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

John Galliano, Nijinsky and the Ballets Russes

All aboard the John Galliano Express... puffs of grey steam envelop us as we walk down the platform in our Art Deco best.  I am wearing a Paul Poiret coat with silk and leather appliqué by Maison Ardor circa 1922, as the train departs, time slips by...

Where am I?  I ask as I disembark in Paris... is it 1922?  Is it the winter of 1998?  Is it 1909 and Nijinsky, mad, passionate, beautiful, doomed is about to dance in Folkine's Le Pavillon d' Armide?  I am swept away... wrapped in inky black mink, the fox collar collar shimmers, the color of the moon reflected in the water at midnight, frames my face...

John Galliano Winter 1998 Mink and Fox Cocoon Coat.  Photo by RARE vintage.

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. 

A Fashion Icon: A Black Leather Chanel Trench

A black leather coat is a little Girl Gone Wild:

A black leather coat is a little former Vogue Paris Editor/Style Icon:

A black leather trench by Chanel is mysterious, sexy, classic, timeless and a little naughty (just like you!)

Chanel leather coat.  French size 38

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Monsieur Givenchy and Miss Hepburn

Daisy and Elsa.  Mona and Cristobal.  C.Z. and Main.  Nan and Yves.  Famous client/designer couples.  The designer met their match in those women who made their clothes look even better.  Did I forget any famous designer/client couples?  Millicent and Charles?

And then there was Hubert de Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn.  Sabrina, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Charade, Love in the Afternoon, Funny Face, Paris When It Sizzles, How To Steal A Million, and Love Among Thieves.  All the films Givenchy dressed Audrey Hepburn for.

Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn at a fitting.

I adore Monsieur Givenchy.  I especially adore the early pieces so I was thrilled to find this fitted black velvet coat from the 1960s with high armholes, narrow sleeves and beaded buttons.

Can't you just see Audrey Hepburn in it?  Perhaps with this hat?

I love the beaded dome shaped buttons.

1960s Givenchy Couture fitted black velvet jacket.  Size 4.

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