The Alice Olins from the Times went to Christies a few months ago to check out amazing vintage fashion pieces they were set to auction off. It included amazing vintage dresses from the likes of Pucci, Ozzie Clark and Dior with this one stand out in the form of a strapless pink Christian Dior dress (which looks much like a few pieces in Alexander McQueen's spring 2008 collection). Estimated by Monica Turcich from Christies to sell for just £200 - £400, it would have been a great vintage pick up (if the fit was right). So it made me think, we trawl around vintage and second hand shops in hope of a bargain buy, so why not hit an auction house for quality vintage designer pieces that are almost guaranteed to be authentic? for great buys, but we never really think of going to an auction house. Perhaps we should all mark down the next date of Christie's next fashion auction (this September) and see if we can pick up an Hermes Birkin or Kelly for ourselves, after all there seemed to be quite a few available in this clip.
There aren't many things that beat a day leisurely trawling through the Portobello Road markets for some fab vintage finds - all while enjoying an icecream on a warm summer's day. But it's not always sunny in London (you don't say!?) and sometimes you don't always have the luxury of a whole day to wander up and down the little streets, trying on pretty dresses and antique jewellery.
So with this in mind, the Cooper sisters - Lisette, Victoria and Georgina - have set up PretAPortobello.com, so you can have a slice of the Portobello action from the comfort of your own home. Pieces from up-and-coming designers can be found alongside vintage treasures, and you can even barter with stall owners to get a true-blue market experience. Look out for Spitalfields market retailers and others to be added soon...
Dior for $60 - yes, you did read that correctly! From tomorrow (4 June), Yoox.com are kicking off their amazing sale, with stunning vintage Dior pieces gathered from far and wide.
Trawling through eBay can bring down even the most avid fashionista, I mean try looking for suede boots when all you get is a sea of UGGs?!
I've just spent half an hour looking through all the great links that Jenine from The Coveted has picked through and decided that this is way to good to save for tomorrow's Pick of the Blogs. She lists 23 different eBay stores, and there's something for everyone: from Vintage to Designer the cherry-picked selection of shop makes buying on eBay a pleasure all over again.
Anyone looking to be transformed into a 1990s prom belle of the ball? If you loved the nineties or have a costume party to attend, here's a dress for you. Miss Selfridge's vintage collection has just released this Red Squiggle Flower Dress which features a black squiggle flower pattern detail. It comes complete with a ruched waist and ruffled detail at the hips. Just slip into some red leather pumps and you could be commanding any spotlights in any 1990s Molly Ringwald movie.
Any excuse to buy vintage clothing and I'm all ears... Thandie Newton wants us all to get a little bit greener by stocking up on secondhand clothing, instead of always purchasing new.
"It is grotesque how out of control manufacturing has become, and the excess, the pollution that's caused by it," the British actress said.
"Vintage (clothing) is not only glorious and stylish, it's also the way forward in terms of recycling. Whenever I go into great vintage stores, I wonder why we ever buy new things."
There is a plethora of great vintage clothing available online, but it can be hard to find. Vintage websites tend to charge heavily for their editing skills, so using your own style savvy is often the way to get a bargain...if you have the patience to try ebay. Sadly, there are a lot of people selling a lot of crap on ebay, and fishing out the good stuff from the bad can take forever, especially when you also need to take into consideration sizing and condition. Thank heavens, then, for sellers like Libra Vintage, who do all the hard work for us. The photography is great and her style is spot-on, making it really easy to see how these old pieces can be modernised. Now, If only I could pull off red and lilac, headbands and pink aviators...
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