Designer du Jour: Halston, AKA Serendipity

 
Designer du Jour: Halston, AKA Serendipity
Now this is one designer who falls within my memory. I wasn’t wearing his clothes, you understand, but I do remember the heyday, if in a foggy way. The thing is, by the time Halston’s work made it to Mid America, the sexuality was cleaned up quite bit, and the quality was a bit lower. But the influence was there. The clean lines, the skinny fit, the

Dresses, Dresses, and Oh Look - Another Dress!

The September additions to Past Perfect Vintage are all in. And my goodness, there's a lot of new inventory. There are hats, suits, and hair combs, but today, it's all about dresses. And a jumpsuit. And a blouse and skirt set. But they look like dresses, so that counts. The date range? 1930s - 1970s. For you Victorian, Teens and 1920s fashion lovers, we have some 60 lovely things on the way.

One Woman's Wardrobe

 
The dream buy for a vintage clothing dealer usually involves one woman’s wonderful wardrobe of clothing spanning the better part of her adult life. If she was a woman of means who was interested in clothing - even better. If she was stylish - better yet. And if she was bigger than a size 4 - well, that’s a huge bonus.
I suspect most people, if they thought about it, and very few do, would

Designer du Jour: Malcolm Starr

 
Malcolm Starr (1924 - 2008) was a popular American dress manufacturer and head of the ready to wear company  that bore his name at 530 Seventh Avenue. From a March 21, 2008 article in  Women’s Wear Daily: 
“The dress company he operated, Malcolm Starr, was started in the Forties by his father, Frank, a well-known figure in the textile industry. During that period, the family was one of the

Designer du Jour: B.H. Wragge

Designer du Jour: B.H. Wragge

This was a NY ready to wear house, run by Sydney Wragge and active from 1931 to 1971. The clothes are referred to as ‘affordable’, usually the kiss of death when it comes to quality, but every piece I have handled with this label was beautifully made of fine fabric with a lot of hand sewn finishes. This would be a time when 'affordable' clothing did not bring up

Party, Party!

New to the site, we have 3 Party dresses. 50s? Yes. 60s? Yes, indeed. 70s? Of course. The 1950s butter yellow taffeta party dress is a hard to find larger size with a V waistline, puff sleeves, flared skirt and pouf. The 1960s dress is a lovely quality black silk chiffon with rhinestone and bead encrusted yoke and cuffs. And the 1970s is a gold and black sequin tank style dress has a flared full

Norells We Have Known

I must admit that I have a soft spot for Norman Norell ( aka Norman Levinson) simply because he was from Indiana. And for a Noblesville, IN boy to make it in American fashion is a pretty neat thing. The more I read on his work, the better I like it, too. The first works I noticed were his wonderful sequin mermaid dresses - amazing gowns that still bring the big bucks on the rare occasion they do

New Vintage Dresses - yes, I know that's a contradiction...........

Oh yes, I feel the contradiction every time I mention 'new' vintage clothing. But what else can I say? we have new items up in our Past Perfect Vintage Etsy shop. And they are vintage. So there you have it. The proverbial contradiction in terms. The classic oxymoron. But I will soldier on and show you the goodies:First, a beautiful cream crepe gown c. 1938 - 40 with a zipper front, gold studs

The Vintage 'Voice'

A true collector of vintage clothing remembers the circumstances around every find. Where the dress was found, why that was special, the odds against finding anything, funny coincidences, all the odd details. Well, for those of us who moved into selling from collecting, that is still true. And the longer we hunt for these pieces, the more we learn to listen to the inner Voice that says - Go There

The Vintage Designer Assortment Pack

We have been adding to inventory to Past Perfect Vintage for July. And this is our Vintage Designer Assortment Pack. Three American companies, one French. All designer ready-to-wear. Two 1970s, two 1980s. One day wear set, three cocktail sets. Try to find a common theme. Please try. Comment if you see one. I don't see a theme I can wax on about. Other than all vintage, all well made, all

