Just in! Dolce & Gabbana Fall/Winter 1996 Fellini Le Notti di Cabiria Collection Coat

If you read the RARE vintage blog frequently, you will know how much I love early Dolce & Gabbana.  Their collections always have so much story, romance and Drama.  Back in the 1990s, I dreamt of being a hot Sicilian widow bound in black corsets, wearing a baroque cross, with the grittiness of Italian neorealism cinema but also the glamour of the Dolce Vita.  That is what I love about fashion: stories and dreams...

"I was cutting the coats like Balenciaga in the Fifties, loose volume, three quarter length sleeves.  We were inspired by this amazing movie still from Fellini of a woman in a herringbone coat, getting into a car.  All you see is her back, and a flash of of black-seamed stockings as she climbs in."

Domenico Dolce on the Fall/Winter 1996/7 collection inspired by Balenciaga, Fellini and Le Notti di Carbiria...

Just in!

Dolce e Gabbana Fall/Winter 1996/1997 coat with three quarter length sleeves.
 Available for purchase at RARE vintage.  212-581-7273 or email info@rarevintage.com

love, baci and vintage, Juliana

Merci Mlle Chanel, Chanel 1996 Haute Couture

One of my favorite necklaces is a 1996 Chanel haute couture necklace.  Originally I had three but I kept only one and now I wish I had been very greedy and kept them all because I just found this Irving Penn image from 1996 Vogue and it actually describes how the necklaces were made and they look absolutely divine and stunning.

1996 Chanel haute couture.  Photo by Irving Penn

"Caviar pearls decorate the top of this updated version of a Coco design while triangular panels of black caviar pearls cover the skirt.  The same embroiderers strung the matching necklace before it was passed onto the jewelry maker."

Now, the other sad part is that I had the daisy brooch too... well, of course, I am happy for my clients ; )

One of the necklaces I sold...

1996 Chanel haute couture caviar pearl and filigree necklace

love. kisses and caviar pearls, Juliana

Best of the Best: Chanel Haute Couture Necklaces

I had an "Ahhhhhhh!" moment when I was shown these Chanel haute couture necklaces because they were so stunning and beautiful.  The chain link is of course a recurring motif in the designs of Coco Chanel and Karl Lagerfeld for the House of Chanel.  In fact, in the recent Saint Tropez show there is a new version of a design similar to this necklace.

(you can probably tell that I really liked this collection)  

But these are not cruise collection, they are runway pieces from a 1996 couture show.  The chain links are actually soft and embroidered with tiny faux pearls, gold thread and tiny sequins.  Two of the necklaces are nearly the same and a third has gold filigree pierced links.  The necklaces hook in the back with flat gold chains and rhinestones.

How perfect would they look with a t shirt (as Cecil Vyse in Room with a View said, the classes should mix because he believed in democracy.  So let's democratize our haute couture!  Chanel couture with Gap cotton!  Actually my favorite t shirts are The Row - so not entirely democratic but that is the freedom of choice.  Choose your cotton and wear it with Chanel haute couture!  or some little divine chiffon number!  Or with nothing at all for someone special in your life!

1996 Chanel haute couture necklace with tiny faux pearls and gold filigree links.  Price available upon request.  Total length: 

1996 Chanel haute couture faux tiny beaded necklace.  Price available upon request.  

Total length:  

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