This is a lovely set that is unusual in that it is a larger size which can be a rarity in vintage. The print is so shocking for its time period and feels like a precursor for what in the 1980s. The client that commissioned this one must have been a bold girl to have ordered such a bold statement piece. It is two pieces, a dress with a matching coat that slips over it. The dress itself is made from a silk jersey with a stylized blue leopard print. It has a simple cut with an undefined waist, long sleeves and scooped neckline. It cut very loose and full through the body, almost caftan like, though you could easily belt it if you wanted to add more shape. The coat is the same print and the cut equally as simple. The fabric is more of a jersey knit and I like the slight contrast between the two fabric choices. The collar is rounded and simple. Down the front it closes with a series of large, clear acrylic buttons that have a blue center for contrast. The body of the coat is also cut loose and easy with that same slight flare to give it more volume as it nears the hem. Excellent condition.

Both pieces are fully lined in a hand set blue silk. The dress closes at the back with a painted metal zipper. The sleeves are not lined in the dress. The coat closes at the front with the buttons as show. Proper buttonholes. Hand finished. It is definitely more on the XL side.

Coat
Sleeves: 27"
Shoulders: 18.5"
Bust: to 27" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: to 26.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 30.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 49.5" from neck to hem

Dress
Sleeves: 27"
Shoulders: 17.5"
Bust: 26.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 26" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 32" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 48.5" from neck to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: LRG- XL

Item# DD2977

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.

Karlie Kloss wore the twin of this dress to the Balmain after party in Paris that season and the photos instantly went world wide. This was a peice that was available exclusively through Farfetch so very few were produced making it even harder to get. This one still has its farfetch tags and has never been worn. Olivier Rousteing said of this collection to Vogue: "Welcome to my jungle," Olivier Rousteing pronounced backstage, declaring this fearless mash-up of safari chic and hip-hop style to be his most personal collection ever. "I'm French, I'm black, and I'm proud to be at Balmain, but this is a message of freedom and globalism."

The dress is made from a leopard print jersey that is cut supermodel long. It has a open back dress that leaves an expanse of skin bare. It has the signature Balmain chunky zipper at the back that sits low below the waist, becoming a design feature in itself. The halterneck sits high at the front with a gilded and embossed lion head snaps fastening it at the back of the neck. I love the black detailing that sweeps up and around the neckline and forms a criss-cross pattern around the waist. This draws the eye in and acts both as a fabulous detailing to the dress and also it gives the illusion of a waist cinching belt and makes you look even tinier through the waist then you are. The hem is cut longer at the back then the front for a trained effect asymmetric hem and a super model long, sweeping floor-length that features a thigh-high split at the front. Original tags still attached. Excellent condition

Has a full black stretch jersey inner lining. Closes at the back of the neck with snaps and at the low back waist with a zipper. Tagged a 42 but Balmain fits small. Original tags attached. Never worn.

Bust: no true side seams
Waist: 12-13" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: approx 16 " from top of bodice to waist
Skirt: 48" from waist to front hem, extends another 20" past that at the back
Front slit: 33" from hem to top of slit

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD2970

Reference Photos: Karlie Kloss at the Balmain After Party on September 25, 2014 in Paris, France.

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.

This dress is very interesting because it was not a runway piece shown that year but a version of it was worn by none other then Hilary Clinton. My client bought this at one of the charity sales in NYC and I am sure that it was a custom made piece for a client based on the Hilary dress. It has no label but is the exact fabric of Hilary's and has all the hallmarks and fine work of an ODLR piece. It is gorgeous and has those classic Oscar lines with a fitted bodice and his signature full skirt with all the underskirts built in underneath to give it that beautiful shape. The bodice is sleeveless and fitted to the body. At the back it drops into a low V to show an expanse of skin. The skirt has beautiful fullness and movement and the hem is curved up and inside with a deep inner hem of fabric and silk that helps to give it the fullness. A secondary shorter interior skirt adds to the fullness you see. A wonderful and iconic piece. Excellent condition

Lined in a combination of the same exterior silk, silk and a silk organza. It closes with a back zipper. Secondary inner skirt and pockets hidden along the seams. No size tag or labels. It appears to have been worn very little if at all.

Bust: 17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 12.5" flat across at the inner waist stay  maybe 13" from side seam to side seam if you don't do the stay up
Hips: open
Bodice: 17" from top of shoulder to waist
Skirt: 30" from waist to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD2935

Reference Photo: Hillary Clinton in Oscar de la Renta, July 19 2003.

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.

The fall 1994 collection from Todd Oldham featured was a heady mix of supermodels and red carpet worthy gowns. As far as I am aware, this is one of examples of this particular dress from the show that were ever made. One was the one that Karen Mulder wore for the runway show and that was donated by Todd Oldham to The Met, and this example that was custom made for the Ebony Fashion Fair.  It represents a remarkable time in fashion history and I feel was one of the pinnacle gowns of the show.

