It’s funny where vintage has taken me. What started off as a hobby years ago has quickly blossomed into an almost 24 hour a day full time (and then some) gig. And it seems to be evolving into more on daily basis too (potential big news to come soon). Some parts don’t change though. Like, I still feel like an awkward teenager at most big events even though I think (hope) I hide it well.

At the Burberry party, I wore a vintage one-shoulder jumpsuit paired with a Burberry coat that looks like it is made of feathers – tres Bianca Jagger 70s chic. As the night progressed and the heat rose from the packed crowd, bit of “feathers” started wafting up into the air, coming to rest (of course) on my lipstick, leaving me to discreetly attempt to pull these feathery tufts off my face whilst looking cool, collected, and somewhat fashionable.

I attended the event with Toronto socialite and girl about town – Ainsley Kerr – who is the perfect person to go to that type of event with. Ainsley is sometimes a model for Shrimpton Couture and has been my cover girl a few times on the site. She is one of those rare girls who is drop dead gorgeous, but maintains a sweet disposition and hasn’t an ounce of nasty girl in her. She also knows 9 out of 10 people in a room so it’s easy to just put oneself in her socially capable hands and be towed in her wake in soiree bliss – sans the pulling of feathers from one’s make-up of course.

I am severely lacking in my motivation to do the required socializing that fashion requires. I often laugh at the cast of characters at any given event; fashion folk tend to be more interesting than one gives them credit for. It always amazes me that the path many of us take to end up in fashion has its beginnings in just about every other career on the planet. This means a lot of personalities end up in the mix.

There is a sort of fashion hierarchy that becomes apparent if you look for it. You can spot the people who are cruising a room with the intentions of meeting people that can further their careers. You can see the people who only speak with other people whom they deem to be at their level and there are the very few who speak to no one as they are clearly above us all. Oddly there is no correlation between how far one has risen with deciding that you are one of those solitary, chosen, special ones.

I met Jeanne Beker that evening, the host of Fashion Television since 1985! By longevity alone, she’s pretty close to the top of any fashion pile, yet she was the nicest person I have met in a long time — interesting, smart and charming. That encounter was followed almost immediately by an outright, blatant snubbing from a girl who apparently is the co-owner of a top Toronto PR firm. The snub was so bad that my plus one, Ainsley, turned to me in horror as this girl turned her back on me, and apologized on the girl’s behalf.

Maybe it was the feathers?

Feathers aside, you can bet that as my business continues to grow and I look at a firm to handle the PR side, the short list got one firm shorter. And should Jeanne ever need to borrow a vintage frock or two – the racks are hers to browse. I have my own hierarchy you see.

This was followed by a whirlwind weekend in NYC where Shrimpton Couture hosted an event celebrating the launch of GlamourWraps – a line of repurposed, re-made vintage kimonos by The Glamourai’s beautiful designer, Kelly Framel. It was a champagne fueled soiree held at the W Hotel’s The Wet Bar. The city’s most fashionable bloggers attended and there was no drama to report other then an extremely great time had by all. When one throws the party no one snubs you, after all they know you are footing the champagne bill. No feathers where involved in this event though I did have a few mishaps as I sorted out standing up and trying not to catch my heel on my floor-length 1970s Janice Wainwright dress. Even as hostess, I still am the same klutzy girl inside.

New York was beautiful, it was exceedingly warm and the entire trip a smashing success. It was a bit quieter in New York these days than it has been in the past; the effects of the economy are still apparent. I saw more empty storefronts than I ever have before, which was sad. Nevertheless, that means some young entrepreneur will get their chance at a choice storefront location or two as things pick up again. Already, the mood of the city seemed up. I love Toronto, but New York is a special magical place whether fashion is your thing or not. It will be nice to see it at full speed again.

Vintage is taking me further than I ever thought I would go and some days are entirely taken up in a rush of newness. Which is ironic considering I deal in the old. And for that I am thankful. No matter what new things happen or where this all goes, vintage will remain the constant theme underlying it all. My frocks and I are friends for life. They give me a link to the past that girls who only look forward are missing. There is nothing wrong with trying to climb the social ladder, or with wanting to wear the newest and latest. But for a girl who tends to trip over her skirt and pull feathers off her lipstick, vintage reminds me, that – like the dress I am wearing – I am one of a kind, flaws and all.

Next week I am off to London so will report on my adventures when I return, xoxox

Yours in vintage,

Cherie

SHRIMPTONCOUTURE.COM

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For a girl who deals in vintage on a daily basis, this holiday creates a sense of dread. Not the fun, scary movie kind, but the girl-on-a-mission-to-rescue-perfectly wearable-vintage-from-the-ghouls-and-goblins-who-do-not-know-better-and-she-might-just-fail-at-her-task, kind of dread.

As soon as the leaves begin to turn, my buyers and I begin a search and rescue mission at every thrift and church sale for miles around. We staunchly face the crowds of overwrought mothers and children clamoring for costumes. We bravely snatch up even the seemingly unrescuable frocks from the depths of the bins, thinking it better to have them pass through our hands and perhaps be recycled into bits and pieces used to repair others, than to be smudged with cheap wax make-up and sticky candy filled fingers. We march forward akin to an army embarking on a vintage crusade, determined to rescue as many pieces as we can.

