How to Find Top-Quality Vintage Online, Part 1

It's not easy when you can't see the interior, feel the fabric, or appreciate the workmanship as a whole (which together amount to the best way to find fantastic vintage when it's right under your nose).

However, there are some tactics an online shopper can deploy to cut through the middling pieces on the vast virtual rail.

One is to search using keywords that point directly to clothes that were made with great care.

Example. Have a look at socialite Babe Paley's jacket above. It's by London couturier Digby Morton, 1946. Might such an item ever appear on eBay or Etsy? Possibly. But if you keyword "couture" to find it, you'll call up a warehouse worth of dodgy merchandise, from pantihose to pet collars, that have nothing to do with finely tailored clothing.

Instead of going for the obvious, you need to think sideways. Like . . . look at the flapped pocket on Babe's jacket. How it's placed, sitting almost horizontal to the waistline. This is a couture detail: in which the ordinary is tweaked into extraordinary because there's the design inspiration, sewing talent, time, and above all, money to do so.

This pocket is quietly dramatic, everything a couture detail ought to be. Bing! I jumped onto eBay and keyworded "diagonal pocket" and "vintage", just to see what would come up.

Result: nothing ultra-extraordinary, but two things really quite nice indeed, the old-school plaid hacking jacket below from Jaeger, which is a great autumn piece for somebody looking to look poshly countrified.

Even more interesting, the highly tailored cocktail dress from Givenchy, labeled couture (almost certainly not haute couture, which would have been hand tailored for an individual, but high-end ready to wear. I'm guessing it dates to the late 80s, in the twilight years before Galliano, McQueen, and Tisci were brought in to revivify the brand). The dress looks quiet in the photo but I bet is absolutely the bomb when it's on the right figure, dressed up Parisian style with sheer black stockings and very high stilettos.

The point? It's the details that count, again and again. I never would have found these two items without the help of just the right keywords. We'll look at some others as the week goes on.



(photo of Babe Paley by Clifford Coffin for British Vogue, 1946)

Fine Feathered Trends

This image, from the Fall '09 campaign from Givenchy, is striking, in a bipolar way. The models, gorgeous as they are, are ghoulish; you get the impression that the art director gave a last-minute directive that the fangs be photoshopped out. Still, the imagery perfectly fits the mood of the clothing, and if that's a measure of success, the ad is superb.

My favorite element is the headdress. Zoom in on it by clicking on the pic. A gothic toque, high as the Pope's mitre but pretty much its opposite in goodwill toward men.

It reminded me a bit of another great high-fashion head ornament, with a playful savagery that perfectly suited the model and mood . . .

Women through the ages have worn feathers to add dramatic height and flourish. Proust writes about his belle-epoque opera-goers showing off the latest aigrettes, or erect, single-feathered headdresses, so named after the egret feathers they often bore.

In modern times, upright feathers can make a brilliant fashion statement. But unruffled can be gorgeous too--plumes worn flat to the head, on a headband or sculpted cap--and these are often more appropriate when raptoresque is not the way to go.

This guineafowl headband, for example, is quite subtle on, yet it has drawn avid comment from at least two countryside gents (who were pleased to recognize the plumage in a setting outside a hedgerow).

Feathered headbands are all over this season, so have a good look around--very nice artificial feathers are also a possibility if you are so inclined. Aloft or low-lying, they are an accessory that gets a conversation going.

(photo of Kate Moss © Juergen Teller for The Face, 1996)

Toro Toro Toro: Fashions Inspired by the Bullring

The subject of bullfighting inspires impassioned discussion (preferably across a table spread with jamón ibérico and glasses of fino sherry). Today I'm working one little corner upon which all combatants can reasonably agree: the matador looks marvelous, and knows it.

The corrida has inspired designers through the age. The duds by Givenchy, pictured above (from the May 2009 Deutsch Vogue) are merely the latest example.

As chic as they are, though, sometimes the real thing is even more resplendent. Take as an example this bullfighting ceremonial cape recently up for sale on eBay. It didn't hit its reserve, which is not terribly surprising, for the thing is a masterpiece.

Every once in a great while, elements of an actual traja de luces (suit of lights) comes up for sale. Apart from their value as sartorial craft, these are avidly collected by aficionados, and the prices reflect this.

More gently priced, and only slightly less dramatic, are bits and pieces like this matador's cap.

Even further removed from the ring itself are garments and accessories that are inspired by a bullfighting theme. Scarves and skirts patterned with the subject are affordable (but be ready to take some heat from any anti-cruelty crusader who happens to get a close look).

More subtle are these little cufflinks. An interesting signal to send a man who has your heart shouting ¡olé!


(photo top sourced from cakenotcoke.com)