The dress is cut into a long column made up of solid, densely applied bead work that is entirely hand done. The bead work has been applied onto a graduating colored silk going from a light baby blue to a deeper tone by the time it reaches the hem. It is cut to follow and highlight every curve. The simple, sleek lines allow that wonderful bead work to take center stage. Two types of beads have been used and this combination of the two create an exotic 'leopard' feeling print that covers the dress from shoulder to hem. I love the resulting combination of the pastel blue and silver. The neckline and back are scooped and the waist nips in just a touch but without being seamed. It is super model length with a slightly trained hem at the back. The full coverage of the glass beads makes this feel very heavy off the body but once on, it falls and the weight is evenly balanced out. Inside, it is completely finished in a silver toned white silk satin silk that slides over the skin and gives it a sensual feel. When you move, all of that wonderful bead work captures the light and the dress seems to glow from within. Presents as excellent condition with some small condition notes to review below.

Fully lined in a cream silk satin and closes with a hand set back zipper. It appears to be made entirely done by hand. The gown is very heavy and there is a slight amount of beads loose or missing along the straps and there are beads and loose threads along the train. This was worn on the runway for the Ebony Fashion Fairs and this is all from being worn in shows. Inside the upper bust and along the hem the interior satin has scuffs and discolorations - nothing that shows when on but mentioned for accuracy.

Bust: to 16.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 14" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 67" from shoulder to back train

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item#DD2188

Runway photos by Ron Galella/Wire Image - Karen Mulder walks the Todd Oldham Fashion Show on April 7, 1994 at Bryant Park in New York City. / Museum reference photo from The Metropolitan Museum of Art  'The Collection Online'.

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.

Donald Brooks started his boutique line in 1971, but he closed his business in 1973 giving us a small range in order to date this piece. The coat does double duty as it can be worn at two different lengths. It does this by having the bottom hem attach by a zipper and series of snaps cleverly set so that once zipped together it seems seamless both inside and out. When the bottom panel is in place it is supermodel long and the bottom panel of fur has the pelts set horizontally to contrast the vertical lines above it. Once this panel is removed the coat falls to just past the knee. The shape is simple and easy but it does have weight to it due to the sheer volume of fur.  Love the huge collar. I believe this to be coyote but am not a fur expert. This one is not 100% perfect but presents as excellent overall. Please review condition notes below

Fully lined in a brown silky rayon. There is a fur hook present along the edge but is it the only one I see and the corresponding loop seems to be missing. There is a button high up behind the collar but no corresponding loop. The buyer would have to wear as is or have new hooks added to where they prefer them to be. There is a small amount of wear evident along the edges of the cuffs and at the front edge just under the collar. There is also a thinning to the pelt along the back bottom - please review the photos of each area. Priced accordingly and sold as is. Hidden pickets on each hip.

Sleeves: 24"
Shoulders: 17"
Bust: 19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 18.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Length: 45" from neck to 1st hem, 59" to second when panel is added on.

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# C455

I have a small collection of historically important, designer labelled vintage furs and fur trimmed pieces stored away in my archives that I will be slowly posting over the course of this year and next. I will no longer be buying furs for the shop moving forward. I feel like times have changed and while there still is a place for vintage furs for some, including collectors and historians, many modern girls are choosing other options. Many of the pieces in my collection are representative of the designer during a set time period in history that was different then our modern outlook. I have decided that the best course to handle this controversial issue is to let the pieces I have go and refrain from any further buys from here on in.

This garment is in clean, as found condition. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.

In the Vogue review for this collection Sarah Mower noted: "Miuccia Prada had a sound bite for her Spring collection. "It's primitive," she said, "going back to what counts." ... When the chips are down, there is no one who can turn up the thermostat of subversive sexual provocation quite as high as Mrs. Prada. Her girls, their skin glistening as if on a fevered summer's night, might have been passing through on their way to or from lovers' assignations, their clothes disarranged in various states of falling-off or looking as if they might do so at any moment. Rumpled and crinkled fabrics have been appearing all over this season, but never with such sly intent. One pull of a trailing drawstring tape and, whoops! A person could find herself half naked. There was something fabulously Italian about all this shameless reveling in femininity. The fifties overtones, with the high chignons, the ruched bras, and swishing rear action in the below-knee pencil skirts, managed to channel the heyday of Cinecittà without cliché. Best of all, this is a collection destined to look even better on a woman with a real body than it does on a teen model. And that, Mrs. Prada surely knows, really is "what counts.""

 The dress is amazing and was one of the standouts in the show. These were photoed everywhere and this snake print was one of the biggest looks of the season. This dress is particularly fabulous because of its amazing cut. It has that sexy, fitted fifties feel to it and the open sides are shocking when you catch that glimpse of bare skin. The fabric is deliberately rumpled and crinkled and I love the slimming effect the panels of black on either side of the print have on the body. It skims over your curves and ends just past the knee. On the side it buttons and is partially closed over the hip area and then up the side it ties to close allowing you to tie or loosen it to fit as you please. At the top of the shoulder it ties. Really one of the stand out Prada pieces and it feels as wearable now as it did then, perhaps even more so. Excellent condition

Unlined and closes at the side as described above. Tagged a Prada 40.

