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

Mad for Mats Gustafson

I have learned, in buying for RARE vintage, never to say never.  Because you never know.  I never entirely shut the door on a designer - who may not be a favorite of mine - just because you never know when you will see something unexpected and fall in love.  I always want to see before deciding no - or yes.

And you know how I was just writing about Antonio Lopez and fashion illustration?  How fashion illustration was never a particular favorite genre of mine until I saw Joe Eula's drawings for Halston.  Well, never say never, because now I have fallen for the Swedish illustrator Mats Gustafson.

Mats Gustafson saw the work of Antonio Lopez when he was growing up in Sweden and it "triggered something in me that made me think I can do this".  And in 1978 he received a commission from Grace Coddington at British Vogue.

In the 1980s Gustafson moved to New York and started creating illustrated advertising campaigns for Romeo Gigli, Commes des Garçons and Yohji Yamamoto.  (Those were the days!  Love all of those 80s pieces from Gigli, Commes, Yohji...)

Mats Gustafson for Romeo Gigli.  Vogue Italia. 1990

Mats Gustafson for Romeo Gigli.  Swimsuit.  1989

Mats Gustafson for Yohji Yamamoto.  Vogue Italia.  1999

And now Gustafson was commissioned by Raf Simons at the house of Dior to draw some of the pieces from Fall 2013 and Resort 2013 collections...  I will definitely be ordering the book Mats Gustafson Watercolors.

Dior by Mats Gustafson. 2014

Dior by Mats Gustafson.  2014

Dior by Mats Gustafson.  2014

love, kisses and vintage,  Juliana

Romantic Romeo

A romantic 1980s Romeo Gigli beaded ombre top.  A modern take on the 1920's beaded flapper dress.

The Lost World of Romeo Gigli

by Paolo Roversi

by Avedon

by Romeo Gigli at RARE vintage

Softly draped black crinkle chiffon jacket with hood/collar in black. One size.

Charcoal knit one shoulder dress with knot detail.  Size small.
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The Girl with Immaculate Style Wears Vintage Romeo Gigli

Camille Bidault Waddington is a girl after my own heart: she started reading Vogue, Marie Claire, 100 Idees and Jardin des Modes when she was just 10 years old.  Though I was looking at Vogue way before I was 10 and I don't think I ever read Jardin des Modes.

She is a stylist, fashion consultant and a photographer.  She has an enviable wardrobe and a very individual sense of style.

CBW in an asymmetric vintage Romeo Gigli top and an Emilio Pucci skirt.  What was that?!  Yes vintage Romeo Gigli.  You see a cool, stylish girl RARE vintage loves!  If you follow our blog, which of course you do:) you know I love Romeo Gigli.  So I was thrilled to purchase a great collection of 1980s Gigli for myself - oh, wait, I forgot, it is not all about me and I must sell at least a few things I buy "for the store" actually at the store.  I have to remind myself of this every day!  So here we go.  Our collection of Romeo Gigli.

The Tops:

So this first top is very interesting because you can wear it like this:

Or, ta-da!  Like this:

Rather genius don't you think.  The sleeve buttons inside the arm hole.

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Romantic Romeo

Romeo Gigli's soft, romantic clothes from the 1980s and early 1990s were a favorite of mine.  Mr. Gigli has said that his clothes are for anyone "willing to take a journey of the imagination".  The journey which will surely include rich jewel tone colors, a hint of Paul Poiret and a dash of Edwardian elegance.  Cathy Horyn wrote of Romeo Gigli's influence in Haider Ackermann's Spring 2012 runway show.   I don't know, I am not loving everything Haider Ackermann is doing. I love the idea but then the quality in the stores seems disappointing and the balloon style pant for the Spring is not going to be flattering on anyone. Definite Man Repeller territory.  This is one of the reasons Romeo Gigli was so brilliant: there was nothing gimmicky about his design sensibilities.

I thought that I would start with two coats that epitomize the dreamy world of Romeo Gigli and that both would be beautiful this fall and winter with a straight leg pant and a good boot with a heel or not.  There has been a lot of contrast on the runways with a play between volume and leaness.

Our first coat is a 1987 moss green cotton velvet cocoon-style coat with a kimono sleeve.

Our second Gigli coat is an all out glamorous and romantic coat in a crushed black velvet with a deep burgundy iridescence.  It can be worn fully buttoned with the high collar or left draped and open.  There are high slits on the side of the coat so you can seen the iridescent burgundy interior.

Why don't you wear the coats with... Stella McCartney's faux leather streamlined pants and a pair of Dries van Noten's black leather boots with a transparent heel available here

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Dream a Little Dream: Romeo Gigli

Depending on the dress and my mood, I can travel to Morocco of the 1970s, or Paris in the 1950s when Yves Saint Laurent was the fragile boy genius at Christian Dior, or a watery runway in 1997 when Alexander McQueen showed his La Poupée collection.  I think people are drawn to vintage not only because of the quality but its Romanticism.  We "vintage people" are dreamers.  

Romeo Gigli was a dreamer too. He dreamt of Empress Theodora's Byzantine splendor and Piero della Francesca's virginal beauties.  He dreamt of pre-Raphaelites and Edwardian tailoring.  He dreamt of oval coats reminiscent of those of the turn of the century. 

I have just purchased a small but wonderful collection of Romeo Gigli pieces from the 1980s.  Here are the first two:

The first piece is this incredible and light charcoal black coat with a repeat cut out pattern on the hem.  Romeo Gigli liked to play with proportion: something oversized would have been worn a tapered, high waisted pant or an extremely clingy dark dress.  (I have one of those black dresses packed away!  Very dark Gothic, Morticia Addams.  One must not walk but waft when wearing it!) 

1980s Romeo Gigli charcoal black coat with cut out work.  Will fit a variety of sizes.

The second piece is this claret red top with an Impressionistic painterly floral pattern.  Would be gorgeous belted or just loose as it it.

1980s claret red Romeo Gigli top.  Will fit a variety of sizes.

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Romeo Gigli: the High Priest of Haute Bohemia

Romeo Gigli defined the eccentric bohemian style of the late 1980s early 1990s.  His clothes felt like they had been on a spice scented journey on the Orient Express.  This shimmering dark plum colored metal jacket with its sumptuously long sleeves that bundle up into a shrunken silhouette is one of the standout pieces from Romeo Gigli.

Circa 1990 simmering metal Romeo Gigli jacket.  Fits a size 4 to a size 8.

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

Ode to Joy

Looking for that special piece? A whimsical accessory that will be a complete joy to wear and that can go with just about everything?

A glittering crystal embroidery vest/wrap by Romeo Gigli with beaded tassles is just the piece to add to your wardrobe. Romeo Gigli's work was always enveloped in a sense of a fragile, opulent world where mystery and adventure coincide. (The color is accurate in the first photo - it is a crisp ivory.)

Circa 1989 Romeo Gigli crystal beaded vest/wrap.

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