Chanel: The Queen,The Mughal Empress, The Renaissance Princess and The Gypsy

Chanel was a Queen.  A fisherman. A Mughal Empress.  An orphan.  A singer.  A Renaissance Princess.  A Gypsy.  

Coco Chanel stole from the poor to give to the rich: a humble jersey sweater, faux pearls, costume jewels...  

She traveled with a pirate's chest stuffed with a King's ransom in jewels.

But Chanel mixed her Verdura cuffs with costume jewelry and she made costume jewelry chic and desirable.  She made it fabulous to flaunt your fakes.  And she made the fakes very beautiful. 

Chanel costume jewelry is highly collectible and sought after.  And there are even fakes of her costume jewelry.  There is an excessive amount of Chanel gripoix jewelry in the vintage market - much more then could ever have been produced by House of Chanel so it is important to be careful when buying Chanel costume jewelry.  

I was thrilled to find this beautiful, rare and exceptional piece of Chanel haute couture for RARE vintage.  Swirled gilt is filled in with a pale amethyst colored glass.  Very haute hippie by way of the Mughal empire don't you think?

Detail:

Monday's RARE vintage Photo of the Week #3: Tina Chow

Is there any better way to start a stylish week off then with the super stylish Tina Chow?  As I am certain you know, we have had an unsurpassed collection of Tina Chow's jewelry at RARE vintage which has been an enormous privilege as well as an enormous source of excitement for me personally and, of course, also for our clients.

Tina Chow could wear a grey cashmere sweater and black Kenzo pants, brand spanking new haute couture from the newly appointed designer for Chanel Karl Lagerfeld in 1983, vintage haute couture from Balenciaga, Vionnet, Poiret and Fortuny with such ease and casual chic that her unerring sense of style has made her one of the best dressed women of all time.

But she was not just a woman of style - she was a woman of substance - which I really think most super stylish women are.  A true sense of style is found in women who love not just fashion but history and design.  

This is one of my favorite photos of Tina Chow.  She is wearing a Fortuny silk pleated gown with her own jewelry.  

Tina Chow in Fortuny and Tina Chow jewelry

It has been erroneously published that she was wearing lucite (!) jewelry with her Fortuny gown but she is in fact wearing her own amazing crystal quartz cuff and bracelet and one of her spectacular bamboo wrapped Kyoto bracelets.

Tina Chow's sense of style is unique to her and it continues to inspire us...  as Yves Saint Laurent said, "Fashion fades, style is eternal".  Tina Chow is eternal...

I am always looking for rare and pristine examples of Tina Chow's incredible jewelry.  Please feel free to contact me at info@rarevintage.com or phone 212.581.7273 if you have a piece or collection you would like to part with.