In an amazing testament to construction and pure joy of form, this extravagant full length skirt by Yves Saint Laurent is perfection. The skirt is made of a rich combination of a black silk taffeta that has a scattering of little embellishments that to me look like little flames. Each of these are individually embroidered into the fabric with a coral red edging and a metallic gold thread center. These cover the surface of the skirt quite extensively and it is only as you get closer that you realize what those little pops of color represent. At the hem a dramatic flounce of ruffle made from the same fabric is the perfect finish. The waist is banded and cinched and it has an extremely long matching tie sash belt attached, that you can wrap, tie as you wish, and cinch the waist in even more. The skirt has yards and yards of fabric in it so is very full and you gets lots of lovely volume when you move. At the same time his genius cutting abilities make you look lean and long even when you are standing still. At one point, I had a similar skirt to this in the shop that was from roughly the same time period and that one had its original price tag still. It was originally over $6k. This would have been similarly priced I am sure. This is a key look that had repercussions through all of Yves decades of work and a rare and important find.  Excellent condition

Unlined and closes with a side zipper and flat hook and eye at the waist. One pocket along the hip opposite to the zipper. Tagged a vintage YSL 40. It looks to have been worn very little if at all.

Waist: 14" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Length: 44" from waist to hem
The sash is attached on one side of the waist only and it measures 4" wide and is almost 9' long

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# S865

Reference Photos: Cherie, Owner of Shrimpton Couture.

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 Balenciaga label launched in 1937, closed briefly from 1940 -1945 and then reopened until Cristobal's retirement in 1968. This gown was made in the Paris atelier for the 1962 season. The only other version of it is held in the Balenciaga archives. A photo of the back of this same dress can be found in the book 'Balenciga and Spain', making this dress very well documented. This is true Haute Couture from when Balenciaga himself was a member of  the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Paris and designing for his label. Pieces made during this brief period under Cristobal are very rare and this is an especially fine example. The legacy of influential Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga, continues to today. He is often reffered to as 'The Master of Couture' and rightly so. The recent V&A exhibit 'Balenciaga: Shaping Fashion' 'examined the work and legacy of influential Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga, with over 100 pieces crafted by ‘the master’ of couture, his protégées and contemporary fashion designers working in the same innovative tradition.'. I feel that this gown could have easily been included in that exhibit and is of museum quality.

The construction of the dress is highly sculptural in nature and a beautiful example of Cristóbal's work. The silk has a satin finish and the heavier weight of this fabric choice allows for the precise, sculptural lines that you see. The sleeves sit just off the shoulder curving away from the neckline in an elegant line. At the front the neckline curves upwards to bring the eye to the face. At the back it curves down to draw the eye to the long trailing bow that runs down the back. The bodice is fitted with a boned and cupped corset inside. This shapes the wearer and cinches in the waist. The hips curve outwards and the skirt falls to the floor in a perfect line that gradually widens out as it nears the hem. The back is magnificent with a a flat half bow at the center back that covers the fastenings. This trails down to the hem and the the skirt dips down slightly with extra pleating for fullness.

Inside the dress is a highly structured foundation garment. The interior corseting has all the things one looks for in couture of this time period. It is boned by hand with steel boning. It is a full inner corset with a complicated construction of elasticized fabric combined with built in cups that are covered in a silk net. This interior corset closes with a series of lingerie hooks and there is even an added a panel of soft silk velvet that is placed under the hooks and against your skin so you do not feel the hooks at all. The dress zips up over this and despite all of this interior work all you see on the exterior is that beautiful sculpted shape with not a single bump or creases to give away the construction underneath. Examples of his work are held in museums world wide and a gown in this condition and color is a rare find indeed. It is in very good condition but does have some small flaws. Please review the description notes below

Unlined with a full built in interior corset and a half skirt that helps to create some volume at the back. It is completely made by hand as the parameters of Haute Couture dictates. It closes with a handset back fine painted metal zipper and the interior corset closes with a series of lingerie hooks. Handset snaps close the lower skirt over the zipper and secure the bow into place. The Haute Couture label and numbered tag underneath are present. There are some faint marks in the fabric around the waistline and some slight fold lines in the fabric here and there from storage. Some rust marks are seen on the interior corset and some torn seams and marks on the interior top bodice and just at the very edge of the seam on the exterior. I have photoed all of the areas. Please review the photos after the label and tape number shot and before the reference photo. None compromise the integrity if the piece. It appears the inner hem was redone at a later date as the thread does not match anything else and looks like it was not done by hand. It was photoed on a size 2 dressmakers form and just fit so best for a size 0-2.