I know that may sound somewhat funny, but honestly, to a large degree it’s the truth. I really do abhor the holiday for the most part and feel that every piece of vintage I find during the month of October has been a bona fide rescue. I have seen so many pieces ruined by a well-meaning, but amateur seamstress mom, trying to transform some “old dress” into a princess frock for her lovely offspring, both innocent to the potential destruction of valuable vintage. I know every vintage lover out there is sharing my pain right now as they read these words. You know of what I speak. Goodness knows how many valuable pieces have been sacrificed to become the Bride of Frankenstein, the Good Witch of the North or some last minute, late as always, Fairy Princess. If you are a mom, you know how easy it is to pull that old dress from the pile. The one that does not fit anymore and you know you will never wear again. Its ever so easy to pick up the scissors and start to pin and snip, tacking it into place while your daughter beams at you. Oh I know it is worth it at the time. I know how those happy little eyes and glowing cheeks can woo a girl into complacently and create all sorts of justifications to chop and snip even the loveliest of frocks. But please, I beg you, resist. I implore you to ignore her giggles and to stay strong.

Mothers, put the scissors down.

There is a plethora of costumes ready made out there. There are tons of fabulous costume ideas that you can make with papier-mâché and paint. If your goal is bright eyes and glowing cheeks, then you cannot even begin to imagine the effect a good hour of messy finger painting can create! Just please, step away from the vintage.

I start to get emails this time of the year:  “Hi I am looking for a costume….” and I look over my shoulder to see if the devil is standing there mocking me. I write back demanding details. How much make-up will be involved? Will you alter it? What type of event will you be attending? Will there be any falling down, drunken silliness? Laugh if you will, but this is serious business around here. I have a battalion of questions that must be passed and approved before I let one of my treasures slip out of my hands to be worn on that evening. I am not letting out a single one of my girls unattended and un-chaperoned on that night – and I don’t care how much you beg. Get the questionnaire wrong and your “costume” will somehow manage to be delayed en route – landing on your doorstep November 1st. Take that devil boy.

Of course every evil has its counterpart. October is also the month where a lot of places pull out their stash of those same old clothes to satisfy the demand of the holiday so that same rescue mission can also become a treasure trove. If you get in there first and if you can steel yourself to the idea of shoving some 7 year old aside to make sure it’s your hand that touches that 1950s frock first….well then, this can be the very best time of year.

Shocked? Don’t be – all’s fair in love and vintage.

Yours in vintage, but never in costume

Cherie

shrimptoncouture.com

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However, I have to be honest and tell you that that longer I am the purveyor of fine vintage frocks, the more I find myself living in this funny seasonless retail world. At this time of year, the merchandise on my website definitely starts to lean toward fall, but you might be surprised to see that I still mix in some decidedly summer frocks. I sell dresses to girls all around the globe and the fact is that it is always summer somewhere.

I have turned to this topic because I recently happened across an article that discussed how more and more designers are looking to present their collections on-line in an attempt to save money (in lieu of over the top costly stage productions) and maintain more control over their brand. The article went on to express the opinion that one possible ramification of this new direction would be that collections could also be made available to the consumer sooner, if not immediately. So clients could actually buy their favorite spring frocks shortly after they have debuted at the fall shows.

It is an interesting concept and speaking as a successful on-line retailer whose seasons are, well, seasonless, I can’t help but wonder what has taken them so long.

We live in a world where information can cross the globe in a heartbeat. All you need to do is jump onto any of the social networks out there and you are able to find out information before most of the world even knows it is happening. In that new world, how do you expect a consumer to react to a collection they saw six months ago? A collection that for fashionista’s is already over and done, before it has even hit the racks?

Les yawn darling – its so passé to have this season’s IT item when you could have already been wearing it the season before, n’est-ce pas?

The internet has changed the world and bloggers and the advent of twitter have taken that change and shoved it to a whole new realm. In the old days, fashion lasted a year. Today fashion changes in real time every four months. For example, Halston re-launched their line a season or two ago, and had a select number of pieces for sale immediately on Net-A-Porter, and those pieces sold out immediately. Why did we not see dozens of retailers follow suit immediately? Why has it taken this long for the concept of instant availability to kick in when it’s proven people will buy right away (and that they may no longer buy 4-8 months later)? We live in a world of instant gratification, and what is more gratifying than buying something the instant you see it?

Designers wanting to jump on board of the big buck band wagon are going to have to come to terms with the fact that their clients are unlikely to be in the city where their studios reside or in the neighborhoods where their merchandise is carried. Nope, clients can be sitting at a beach in the middle of the ocean with no shop in site and all they have to do is wait for the next plane full of mail to come in to get the goods. We live in a world where shoppers can log into an e-boutique without regard to a season. Even if that means selling summer frocks while the snow accumulates outside your window.

I think it is going to be a very interesting next few years in the land of on-line retail sales. Because the fashion retail world can be a bit of a trap don’t you think? If you always have to buy what’s new, when do you get to really figure out what’s right? It will be extremely interesting to see which designers embrace the new technologies available and how that in turn will effect how we are able to buy our dresses and when. My answer to this dilemma is to incorporate fabulous pieces into my wardrobe that are there because they are fabulous. That means having this season’s best (regardless of when I can actually get my hands on it) mixed in with pieces that might be from a few seasons ago and more often than not vintage pieces from decades past. The real truth is that the best fashion doesn’t have a season. And therein might lie the real answer.

For me the shorter the time frame between show and shop the better. It cuts down six whole months of waiting on the 25 year requirement until I can officially call your collection my vintage.

Yours in vintage

Cherie
Shrimptoncouture.com

Photographs by Jennifer Cress
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In the past I have referred to the joy of taking a little 1950s cotton frock that has been crumpled into a bag and pushed to the back of a closet and restoring it to its former glories. The dress is often grimy and wrinkled; all the wonderful crispness that 1950s cotton can have is seemingly gone for good. I have spoken about the joy of going over the seams and washing those little frocks, ironing and starching until I hold in my hands a fully restored dress that will do its new girl proud.

