Since its 1937 debut, the Hermès scarf has had over two thousand different design changes.  Grace Kelly once used an Hermès scarf as a sling when she broke her arm. The history of the Hermès scarf is available for preorder in a new book from Nadine Coleno, out November 2.

Christie’s auction house has teamed up with Gucci to evaluate Vintage Gucci products online. The website part of Christie’s will be up and running by the end of this year at christies.com. Learn more about the risks of purchasing Vintage counterfeits.

American Made Vintage will be harder to find. A Solid film that looks back to the heyday of  apparel manufacturing in the U.S.  In the mid 1960’s, over 95% of American clothing was made in the U.S.A.; by 2009, only 5% is made in the U.S.A.

Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags

Leslie Hindman Auctioneers

VintageFashionNews interviewed two respected Auction Houses to determine the strength of today’s vintage clothing market and which designers to look for when buying at auction.

Nicole Nicas Rovner is from Skinner Auctioneers & Appraisers, Boston-
Abigail K. Rutherford is the Director of Vintage Couture and Accessories of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, Chicago-

1) We hear a lot about the general art market auction prices either tumbling or in some cases increasing with the current economic conditions. What do you see with vintage clothing?

Regardless of the overall economic trend, vintage fashion has always been a volatile market. It does not seem to have a relative tie to the markets the same way gold does to oil, for example. That said, the trend that is apparent in today’s auction market does also apply to vintage fashion: good, rare material continues to perform well and achieve record prices, while middle of the road material struggles.-Nicole

There is still a very strong market for Vintage.  We actually have seen no change thus far and our most recent auction realized some record prices!-Abigail

2)Which vintage designers have you seen as a good investment? That is are there any vintage clothing labels that seem to be holding their own in value despite the economic downturn?

Pucci, Hermes, Balmain, Dior, Balenciaga, Givenchy, Chanel, Yves St. Laurent,—these are all examples of good performers at auction and have been in good times and bad. What unites most of these designers is their “classic” nature: the lines and silhouettes transcend the decades and ride the wave of a rocky economy.-Nicole

There are the more obvious designers like Chanel, Hermes, Yves Saint Laurent and Dior that have stayed and will always remain pretty consistent.  As for other designers, we have seen some great prices in the past few auctions on eveningwear from Halston, Mugler, Galanos, Versace, Givenchy, Norman Norell, Geoffrey Beene, Charles James and Michaele Vollbracht.   We get the best prices on any sort of evening gown examples from the above designers, but never their daywear examples!  Great daywear designers that realize high prices are generally from Courreges, Moschino and Pierre Cardin.
-Abigail

3) Any lesser known vintage labels that you see becoming more collectible?

These are not “lesser-known” to fashionistas or collectors but vintage Oscar de la Renta, Valentino, Halston, Bill Blass, Missoni, for example have been performing better in the past few years. Again, the importance being the “classic” nature of the silhouette and/or the interesting technique shown in the use of textures and textiles.
-Nicole

Vollbracht is very well known, but not to all.  We have realized some records prices for his work recently.  Same with Bill Gibb.-Abigail

4) Do you see vintage clothing prices today at “bargain prices” as compared to say three or four years ago? If yes- which designers do you see at “bargain” investments?

There is certainly an opportunity to acquire quality vintage fashion in today’s market at an affordable price. The above designers are on the rise but still very accessible. Oddly, Pedro Rodriguez, Pauline Trigere, and others of that echelon seem to be much more accessible these days than say in the early part of the 21st century. Perhaps these designers have become more obscure to the youngest generation of collectors because their name does not survive the way other houses have continued to maintain their brand presence? I am not sure. What is for certain is the level of skill and understanding of the line/silhouette is far superior to the appreciation paid to them.
-Nicole

There are always some great finds in our auctions that are at a much more approachable price point.  We generally find that great separates or day wear from Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent can be had at a non-investment price!  Also quirky Moschino pieces that are not book pieces are always collectable, yet approachable.  Dior couture post 1962 can generally be had at a great price because collectors are not as interested post Dior and YSL, but Bohan was still an incredible designer creating gorgeous garments.
-Abigail

1980’s

Vivienne Westwood -
Buffalo Girls Collection (Autumn-Winter 1982-83)baggy, layered look, earthy colours.

Nolan Miller gained fame as the “Dynasty” designer. Miller also designed  TV shows, including Love Boat and Fantasy Island.  Dynasty defined the trend of what business women should wear to the office. Although shoulder pads date back to the Victorian Age and were popular in the 1940’s, the prime time series revived the shoulder pad fashion statement.

Nolan Miller Pink Suit-The Dynasty Collection

Shoulder pad detail-Nolan Miller

Trends

-Chemises are in the news again thanks to Yves Saint Laurent in his 1983 Paris couture collection.

-Jumpsuits make a comeback
-Sailing themes show up repeatedly in clothing

Albert Nipon

-Donna Karan-Zebra-patterned sweaters
-Clothing and jewelry inspired by Africa, India and Saudi Arabia

Retro fashion in 1983; glitter was gold. Anything with sequins and beads flew off the shelf. The best seller at Saks was designer Sister Max. The beaded dresses made in New Delhi were selling extremely well in 1983 for $400. For the big money Galanos sequined handmade  jackets sold for $10,000.