Not All Fashion in the 1970s was Grim

It is easy to remember and dismiss the 1970s as pretty awful and excessive, fashionwise. Just a quick flip through the Sears catalogue can inspire readera to grab those pitchforks and head down to the polyester plant. Although I am not sure the words plant and polyster shoud ever be used inthe same sentence. And yes, the loud, large scale plaids were everpresent as well as a sad range of rust,

Patterns of Fashion (Psychedelic Edition)

There's nothing like a cold, cold, winter's day to make me yearn for color and pattern. I came late to appreciating the wild patterns of the 60s and 70s. I lived them, I wore them, I suffered through the hideous polyester versions. I copied Peter Max posters with my colored pencils.There was nothing classic or timeless about this type of pattern, so we frugal buyers tended to avoid them back in

New. Lots of New coming

Oh, my we have been busy. First, that kitchen remodel is done! Then we had an early Christmas. Then we got some 20 items ready and up at www.pastperfectvintage.etsy.com, and they are up and going fast. Here's an eclectic sample, but go take look, then come back. 1970 Rodrigues Maxi Dress 1950s Paisley Blouse1970s Velvet Gaucho Set 1979s Print Blousec. 1904 Wedding Bodice Sash and shoes Gold

1975 Sears Catalogue - Ooh La La!

I just received a 1975 Sears catalogue in a house cleanout. And oh my, it is a veritable treasure trove of blog fodder. I am about to reveal just how old I am, but I graduated from high school in 1974. I swear I never wore these clothes. I swear, I mean I am flabbergasted. I knew it was bad. I remember some unfortunate plaid bell bottoms and quite a few ribbed sweater tops. Maybe even a qiana

Earthtones = Fall

I grudgingly admit that fall will be here soon. People are asking about suits and coats. Not that it is anywhere near time for wool, but it's on the horizon. Now the good thing about earthtones and all those autumal colors is that in lighter fabrics and accessories, you can achieve that autumn feeling sooner and more comfortably. And if there is anything Vintage Clothing can provide, it is earth

All the Dress That's Fit to Print

Today it's all about The Print. First, a print silk Givenchy dress from the mid 1960s in a Mod pink and yellow print. Note the simplicty of the cut combined with the striking print. This is a numbered couture gown and the quality is amazing. Now available at Past Perfect Vintage Second, a 1970s Maurice jersey dress in bold black and hot color combination. The Maurice label is a bit of a mystery,

New Today at PastPerfectVintage.com: Rudi Gernreich Maxi Dress

New today:ca Fall 1973 knit maxi dress from the mad master Rudi Gernreich in black polyester and black wool knit. It's an astounding combination of colors, patterns and motifs, even given that it's a Rudi Gernreich and from the 1970s. The full flared and gathered skirt is a heavy weight black wool knit with huge wool knit machine appliques. The top is a T shape mock turtle in black poly. Labeled

Featured Vintage: Adolfo and Flowers

Today's featured vintage find from Past Perfect Vintage is brand new on the website. This neat, neat, neat c. 1970 silk satin print skirt and blouse set is by Adolfo with beautiful blue flowers, dirndl skirt with tucks all round the waist and fur! cuffs. It's very well made, top quality, with a full taffeta skirt lining and self covered buttons. And it has the original Saks price (over $1000)

A First Lady A Day : Nixon/Johnson/Truman Update

It’s only the 12th, and we have plenty of time until Jan. 20th, so thanks to the help of Vintage Fashion Guild members, I have full length photos of some of our MIA Inaugural dresses. from www.time.com Bess Truman 1949, Gala Dress. we saw this beofre, but it was a half length shot. I know that Time credits it as the Inaugural Ball gown, but the Truman Library says it's the Gala, and I am going

Rainy,Grey Tuesday and Mollie Parnis

We just can't be fair to the remaining First Ladies on a grey, rainy, dreary, cold January day.So in a tangential feature to our First Ladies A Day series, here’s 3 Mollie Parnis dress and coat sets we have at available. Don’t they look warm and chic on a January day? Yes, indeed they do. What’s the Mollie Parnis and First Lady connection, you ask? She probably dressed more First Ladies than any