Why we love YSL. I think we all have a vintage YSL story. It is for people who collect or love vintage, a rite of passage, buying that one special Saint Laurent piece. A winning entry submitted by L.
PS. I have tried things on in the bathroom too at the Metropolitan Pavilion ; )
"This is the story of my vintage Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche wool skirt – and how I knew my then-boyfriend would be my eventual husband.
I spotted the YSL Cossack collection-esque skirt at the Manhattan Vintage Clothing and Textiles Show with Kevin (the then boyfriend) and fell instantly in love. It was fall -- read: already cold in New York -- and all I could think about was wrapping myself up in the skirt’s soft wool, layering on sweaters, and pretending I was living in 1976.
I grabbed the skirt from the vendor, tried it on (in the bathroom of the Metropolitan Pavilion – so glamorous!), and fell even more in love with it. Unfortunately, my wallet was not a fan. I was in graduate school, and on a budget so tight that Ramen noodles were a splurge; Kevin had just gotten his first post-college job. The vendor was very nice, but despite my haggling – and near pleading – she wouldn’t let the skirt go for anything less than $100. I pouted. Many people – both men and women – don’t understand why some of us love, crave, covet, and swoon over a quilted bag, figure-flattering wrap dress, or a pair of sky high stilettos. Still to this day, I don’t think Kevin quite gets it either. But at the moment he did the most chivalrous thing he could do – he stepped in, offered to pay cash if she would make it a more affordable price, and got the skirt for me.
As a costume historian today, I should say that I wouldn’t part with the skirt because it embodies YSL’s work during an important part in his career, but I know that I will never part with it because of the gesture that was behind it."
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