Sequins need very little upkeep. No ironing is necessary and solidly beaded dresses will not wrinkle.

In the summer of 1983 the "punk" cut was being replaced by the signature short haircut ''Lulu'' style, inspired by 1920's actress Louise Brooks.

A vintage Cartier watch, a pair of Levis jeans, from the 1970’s. A Gucci handbag from the 1980’s. Any of these pieces purchased at auction, estate or a high-end vintage store are indeed “vintage” with the same semblance of high quality workmanship.

“Vintage” referring to the period when theses items were manufactured; where counterfeited heavily during these same times. Many vintage knock-offs could still be circulating today with buyers paying real prices for fakes.

In the 1970’s the counterfeit fashion trade was already estimated in the tens of millions of dollars. ”From 1960 to 1970, we all sold too many licenses,” Marc Vincent, of Saint Laurent, admits. Most designers during this time did not control manufacturing, which was done by licensees.

Several counterfeit Cartier boutiques sprung up during this era selling thousands of watches.

An early opportunist in the Mexico knockoff trade was a man named Fernando Pelletier. Cartier had held Mexican trademark rights, but in 1968 failed to renew them, thus allowing Mr. Pelletier’s company to start its own line of products labeled ”Cartier,” including jewelry and watches. It took over ten years for Cartier to win its legal battle with Pelletier.  Cartier estimated that 40,000 fake high-quality ”Tank” watches had been sold during 1976. Christian Dior, with annual sales of $365 million in 1980, spent $406,000 protecting its 813 registered trademarks.

Rare Vintage Levi jeans can sell today for $3,000. But is the classic vintage pair that you purchased a rip-off from the very same Vintage era the jeans came from?  In the late 70’s two Southern California men offered a private investigator posing as a clothing buyer 50,000 pairs of the counterfeit jeans a month for nine months. During this period in Italy the number one selling jean was Levi. The number two brand was counterfeit Levis.

Jordache jeans estimated their loss from counterfeiters in 1981 was in excess of over $1 million dollars alone. Levi Strauss seized $2.5 million worth of jeans in 1977 from a ring that extended from Britain to Switzerland, Italy, Belgium and Taiwan.

Many fakes of the late 70’s and early 80’s were produced to the same standards as the real deal. Quality fabrics used in counterfeiting were often sourced from the same suppliers. Louis Vuitton bag counterfeiters often used the same French zipper. Early fake Cartier watches were made of solid gold and were indistinguishable unless you dissembled the timepiece. Christian Dior fashion knockoffs were so good that even Dior’s people had difficulty telling the difference.

How can you tell if your Levi’s are vintage knockoffs?  Stitching, labeling and fabric are clues to look for. Often the denim in counterfeits is 10-ounce instead of 12-or 14-ounce; thread may be thinner, stitching sloppy, seams not straight, zippers of cheaper quality.

Jordache says a shopper can be sure about Jordache jeans in two ways: the horse head on the zipper and the initials ”JD” on the back of the button at the waist.

A Cartier watch is better taken to Cartier so that the internal time piece is inspected; counterfeiters used cheap internal mechanisms in their watches.

Link to Vintage Fashion Media- “Louis Vuitton- Telling Real From Fakes”

http://vintagefashionnews.com/vintage-fashion-media/

The film was in production from June 2005 to July 2007, and over 250 hours of footage was shot with unprecedented access to Valentino

The Last Emperor details the passion and emotion and labor that is a part of
the haute couture process. The film received standing ovations at the Venice Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival and at “The Last Emperor’s” West Coast premiere at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Valentino
- insists the the 80s is one of the least stylish
“The women, they looked very vulgar.”

- At 17 he set out for Paris and worked as an apprentice alongside other ambitious would be couturiers (Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld)

- His 152-foot yacht employs a full-time staff of eleven and displays Andy
Warhol’s portraits of the designer.

-In 2001, Julia Roberts accepted an Oscar wearing vintage Valentino, contributing to the
launch of what went on to become one of the most significant fashion trends of the
coming years: the Vintage.

http://vintagefashionnews.com/vintage-fashion-media/

Saks Fifth Avenue Baby Dior signature flannel pajamas for $23

Tiffany’s crocodile handbag for $1,575

Tiffany’s 18-karat gold elm leaf brooch, pendant and ear clips for $1,075

Ellen Tracy gray sequin and silk T-shirt, $180, at Chas. A. Stevens

Neiman-Marcus Donna Karan woman’s fisher coat $47,500

Di Fiori of Beverly Hills $10,000 boots hand-painted by artist Peter Max

If Marilyn Monroe was living in today’s fashion world she would be pleased that she would fit into a size 6/8. Since size standards have changed since her day (she would have worn a size 16 in the 1950’s) clothing sized in the 1950s can be cut in half for an idea of today’s mainstream sizing. Be careful when buying vintage fashion to be worn because since the 1960’s sizing standards have gone out the window. In fact many designers today are intentionally lowering the size to make the consumer pleased that they are able to fit into a smaller size.