stuttgart and I asked, "Habt ihr nagellack?"  and they said, "Nein!"  And I heard klicken (click).   

I persevered and managed to get on the phone with Stephen Cannon, CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA by pretending to be the newest and first female host of Top Gear (I do a crazy good English accent.  Very posh.)   Before he could hang up I blurted out my whole idea.  And this is what happened:

Mercedes-Benz nail polish in Red Zircon - an original vehicle paint color.  There is also Silver Brocade and Metallic Blue.  You're welcome Mercedes-Benz!**

**Above story was a dramatization.  None of which actually occurred.  But that is a real polish and is a perfect red for this Prada shoe don't you think?!

Photo by Tommy Ton

What Were You Wearing Christmas Morning?

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and received exactly what was on your wish list (I know I did and I did not even know I was wishing for it.  Thank you to my most wonderful husband!).  I hope you looked like this Christmas morning:

Lee Radziwill photographed by Mark Shaw from Habitually Chic

I, unfortunately, looked more like this:

#FF@RareVintageNYC

I've wanted to start a new section on our RARE vintage blog for awhile: my #FFs - but instead of meaning Follow Friday, it will mean my Friday Favorites.  There is a lot that I will be posting on our new column but I thought I would start with the fabulous and fabulously talented Stella Lee who is one of @RareVintageNYC 's favorite stylists.

Stella Lee recently styled a story for Fashion Gone Rogue and the wardrobe came exclusively from yours truly: RARE vintage.  As gorgeous as our Schleppi mannequin is, it is a real treat to see our vintage on a real live model styled brilliantly by Stella Lee and photographed by Angelo d'Agostino.

Thank you Stella!!

#FF @RareVintageNYC:

Marc Bohan for Christian Dior

Pierre Cardin Couture suit with leather detail

Galanos crepe and lace black gown

John Galliano polka dotted pajama Le Smoking ensemble

Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis beaded ensemble

Oscar de la Renta silk dress

You can see the entire story here.  More #FF RareVintageNYC next Friday!!

PURCHASE

INQUIRY

Read About Our Valentino Couture Sale on WWD!

You can read about our Valentino Couture Sale here.

RARE vintage on Naomi Campbell and the Cover of Vogue Japan!

The Super Naomi Campbell wearing our super sized cuff on the cover of Vogue Japan looking super fabulous!  

And that, folks, is how you do it:  RARE vintage + new = modern

I Shopped Till I Dropped so in the Meantime I am Going to Let Natalie Joos Do All of the Work.

Quite literally.  I shopped and I shopped...  there is Galanos, Balenciaga, Bob Mackie, Chanel, Zandra Rhodes, Donald Brooks... and more...  so excuse whilst I lie back in a Smoking, in sparkly heels with a cigarette (just a prop ☺) and a nice glass of wine (not a prop!) ... 

Photo by Rico Puhlmann

me relaxing after a hard week of shopping...

while Natalie Joos, a blogger extraordinaire,  a woman Tommy Ton called the most stylish casting director, a woman whose most stylish and eclectic blog, Tales of Endearment, visits Julia Restoin Roitfeld, Hanneli Mustaparta and Fabiola Beracasa among other equally stylish and independent women.  Style, Substance, Fabulousness and a good dose of RARE vintage.  Take it Natalie...

Natalie Joos.  Tales of Endearment.  Thursday. 2 June 2011.

 Pierre Cardin from RARE vintage.  Photo courtesy of Tales of Endearment

Marc Bohan for Christian Dior, Galanos belt and Balenciaga sunglasses from RARE vintage.  

Photo courtesy of Tales of Endearment

Yves Saint Laurent 'Matisse' Print pants, Herve Leger cropped top and Chanel classic chain belt from RARE vintage.  Photo courtesy of Tales of Endearment

Stephen Sprouse neon orange mini dress and Stephen Sprouse shoes from RARE vintage.

Photo courtesy of Tales of Endearment

Thank you Natalie for such beautiful images!  And more (much more) at Tales of Endearment

There is Really No One Like Her: Michelle Harper in RARE vintage!

Our RARE vintage girl: There is really no one like her.  She loves Romy Schneider in Luchino Visconti's Boccaccio '70, she reads a frayed capy of Marguerite Duras' The Lover, she wears a tattered  Fortuny and Saint Laurent Rive Gauche from the 1970s.  She has just seen the show, Picasso and Marie-Therese at Gagosian and is off to Paris to see the Madame Gres exhibition as well as Ralph Lauren's car collection at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs.   She owns her own style, goes her own way and likes everything that is RARE and unique.

Michelle Harper.  A girl of style.  A girl who knows what she wants.  A girl like no other.  There is really no one like her.  And she looks amazing in vintage Jean Varon with exagerrated kimono sleeves from RARE vintage on one of my new favorite sites: Natalie Joos' Tales of Endearment.

Michelle Harper Photographed by Natalie Joos for Tales of Endearment