Bust: 16-18" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 14-16" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 18-20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 35.5" from neck to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD2829

Reference Photos: (1-2) Look 26 from S/S 2009 Prada Collection.  /  (3) S/S Prada Ad Campaign by Steven Meisel.  /  (4) Racquel Zimmerman in Prada for US Vogue March 2009. Photo by David Sims.

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.

Purposely frayed edges and a whisper light silk in a snakeskin pattern make this wonderful little Resort 2011 Lanvin dress still feel fresh. Under the genius direction of Alber Elbaz, the collection was edgy but simple. Looks 4 & 25 shared the same print and once in production it was a series of simple shifts that went to the shops. I love pieces from the resort collections - designers do a tighter edit and often explore new ideas that may or may not end up on the next catwalk. They also tend to be more creative and production is smaller meaning less pieces are out there. The dress is a single layer of scarf weight silk so weighs almost nothing. The edges at the waist, neck and sleeves are left frayed and de-constructed - a favorite detailing of Alber's work. The shape is simple and easy and the print and color act as a neutral color wise allowing you to go wot pretty much any color for shoes and a bag. At the same time that print makes a statement and take the dress to another level. Excellent condition

Unlined and zips to close at the back. I see no size tag so please go by measurements below.

Shoulders: 14.5"
Bust: 16" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 13.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 18" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 14" from dress neck to waist
Skirt: 23.5" from waist to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD2482

Reference Photos: Lanvin Resort 2011, Looks #4 & #25 (from vogue.com)

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.

This was Look 30 in the Fall Prada collection and was only produced in limited numbers and was wait listed worldwide that season. Style.com said of this collection:

When the going gets tough, no one can cut an argument for great design with as much substance, conviction and richness of intelligence as Miuccia Prada. Using an unlikely mix of potentially dowdy British tweeds and men’s shirting, bright, lustrous William Morris prints, humble lining silks and deluxe furs and skins, she performed sheer alchemy to create a vision of high chic for hard times.....

Part of this collection’s genius is that it has continuity and ingenuity: all the hallmarks of Miuccia Prada's talent are on show. Take the way she has of ordaining the peculiar as newly desirable. This season it’s Willam Morris–by–way–of–Liberty flower prints, used as formfitting knee-length dresses, shirts and a deerstalker hat. Or her way of letting the uptight formality out of eveningwear with form-skimming dresses in unpressed lining silks or crinkled georgette, shown with fabric neck pieces (a continuation of Spring’s beaded jewelry). Visually and intellectually, this is a collection that hit the high notes. Post-show, Prada explained her endeavor to be “a desperate search for beauty as we wait for war.” Bad times or no, it's fashion guaranteed to make women desperate to shop.

The one I have here is not only a great wearable size but was never worn so looks like it stepped out of a time capsule. It is made of a soft colored leather and is finished to look like an Ostrich skin. The leather is so soft it has an almost suede feel and look to it. The cut is classic Prada with that over-sized feel and loose and easy cut. It has no front closures but was worn belted with a thick leather belt that feels like you borrowed it form your boyfriends closet. It was intended to be layered and used as a style statement with its very simplicity being the design detail needed. It is an amazing piece that feels as fresh and cutting edge now as it did the day in walked the runway. Excellent, unworn condition.

Fully lined in a white silk satin. No closures but has its original belt as seen. Tagged a Prada 42 and meant to be worn slightly over-sized

Sleeves: 18"
Shoulders: 19"
Bust: 22"-variable flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 22"-variable flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 23"-variable flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: "19.5 from top of bodice to top of waist
Skirt: 20.5" from top of waist to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# C380

Reference runway photo from style.com / Photographed for creative purposes by Lily and lilac (Judy inc), Stylist: Nadia Pizzimenti (Judy inc), Hair and Makeup: Sheri Stroh (plutino group), Model: Dauphine (Elmer Olsen).

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.

This gown is so spectacular and so striking - it is really an amazing piece. I can date it exactly as it seems to have been deaccessioned from the F.I.T. Museum and still has its original museum tag with the date and donor - a Mrs. Mortimer Solomon, who after a bit of research seems to have been a fabulous Palm Beach resident who was an avid client of Adolfo and who donated many pieces to both FIT and The Met. The gown is a silk taffeta with a bold spot print. The skirting is a red giraffe feel print on white with black edging. The bodice has a softer lack and white print. It is strapless and the bodice feels like ti was literally wrapped around the wearer and tied with that large bow at the front. The skirt is set just under the bust and gently widens to a beautiful Aline silhouette with a slight feel of fullness that the fabric choice assists with. It is very light and airy feeling when on but has a strong boned foundation. The tag is numbered but whether that was done at the atelier or at a later date is unknown. It is a true beauty! Excellent condition.

Fully lined on off white tissue silk and closes with a back painted metal zipper. Note there are two small storage spots that, because of the print really are not noticeable. One is barely visible on the bow just above the knot - super size the photo and you will still be hard pressed to find it and the other on the skirt and I have shown it.

Bust: 16" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist at seam: 13" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: 8" from top of bodice to waist seam
Skirt: 43" from waist to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD1826

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.