I Was Re-Opening the Trunks of My Past: Romeo Gigli

"Callaghan was dripping with baroque embroidery, Afghan jewelry, echoes of Byzantine churches, Russian ballets and Paul Poiret.  For the first time, I was re-opening the trunks of my past, of everything I had hidden away in my deepest reaches, and which had pushed me into fashion." 

Romeo Gigli

Just in at RARE vintage: Arsenic and Black Fringe

I guess two of my least favorite things in fashion would have to be a sheath dress and a plain black bag.  I know they are staples of many women's wardrobe but I find them depressingly boring.  I want Drama, Romance, I want to time travel, I want to be a heroine in a book, I want to fall madly, deeply and passionately in love...  

"Gigli's women are sumptuously swathed and ethereally detached."
Amy Spindler

That describes me to a T: sumptuously swathed and ethereally detached : )

How beautiful is this arsenic green silk and fringed Romeo Gigli for Callaghan circa 1988 jacket?!  Don't you just want to be sumptuously swathed and elegantly detached too...

Late 1980s Romeo Gigli fringed jacket.  Available for purchase at RARE vintage.
info@rarevintage.com or 212.581.7273
please reference Gigli/Callaghan arsenic fringe jacket

love, baci and vintage Gigli, Juliana

Just in: An early 1980s Micro Pleated Krizia Dress!

W magazine recently did an article on the revival of Krizia's micro pleated, metallic dresses from the 1980s as a dominant motif on the spring runways, in particularly at Dries van Noten and Lanvin (in 2000 Alber Elbaz was hired and then soon fired by Mariuccia Mandelli, the notoriously volatile founder of Krizia, and it caused quite the scandal at the time).

But where there is fashion, there is drama and at Krizia there was drama in the dresses.  

Krizia Fall 1988

Krizia 1991

Krizia Fall 1983.  Photo by Albert Watson for British Vogue

 Just in!

An early 1980s spiral micro pleated Krizia dress in a metallic turquoise cinched at the waist with a leather belt with jeweled detail.  

Early 1980s micro pleated Krizia dress in a metallic turquoise available for purchase at RARE vintage.
info@rarevintage.com or 212.581.7273

love, kisses and vintage, Juliana

Sweet Heart: Yves Saint Laurent

Love to Love you baby!  Happy Valentine's Day and I hope you are getting something lovely and thoughtful from all of the loves in your life! 

Just in at RARE vintage and from, a man who celebrated love, Yves Saint Laurent, a red grosgrain 'Heart' clutch in pristine condition.  Circa 1980s.   I don't know about you but I love a whimsical bag. Street style photographers, get your cameras ready!

I can't help, falling in love with you...

Yves Saint Laurent rive gauche red 'Heart' clutch.  Circa 1980s.  Pristine and available for purchase at RARE vintage.

love, kisses and vintage, Juliana

Just in: When Clothes Made You Smile: Patrick Kelly

When I think of fashion in the 1980s, I think of a riot of color and extravagance.

Patrick Kelly (1954-1990), the Mississippi born designer, celebrated joy, whimsy and color in his body conscious clothing.  He also celebrated his African-American heritage in a way, frankly, I am not sure would be accepted now: he was never without plastic black baby doll pins which he freely gave out, his shopping bags proudly featured a "golliwogg" and "Aunt Jemima" bandana dresses shown with watermelon hats.  Kelly himself wore dungaree overalls and after each runway show, would spray paint a large heart on the runway. 

I was so happy to learn that the Philadelphia Museum of Art will be celebrating Patrick Kelly this April in an exhibit titled Patrick Kelly: Runway of Love. 

Patrick Kelly grew up looking through issues of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar his grandmother brought home from the family for whom she worked.  He remembered his grandmother "being the chicest woman alive".  He knew he wanted to design clothes and he remembered "there were never any black people in the magazines."  Kelly went on to frequently use African-American models and isn't it incredible that 30 or so years later there is still the debate about the lack of color on the runways and in many fashion magazines.

Kelly is famous for his whimsical and colorful button dresses which were worn surprisingly enough by the actress Betty Davis when she was in her late 70s.

Bette looking bitchy chic in Patrick Kelly's buttons:

Kelly moved to Paris in 1979 and became the first American designer to be invited to join the Chambre Syndicale du Pret-a-Porter des Courtiers et des Createurs de Mode.  Kelly said that "being from Mississippi makes me very special over here (Paris).  They think I've fallen from another planet."

"With other designers you can get clothes that are chic and masculine or hard and way out.  Mine are happy."

Patrick Kelly

and right now at RARE vintage we just received a really wonderful and iconic Patrick Kelly 'dice' jacket and it does indeed make me very happy.  

1988 Patrick Kelly 'dice' jacket.  Sz 38.  Available for purchase at RARE vintage

details:

silk 'dice' lining:

We also have a pair of the original plastic black baby doll pins that Patrick Kelly loved to give out:

Pair of original 1980s Patrick Kelly plastic black baby doll pins available for purchase at RARE vintage.

And we have one pair of Patrick black knit jersey gauntlet gloves embellished with nails:

1980s Patrick Kelly gauntlet gloves embellished with nails.  Available for purchase at RARE vintage.

and we also have : )) a Patrick Kelly iconic black knit jersey dress with brass buttons:

1980s Patrick Kelly brass button dress.  Sz M.  Available for purchase at RARE vintage.

Patrick Kelly back in the day...

from the 2004 retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum:

and a preview from the upcoming exhibit Patrick Kelly: Runway to Love at The Philadelphia Museum of Art:

love, kisses and vintage, Juliana

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

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!  

