IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

-Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

 

It was the BEST of times last night as we feted our incredible vintage Moschino collection at Decades with aRose McGowan, Paz de la Huerta, Erica Pelosini, Louis Leeman, Janie Bryant, Mena Suvari, Perrey Reeves, Liza Mae Carlin, original vintage Moschino owner owner Lynda Yost, Jennifer Tilly, Aimee Song, Jeff Snyder, Natalia Bonifacci, and hundreds others who love the FUN in fashion and the contradictions of original Franco Moschino.  Who knew a suit that means business could be so fun?  Charles Dickens wrote elegantly of the high and lows of life and Franco Moschino manipulated the yin and yang in his own spectacular way on the runways of life.

-Cameron

 

All Moschino pieces, as seen on these photos, available for purchase at
http://www.decadesinc.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=moschino

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.

HAUTE PAPIER BY BEA SZENFELD

We have been invaded by Swedish art at Decades. Last Monday we had a party to celebrate the Swedish artist Bea Szenfeld and her incredible art to wear pieces which are available for purchase here. 

Take a look at some of our party pics and the fabulous people that stopped by to support fashion and art.

Shop Bea Sznefeld pieces by clicking here. 

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.

DECADES AND CHRISTIE’S AUCTION

Decades has partnered with Christie’s  in London on a new auction going live on November 13 on Christie’s website www.christies.com/fashion . If you are in the look out for one of a kind vintage gems register to bid and purchase collector’s items carefully selected by the King of Vintage himself. Below is an interview of Cameron Silver with Christie’s if you want to better understand the importance of buying and wearing vintage. 

Why is vintage fashion so alluring?

It's not easy to have original style in the 21st century where everything and everyone is accessible. Vintage is a guarantee to personalise your style. Ironically, vintage dictates modern trends so a vintage wearer is always one step ahead of the fashion pack.

What is the holy grail of vintage for you?

An Yves Saint Laurent Mondrian dress. It would be nice to match it with the perfect new owner.

Which contemporary fashion designers do you admire?

I have very eclectic taste. Right now I am very Haider Ackerman, Rei Kawabuko, Ann Demeulemeester, and Raf Simons obsessed. I think Three as Four is brilliant. On the affordable end, I love COS! I am very democratic when it comes to fashion. I am very eclectic as I find things I love at Tommy Hilfiger, too! Great design and great designers with interesting and successful businesses are my heroes.

Who wears it best?

In 17 years of Decades, we have dressed Oscar winners to your grandma! Everyone can wear vintage. It’s just about HOW you wear it.

What are your top picks from Christie’s forthcoming Vintage Couture sale?

A Rudi Gernreich mono-kini topless
bathing suit, 1962
Estimate: £2,800–3,000

I won’t be surprised if the Rudi signed swimsuit gets bids the minute people see it [and] the Dior gowns are exquisite.

What should collectors be collecting for the future?

Neo Vintage is really starting to trend and there is interest in early Alber Elbaz for Lanvin, Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga, Rick Owens, and I think the impact Mary Katranzou has had in prints as well as so much of Karl Lagerfeld's opus cannot be ignored. There is a lot of good fashion happening right now.

What are your top tips for creating a vintage wardrobe?

Vintage should be your conversation piece so I prefer to buy pieces that make a statement and let your modern wardrobe complement. Don't do basic or boring and step outside of your comfort zone. However, ask yourself when building your wardrobe ‘does this look modern?’ because that's the great magic of vintage: when you get it right, you are the future of fashion.

Who would you invite to your dream dinner party?

Everyone is dead: Baron de Rede, Marlene Dietrich, Dirk Bogarde, former Texas governor Ann Richards, Halston, Ebony founder Linda Johnson, Rudi Gernreich, Krishnamurti, Christopher Isherwood, and Grace Kelly, among others.

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.

CAMERON SILVER GOES TO TEXAS

The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame of Fort Worth Texas welcomes Cameron Silver on Wednesday October 23, at 5pm for a special shopping event inspired by the frontier women.
Click image above for more info.

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.

DO NOT MISS VERSAILLES '73

If you have not seen Versailles '73, An American Runway Revolution directed by Deborah Riley Draper and featuring supermodels such as Pat Cleveland, China Mochado, Marisa Berenson, than you should. The documentary explores a pivotal moment in both American and French fashion, as well as the global perception of African American models in the seventies. Narrated by our darling Cameron Silver the film will screen by the Costume Council on April 22nd at the Bing Theater at LACMA in Los Angeles. Please rsvp at costumecouncil@lacma.org since seating is limited.

MIXED OR MATCHING?

The big dilemma: how to wear prints this fall and next Spring? Of course we say matching! All over print has seen a huge revival. Those days of the color and mixed prints are back with a vengeance. The question is, should one mix the prints or match them....as you can see Cameron Silver is a fan of matching because it makes for a spectacular impression (you can see him in custom made Nicole Miller print ticket suit at the Met Gala 2012 and in a matching print suit Spring 2012 by Mary Katrantzou below). So it would be a no-brainer for us at Decades on how to wear the 60's Emilio Pucci skirt and jacket here. But if you  are not convinced yet, try wearing the skirt with a white blouse and the jacket with leather pants or jeans. 