A vintage before and after if you will.

Having a child go through an illness and not being sure of where they will end up for me was like being transformed into a before. Into a real girl version of that crumpled up, forlorn frock. For a while I lost my joy. I wanted to lie in a heap in a corner and shun the sunshine. I felt sad and lost and even though I knew I had to put on my best face and be strong, inside I wanted to curl up and avoid everything in the world except for my family.

I often wonder why I love vintage so much. Why it is what I have am drawn to, addicted to, need to have it, in my life. I think that at some silly level, I believe, misguided or not, that somehow the spirits of the woman who wore those frocks before me leave a bit of themselves in each piece and somehow I can draw from that. I think that each time I throw on a dress that was fabulous in its day and that I have made fabulous again I am reminded that we can go on. Sometimes things do get second chances. That by holding on to and respecting the memories of the past we can better face the future.

Of course, this is real life and no magical dress I wore while trudging back and forth to the hospital on a daily basis made our child better. But he got his second chance this time. And because of that so did I. London and all its adventures will still be there as fodder for future columns. My Guy is, and always will be, by my side and life is slowly but surely resuming its normal hectic pace. I even washed an armful of frocks this week and have been slowly working my way through them, restoring each so they can go up on my website in wait for the right new girl to find. Maybe I am a silly, superstitious girl but with each piece I bring back I like to think that I am giving back to the universe a bit of the luck I got for my second chance this time around. And I hope that as each of my dresses go into the world, a bit of that luck is passed back.

Yours in vintage

Cherie

SHRIMPTONCOUTURE.COM

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NEW YORK (Herald de Paris) – Unless you live under a very non-fashionable rock, you are probably aware that it is Fashion Week in New York City. These are THE shows of the year, with editors, clients, bloggers and media all vying for the right invites to the right shows and it is a really big deal to the fashion world.

I love the start of the shows as much as any fashion conscious girl and eagerly await the news feeds to see what is hot and where things are going trend-wise. But I have to say from a vintage perspective, I tend to stay somewhat nonplussed. I look at the shows not only for what they are showcasing for the new season, but what might be of interest to me years from now. For me, fashion shows get more important the longer they become a thing of the past.

It’s more fun to look at a collection and try to guess what might be of future vintage value than to look at it

Paris Hilton, Nicole Hilton & Friends at NYFW09 Jill Stuart

to see what fabulous girls might wear next spring. Thank goodness only a few odd girls of the past like me see the shows in this way or fashion would certainly come to a screeching halt. In a world where fashion is increasingly becoming a thing of the past mere moments after it walks down the runway and its images are simultaneously broadcast around the planet in moments, can you imagine if that world suddenly stopped caring past that millisecond of time?

Scandal!

I will happily admit that I care more about what was on the runways of 1958 than what will be the hot thing to wear in 2010. But don’t think for a moment that I don’t care about the present as well, because I do. One day, the 2010 collections will be vintage for a girl in 2058 and she will look back to these well documented years with pleasure. People lament the future of vintage at times because of the influx of mass produced items since the late 1970s. There has been a massive, gluttonous input of goods created in third world countries, produced with cheap materials and cheap labour. As we speak, these pieces are cycling and chugging their way through our economic system and sadly, will eventually end up packed tight on racks of the local thrifts for future vintage loving girls to have to paw through to find the occasional gem.

Thankfully, however, there are also countless talented designers out there, working in the mid to the highest tiers of fashion, who are producing wonderful collections that will become future heirlooms. And for the future collectors of those pieces, the intense media scrutiny of today will prove to be an invaluable resource.

Future collectors will be able to Google and reference and fact source to their hearts content. Exact histories, right to the very moment in time that a particular style of dress first appeared to the public, will be possible to verify. Everything is labeled now, everything tagged, everything has a defined, traceable history. While someone like me will delight to stumble upon a 30 or 40 year old magazine photo that might show a glimpse of a dress I have in stock, or to joyfully happen across an old out of print book that shows a collection of a designer never seen before except by the women who where there when it debuted, the future collector will have that knowledge about this time period at his or her finger tips with a few quick clicks of the keyboard.

Actually, when you come to think of it that thrill of the chase for information, that sense of the unknown history other then what we might be lucky enough to have been told by a piece’s original owner, is really something almost as rare as some of the dresses I deal in, isn’t it? In a world where the concept of the unknown is rapidly becoming itself a thing of the past, in a way so is the true concept of vintage. And it is both very sad and very fabulous. There is a certain wistfulness that I predict a girl of the future might feel in the little moments between finding her vintage frock and waiting for her computer to ping out more information about its history and dateline than she will ever need. There is a certain element of girly romance in imagining a history of a dress that speaks to you, that whispers its secrets only to you.

Enjoy the shows my little fashionistas, and devour every picture and word and joyously await the new collections to hit the stores. Because its fun and exciting and we all love to know what is coming next. But at the same time don’t turn your back on the little, unlabeled, unverified by Google, vintage frock that is tucked away in your closet.

Relish its uniqueness.

Lose yourself in its unknown history and secret past

Relish that in a world where information can be found with a single keystroke that a little dress can still give you an aura of mystery.

Yours in vintage

Cherie

SHRIMPTONCOUTURE.COM

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TORONTO (Herald de Paris) - Wendy Brandes loves vintage and I love Wendy Brandes’ jewelry, so I asked her to indulge me with an interview.

