Quote of the Day #10

"There was something that made Billy's rooms special.  Many were never photographed.  The clients wouldn't allow it.  So here were these beautiful rooms, a reflection of their owner's tastes, personality and wardrobe - all things Billy carefully considered - and nowhere do they survive except in the memory of the people fortunate enough to have seen them."

Bill Blass on Billy Baldwin

Party Time! with Bill Blass

Discreetly elegant from the front this 1980s inky black silk Bill Blass cocktail dress makes a major impact with its bare back and gently gathered and bustled skirt.  

What to Wear for Super Bowl Sunday

The Giants’ defense has improved since the last matchup. They’ve gone to a big nickel base, meaning safety Antrel Rolle starts at outside linebacker and the backup safety Deon Grant starts in place of Rolle in the defensive backfield. Don’t be surprised if these two cover the tight ends. 

WTF??  I have no idea.  I didn't even write that - some Dude from the NYT did.  Big nickel base?  Antrel Rolle? Is that a name or is it a play??  But as a New Yorker I am actually kind of excited about the Super Bowl.  I may even go to a Super Bowl party, drink beer and eat chicken wings.  So naturally that got me  thinking what to wear if I do go to a Super Bowl party?  I was pondering this

champagne colored silk gown from Bill Blass.  It has blonde sable cuffs.  Drapes sensuously to the body.  What do you think?  Would I be a tad over dressed?  Should one drink beer in something like this?  I feel like some dazzling mad cap girl like Carole Lombard would wear this to a Super Bowl party and then go duck hunting the next day in red thermals with hubby Clark Gable.

Can't wait see Madonna's halftime show and the ads!  Still trying to decide what to wear.  Oh yes.  And the game...  Go Giants!

This is a part of our 1970s Bill Blass collection from a single owner.  These pieces are so beautiful and so beautifully made.  Not your usual vintage store Blass (of course ; )  Size 4/6.

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Bon Mots from New York on the Paris Couture Spring 2012 Shows

So the couture shows have come and gone.  I adored Giambattista Valli: transparent black lace, black alligator peplumed vests and Oscar worthy gowns, there is no doubt who is ordering these fabulously modern clothes (Charlotte Casiraghi of Monaco for one fabulously fine young girl)  - I know I placed my order on Valli's first couture collection and I plan on ordering a second dress...  

Valentino was wonderfully gorgeous and youthful - so pretty.  Who does not want to feel "giddily romantic" as Hamish Bowles said about those light as air, frothy confections?  I don't know if you follow Little Augury - but you should- she compared the Valentino collection  to William Paxton's painting Tea Leaves.  1,000 hours of handwork went into the elaborately smocked shamrock printed organza dress that opened the show.  So beautiful. 

I confess to be a little disappointed in Givenchy - the nose ring thing was distracting and unnecessary so too Alexis Mabille with the overblown flowers.  I think the clothes are finally starting to become more important then 'the show'.  

Isn't it refreshing that the beautiful Celine store which just opened in New York did it without the paid attendance of a celebrity and a DJ - it just opened and it is crowded and busy with girls and women who covet Phoebe Philo's real girl amazing chic.

Great couture does not come just from Paris but from New York too - just take a look at the crazy gorgeous Bill Blass dress we posted this morning. This is truly Bill Blass at his most amazing and most beautiful from the 1970s!  And it is from the garde robe of a woman who was given 1st dibs on the best of Blass from his studio post show.   Super couture, super amazing and there is more to come from New York!  You can follow us on twitter at @RareVintageNYC!  for the latest and the greatest.  Like more Blass, more vintage YSL and my upcoming trip to Paris - to see a private collection (and not one from the auction house Drouot - which is an amazing resource for vintage couture in Paris).

Bonne Nuit et bon mots!!

Got The Moves Like Bianca Jagger

This Bill Blass dress has got the moves like Bianca Jagger.  Bianca Jagger at Studio 54 hanging out with Liza, Halston, Michael and Andy.

It is my favorite new dress 

and I am OBSESSED with the detached hood that is cut on the bias and is just so crazy gorgeous.  I would wear it with red lips and lots of mascara kind of like

but if you like you can wear it without the hood.

What do you think?  I definitely think Bill Blass has got moves like Bianca Jagger!

1970s crazy beautiful Bill Blass dress with separate  hood.  Size 4/6.

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All That Glitters is Glamorous Or If I was Going To Studio 54 I would Wear This And Ride a White Horse

I also wanted to add to the title: and If I Was in a Guy Bourdin Photograph I would Wear This.  But that would have made the title kind of long even though if-I-was-in-a-Guy Bourdin-photo, I would definitely wear this.

The 1970s owned glamorous glitter.  There were slinky silks by Halston,  louche voluminous peasant dresses in vibrant jewel tones by YSL rive gauche, and uber glamorous silk jerseys, dripping with diamantee by Loris Azzaro.  I was really thrilled to recently have been offered a small and wonderful collection of Bill Blass from the 1970s.  The collection is also very uber glamorous and the pieces are beautifully made. Our client went to Bill Blass's studio after the shows and picked the pieces she liked the best (sounds like fun right?!).  

So here is our: All That Glitters is Glamorous Or if I was Going to Studio 54 I Would Wear This and Ride a White Horse and If I Was in a Guy Bourdin Photograph I Would Wear This dress!