-Eri 

Pucci velvet multi print two piece, c. 1960's. Modern size 4 to 6. 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.

WHAT WOULD CARY GRANT WEAR?

The reason you have not seen Cameron's posts on this blog lately is that he has embarked on a world book tour promoting his book Decades: A Century of Fashion.

As part of the book tour Cameron Silver stopped by CBS News this morning to talk about his new book. If you missed it you can click here  to watch the full interview with Charlie Rose, Norah O'Donnell and Gayle King. If you have not purchased the book yet you can do so on amazon.com and for a signed copy you can order at Decades. Cut tall and slender, the book features 200 archival images of vintage fashions that still look stunningly modern. It is a bubbly, beautiful, spirited volume that will make you see style in a totally new way. 

Look who got a copy already; the king of the American media himself, Regis Philbin!

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.

DECADES BOOK TRAVELS ABROAD

If you are in Berlin or Toronto you have a chance to meet Cameron Silver and attend his presentation of his recently published book "Decades - A Century of Fashion"

Saturday, October 13th,  3pm - 5pm at Quartier 206 Departmentstore 

Friedrichstrasse 71 Berlin Tel: 030 2094 6800

Tuesday, October 23rd, 6pm - 8pm at Pink Tartan Flagship Store 

77 Yorkville, Toronto, Canada Tel: 416 967 7700

Click on the images above for more info and click here to check out the exclusive preview of the book and to pre-order your signed copy. 

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.

DITA VON TEESE @ DECADES

Have you ordered your Dita dress yet? If you have, we have great news for you. Not only is Dita Von Teese the biggest name in burlesque but she is responsible for bringing back the glamour and allure of Old Hollywood stars. The 5 piece collection is exactly that. Wearable, glamourous warderobe staples all inspired by Dita's favorite vintage pieces she collected over the years.
In addition to being the only online retailers of the Dita Von Teese Collection in the US, Decades is offering a $1,000 gift card and styling session with Dita herself and Cameron Silver for five lucky customers.
Click here for more info on how to enter the contest and click here to shop the Dita Von Teese collection.

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.

CAMERON SILVER IN ATLANTA

If you live in Atlanta or visiting, do not miss Cameron Silver of Decades at Saks Fifth Avenue on September 4th at 11am. Enjoy champagne as Cameron reads an excerpt from his book DECADES: A Century of Fashion. Click on the image below for more info on how to win a free autographed copy!!

Click here to read a fun interview with Cameron at The Atlantan. 

WINDOW SHOWDOWN

As the LA premiere date of Versailles '73 is fast approaching, we recreated our own interpretation of how the American models looked in the beautiful creations of the American designers as they competed for recognition at the now infamous Fashion Show in Versailles in 1973. Cameron Silver narrated the documentary, which premiered in Cannes last May. As interesting as it is from a fashion point of view, what happened in Grand Divertissement at Versailles in 1973, is historically and socially important. Not only was this night important to American ready-to-wear designers having an international presence, but also because twelve African-American models at one time in one show representing American fashion industry, caught the Europeans by surprise. Those beautiful creatures like Pat Cleveland, Bethann Hardison and Alva Chinn  helped break the color barrier down. The very next year Beverly Johnson was the first African-American model on the cover of Vogue. 

With our window we pay homage to Halston, Bill Blass and Oscar de la Renta, few of the most important American designers who helped give American fashion industry a voice not only in Versailles in 1973 but for decades to follow. Created by the talented Jeff Snyder and Jarred Cairns, our windows pay homage to a world without color or borders, where only beauty and passion to create, triumphs.

For those who live in NY click here to book tickets for Versailles '73: American Runway Revolution screening at IFC Center. 

-Eri  

Bill Blass rainbow chiffon gown with shawl, c.1980's. Modern size 4 to 6. Click here for more info. SOLD

Halston one shoulder rust-gold crinkled silk layered gown, c.1970's. Modern size 4, waist 24 inches. Click here for more info. 

Bill Blass multicor chiffon gown, c1980's. Modern size 4 to a small 6. 

Oscar de la Renta irridiscent olive draped charmeuse/chiffon evening dress with wrap, c.1980's. Modern size 4. Click here for more info.

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.

DECADES - A CENTURY OF FASHION

As most of you already know, DECADES: A Century of Fashion by Cameron Silver, will hit the stores in October. It is a must have book for everyone who loves fashion and most importantly the history of fashion. Cameron is an expert at taking the finest clothing from the past and giving it a second life-and this is what Decades is all about. It is the story, from Cameron's contemporary perspective, of 20th century style and innovation. The styles he showcases, along with his perceptive and witty commentary, dispel many of our preconceptions about decades past; the Edwardians were not all buttoned up after all, the ubiquitous Audrey Hepburn wasn't the only fashion icon of the fifties, and yes, it was actually possible to dress with elegance in the eighties. 

You can pre-order you copies here. I say copies because it will be the best Christmas/Hanukkah present for everyone with style in your life and of course for yourself. Every book purchased through our website will be personally signed by Cameron.

So pre-order now and get your very own signed copy. And as the author says, If it's in fashion, its already old!

-Eri 

Decades - A Century of Fashion by Cameron Silver 
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.