Vintage Valentino Has Never Been Hotter

This week, our beloved Valentino is ending his 45 year career as a leading name in fashion with a final runway show at the Rodin museum in Paris. I am eagerly waiting to see what he has chosen to be the last pieces he gives to the world with the label that holds his name. the label that holds his name. I imagine there will be a bit of his trademark red, and hopefully a few fabulous goddess gowns. I also speculate that when this last collection hits the stores, they will be gone in a jiffy.

Since the big Valentino 45th anniversary party last spring, vintage Valentino pieces have been in very high demand. Not that they were ever really ignored, as his style is always pertinent and desirable.. but since the party young collectors have been clamoring to own a piece of his history. Now that he is stepping down, I am anticipating even more interest.

I am fortunate to have two spectacular vintage Valentino pieces on SwankVintage.com right now. The black goddess is a stunning item… but the mod cashmere from the 1960s is a real treasure,worthy of the upcoming museum retrospective that will open this spring in Paris.

The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera quoted Valentino last week as saying “My biggest regret? Not having the time, or perhaps the desire, to shape a young person ready to inherit my place. And if I didn’t do that, it’s because I’m too focused — the idea of passing on the baton never really appealed to me”. Alessandra Facchinetti, formerly a designer at Gucci, will take over design duties at the label.

Valentino will be keeping busy with the screening of a feature length film called The Last Emperor, a documentary of Valentino and the last 2 years as a designer. The film will be followed by the aforementioned fashion retrospective in June at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. Valentino will also be made an honorary citizen of Paris in a ceremony this Thursday.

Ebay buyer beware – Vintage Shopping in an I-Jungle

I don’t wish to turn my blog into a b#$ch list, but I really feel I should make vintage clothing shoppers aware of the state of my trade… well, not MY trade, but the vintage trade in general.

I suppose whenever there is money to be made, there will be dishonest people making a grab. We all know to be watchful for fake Chanel handbags, but I don’t think many shoppers know about label switching. I have a hundred stories about finding dresses in consignment shops that are obviously not what they are being sold as. I have also seen beautiful couture mangled by label thieves who will tear out a label and/or buttons with no regard for the stunning item it was attached to. In both cases, it is a unforgivable crime against couture.

Now, I am finding this practice is rampant on Ebay where it is even more worrisome because even a savvy buyer can be fooled by a photograph. One prominant seller had an adorable model, seemingly wonderful dresses, and a very high positive feedback score. Early last year that seller was suspended from Ebay for buying 1950s style dresses (on ebay) made in the 1980s, snipping out the 80s labels and either they sewed in a 1950s label, or sold it as “couture” with no label at all. Apparently, someone documented a few such occasions, then blew the whistle. They were removed for a time, then they came back and are still selling today (hopefully more honestly now).

A few months later I found a seller who was taking the labels off vintage ties and sewing them into tacky, trendy dresses (shown above and below). It was obvious to me they were tie labels, but people were spending hundreds on these fake, tacky dresses ($350 for that tired dashiki with a Gucci tie label). I tried to alert Ebay but they could care less. This continued for weeks, I counted at least 35 people who were ripped off by this person, but they were all leaving positive feedback. It was crazy! Are we so label crazed that we believe cheap polyester is couture??? One day, when the dress to the right sold for over $200, I snapped and wrote a post to the ebay message board. By noon there was a buzz, by the next day the chat board Betties organized a mass email campaign to Ebay and got the seller suspended. One small triumph… but the poor lady who bought this horrible, cheezy lace dress that was sold as a 1960s Christian Dior still has not received her $200 back from the Ebay buyer protection.

So, what does a shopper do? We all can’t be experts, but with all the resources availableon the web, I suggest you do your homework before you spend more than $25 on Ebay. The Vintage Fashion Guild is a great resource if you want to research a label www.vintagefashionguild.org. The Ebay chat boards are also a great help.. everyone is an expert there If you are serious about starting a collection, read, touch, go to museums and high end vintage shops. Get a feel for couture, it definitely feels different than ready to wear. Shopping online can be rewarding. Just make sure the seller knows his or her trade very well. A real “expert” can smell a fake a mile away. Good luck and happy, safe hunting.