Tales From A Vintage Wardrobe

Posh Poiret Print?

This stunning vintage dress was the result of a last minute, unplanned 10 minute treasure hunting expedition. I was avoiding doing things I didn't feel like doing and popped into one of the shops I frequent and there she was, waiting for me. Don't you just love when that happens? Serendipity, once again.

I was bit stumped as to how to describe the print on this dress at first.  But I keep going back to Paul Poiret, when his work took on the influence of orientalism. 

It's about a size 4/6...not a tag or label to be seen, so off to do some research.  Look for it soon in The Shoe.

(Addendum~4:00pm EST 23 November 2011: In the six hours that have lapsed since this post, I have been provided with updated information about the print on this dress.  Please visit here for more information.)

Black Velvet & Roses

I'm busy as a bee getting ready for Saturday's Urban Vintage Bazaar --ironing, stitching & tagging away.  But after I snapped this photo for the event blog, I had to share it with you.

This stunning gown is by Ben Barrack, NY c1950s.  Mr. Barrack specialized in designing for petites, and this gown is exactly that...I had to pin the back to Coco as the zipper had no intention of heading north even over that tiny frame.  It's a heavy weight rose brocaded velvet with only a tasteful bow at the waist for detail.  It is, I venture to say, something Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy would fall in love with...much like the other treasures I've found of late.  It weighs a ton and has a sort of suspended taffeta cage that sits at the waist to keep the fabric from being tight against the wearer...I know there is a more proper term for it, but right now my brain is vintage mush.  Please excuse me!

I will be taking it along with me to the show and if it doesn't find a new home there you can look for it in the shop by the end of the month. 
 

Halston & Karan...They Go Way Back

 
(quote borrowed from "The Berg Companion to Fashion" by Valerie Steele)
 
This 1970s Halston 3-piece khaki wool suit is on it's way to The Shoe.  Everyone knows menswear inspired suits are "in" for fall, but I also found it interesting how boxy the jacket is on this suit, another very fashion-forward current trend.  I also remembered reading this quote by Donna Karan about how much Halston inspired her work as a designer.  I finally found it again and realized that although the suit pictured above from her fall collection (far right) is different in many ways, the "simplicity, fit and the importance of uniform" is there and the same. 

Update:  You can find the suit here.

The Dress Has Many Faces: Anne Fogarty

 

Thought I'd share a sneak peek of this amazing Anne Fogarty dress coming to The Shoe later today.  The belt gave me a way to go....so here are just four of many looks I came up with for it.  It even looks great sans belt.  But the best part?  French cuffs and turtle cuff links...how cute is that?  

Update: just listed it, you can find it here!

In The Press: US Vogue

 

 

An article in April in the Nostalgia column of US Vogue prompted a letter from yours truly.  I had just discovered Charles James, thanks to that fabulous gray dress Angelina Jolie wore in "The Tourist" and was thrilled to see the article was about a woman who knew him well and her memories of their time together...you can read what I thought of it in the July issue of US Vogue, Talking Back, page 38. 

(You can read my letter in it's entirety here. )

 

 

 

 

Kimono Craze

I've had a bit of a "Kimono" thing going on lately.  It started when I found a great polished cotton cherry red one while out thrifting one day and decided it would be the perfect thing to wear when I am "beautifying"~~you know: masking, waxing, coloring, & painting myself in an effort to fend off the damages of time.  Considering it cost less than a Stella at my favorite watering hole, I can justify the chance of "ruining" it~~and it looks much more elegant than an oversized t~shirt & boxers.

 
 

A few weeks later, I scored this amazing vintage Haori and I was hooked.  You can, literally, wear it with just about anything from lingerie to jeans and it looks amazing.  I was in love.

 
When I saw this image from Dries Van Noten's Spring 2011 collection it caught my eye...not quite Haori or Kimono, but there was just something about it...

 

Then in March, I came across this little beauty: a vintage Pomare Hawaii Kimono style top with a keyhole neck & frog closure and just like the little piggy I carried it all the way home...because it reminded me of something I had seen but just could not seem to recall what or where...

 

Until I was flipping through my March issue of US Vogue and there it was:  an ad for the very same Dries Van Noten top!  

 
(photo source: Hollister Hovey)

To wrap it up, today I visited one of my favorite blogs of all time: Hollister Hovey.  And there she was, with her sister Porter, showing us exactly how to wear a Kimono perfectly. 

 

This one is for the shop and will have to feed your Kimono craze and not mine as we were not made for each other.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And In This Corner...

Ok, I admit I feel a bit poorly about ranting on (and on, and on, and on....) about the whole eco-UNfriendly recycled vintage dress/gown controversy that I wrote about yesterday and a few weeks ago.  So you can imagine how thrilled I was to read about a much more "friendly" and well executed vintage gown makeover in the May issue of Vogue.

Elettra Wiedemann is one very fortunate (and beautiful) young lady.  Daughter of the stunning Isabella Rossellini and granddaughter of the iconic screen beauty Ingrid Bergman, she found herself the heir of a trunk full of Ms. Bergman's evening dresses that had somehow been long forgotten (a vintage treasure hunters dream find!)   She humbly admits: "My family is so amazing, but it's also so overwhelming and overpowering...I'd felt honored to be part of my family but also not sure what accomplishments were mine and what accomplishments belonged to someone else bigger than me."  She also makes this insightful comment:  "It's interesting how clothes can connect you to a sentimentality that can be very complicated sometimes."  (I nod my head in silent agreement as I contemplate the part of my grandmothers wardrobe I've inherited...)

Ms. Wiedemann, in honor of her grandmother, has chosen to wear one of her gowns to the Costume Institute Gala (aka The Met Ball ) on the 2nd of May.  The gown she chose was created for Ms. Bergman by the postwar Roman couturiere Fernanda Gattinoni, who also created the costumes for Ms. Bergman in the 1952 film Europa '51.  Designer Prabal Gurung was called upon as the "cosmetic surgeon" for the dress, as there were a few issues with fit & fabric.  Both heir & designer agreed that it was important to maintain the integrity of the dress and to pay homage to it's original owner, which, being her grandmother, would be of utmost importance to any grateful heir of such beautiful pieces of the past.

"It's still the same dress," says Wiedemann, "but it feels a little bit sexier, more contemporary, and younger."

"The beauty of this dress," Gurung adds, "is it's history."

I think we have a winner.

 

(All quotes from May 2011 US Vogue p. 172 & 174)

Go With Your Gut

After being stood up for an appointment yesterday afternoon, I decided to take a drive to one of my treasure hunting haunts, as I hadn't been in awhile and I needed some cheering up.  Every light was red.  Every Sunday driver was out on a Wednesday afternoon.  Every pedestrian decided to cross right in front of me.  As the minutes ticked by, I almost turned around.  But something inside me kept saying to press onward.

 
 

That something turned out to be this...labeless but gorgeous on every count~a 1950s teal green silk satin dress with rosette floral detail & belt...

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And this...Emanuel Ungaro Parallele Paris black velvet & satin wrap dress & collar...

Look for the teal green number soon (off to drycleaners), but you'll have to wait a little while for the black velvet, unless you absolutely cannot, then email me for details.

 

 

Take On The Rain In Style

 

Yves St. Laurent 1970s Vintage Trench Coat....find it here.

So You Thought Beige Was Boring?