SEE: La Mécanique des Dessous

I recently acquired a collection of Galanos for RARE vintage from a lovely and interesting woman and amidst the pieces that she had saved were garter stays.  Garter stays have gone the way of gloves and button jars but thanks to a new exhibit at the Musée des Art Décoratifs in Paris, you will have a chance to see what use to lie underneath and more recently began to be underneath no more...

Double pocket panier, 1775-1780

Which would have given shape to this dress:

Robe de court, 1760

and you thought wicker was just for chairs:

Woven rattan bustle, 1880

and would have given shape to a dress like this:

Wedding trousseau ensemble, 1881

From this in 1887:

A strapontin bustle, 1887

to this in 2008:

The bride, Jean Paul Gaultier Fall/Winter 2008

and in case you suffered from chicken legs:

Calf pads, 1850-1890

and speaking of padding, this is a dress I would LOVE to find for RARE vintage so if anyone out there has one they would like to part with, please phone 212.581.7273 or email info@rarevintage.com!

Commes des Garcons Bump dress Spring/Summer 1997

from this in 1954:

Corselette, 1954

to this in 2007:

Dolce and Gabbana Spring/Summer 2007

The show gives new meaning to just 'picture them in their underwear'!  Hope you can make it to Paris!

La Mécanique des Dessous at the Musé des Arts Decoratifs in Paris until November 24.

Photos from French Vogue

Louis Vuitton - Marc Jacobs at the Musées des Arts Decoratifs

Two nights ago in Paris was the opening of "Louis Vuitton - Marc Jacobs" at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs.   Marc Jacobs has been creative director for the house of Vuitton since 1997.

My first memory of Marc Jacobs begins in Vogue with the infamous Grunge collection for Perry Ellis.  I thought it was the coolest thing to see models in Vogue in clothes that girls my age really wanted to be wearing.

Grunge and Glory.  Photographed by Steven Meisel in Vogue.  1992

"It's broken out of the clubs, garages, and thrift shops of Seattle to dominate rock radio, MTV and the aspirations of kids all across America.  Steven Meisel captures its impact on fashion  in the repentant '90s." Vogue

"There was so much more to it than making plaid shirts and flowing silk dresses.  It wasn't about that.  It was about a sensibility and also about a dismissal of everything that one was told was beautiful, correct, glamorous, sexy.  I love that it represented a newness." Marc Jacobs

So of course when I bought a small collection of the Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis grunge collection for RARE vintage it was a MAJOR FASHION MOMENT FOR ME!   Below is a runway piece that was in the show.  I have a few others but still need to photograph them.  A vintage store owners work is never done : )

The rest is history and now Marc Jacobs' work for house of Louis Vuitton is being celebrated at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs.  There is a room that is suppose to resemble a Tumblr page - basically a Tumblr page from inside's Marc Jacobs head - Bertolucci mixed with South Park; Liz Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof next to SpongeBob next to Rainer Fassbinder's Querelle.

From the exhibit:

photos from vogue.com and style.com

From the opening:

and Marc Jacobs looking pretty in pink

photos from style.com

And from my closet.  A few classics.