Because I like to be unique, I conducted this interview differently than a normal interview (see my last column on being considered odd as reference to this idea). I decided to send Wendy a series of emails – with the idea being that each subsequent question was not sent until she had answered the question from the one before. So neither of us really knew where it would go or where it would. This is our exchange verbatim:

Me: Now before we begin I just want you to know that as a COLUMNIST and not a real JOURNALIST I am happy to accept gratuitous thank you gifts – its even encouraged – especially in the form of certain skull rings – just wanted to throw that out there

So are you game? (That did not count as one of the questions by the way – it was rhetorical) This is your real first question:

We should probably cover the basics for the two people out there that do not know who you are and what you do. Can you tell me your entire “about you” story in a paragraph?

Wendy: LOL re “are you game?” You know me better then that!

About me: In my previous life, I was a journalist at the Wall Street Journal, CNN and People magazine. My incarnation since 2004 is jewelry designer with an attitude. Most of my pieces are inspired by famous historical women, with an emphasis on naughty royal ladies. I blog about jewelry, queens, fashion and whatever else strikes my fancy at wendybrandes.com/blog. In my spare time, I blog about my friend Christian Francis Roth’s Francis clothing line at francisnewyork.com/blog.

me: I am surprised you let my blatant plea for the skull ring slip by – does that mean you are thinking about it?

I am a little fascinated that you wrote for those big publications and left what to many girls would seem to be dream jobs to go off and do such a completely different thing! Why jewelry? What was (and is) the big draw? How does a girl go from journalist to using “naughty royal ladies” as inspiration in metal? (and yes I know that there is technically three question in this email but its my interview and this only counts as my second question)

Wendy: I’m just ignoring that little request

Jeez, way to fit a lot of questions into a question, lady!

My first major designs were my own wedding and engagement rings in 2001. I wanted a clean, modern look, and I wanted to choose my own stones. By that time, I had left People magazine, where I had been the managing editor of the website, to be the managing editor of websites at Lehman Brothers. I was already out of the journalism world. I knew I wasn’t going to be with Lehman Brothers forever, so the question was whether I would go back to journalism or do something entrepreneurial, as I had always dreamed of doing. I’d rather move forward than backward. Since I kept designing jewelry during my five years at Lehman, I was inspired to start a business with the diamond wholesaler who was producing my designs.

Me: Those rings are gorgeous! I know there is a strong historical theme running through your jewels. Are most of your pieces inspired by the past?

Wendy: A lot of my pieces are inspired by history, but I take a concept and give it a modern feel. A good example is my Boleyn necklace which looks nothing like the original.

me: So not to make this all about me, but knowing how much I love vintage and jewels (what better combo is there?) I would like to make you play stylist. I know you love Ossie Clark and I currently have a black plunge one and a red corset tie one on my site – what would you style them with from your collection?

Wendy: For the black plunge, I’d go with the Cleopatra necklace.  That will wiggle down nicely in the cleavage! Because the red corset dress is buttoned up, I’d load up on rings. At least three on each hand! All in 18K yellow gold. I’d do the Siobhan, the Borgia poison ring and the Agrippina poison ring. By the way, if you open up three locket rings at a dinner party, you’ll have everyone’s attention. I’ve done it!

me: You are an evil girl – how did you know that I have a secret lust for the Cleopatra necklace? You chose all poison rings and you design quite a few versions of them too – what’s the fascination? Should I be extra nice to you when we meet just in case?

Wendy: I don’t keep anything in my poison rings, but you should still be extra nice to me. I like seeing people’s reactions when I open up a ring.

Me: You obviously have a strong sense of style – how do you imagine the woman that wears your collection?

Wendy: The woman who wears my pieces is independent and funny. She’s confident enough to wear jewelry that people will notice. She’s the type who has realized that wearing a literal conversation piece will make her feel like the belle of the ball. To me, it’s always about feeling like a star.

me: Speaking of conversation pieces I know you love vintage so tell me, what is the MOST phenomenal piece of vintage you own, your conversation piece and the one piece that you would try to save from a burning building because you could not live without?

Wendy: Definitely my Ossie Clark snakeskin jacket. He gave it himself to an employee and I got it from her. I love knowing he touched it with his own hands!

Me: Oh I am a bit jealous about that one! What a fantastic piece! And finally, every interview should have the mandatory corny and slightly silly question meant to amuse the reader and give a fabulous close to the interview. insert drum roll here……

If you were a gemstone – which would you be and why?

Wendy: A six-carat pink diamond, so I could have lived in Jennifer Lopez’s engagement ring from Ben Affleck. Imagine the glamour and excitement! Of course, that was back in the day. By now I’d be living in a new ring, being borrowed by other celebrities and going to fabulous parties. The life of a six-carat pink diamond is never boring.

Yours in vintage,

Cherie
ShrimptonCouture.com

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Love jewelry? Read our interview with Beverly Hills lewelry designer NEIL LANE

TORONTO (Herald de Paris) - My step-daughter made an interesting confession to me a few days ago. She told me that when she first met me, seeing my archives and shop, that she thought I was a bit odd. Weird, actually.  She wondered what her father was doing with someone who was obsessed with, “old clothes.”

Ahh the honesty of youth. Now that she knows her labels she probably wants to take that back.