Due to the rarity and nature of this gown it is sold as a final sale.

Bust: 15" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 11.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Length: 54" from shoulder to front hem, 56" to back hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XXS-XS

Item# DD2881

Reference Photos: (1) From the book 'Balenciaga & Spain'.  /  (2) From the Cristobal Balenciaga Museoa.

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 evening coat is incredible. I love the silk brocades from this time period and this one does not disappoint. The coat is exquisite in person and even better then how it photoed. The coat is made from a beautiful embroidered brocade that has gold and silver threads running through it. There are also threads in tones of pink and the combination of that against the soft ivory of the base. Even though the entire coat has a metallic glint to it, the soft pastel palette used makes it seem subtle and refined. The lines of the coat are beautiful and very representative of this time period. I love the rounded and padded collar and how the snap is set in at its end so when closes you get a complete circle effect. The inner silk is stitched in a intricate design that gives hidden detailing that only the wearer will know about until the coat opens or you take it off. It buttons to just past the hip and the shape gradually widens out as it nears the hem. It is so chic and so rich feeling - you would be hard pressed to find anything like it again. It was undoubtedly a custom piece. Excellent condition

Fully lined in a beautiful ivory silk that is stitched in an Asian pattern all around the under edges. This stitching/quilting effect runs up along the edge of the front and around the top inner neckline. The coat closes with fabric covered buttons down the front. The piping along the collar has a hidden snap to fully close the two ends together. Hidden pockets along the inset front seams

Sleeves: 21"
Shoulders: 14.5"
Bust: 21" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 22" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 24" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 54" from neck to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# C485

Reference Photos: Cherie, Owner of Shrimpton Couture, by Erin Leydon.

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

I believe that like the other Patrick Kelly I just listed, that this one is also from the Fall 1988 collection but could not find an exact reference. I say that because that particular collection featured a lot of feathered neckline pieces. If it is not in that season it would certainly have been around that time period.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art recently hosted an exhibit of the work of Patrick Kelly. The show notes state: "“I want my clothes to make you smile”—that was the goal of late African American designer Patrick Kelly in creating his bold, bright, and joyful creations. Kelly achieved this on the streets, nightclubs, and runways of New York, Paris, and beyond in the heady, inventive, and often-subversive urban milieu of the 1980s....Kelly’s work pushed racial and cultural boundaries with golliwog logos, Aunt Jemima bandana dresses, and his ubiquitous black baby-doll brooches. His playful looks were inspired by his muse, Josephine Baker, and admiration for couturiers Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Yves Saint Laurent, among others."

The dress is as exuberant and  over-the-top as you would expect from a piece of Patrick Kelly's work. It is made from a black & purple brocade that has a quilted detailing that runs over the fabric. This gives it an almost padded feel to the fabric and is very unusual. It is cut to hug the body and show every curve. The waist is nipped in through vertical seaming and the skirt is cut to follow the hips and sits slim cut below that. Kelly has squared off the single shoulder on the one side and and kept that sleeve long and lean. The sleeve ends in a point which is a small detail that I love for its unexpectedness. The other shoulder is left bare for a flash of skin. I love the fluffy explosion of black feathers that sits all the way around the neckline - this is what gives us the clue to the collection date and makes the dress so wonderful. As you get closer you also notice that the purple bits on the fabric are not just any design - they are each and elaborately done, long feather design, perfectly tying everything together. Excellent condition.