1970s berry colored sequin gown with a huge flower by Bill Blass.

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Merry Christmas from RARE vintage Bazaar Dec 1968

A very Merry Christmas from RARE vintage and from the pages of the December 1968 Harper's Bazaar!!  

I have been a lucky man.  To feel the intimacy of brothers is a marvelous thing.  To feel the love of people whom we love is a fire that feeds our life.  But to feel the affection that comes across from those whom we do not know, who are watching over our dream and solitude, over our dangers and weaknesses - that is something still greater and more beautiful because it widens our boundaries of our being, and unites all living things.  PABLO NERUDA

detail from a figure of Christ in Mexico

Snow White

Lean swept mink overcoat.  Luxuriously sportif in cut.  By Fernando Sanchez for Revillon.

The Classic: Bill Blass

Every girl needs a basic camel coat and in a season of beige, gold, camel and butterscotch it is more then a just basic, it is a coveted item that instantly looks chic.  And a fitted Bill Blass camel coat from the 1970s  not only looks chic but is also super cool with narrow sleeves and high armholes.  The silk lining is covered in the Bill Blass monogram BB.

Now, I am all for feathers, beading and a good ruffle but sometimes we need to be practical and fashionable!

1970s Bill Blass Camel Coat.  Size 4/6.

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Fall's Biggest Trend: Leopard!

Unless you have not picked up a single magazine or stepped into a single store recently or looked at the internet in which case means you must be living in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere as a survivalist, you will have noticed that one of the biggest trends for fall is leopard.  

There are leopard jumpsuits (like the one from Lanvin which I can't decide if it is totally wonderful or really horrible), 

leopard boots (I am usually not a huge fan of leopard boots but I am loving the Balmain booties with the perfect heel), there are leopard bags, scarves, belts and skirts.

Of course, we have a lil' something leopard in mind for you!  A vintage 1980s Bill Blass leopard print pony hair skirt.  It is a pencil skirt (which is another fall trend!).  How amazing would this look with, well, the beautiful Jean Louis Scherrer blouse we photographed it with and a pair of the great sexy tough open toed lace up booties.

1980s Bill Blass leopard print pony hair skirt.  Size 6. 

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Slinky Does It

Bill Blass does slinky, clean-cut and precise.  But he also does playful.  A black jersey column dress that clings suggestively to the body with its bodice embellished with a single enormous pleated linen 'leaf' is a standout dress.  There is a single asymetric strap across the back.  Perfect for a garden party or a more elegant event.

Late 1970s Bill Blass 'Leaf' gown.  Size 4.

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Babe, It's a Wrap!

I miss Bill Blass's presence in fashion.  The way he called women Babe, smoked cigarettes and drank scotch on the rocks.  The way he lived with beautiful things in comfortable homes with room on the sofa for his dogs.  It is that mix of easy glamour we also get in his clothes.  

This true red silk wrap dress is exactly the kind of piece I imagine Bill Blass would have designed for an American woman with a throaty laugh, smoking a cigarette (yes, we all know now that cigarettes are bad for you and smoking does not have any kind of glamour but at one time it did.  I am thinking about Lauren Bacall in her first film, To Have and Have Not) and having a cocktail while throwing on this perfect sexy silk wrap dress.  A pair of high heels and you are good to go!

1980s Bill Blass silk wrap dress.

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American Fashion: the Lady, the Tramp and the Vamp.

Next week is the book release party at Bergdorf Goodman for American Fashion, the new CFDA and Assouline tome. We have three dresses from three iconic American designers: Bill Blass, Norma Kamali and Adrian. Each piece is very different, but there is a distinct cool glamour and spare elegance that is iconic of American design to each one.

The Lady, the Tramp and the Vamp:

The lady is, of course, a navy 1980s silk cocktail dress from Bill Blass. Cigarettes and ice clinking in a cocktail glass would not have been nearly so glamorous if women had not been wearing Bill Blass. No one smokes anymore and no one drinks as much anymore, but if you want to capture that spirit and glamour this is the dress. On first appearance it seems a little conservative although that pleated high collar stands in a very flattering way around the face, but then you turn around and see that it is backless with that pleated collar falling to frame the back in a most inviting and sexy way! Please note that the belt shown is not the original. We see this dress with high cherry red Laboutins! Size 6.



The tramp is another one of our pieces from Norma Kamali. This one is a very early OMO Kamali from 1978. OMO stands for On My Own after Norma divorced. We think that she must have been feeling the freedom because it is not a dress designed for someone who wants to stay at home eating a pint of ice cream in front of the television. It is a black, tight-fitting, sexy one shoulder dress definitely for a disco diva ready to gloss her lips and not stay home. Size 4.









The Vamp is a late 1940s Adrian. Before the war Adrian designed costumes for Hollywood stars like Joan Crawford and Jean Harlow. He opened his own fashion house in 1942 and became known for elegantly draped evening gowns. This is a dress made for Hollywood. It is so glamorous and it is unfortunate that our readers can not see this dress in motion because it is spectacular! Because of the way it is cut there is much fluttering and movement when you walk. The color is a midnight navy and the workmanship is beautiful. The lucky girl who wears this will either be a movie star or will feel and look like one! Size 6.

For more information about this item please email info@rarevintageinc.com or call (212) 581 7273