FROM RUNWAY TO REALITY

Next year this dress will be more legitimately vintage as wise folk now say after 15 years a garment becomes a collectible.  However, in the case of this Alexander McQueen for Givenchy, I would not wait 5 months to proclaim this mini a bonafide collectible.  McQueen designed for Givenchy only for a few seasons and sadly he is no longer with us, so this dress has a head start on being a great fashion investment.  I am particularly fond of the original runway photo where McQueen showed the dress with no lining.  When commercialized as offered now at Decades the dress is now much more wearable and the beaded fringe reminds me of Native American jewelry combined with celestial embroidery over for the body.  It's a mysterious dress by a master of midnight fantasy and fashion.  If Daisy Buchanan has lived in the late 1990s, she would have worn this dress.  Own a piece of history that doesn't require a Brazilian as presented.

-Cameron

Alexander McQueen for Givenchy dress in stretch mesh with beaded fringe, Spring/Summer 1998. Marked size 38. SOLD

For additional information, please email blog@decadesinc.com or call + 1 323 655-1960. You may also visit us in person at Decades 8214 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Please reference the description above, if calling or emailing.

WE DO

There isn't a muscle queen in LA who hasn't been living in the gym on a carb free diet while catching faux soleil rays a la Tanning Mom in between crack and sack waxings...Why?  Well it's Gay Pride here in Los Angeles tomorrow and in honor of the LBGT community and its supporters please find our I DO window designed by the now-legendary duo of Jarred Cairns and Jeff Snyder and featuring two gorgeous archival Rochas by Olivier Theyskens wedding gowns and two archival Alexander McQueen tuxedos.  You can buy the Rochas gowns here, but you can't have MY McQueen as the suits are from my personal collection :)  Regardless, we wish everyone a very safe and proud weekend and send you our LOVE.

-Cameron

For additional information, please email blog@decadesinc.com or call + 1 323 655-1960. You may also visit us in person at Decades 8214 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Please reference the description above, if calling or emailing.

UNCOVERING MCQUEEN

Mrs. Patricia Kennedy, a beautiful woman as famous for her large collection of Haute Couture gowns as for her philanthropic work, brought this Givenchy gown at Decades hoping to find a new caring home for it. She thought the dress was purchased in the late 90's, but after an email from one of our avid readers of the blog and some in house fashion investigation, it was uncovered the real date of the birth of this piece. Discovering it was Alexander McQueen for Givenchy it made us all feel like we brought McQueen back to life ... even for a moment. A great artist lives through his work, and for that special women who will own this piece, McQueen will live to tell his own story.
Before he opened his own house, Alexander McQueen was hired by the House of Givenchy where he did more than design. He stirred the waters of this iconic French fashion house. His designs reflected the struggles that McQueen faced in integrating his vision with that of Givenchy. Some impeccably tailored blazers and the unusual metallic fabrics were a success, so were the Haute Couture gowns with exquisite embroidery like this stunning gown below that made Cameron sing upon arrival at Decades headquarters. This is not just an absolutely stunning gown, with delicate details and beaded fringe, but it is a piece of fashion history of a legendary designer who while at Givenchy created pieces that exuded a classic French elegance with an unexpected British twist.
-Eri

Alexander McQueen for Givenchy Haute Couture illusion gown with embroidery. Spring/Summer 2000.  Modern size 6

For additional information, please email blog@decadesinc.com or call + 1 323 655-1960. You may also visit us in person at Decades 8214 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Please reference the description above, if calling or emailing.

SILVER MEDAL

It's amazing what you'll find on the interweb. Today I was came across sites devotes to cat calendars, precocious tween fashion blogs, a page concerned with bullets and mullets, and a tumblr I had never seen that posts pics of our co-owner, Cameron Silver, in his various notorious ensembles.

Men's fashion doesn't always get the coverage that it deserves, so I was particularly excited to see this site, which rivals the sartorial quotient of any major style site. If you have a penchant for Rod Keenan hats and sharp suits via the likes of Antonio Azzuolo, Alexander McQueen, and Simon Spurr, or simply need a fashion pick me up, Cameron Silver In . . . will definitely sate your fashion palette. I myself, was inspired by the snapshot of Cameron above, donning a vintage Katherine Hamnett leather jacket. Sigh. I just love studded duds.

--Lizzy

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN, SUI GENERIS

"I've got a 600-year-old elm tree in my garden, and I made up this story of a girl who lives in it and comes out of the darkness to meet a prince and become a queen." This was Alexander McQueen explaining his inspiration for his Fall 2008 exquisite collection. There is no doubt that Alexander McQueen was a genius. His 2008 collection was the transition from confined, uptight and obscure pieces to more feminine and light. The collection was a wonder in the visual sense, the craftsmanship and for the first time wearability. The news of Alexander McQueen's death in 2010 was devastating because he is responsible for producing some of the most beautiful and shocking images in the history of fashion. Fortunately for all of us, his admirers, we can find consolation on the body of work he left behind. The dress here is an iconic piece and expresses the designer's romantic side. McQueen would have wanted you to dance around like a dark haunted Barbie doll.

-Eri

Alexander McQueen black tulle dress with full skirt and corset bustier, Fall 2008. Marked size 42.SOLD

For additional information, please email blog@decadesinc.com or call + 1 323 655-1960. You may also visit us in person at Decades 8214 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Please reference the description above, if calling or emailing.

MCQUEEN FOR GIVENCHY HAUTE COUTURE

Looking at the runway photo (below) of the Autumn-Winter Alexander Mcqueen for Givenchy Haute Couture show, the bare-all undulated silver-grey sequin halter gown leaves little to the imagination and seems to have a touch of Bai Ling (above) on the red carpet-over-the-top camp. Now, comparing a Givenchy to something Bai Ling would wear is tantamount to shooting our self in the foot as who will buy such a dress? However, upon closer inspection and while viewing photos of the dress on our mannequin at Decades, we realize this dress is such a show-stopper with a dramatic elastic illusion neck halter and the most revealing belly shimmy since Nights of Aladdin. The silver-grey sequins swirl in an abstract motif that is nothing short of hypnotizing. How extraordinary it is to own a piece of history such as this original runway sample by the late Alexander McQueen for the revered House of Givenchy.

Givenchy Haute Couture by Alexander McQueen undulating grey-silver sequin halter gown, Autumn-Winter 2000. Runway sample marked "Catherine and defile no 7). Modern size 4 SOLD

For additional information, please email blog@decadesinc.com or call + 1 323 655-0223. You may also visit us in person at Decades 8214 1/2 Melrose Avenue (2nd Floor) at Harper Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Please reference the description above, if calling or emailing. For email requests, kindly include your full name and phone number plus City, State, and Country from which you are contacting.