Fully lined in a black silky rayon and dress closes at the side with a hidden set zipper. Light boning through the bodice. Appears to have never been worn. Tagged a 42

Sleeve: 25"
Bust: 18-19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 15 " flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 39" from shoulder to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD3105

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

Besides its Haute Couture origins, this Emanuel Ungaro set has the added modern provenance of being worn to Madonna's birthday party in Italy by stylist B. Akerlund. It has also been photoed for creative purposes with all those reference photos included here. 

A brilliant mix of bright, primary colors have been used to create this wonderful couture skirt and top set. Both pieces are made from high quality silks that have subtly different weights and finishes to them. The top is more of a soft draped silk, while the skirt is made from a silk taffeta to give it more shape and volume. The finishes on the silk also are different and become a part of the design itself. The top has a subtle floral design woven into the silk and the skirt has dots. The top is a deep red silk cut loose and easy with billowing sleeves that button at each cuff. The front plunging keyhole is edged and highlighted with gold cord and has inset bands of silk. The green taffeta skirt has a cinched and banded waist done in a bright yellow silk. It  extends out into extra long, attached ties that are wrapped and tied around the waist. On the skirt there is an attached front panel of fabric in a play on an apron,  that has a beautiful painted scene. Perhaps inspired by Paul Gauguin? The contrast of the jeweled colors and the painted panel on the skirt give it a wonderfully couture folk art feel. Excellent condition with one small item to note below.

The skirt is backed in a white, fine silk organza and closes at the waist with a zipper and flat hook and eye at the waist. The top is unlined and slips over the head. Both pieces are completely made and finished by hand as per the standard of haute couture. The top is labeled and the skirt has the interior cross stitch that couture pieces of this time period have to indicate the front. There is an area of very slight discoloration on the back of the skirt skirt and a water mark that falls under the apron that you do not see when it is on. One small smudge on the sleeve. All photoed

Shoulders: no defined seam
Sleeves: 26"
Bust: to 22" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: open
Length: 25" from neck to waist

Skirt:
Waist: 12.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Length: 45" from waist to hem

Modern Sizing equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD1181

Reference photos: (1-3) Photographed for creative purposes by Nikki Ormerod, Styling: Nadia Pizzimenti, Hair & Makeup: Ashley Readings, Model: Constance from Plutino Models. (4-6) B. Akerlund and Madonna from B's instagram account.

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

I love the color of this wonderful Bessi dress and the mix of the silks used. The contrast that is created by using a silk jersey with a silk chiffon is beautiful and that combined with the vivid pink and red mix make for a gorgeous dress. Bessi print are reminiscent of Emilio Pucci but they tend to be more uni-tonal with a play on subtle variations of color. The influence of Pucci can not be denied however. The floral and leaf print on this dress is bright and vivid, combining pops of a cherry red mixed with pink and raspberry. I love the use of the contrasting border at the neck, waist, cuffs and hem that define and anchor the cut of the dress. The dress itself is made from a mix of three silks. The bodice is a silk jersey that is easy to wear and feels fabulous and comfortable once on. The top layer of the skirt is an airy silk chiffon in a matching print to the top that is layered over a solid red silk lining. This inner lining is finished at the hem with a silk chiffon printed border. It is this mix of silks that give the dress that rich feel. Excellent condition

The bodice is unlined and the skirt lined in a red silk inner skirt. It closes with a back painted metal and nylon zipper. The bodice has some stretch.

Shoulders: 16"
Sleeves: 24"
Bust: 18-20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 16-17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: 15" from neck to waist
Skirt: 42" from waist to hem

Modern Sizing equivalent: MED-LRG

Item# DD1188

Reference Photo: Cherie, Owner of Shrimpton Couture, by Erin Leydon.

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

Liza Bruce started designing high end Swimwear in 1982 and she was known for her use of Lycra which made her suits cling to the body. She used as little seaming as possible in her suits and structured her suits to emphasize a girls curves while narrowing the body. This version is a stark black and white and is actually made up of two separate pieces that are worn layered over each other. I have put the all black layer over the striped one but you could reverse them and probably even wear them separately or over other pieces you already own. This is the best of eighties swimwear and still feels modern now. Excellent condition 

Tagged a Large and the fabric has stretch so should fit a MED-LRG easily and probably a Small as well

Item# S792

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