Thrifty Finds

Vintage 1970's Gunne Sax dress by Jessica McClintock.

Thea Porter Couture at Decades

Thea Porter couture caftan circa 1960s. Already sold!

SJP in Caftan

Remembering House of Rochas

The fashion house Rochas was founded in 1925 by Marcel Rochas, the pioneer of skirts with pockets. Other than these skirts, Rochas was well known for the perfume Femme, but was never very acclaimed for high fashion. This is until 2003 when Belgian born Olivier Theyskens (pictured above) became the creative director for Rochas. He created a neo-Edwardian silhouette for the house which was critically acclaimed. Unfortunately, or I guess fortunately Theyskens is rebellious and refused to brand the label with affordable accessory lines. Proctor and Gamble who own the Rochas label were not to pleased and in 2006 discontinued the Rochas fashion portion of the house. I respect that Theyskens stuck to his guns, as branding and fashion are two separate entities. However, it is hard for a label to exist and not brand, as couture (and in many instances ready-to-wear) does not come cheap and production and labor is expensive. Anyhow don't cry for Theyskens, he is beautiful, the artistic director of Nina Ricci, AND is only 33! Also I just read that he is teaming up with Theory to create an affordable fashion line (I'm hoping that there will be just a little hint of Edwardian in there!). Anyhow, here is his fall 2005 collection for the House of Rochas, which has haunted my dreams for years....

Ossie Clark for Quorum

This dress by Ossie Clark for the hip 1960s London fashion boutique Quorum is on Ebay currently. The price, a little over 1600 dollars. I have been watching this dress for awhile now because it is so beautiful and a total fantasy dress. It is perfect for the Met Gala, but I'm afraid you also have to have a near perfect body for it to work, or at least be tall. It is really stunning though, the design is by Ossie Clark and the material by Celia Birtwell.

Met Costume Gala 2010

These were my favorite looks of the evening, SJP looking glam 1970s and Leighton Meester fab 1930s/70s? Here is what I would wear to the gala, it is a Pauline Trigere dress up for auction on Ebay currently, price 750.00 and totally worth it, if you have money that is! Well, the pics are enough for me. Please ignore the gross mannequin.

Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona

I just love Vicky Cristina Barcelona, but I really really love Penelope Cruz's style in this film. The look is kind of a disheveled elegance, a bed head one could only dream of.

Lily Allen - Hippie De Luxe

Lily Allen at the Ivor Novello Awards where she won a few awards. However I would like to applaud her on her de luxe style here. I'm guessing this is Chanel as she and Karl Lagerfeld are tight and she is (was?) a "Chanel girl" (very similar to "Bond girls" only more clothed). Really lovely.

3.1 Phillip Lim JUMPSUIT

I guess I would say that this and the Issey Miyake dress are "thrifty finds," but I also feel like they kind of go beyond that because they are rare. I know, this is a jumper and I'm sparing you from having to look at the full length bottoms. Just look at the lovely 100% silk blue gray material and enamel buttons. I'm not sure what to make of this onesie but I have kept it in the corner of my eye all night which means that by tomorrow I will probably have tried it on.

Behold - Issey Miyake Avant Garde Kimono

Sweeter words have never fallen from my mouth...."vintage Issey Miyake avant garde kimono." If you haven't heard from me in awhile it is because I have bee staring at this dress which I have hung in my hallway like an art piece. It is 100% cotton, with a bottom layer of heavier perforated cotton which creates the effect of delicate quilting on the outer layer, and the cherry on top is a cashmere belt! It is so sick how much I love just looking at this dress. I really don't think that the artistry comes through in the photos either. Well, if you know me and you around stop by and take a look before I inevitably sell it!

Glorious! Tilda Swinton as La Casati

I was just looking for a drawing of Marchesa Casati to make some stationary and these images popped up! I have been jabbering on for weeks now about how Tilda Swinton would be a great Casati. I adore Tilda Swinton and I think she has great unusual style (although I really thought I had a revolutionary idea for casting Swinton in a Casati biopic). Oh well, enjoy!

Bradbury Building

I went to the Bradbury building again today, so magical. I used to always get there right as they were locking up, but recently have made it in before closing twice! I always thought that I understood and was sufficiently amazed by the detail in this structure, but until I saw it in real life, I had no idea how beautiful and intricate it is. We also went into the knife store next door which has been around for 70 years, really cool, lots of harmonicas. Anyway, if you don't know, Blade Runner was shot in the Bradbury Building.

Chanel Cruise 2011 - Highlights

Via WWD I checked out Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel Cruise 2011 collection, which has definite Hippie de Luxe inspiration. Here are some of the highlights, there were a lot of NOs for me but here are the YESs!


I can see a young Marisa Berenson wearing this on the French Riviera.


Classic Chanel with a summer twist. The shoes are glorious, I'm googoo for gladiators, even though I used to maker fun of them all the time, I gave in.

Lose the hat and give her a Hippie de Luxe bouffant.


Classic Chanel, modern fit.

Perfect.

Perfect...YES...IT IS PERFECT! I want those boots, and the body to wear this onesie.

De Luxe.

I love the homage to the classic Chanel suit, which by its very nature is not fit for Summer weather. A suit with sandals seems like it would not work either, but all of these proportions work to perfection.

Same thing as above.

Sean Young - Blade Runner

I was just looking at pics of Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House which is for sale in the Hollywood Hills for a cool 7.2 million and found this image of Sean Young from Blade Runner, which was shot in the Ennis House.