The Classic with a Twist: Ungaro Flap Bag

I know I have been slow to blog this week but it is because we have been working on an exciting project which I will be able to share with you soon...

But in the meantime, I know we all love a classic flap bag which Phoebo Philo for Celine revived so well she has almost everyone doing a flap bag.  Have you seen the limited edition hand painted python Miu Miu flap bag?  Pretty lust worthy.  Super limited edition.  And speaking of limited edition and lust worthy, I found this amazing 1970s Ungaro classic box flap bag in a dark red with the very cool U hardware and a twist of deep blue and yellow trim.  Ungaro was the epitome of Parisian elegance and this bag will be cool girl chic for fall.

1970s Ungaro classic flap bag in deep red.

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Summer LOVE: Bags and Blouses All This Week at RARE vintage!

Sometimes it is the little things in life that makes us the happiest.  Like falling in love with a vintage Ungaro blouse in the perfect shade of yellow to brighten our day and our outfit or an unusual metal mesh wristlet bag that no one will have and everyone else will want (and don't we love to have something that no one else has?!)

Feel the l♡ve because at RARE vintage we l♡ve to l♡ve you!

Ungaro blouse with gumdrop yellow buttons:

Circa 1980 Ungaro yellow blouse.  Size 6

An anonymous metal mesh wristlet bag is space age chic in a turn of the century material in a size that will fit all of your modern day stuff: mobile phone, credit card, lipstick, keys...  Love it!  

The bag opens fully when you tilt the wristlet ring flat.  Oh yes and what was I saying before, no one else will have this little bag which is another reason to love it.  Oh, how do I love thee, let me count the ways...  sorry!  I tend to obsess over these things...  and I know I am not the only person to lie awake in the middle of night because I just can't stop thinking about that bag or blouse I saw.  You know who you are!  But be comforted by the fact that there are thousands of other girls awake in the middle of the night, thinking the same thing:)

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Alice in Ungaro Wonderland

Something about this Ungaro dress reminds me of the upcoming Tim Burton film, Alice in Wonderland.

Maybe because it is darkly romantic, wildly whimsical and part Alice, part Red Queen, part Mad Hatter.  

It is classic glamour in black velvet, black lace and with a sort of beaded fob draped across the front of the dress.  Through the lace there is a peak of skin.  

Fashion is fantasy, romance and drama.  Like The Mad Hatter said, "There is a place.  Like no place on Earth.  A land full of wonder, mystery and danger!"  Better anyway then "Off with her head!"

To be worn in a Wonderland of your own choosing...

Early 1990s Ungaro black velvet dress.  Size 6.

For more information about this item please email info@rarevintageinc.com or call (212) 581 7273

RARE vintage: The Gift: Ungaro

Because a woman can not live by Chanel alone, we offer as the perfect gift for the girl who is very haute bohemian, a velvet bag by Ungaro with an antique metal cord and a small bird and feathers. 

Don't forget to Enter to Win... a vintage Chanel bag by becoming a fan on Facebook!

 Late 1970s velvet Ungaro bag.

For more information about this item please email info@rarevintageinc.com or call (212) 581 7273

Robe Noir: Ungaro haute couture

Ungaro is well known for unrestrained exuberance: floral! dots! bows! draping!  Christian Lacroix is also known for his generous use of color and pattern but confessed to being attracted to black in the book that accompanied his show at the Musee des Art Decoratifs in Paris.  We think that Ungaro too could not resist exploring the robe noir.  

He did not make just another little black dress but played with texture and shape to create the ultimate LBD.  We always like to find you something that you don't already have in your closet and we are pretty certain that you do not have an haute couture dress with leg of mutton sleeves and a finely pleated bodice with angled futuristic velvet pockets.  How would we wear this sharply tailored, restrained yet extravagant confection from the 1980s?  Well, definitely a bare face with red stained lips.  The Gerbe dotted stockings would be nice.  And then toughen up our lady look a little bit with a studded Christian Louboutin.   Fierce and fabulous 1980s meets 2009!

1980s Givenchy haute couture cocktail dress with leg of mutton sleeves.  Size 4.

For more information about this item please email info@rarevintageinc.com or call (212) 581 7273

We Heart Blouses!

We love a good blouse at RARE vintage.  We love them because they dress up a pair of jeans or our new favorite leather skirt from Zara (brilliant and sooo inexpensive!)  We love them because they are prim and sexy at the same time.  We love them because we can wear them year round.  I wore my favorite Yves Saint Laurent moon and stars blouse in Nantucket this summer with shorts and I am wearing it now with a pair of skinny jeans and Chloe boots.

Our new addition to RARE are these two great blouses from the 1980s.  The first is a drape waisted floral print on black silk Ungaro.  It will definitely remind you of this season's Balenciaga very Parisian, very feminine collection.

1980s silk Ungaro blouse.  Size 8.

Our second blouse is a beautiful Jean-Louis Scherrer (sadly, some Jean Louis Scherrer can be a little scary) but this is a great piece.  We always try to choose pieces for RARE that are modern, youthful, classic and timeless - we leave the hideous and the dowdy out.  We wish that we could have photographed the fabric of this blouse better because it is particularly fine.  It also has the best sleeve of any blouse that we have ever seen - a slight pouf at the shoulder narrowing to the wrist.  It also has a great attached scarf.  

1980s jean-Louis Scherrer blouse.  Size 6.

For more information about this item please email info@rarevintageinc.com or call (212) 581 7273

Sparkle! Glamour!

Oh the sparkle, glamour and drama of the 1980s and early 1990s!  It is ironic that the era of excess has made its comeback in a time when the economy has had such an enormous impact on the way people shop.  More may have been more back then, but now more is less.  I am thinking about Christophe Decarnin at Balmain.  There is more but just less of it.  There is definitely more leg.

So, that is the exact way you wear these super bling pieces.  Take our early 1990s Ungaro beaded leopard-print jacket and wear it with your tiniest skirt or dress.  Wear it with your tightest skinniest jeans.  Or wear it with your boyfriend jeans.  Just do not wear it with big hair or matching make-up.  Leave that to the ladies on the Dynasty reruns please.

Now to our jacket:  it is an extravaganza but fits like a cardigan.  It is really a work of art in the layout of the leopard print beading, the gold braid and its flecks of baby pink and baby blue sequins on the braid.  

Early 1990s Ombre de la Nuit Ungaro beaded jacket.  Fits a size 4/6.

For more information about this item please email info@rarevintageinc.com or call (212) 581 7273

Coup de Foudre (Nan Kempner Personal Collection)

Coup de foudre is love at first sight which is how we felt when we saw these 1970s Ungaro Parallele suede pants with a red lightening bolt running down the sides. The boot cut pant is very rock and roll and sexy. It is a bit of a surprise that these pants are from style icon Nan Kempner's closet but we fell in love with them so why couldn't she? Size 4.

We have more pieces that we will be posting from Nan Kempners's personal collection but we are on our way to Paris and will be posting again on April 1st. Paris always means new pieces for RARE!!

For more information about this item please email info@rarevintageinc.com or call (212) 581 7273