But I was actually less surprised than you might think. The life that My Guy and I have built takes us all over the world and usually into circles of people who are not fashion oriented (yes, they actually exist) and even (gasp) with fashion people who don’t know a lot about vintage. It’s a pretty common reaction – that blank stare when I mention my little on-line vintage emporium. “You can sell used clothes to people?” Is the inevitable question, although it is sometimes framed somewhat more politely and truth be told, sometimes less. This is often followed by a rather dismissive look. My Guy likes to stay quiet and hold back for a good 5 minutes into the conversation. He will then start casually dropping a few celebrity names, noting that I also sell to Museums, write a column and run my business in the black and have done so since day one. We both watch with amusement when their little eyes suddenly perk up and they get it. Credibility is hard to come by when you’re a supposed junk peddler but it can be gained. To dismiss based on the unknown is the world we live in, like it or not. Of course our reaction to those not in the know, can seem a bit childish to you, my fabulous readers, but its hard to resist doing & its amusing, plus, if we can convert one more person to the allure of vintage, then why not? Not that we’re trying to save the planet from ignorance or anything. We’re much too busy for that.

Vintage fashion is a strange landscape. Depending on the current trend, usually defined by who is wearing what, vintage is either flaunted as being hip and up to the minute (isn’t that ironic!) or it’s quiet and below the surface without fan fare. But it’s always there.

Die-hard vintage girls like me buy and wear vintage with little regard for what the current trends happen to be. There are tons of girls out there who are active hunters for vintage treasures regardless of the current cool factor. But I am also surprised at how many people I meet who know nothing about vintage, the designers, the labels, and these people are often in the fashion industry. Where have they been?

I actually find people can be dismissive of fashion in general and I know that any of you who are reading this and work in this industry know of what I speak. I know you have had those same blank looks thrown at you when you say you are in fashion. It’s an industry associated with frippery and youth, rather then what is has really become, which is an industry of public companies and exchanges; profit and loss statements and very, very valuable clothing in certain sectors of it. Though vintage has perhaps not gone the route of becoming a publicly traded venture, trust me when I say that in certain parts of it, the clothes are also very, very, valuable.

So if their is a moral in today’s column its that despite what anyone else thinks or their reaction to it, you just have to forge ahead and do what you love, even if it seems to go against the norm, even if it’s just a little niche of a thing to do, even if people think you are odd. I am the first to admit it’s a strange little world I inhabit but its one that I would not give up even if every person I met from here on in thought me odd. In fact, it might even inspire me to tell you a great truth – that don’t you find the people who don’t quite fit in are usually the most compelling?

And the step-daughter? She now has her own little vintage collection started and is a firm convert. Some of her friends think she is odd.

Most, including me, think she is fabulous.

Yours in vintage

Cherie

shrimptoncouture.com

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TORONTO (Herald de Paris) – I am sure that by now you have heard that the recently revived Ossie Clark label will soon be no more. Too many of us in the vintage world, that news came as no great surprise. I say that with a bit of sadness, being a silly sentimentalist that always secretly wishes that these revivals would work. You see, if nothing else, it would at least give future vintage lovers like me pieces to collect long after the originals have disintegrated into pretty bits and pieces from age.

Whenever a label, an iconic label especially, is resurrected from the ashes, all those in my little corner of the world turn a half interested eye and most start taking bets on its longevity. These revivals just don’t seem to work in many cases. Biba has tried to do it twice now (or was it three times?) The house of Vionnet seems to sputters and start, stops and sputters and Halston has yet to fully convince us, or the critics that they are here to stay – this time around.

That is not to say that it is impossible. Tom Ford turned Gucci on its you-know-what. I bet that if you are under thirty and reading this, you might not even know that at one point in its history Gucci was a washed up label no fashionista in her right mind would touch. Seriously – Google it and see. In fact, most labels that have been around for a really long time go through patches where things can get really rough and they can fade into temporary or complete obscurity. Until, that is, girls like me rediscover them.

I have a bit if a theory on what makes one label survive and another not and probably many of you will poo poo it. I do not claim to be a fashion journalist, nor am I a historian. What I am is a girl who has had an unbelievable amount of dresses pass through her hands. Many of those dresses are the originals from those same design houses that are now valiantly attempting to resurrect themselves so I may not be a expert but I sure as heck know me a good dress.

It seems to me there is a missing ingredient called “passion” in many of these attempts. I am not saying that the designers or management at Ossie Clark do not, or did not, have passion.

But I have to wonder – did they have the right kind of passion to do the job?

Have you ever noticed the hardest design houses to keep going or to resurrect are those whose helm was held by one strong individual? And only if and when you happen upon someone with that same no holds barred, driven, undeniable, in your face, I must or I die- from the gut – “don’t stand in my way or I will plough you down” -  type of passion for the ORIGINAL label and not just themselves, does that design house survive?

The best example of this that I can think is Karl Lagerfeld.

Ms. Chanel was one hell of a girl, and I have a feeling that Karl Lagerfeld is one of the few people on this planet that could have held his own. He also has an incredible sense of aesthetic that goes beyond designing clothing and so did she. Whether you like a particular season’s Chanel collection or not, you can always see him in that collection.  Miraculously, you can still see HER in there too. Lagerfeld has held the reins in his hands in just the right way, with just the right balance, maintaining her passion alongside his own, for all these years and subsequently built an empire.

I have a closet full of original Ossie Clarks. Each one of them transforms when they are put onto a body. Each one of them is magic. I read a quote somewhere (forgive me for not remembering the author) that said something along the lines of, “It is impossible to not have a good time when wearing an Ossie Clark. It’s true. Girls got married in them and don’t go thinking white dresses with that statement. I am talking walking down the aisles in full-out print pieces, plunged to the waist designs, and this was back in the 1960s and 70s, when free love or not, people in churches had rules about stuff like that. Girls broke them defiantly because those dresses made them feel like goddesses. Girls fell in love in them, had boys fall in love with them, broke hearts in them and had silly, giddy, terribly tremendously, fabulous times in them.

