The Art of Tina Chow

In the art of jewelry design, there are maximalists and there are minimalists.  There are many maximalists but not many minimalists.  Tina Chow's jewelry designs were quiet: a whisper close to your ear, the rustle of a soft breeze in a bamboo forest, amethysts from the tears of the gods...

I was so happy to receive this very beautiful and very special and very rare collection of Tina Chow jewelry for RARE vintage.  They are all perfect examples of the quiet beauty and strong artistry of Tina Chow.  

The Tina Chow Amethyst Cuff:

Purchase the Tina Chow amethyst cuff here.

The Tina Chow Rock Crystal Cuff:

Purchase the Tina Chow rock crystal cuff here.

A Tina Chow Clear Rock Crystal Pendant:

Purchase the Tina Chow rock crystal pendant here.

A Tina Chow Amethyst Pendant Wrapped in Bamboo:

Purchase the Tina Chow amethyst and bamboo pendant from RARE vintage here.

A Tina Chow single pink tourmaline earring wrapped in gold:

Purchase the Tina Chow pink tourmaline earring from RARE vintage here.

A Tina Chow amethyst bead necklace:

Purchase the Tina Chow amethyst bead necklace here.

xo, Juliana

Coming Soon: A Collection of Tina Chow

I can not think of a more perfect way to start the fall at RARE vintage then with a particularly special and beautiful collection of Tina Chow...

Coming soon!

A sneak peek:

love and kisses, Juliana

YSL Rocks Some Heavy Metal 80s Style

What to wear with delicate lace, a wisp of chiffon, a Rag and Bone tee, a ball gown, a LBD, a cozy sweater in Aspen, a strapless dress in the Turks and Caicos?

Yves Saint Laurent understood the mix - the mix of masculine/feminine, peasant/luxe, vintage/modern, tough/fragile...

I love this  bold, oversized stud necklace from YSL circa 1980s.  Mix it up.  And rock some heavy metal!

For more information or to purchase, please email info@rarevintage.com 
or phone 212.581.7273

You can see more of our YSL collection here and here. We have much, much more to post!  

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:

Wear it Now: An Ornate Choker by Chanel Couture

Vogue.com just did an article on the return of the ornate choker.  The writer, Chioma Nnadi, said it all started with the minimalist gilt metal version that Phoebe Philo did for Celine.  The New York based jeweler, Randi Mates of Aesa, said that "wearing a piece that fits closely to the throat, draws up your spine and changes the way you hold yourself.  It's almost regal."

Nnadi suggests wearing an ornate choker over a crisp white button shirt or as the crowning glory of a Grecian column dress."

Circa 1990 Chanel couture necklace only available at RARE vintage NYC.

This spectacular Mughal inspired bib necklace is of course made by the costume jeweler to the couture, Gripoix, for Chanel.  It is from circa 1990, is a runway piece from the couture and is in the most beautiful shades of blue.  Actually the colors remind me of the color of the sea in Sardinia.

As a woman business owner I love that sisters are doing it for themselves!  Gripoix is the story of a family of women who have, for over four generations, been at the helm of the House of Gripoix and of another woman, Coco Chanel.  Gripoix was founded by Augustine Gripoix in the 19th century who began making imitation pearls, pink quartz and rubies for Sarah Bernhardt and Charles Frederick Worth.  Augustine's daughter Suzanne worked with Poiret, Molyneux and Lanvin creating extravagant fakes.  But it was Suzanne Gripoix's relationship with Coco Chanel where the story of Gripoix really begins and continues to the present day.

Chanel had a mischievous streak and by creating jewelry made from faux pearls and poured glass and gilt instead of gold she was subtly mocking the symbols of wealth in the 1920s and 1930s, a string of pearls and a diamond and ruby necklace.  Chanel also piled it on, mixing her real with her faux.  So do as Mademoiselle did and as Vogue.com tells you and RARE vintage recommends: wear an ornate choker.

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Chanel: The Great Escape

Resort is all about escape: a lush lipped, gap toothed girl with long flowy hair wearing a silk lurex blouse from Chanel with a tweed vest and high gold gladiator sandals is my idea of  the perfect escape.  Inspiration is an important element of fashion and even if you are not the gap toothed, lush blonde progeny of Mick Jagger - you can still have Georgia May Jagger on the mind for inspiration.

In the new ad campaign for Chanel resort, Karl is clearly referencing the original Saint-Tropez blonde, Brigitte Bardot.   The show was even in Bardot's barefoot stomping grounds, Saint-Tropez.

So what comes around, goes around and as I think about how much I love the Chanel resort collection, and count the days until it is the 57th Street store, I already know I have one part of my outfit chosen: a Chanel haute couture necklace.  It is similar though truthfully I think ours is much nicer then the one used in the ad campaign.

We had three of these- one has sold, one I have kept ☺and one is still for sale.  I love to mix vintage and modern - I would never wear all vintage or all modern.  So even though Karl referenced his own 1996 couture necklace for resort, I will be wearing the vintage one - hopefully, with that tweed vest!

These necklaces are extraordinary.  The links are actually soft and have been embroidered with tiny pearls, gold thread and tiny rhinestones.  

1996 Chanel haute couture micro pearl necklace.

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An Important Collection of Tina Chow: Tanabata Necklace

When the stars align... 

Here is the baby I would love to call my own and tuck into bed at night.  This is the bedtime story I would tell it:

Once upon a time there was a weaver Princess and a herder Prince who lived in the heavens.  They met,  fell in love and soon forgot all about their responsibilites.  The princess ceased weaving and the prince let his herd wander off.   The King became angry and banished them to opposite ends of the Milky Way.  He allowed them to meet just once a year on the Tanabata, the seventh day of the seventh month.  (I guess this is what they mean by star crossed lovers.)  

Tina Chow's spectacular Tanabata necklace consists of twenty two unique rock crystal pebbles, each wrapped in thin strips of bamboo.  

Here is a photo of Tina surrounded by similar pieces:

Hello Sailor!

The annual Fleet Week has come and gone in New York but the sailor has left us feeling sartorially enamored of the striped shirt, a vintage pair of high waisted Yves Saint Laurent sailor pant with gold rope buttons on the side (coming soon to the RARE blog) and an amazing Yves Saint Laurent rope necklace from the 1970s.  

It is quintessentially chic French marnière which has been always been an inspiration of Saint Laurent. This is vintage what comes around goes around: it was originally purchased at Didier Ludot in Paris as a gift to our client.

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Take your Chanel for a Roll in the Hay!

Karl understands a good roll in the hay.  He understands that in every Madame, there is a Mademoiselle and that is what keeps the House of Chanel vibrant and young.  Here is some Chanel bling with a rustic, bucolic attitude.  A long pendant in wood with hammered gilt CC.  Very luxe bohemian for a girl who does not mind a bit of straw in her hair!

1996 Chanel CC wood pendant.

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