Friday, December 21, 2012

The Best of 2012


Last year, I had fun rounding up my favorite La Poubelle Vintage pieces from 2011 and so I decided to do it again for this year. As I’m nearing my 1,000th sale, I’m more grateful than ever to my lovely customers for supporting me along the way. Hopefully you’ll want to spend some time taking a trip down memory lane with me!

1. 1950s Wedding Dress
1950s Wedding Dress This year, the boyfriend of one of my best friends bought a house from an elderly woman. I helped him clean it out and of course, dig through all of the clothes. This was the lovely woman’s 1951 wedding dress, we even found her original wedding album with photos of her wearing the dress. This dress fit me like a dream so I was tempted to keep it but decided to set her free.

2. 1950s Blouse
 The very sweetest 1950s floral-print blouse.

3. 1920s Lingerie Set

 It is rare to find a complete lingerie set like this from the '20s so even though this had its flaws, it was still one of my favorite finds this year!

4. 1960s Gown 

 The print and asymmetrical cut of this 1960s gown blows me away!

5. Edwardian Corset Covers




6. 1960s Beaded Dress


This 1960s dress is perfection! And the woman who bought it wore it to her sister's wedding, yay!

7. 1970s Plaid Palazzo Pants


If these pants had fit me they would have been mine, all mine.


8. 1940s Paul Parnes Dress

The beading details on this 1940s Paul Parnes dress was something else!

9. 70s-Does-30s Dress
This dress had me perplexed for quite awhile, the styling and details are very 1930s but the print is likely from the '70s. Either way, the two decades mash up nicely in this cute little bicycle-print dress!

10. 1950s Fur Stole

This 1950s silver mink stole came from a family friend's mother. It was carefully cared for over the years and in amazing condition. I have never felt vintage fur that was so soft and supple!

11. Suzy Perette Cocktail Dress

Suzy Perette was one of the most sought-after dressmakers of the '50s and '60s. This buttercup yellow silk dress of hers is just lovely.

12. 1960s Lace Dress

This 1960s dress was sold to one of my favorite fashion bloggers, Ashley Ording of Fancy Fine!

13. 1940s Veiled Hat
I love this 1940s hat with pearl trim and a delicate mesh veil.

14. 1950s Satin Dress

Quite simply, a beautiful and lush 1950s dress.

15. 1940s Velvet Dress
A beautiful 1940s black velvet dress with white lace embroidery.

16. 1960s Dress
These days you see ombre hair and ombre nails, but how about a 1960s dress made from ombre silk chiffon!

17. Leather Coach Bag
Coach bags never go out of style and I love this pouch-style version.

18. Boho Cotton Dresses

I love this style of dress! I found these two sister dresses together and coincidentally, they both sold to the same person!

19. 1960s Satin Dress
I love the emerald green color and dramatic neckline of this dress.

20. Grenelle Estévez Dress
This dress also inspired me to learn about a new vintage designer, Grenelle Estévez. Similar to this dress, his designs were sleek and simple with interesting lines and cutouts.

21. 1960s Velvet Dress
Pretty much the perfect holiday party dress!

 And on that note, there are several of my favorites from this year that haven't sold yet including a 1970s Pucci dress,  a Mr. John felt fedora, a 1950s cobalt blue dress, and this 1940s cotton dress!


Monday, December 17, 2012

Vintage-Inspired Gucci

I used to be really into fashion shows, scrolling through the thousands of photos on Style.com every season. Lately though, I've tired of it a bit. There are so many collections to keep up with now: spring, fall, resort, couture, pre-spring, pre-fall! Anyways, I happened to stumble onto these photos from Gucci's pre-fall collection and loved them. Combining vintage inspiration with modern styling is not easy but Gucci pulls it off. 







All photos from WWD.com

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Playing Dress Up


1940s velvet dress...in the shop soon!

Since I started La Poubelle Vintage in 2009, I’ve maintained more or less the same method for photographing the clothes—on a dress form. Mostly this is for convenience, I can photograph items more quickly this way, but I’ve always been interested in using a model since some things just look better on a person. I personally hate being in my own photographs because I’m not terribly photogenic (you’ll notice that I’m not looking straight at the camera in any of these photos!) but I thought I’d give it a shot to try and breathe some new life into items that have been hanging around the shop for awhile. It also gave me an excuse to play dress up this morning which is always fun! Any vintage sellers out there have an opinion about models vs. dress forms? I’d love to hear your thoughts!




Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Classics




I don't know about other vintage sellers out there, but one of the hardest things for me as a seller is curating my shop properly. Anyone out there can pick up some old dresses from the thrift store, throw them up on Etsy and call it a vintage store, but I think what really sets the great shops apart is a well-edited collection, and that is something that I am still struggling to get a hold of. When people ask me what my shop is like, I always say “It’s all stuff that I like!” but lately, I’ve been trying to edit down my vision for La Poubelle Vintage a bit so that everything feels more cohesive. Though that vision is still evolving, one thing that you really can’t go wrong with is well-made classics. These are pieces that will virtually never go out of style and are so well constructed that they’ll hopefully last a lifetime! I’ve got a few such pieces hitting the shop soon: a Coach saddle bag, a Ralph Lauren wool blazer and a pair of Cole Haan woven leather flats. Look for them in LaPoubelle Vintage this week!


Thursday, November 15, 2012

Vintage Designer: Mr. John

Spread from Vogue, April 15, 1965. Mr. John hat is on the left. Source: On Pins and Needles



I picked up an awesome orange hat by Mr. John the other day not knowing much about the designer. After doing some research, I realized what a great find this really was! Mr. John, whose given name was John Harberger, was a milliner who started his own hat line in the early ‘50s that was favored by celebrities and film stylists. According to Mr. John’s New York Times obituary (he passed away in 1993), his hats were worn by the Duchess of Windsor, Gloria Vanderbilt, Lauren Bacall and Joan Crawford, and also appeared on Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind, Marlene Dietrich in Shanghai Express, Greta Garbo in The Painted Veil and Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Not too shabby! Mr. John’s hats also appeared in many fashion spreads, including the above photo from a 1965 issue of Vogue. I also love this New York Times quote about his designs: “In the 1940's and 1950's, the name Mr. John was as famous in the world of hats as Christian Dior was in the realm of haute couture. At a time when other milliners were piling on flowers, feathers and tulle, Mr. John was stripping hats naked, relying on pure shape for effect.” Here are some of my favorite photos that I found of Mr. John creations including the style below that will be listed in the shop this week!




Miss Sweeden Anita Ekberg wearing a Mr. John veiled hat in 1951. Photo from Fans in a Flashbulb.




All from the Powerhouse Museum collection

Friday, November 2, 2012

Monday, October 29, 2012

It's All In The Details


 1970s Cream Lace Dress

Hurricane Sandy sure is putting a damper on things here in New York. The subways are shut down, no one is going to work, and most of the city is cozied up inside watching Netflix. So far, I've been cooking a lot (I made a from-scratch pumpkin pie and French onion soup yesterday) and also catching up on some shop tasks that often get left by the wayside like repairs and redesigning my logo. I also managed to take a few shop photos before the rain ruined my natural light, and each piece happened to have some really exquisite details. These items will be trickling into the shop over the next couple of days, here's a little preview. I'm also having a little storm sale, take 20% off of everything in the shop with the code SANDY20!

1950s Wool Circle Skirt


 1950s Silk Blouse


1940s dres


 1960s Wool Suit


1940s Coat