That kind of spirit is not easy to recreate unless you have lived it or at least have worn the dresses and know inside out how they make you feel in them. You can look at them and admire them and have archives full of them but they are just dresses until you put one on and become that girl. I did occasionally see some really pretty items walk the new Ossie Clark runways, but I never once had that same feeling of unrequited obsession that the originals make me feel. The right kind of passion was missing and the result is that the label is no longer.

Halston was also resurrected recently and seems to be doing pretty well. There have been some misses in the collections and the critics are not entirely sold, but the Halston aesthetic, that simple drop dead gorgeous gown and flowing dress, that aesthetic seems to be capturing the hearts of modern girls. I have great hopes that they will find themselves despite some of the behind the scenes troubles they seem to have had of late with finding the right creative head for the label. The reason I have hopes for the label is that Halston has something that the Ossie Clark label did not have. It has a girl behind the label who loves the original pieces.

Tamara Mellon, board member of Halston and Jimmy Choo founder & President, loves vintage Halston, she was spotted wearing it long before the label was bought and is a known collector. Tamara knows how a vintage Halston feels to wear and she cannot help but to compare the old to the new I would think. I know I would. I think that insight is what will give the new Halston the edge in trying to stay relevant and survive. Halston recently hired Marios Schwab as the new creative head, and he seems to understand and know the history of Halston (there is a great interview with Mario you should read HERE).

If Tamara can use her position to make sure that company as a whole sticks with that love of what the label was and use it to make the label what it can be, then the label has a shot. If Mario can somehow submerse himself into the labels’ history, and get a sense of what it was like to wear a dress that went completely against the fashion of the times, then he has a shot. You cannot replicate or recreate an iconic label and try to pass it off as your own. You are foolish to try. You can recreate pieces of that label and you can use it as a springboard to create your own greatness. Halston seems to be doing just that with their upcoming launch of the Halston Heritage collection for Spring, 2010. This line will reproduce pieces from the archives.

Resurrected labels almost always get slammed by critics for borrowing too heavily from the archives, and I applaud the genius of turning the tables on them by making it completely in-your-face. Critics won’t like it but I bet the buying public will. There is a reason why vintage pieces are iconic. A good dress is a good dress.

So yes, I am sad to see Ossie go but content with my collection of originals. And I am not opposed to picking up a piece or two from the now defunct line as they make their way through the resale chain. One day they will be collectibles too. As for Halston, no matter what happens there, I will love and cherish each of my originals from that label, and will probably buy a few of the Archival pieces too – just so I don’t have to worry about trivial things like spilling wine on my originals, of course.

After all, a girl has to do something with her winnings.

Yours in vintage,

Cherie

shrimptoncouture.com

(Original photographs By Angela Y. Martin, AYM Photography. All rights reserved)
aymphotography.com

Herald de Paris Shrimpton Couture Archive HERE

Recently, I was contacted by Angela Y. Martin of AYM Photography. Angela is a freelance photographer whose fashion and beauty photographs have been featured in a ton of outstanding Canadian publications, such as FASHION Magazine, Flare Magazine, 24 Hours & The Toronto Star.  She is also a regular contributing photographer for The Canadian Press and the Fashion Weekly Magazine.  So when she asked if I would lend out a few armfuls of Shrimpton Couture garments for a photo shoot, it took me about 2 whole seconds before I shouted, “YES!”

People often think photo shoots are always done for a specific reason, but that is not always the case. There is a whole sub-culture of photo shoots. Sometimes photographers like to do shoots as purely creative exercises. Upcoming models, stylists and the hair & make-up people all need pictures and practice on order to build their books and portfolios, while little shops like mine are happy to get the extra exposure gained from the great photographs. Shoots also give people in the business a chance to get to work together and it’s how you slowly, but surely, build a reputation in the fashion industry as being trustworthy (and hopefully fun to work with).

If you have never participated in a shoot before you might think it interesting to know how it works, from start to finish, and I thought it would be fun to share some of the behind the scenes photos with you – there is only space for a select few here but you can look to The Shrimpton Blog for more in the near future. We all see the pictures that end up in the magazines and they always look so effortless that we forget how much work it takes to get them. It’s amazing to see the amount of primping and preparation that takes place to get the perfect picture. It also quite astounding at how many people it takes to get there.

After Angela and I agreed to work on this shoot together, I was then put in touch with the stylist, Ulia Koles. Ulia sent me a list of the items currently listed on Shrimpton Couture that she thought would work and we arranged for a drop off time. This shoot took place right here in Toronto so it was super easy for me to drop everything off myself. Knowing what happens at an actual shoot and how things can change at a moment’s notice depending on the mood, the lighting and the where, I brought two extra garment bags that were bursting with vintage couture from both my studio and my personal archives. Just in case.

My part of the job is now officially done – I have the easiest part in it all! The days that lead up to a shoot are taken up by meetings with the photographer, stylist and the hair & make-up person (Larissa McCourt for this shoot). They go over the clothes, decide on the way the girls will look, decide a location and confirm everyone’s schedules. Ulia also has the task of pulling in all the accessories that will be used at the shoot – sometimes this can be triple the amount of clothing there or more!

Angela was so excited to have such a big selection of clothes to work with that she changed the original plan to shoot one girl, beautiful Toronto socialite Ainsley Kerr to a dual photo shoot and booked a model she has been looking to work with from Elite, Camille Neviere, an upcoming stunner of a girl.

The day of the shoot is, of course, the most fun day. Ainsley is an easy girl to photograph.  Though not a professional model, she certainly has the looks to be one and has a natural ease in front of the camera that shines through. She is used to being photographed so that helps. Ainsley sits on the board of the new, soon-to-be-launched, Style Box venture and is also on the Board of The Textiles Museum of Canada. I love the shots that result from her part of the shoot – Ulia and Larissa went pin-up glam for her look to accent her natural cover girl looks and my pretty 1950s frocks look like a million dollars on her!