Toujours l' Amour: YSL

I have only just begun posting a wonderful collection of Yves Saint Laurent jewelry from the 1980s and early 1990s.  If you missed the first pieces, you can see the sea anenome brooch here and the Lalanne inspired alligator cuff here.  

I adore these flirtatious earrings with black velvet bows and a faceted jet heart.  Love and the emblem of love, the heart, was an important paint of Saint Laurent's iconography.  And these would be so great for holiday parties!

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

Sheer Madness!

One of my favorite dresses from the Fall 2013 haute couture shows was a Giambattista Valli bustled ballgown with a Luigi Scialanga sculpted metal ribbon belt:

but one of the things that made it light, lovely and modern was its sheer embroidered skirt.

There is something very sexy about being covered and yet uncovered at the same time...  One of my favorite new gowns at RARE vintage is this circa 1990 Vicky Tiel black jersey gown - very fitted through the bodice - with a dramatic open back and a long sheer black lace skirt. The lace is subtly embroidered with beading for  a bit of opulent glamour...

Circa 1990 Vicky Tiel black jersey gown with a sheer lace skirt.  Size 4/6.  

Only available at RARE vintage

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:

Stephanie in Valentino Haute Couture

I am always so thrilled that the pieces I buy for RARE vintage go to the right person.  There is something that just clicks and we all know it immediately that the stars have aligned and a piece is a perfect fit for the client.   And I am really, seriously all about perfection - I don't want to see a client going out of RARE vintage looking anything less then amazing and beautiful ever.

And when a vintage piece, goes to its new home, it goes with its story.  Sometimes the story needs to be shrouded in mystery because the original owner wishes to remain anonymous - sometimes the story goes with the piece.  But its history continues to be built with each owner who thrills to the sight of it and the excitement of having it in her closet.

This is one such story...

A double faced daffodil yellow cashmere Valentino haute couture coat from the 1980s came to RARE vintage.  It  was then worn by Lady Gaga for her Thanksgiving Special.  And she even cooked a turkey in it!  

And then shortly afterwards, we received a ton of phone calls asking about the coat - but it had already found its new home with Stephanie.  

Stephanie wore it to the haute couture shows in Paris and made it her own by wearing a white fur hat and over the knee boots.  Stephanie and the Valentino coat had another moment in the pages of Vogue Japan.  Thank you Stephanie for looking so perfect in our Valentino haute couture coat!  

And FYI, Stephanie is not only stylish, sweet, funny and beautiful - very Alfred Hitchcock cool blonde - but she also has a website, The Collecte, which discovers and promotes new designers from fashion to home decor and you can visit it here. 

RARE vintage for Resort: YSL's Plumes and Peplum

Yves Saint Laurent transforms a whimsical feather print and a peplumed top into a Forties-style ensemble for the modern girl.

"Finally at Twenty-Four, I Opened My Own House"

“Finally at the age of twenty-four I opened my own house.” Hubert de Givenchy 

 Un petit histoire de Monsieur Givenchy...

Jackie Kennedy leaving Givenchy's couture salon after a fitting.

Givenchy apprenticed with Jacques Fath, who amazingly showed up to work in a full length wolf coat, and Robert Piguet, who spent most of the day in his office with a light outside his office that either said “Wait!” or “Enter!”. From Piguet, Givenchy went to work for Lucien Lelong whose atelier numbered  1,500 employees.  At Lelong Givenchy had to go before a sort of tribunal where Lelong, his daughter and the directrice of the salon would pick and choose the designs they liked.

A model in Givenchy couture in the salon of Givenchy's Paris home.

Givenchy became Elsa Schiaparelli’s assistant in 1947. And it was here he said that he discovered “true elegance”.  Schiaparelli had just returned from the United States and reopened her salon in the Place Vendome.  In the storeroom were metres and metres of fabrics printed with surrealist motifs: silks with mouths, lips, stars and newsprint.  He asked what he was to do with these leftovers?  “Use it up.” was the reply and he was given free reign to do what he wanted.  Givenchy created for Schiaparelli his first separates: little blouses and skirts in Schiaparelli’s whimsical prints. It was also at Schiaparelli that Givenchy met some of the uber chic ladies who would later become his clients: Daisy Fellowes and Babe  Paley.

From Givenchy's first collection in 1952: a dress of smoke grey organza and a cape of cotton shirting.

“Fabric is where it all begins”

For Givenchy fabric was the be all and end all.  A collection began with the “feel of a velvet, the crackle of a duchesse satin, the sheen of a faille, the iridescence of a shot taffeta, the strength of a brocade.”  In his quest for the best, Givenchy worked with the  houses that produced the most exquisite fabrics in the world: Suzy Gandini, Madame Broissen de Méré, and Gustave Zumsteg.

 Minidress in Taroni's black tulle printed with white dots.  Worn with a lily of the valley boater.


"The Hepburn style had been born and it lives on today." Hubert de Givenchy

In 1954 Givenchy created the clothes for the Billy Wilder film Sabrina.  Sabrina was played by Audrey Hepburn.  Givenchy said "Her chic, her youth, her bearing and her silhouette grew ever more celebrated, enveloping me in a kind of of aura or radiance that I could never have hoped for."  

 

Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy at an awards ceremony.

Givenchy haute couture at RARE vintage 

I recently acquired a wonderful Givenchy couture gown for RARE vintage from the 1980s.  It is opulently representative of the luxe and dramatic 80s.  And it is ideally representative of Givenchy seeking the most beautiful fabrics, the most gorgeous embroidery. 

Silk taffeta striped Hubert de Givenchy haute couture gown.  Labeled, signed and numbered.  Gown is slightly bustled and gathered with a raised hemline in the front.

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