Vintage Dress Forms...what shall they wear?

Vintage Fashions Coming Soon...

Off to the Big Apple

I´m off to New York City next week! Here´s a photo of me at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens last summer for a friend´s wedding. Dress: IRO, shoes: Jimmy Choo, hat purchased at boutique in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: Douglas Scott Photography.

Who is Judith Leiber?

 Who is Judith Leiber?

 

Judith Leiber´s story is the classic all-American tale of a girl with a dream. Judith Peto was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1921. She joined the handbag-makers guild, the first woman to do so, before WWII threatened her life due to her Jewish heritage. After the war, she married an American soldier named Gerson Leiber and moved to NYC in 1947. Encouraged by her husband, an abstract expressionist painter whose work can be found at the Smithsonian Museum of Art, among others, Judith founded her own handbag workshop in 1963. Her popularity increased rapidly in her niche market of high-end evening bags with every American First Lady since Mamie Eisenhower owning one.  Judith Leiber clutches have become highly collectible pieces due to their unique styles and master craftsmanship. Though Judith retired in 1998, she is still known to make appearances at her four flagship stores in Las Vegas, New York, and Orange County.

There are 11 Judith Leiber clutches and evening bags in our October Handbags Auction! Don´t miss out on this opportunity to acquire a handcrafted work of art from this American Icon.

Fashionistas Become Auctionistas

The past decade has seen radical growth in the fashion industry worldwide, with web portals allowing fashionistas to practically order clothes straight from the runways. Still, somehow, vintage fashion has long been held hostage from the rest of the world by stylists and collectors in the few capitals where boutiques even exist.

While presenting their newest collections, the major fashion houses are returning to honor the heritage from which they came with Gucci opening a Museum in the center of Florence and Hermes’ ad campaign highlighting the date of their establishment “contemporary artisans since 1837”. The success of the Costume Institute’s Gala, in collaboration with Vogue, and the epic Alexander McQueen exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art have broadened the presentation of fashion as a living art form to the wider public. And so men and women everywhere have embraced the idea that fashion is art that you wear, an opportunity for individual self-expression; anyone can be an artist, everyday, any day, an idea further reinforced by bloggers such as The Sartorialist or Face Hunter.


And so the moment is right for this niche market to be brought out to the fashion-lovers everywhere who would like to source rare pieces from the comfort of their homes. Auctionata, the first online real-time auction house announces the launch of their newest division: Vintage Couture and Accessories. Fashionistas must now become Auctionistas to participate in Auctionata’s curated, concise auctions featuring the world’s premier vintage boutiques and private collections.

The inaugural auction, which will take place on October 18, 2011 will offer 65 vintage handbags with designer labels such as Hermes, Chanel, Prada, YSL, Gucci, and Judith Leiber to name a few, all without reserves. The category will continue to expand with plans for an exclusively Louis Vuitton auction followed by a vintage Chanel auction next on the calendar.

To take part in this groundbreaking event, register now by clicking here.

My Recent Trip to Vienna

This blogpost could have also been titled: "major changes in my life" but considering I´ve frequently announced that I´m turning a new leaf or going in a new direction and it hasn´t always panned out, I didn´t want to sound ridiculous. But the truth is, I am now starting a completely new adventure.


Last week , I went for the second time in the last few months for a visit to Vienna, Austria. It is an amazingly beautiful city, so different than the French cities I know so well. I´m going to have to switch my profile description from Francophile to Europhile because I feel the former is just too limiting at this point.


So what is the new direction? I am now the official "category manager" for "Fashion and Accessories" for the new online auction house Auctionata. Haven´t heard of it? You will. Just wait.
Now, you are probably wondering how I went from antiques and design to fashion and auctions. It is actually a very logical transition so here goes the explanation in a nutshell.


If you have been an avid follower of this blog, you have from time to time experienced my posts about a Chanel fashion show at the Grand Palais or shopping for vintage dresses from Les Merveilles de Babellou. You also know that for some time I have carried a vintage jewelry collection at Alhambra (Antiques). The auction world and the antiques world have always been very closely intertwined with many dealers buying solely through auctions or selling at auction. My experience with auction houses has been limited due the way our business was modeled, but I did attend an auction here and there in Paris or Lyon or New York. That world peaked my interest again when I read Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton, in which the opening chapter on auctioneers and the vital role the auction house plays in the art market candidly revealed many insider secrets long held sacred.
Every year at the annual Original Miami Beach Antiques Show, I seem to meet someone intriguing (John Mayer, Michael Bruno, etc), and 2011 was no exception. I was miserably ill but managed to man the booth the entire length of the show even being interviewed for the morning news and being featured in the Spanish version of the Miami Herald
but in the end it was a brief acquaintance with one of the founders of Auctionata that sealed my fate. I hope you enjoy the ride...in the meantime click over to www.auctionata.com and register to watch my inaugural Vintage Handbags auction on October 18th.

(All photos taken by me on location in Vienna.)