Camille is up next and Ulia decides to do a long, lean 1970s look on her. Larissa dries her hair bone straight for the first few shots and then eventually ties it back in a tight bun for the shots with my couture orange 1970s Halston and Bill Tice gowns. The pictures turn out wonderfully and you can instantly see why Camille has been snatched up by Elite. She has an innate sense of what to do in front of the camera.

Every shoot has a “moment”.  The one thing you laugh or cry about whenever you see the photographs and your mind flashes back to that time. During this shoot, that moment happened when we were photographing Ainsley on the stairs in the park, when suddenly her facial expression changed and we all turned to look to see what had distracted her. There, off in the distance, was a couple who were having their own shoot ….a very intimate one …if you get my drift.

And people say Canadians are conservative?

Yours in vintage,

Cherie

ShrimptonCouture.com

(All photographs By Angela Y. Martin, AYM Photography.  All rights reserved)
aymphotography.com

MORE from Shrimpton Couture .. only in the Herald de Paris: HERE

I have bought and sold thousands of garments over the years and I have developed this insane ability to spot a vintage garment by seeing even just a few inches of fabric peeking out from hundreds of pieces of cheap uninteresting pieces. Strange but true. During the summer months I start to troll the markets and whenever I take someone with me for the first time they always comment on my method. I shop by touch, and can go through a rack with lightening speed, my fingers moving across the shoulders of each garment, waiting for the right feel of the fabric to stop me in my tracks. That item then gets pulled and looked over to see if it is coming home with me. Sometimes there is not even a moment’s hesitation. I know even as I lift the hanger that this is a find, a treasure….my heart stops, my breathe catches and I am instantly in love and imagining the dress’ new life and the adventures she and I will have. Other times it is more of a courtship. I look over her folds and fabrics while she looks back at me as I inspect her to ensure she is still sturdy enough to wear. I can feel that little dress valiantly trying to perk herself up. Sometimes we are not suited for each other at all and I have to put her back to wait for a better match.

Having done this so many times through the years I have picked up a few tricks here and there as well as some dos and don’ts. A few months ago I was asked to write an article on this same subject for one of the industry insider sites:  www.thefashionlist.com. It was very well received so I thought I would update some of the points made there for you, my new readers. These are some of the things I have learned about shopping for vintage

Labels

Like in the art world, a signed piece can instantly increase its value tenfold. Certain labels are so rare and collectible that if you are lucky enough to run across them you need to know it and snatch them up!! I think I might pass out if I were to find a Fortuny or a Poiret – these can be worth a small fortune. When I think of some of the pieces I passed over early on in my collecting days I literally cringe at my lack of knowledge at the time – oh for a time machine! Learn from my early errors and makes sure that if you are going to buy vintage with the intention to collect, learn who is relevant and who is not. That being said please also understand that even labeled pieces can be UGLY. Many designers have had very long careers and it is inevitable that they do not hit the mark every time. Don’t buy something that is ugly and will not suit you just because it has a label, unless you have hit the proverbial jackpot with one of the really rare ones out there. Do a little research and learn what labels should never be passed up on and what labels will add to the value of your item as a nice side effect to that fact that you love it.

Quality

Look for great stitching – it should be tight and finely done. I am a nut about stitching. Learn to be a nut about it too. Seams are important – the greater number of seams, the higher the quality of the garment. All those extra seams and darts in your item mean it took a greater amount of time to make it. One of the reasons why garments have less seaming and pieces in their construction now is that it uses a lot more fabric to construct a dress from 20 separate pieces than it does from two. Dresses that are cut on the bias are almost always higher quality. This technique uses obnoxious amounts of fabric and is a sign of outstanding construction. Older garments have a ton of extra details that get skipped nowadays to save money; proper buttonholes, gusseted seams under the arms, little straps and hooks under the shoulder straps to hold your undergarments in place, dressmakers tape inside the waist so the dress sits perfectly in your frame, extra hooks, eye and snaps. These details are all meant to hold everything perfectly in its proper spot and are all done by taking extra time and cost, things that sadly get cut out of the design process in many cases nowadays. These are details that tell you that a garment is well made and of a high level of quality. You would have to go very high end or couture modern labels to replicate the level of quality you can find in vintage. And that I like!

Trends

I always have a bit of a giggle when the fashion magazines and designers showcase the newest latest trend for the season. Almost every trend I have ever seen has an earlier counterpart that you can trace back to. That also means you can go out and outfit yourself in vintage and look spot on and up to the minute, meanwhile you skip the higher price tags of current retail, wait-lists and you end up buying in a one-of-a-kind garment that no one else can go buy. So do follow fashion please. Look for what the mood and style of the season will be. But then take that knowledge and see what you can find in vintage. This season’s strong shoulder trend, for example: look to 1940s suits with their powers shoulders and look for that trend reinterpreted again in the 1980s before you dish out for that Balmain jacket. If you want to recreate the softer side of that look and do a high capped shoulder, look for 1930s frocks with their pretty shoulders that are capped and gathered for height or move ahead again and look to the 1970s British Boutique labels like Biba who where masters at reinterpreting the thirties look into what was modern for them at the time. Are you getting the picture? There is really not much new under the sun and a smart girl can interpret the current must have with a vintage must own and can afford.

The bottom line when you are buying vintage is to buy what you love. There is no greater regret then to come across a dress that you hesitate on and then the next day is gone. Vintage is not like retail – you cannot order a replacement. If you see something you love you have to buy it then and there! Impulsive behaviour is a MUST learn habit when buying vintage! And yes you may quote me on that to justify your purchases!

Now the flip side of knowing a thing or two about what to look for when shopping for vintage is to arm yourself with the knowledge of what to avoid. My clients get vintage that has been gone over with a fine tooth comb, cleaned and leaves my hands ready to wear. It does not always come that way to me though. I have wept when beautiful pieces of vintage have literally fallen apart in my hands when I have tried to clean them or found a hidden flaw that does not pass my standards for sale. When you shop with me or one of my outstanding fellow dealers you know you can expect pieces that have been edited for quality. But that comes with experience. I cannot tell you how many mistakes I made back in the early days when I scoured the thrifts and charity shops. If you are just starting out and using thrift stores or charity shops as your main source for the hunt, then knowing a few basics about what not to buy is just as important as knowing what to buy.

Stains

The number one thing I watch for whenever I find a vintage garment is the presence of underarm stains. These are NOT going to come out. You will all have heard the mythical story of how someone got a perspiration stain out with their granny’s home recipe and if you are brave enough to attempt it then I wish you well. But I can pretty much guarantee that 99.9% of these types of stains are there to some degree for the rest of the life of that garment. Even worse, I can also tell you that some fabrics hold the smell associated with those stains and that smell will make its presence known only when you are wear the item and the fabric heats up. This will happen when you are in public and you will be mortified. Does it sound like this once happened to me? I learned the hard way on this one so don’t you go there.

Pass on stained garments with two (rare) exceptions

1) You have learned your labels inside out and know the piece is extremely rare and are buying for collection purposes or

2) The damage is very, very slight and you might even be able to expand the armhole slightly to rid the garment of the stains

You can then expand on that to include bad stains in general. There are a lot of stains that will come out but most will not. If you buy a stained garment buy it knowing you might be stuck with it as it is. If the stain is small and livable, then leave it be and wear your item with pride – vintage is allowed to show some patina of age – sometimes it is this patina that makes it better. If you decide to try to clean it on your own please do some research so you don’t find out to late that you have done it incorrectly and have now ruined the entire garment.

Shattering

Shattering happens to silk garments and is the result of the support fibers weakening over time, due to its original method of manufacture. In the 19th century, silk was sold by weight, not by length. Lead acetate and other metal salts were added in the dye process to add weight and stiffness to the fabric, as well as to act as a mordant to allow the dye to set. Hence the term “weighted silk”. However, this process makes the fabric more light sensitive and eventually causes chemical damage to the fibers. It looks like tears that go with the grain of the fabric. It does not go away and it will get worse over time. Garments that start to shatter will get to the stage where they literally fall apart with the slightest of touch, turning a work of art into shreds of itself. I have literally wept when I have come across some beautiful 1920s pieces that have finally given in and started to shatter. Sometimes if it is a lining you can do some restoration work and save the garment but again this is not guarantee so be on the look-out.

Moth Holes

Make sure you look for them before you bring any item into your home. If there are holes there may be eggs & larva. To be extra safe I recommend that you dry clean ANY wool, silk or cashmere as soon as you buy it, in fact drop it off at the cleaners on the way home. The small cost of cleaning will far outweigh the potential loss if you bring home a vintage garment with a moth infestation and it spreads to your other garments. Moth holes do not necessarily mean you have to pass up a garment if the damage is not too bad. Just get it cleaned immediately to eliminate the possibility of further damage and then you are fine if the damage is not too extensive. Moth holes can be rewoven by specialty methods, but it is a very expensive undertaking, I have paid about $50 per hole when I have had this done. Like buying a garment with stains, buying one with moth holes means you might have to live with it as is – if you can live with that – clean it and love it.

Moth Ball Smell

This is one of the WORST possible fates to befall a garment. Cleaning might help but some fabrics seem to hold that smell with a death grip. I almost never, ever, ever buy anything that has been stored in mothballs and has retained that smell. Like perspiration stains, even when it seems to have been eliminated, you might find yourself suddenly panicking when you are out and wearing your garment and it starts to heat up. I usually pass.

As a general rule of thumb, clean all vintage as soon as it comes home, unless it is purchased in a cleaned condition already. If you can do it by hand, take the time to educate yourself on some basic cleaning methods and do that. Otherwise find a cleaner you can trust and who understands the rarity of the garment. Tell them to ALWAYS hand wash or spot clean your vintage garment unless they are absolutely sure it will stand up to a modern cleaning methods. I instruct my cleaners to not touch a piece if they have any doubt at all and sometimes I pick up items exactly as I left them. We both are happy with this agreement. Sometimes even that does not work and I still occasionally lose an item that could not stand up to cleaning when everyone thought it would. Its heart-breaking but an unavoidable pitfall.

For really old garments – 1930s and before, or for couture garments – find a specialist. There are certain materials that won’t take dry cleaning or washing at all. I once lost a spectacular sequined 1920s gown early on in my career because I carefully hand washed it and realized too late that the sequins were made from gelatin. Gelatin + water equal a gelatinous gooey mess, a ruined dress and a sobbing girl whose guy had to try to console her. He still is actually, but that’s another specialty.

Vintage, like art or antiques, can easily turn from hobby to obsession. Once you feel the beauty of a silk dress from the 1940s, marvel over the construction of a 1950s couture cocktail dress, die over the sexiness of a 1970s maxi dress and fully realize just how forward and modern the girl who wore that little beaded flapper dress in the 1920s just HAD to be – well you will be hooked for life like me.

Welcome to the club darlings

Yours in vintage,
Cherie

shrimptoncouture.com