DEMURE

The one refreshing thing I viewed during Hollywood's Christmas (AKA The Oscars) was demure seemed to describe so many of the dresses that the stars wore on the red carpet.  It was less about slits up to your ovaries and plunges down to your pupik.   Angelina Jolie was totally covered, as was Camilla Alves (one of my favorites of the evening) except for a bit of nape.  Yes, Lupita showed sternum but the dress wasn't vulgar.  Kate Hudson balanced her boobies while draping her body in sensual Versace that covered most of her assets.  Oscar winner Cate Blanchett wore an Armani Prive that was a variation of a tee shirt gown - albeit one with exquisite hand embroidery.  That's where this Givenchy Haute Couture dress comes in.  Like Cate's, it has short sleeves (these are caped) and it doesn't show much skin but looks positively regal - quite sexy too.  A flattering neckline for so many women, this floral embroidered gown is perfectly lady like and demure without being monotonous.  I have a feeling this was during Julien MacDonald's tenure at Givenchy, but perhaps one of our savvy followers can confirm or correct me.  How do you feel about going demure?

-Cameron

 

Givenchy Haute Couture black beaded gown with floral print, c. 1990's. Modern size 2-4.

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.

DON'T DO BASIC OR BORING

I am not a believer in basic or boring.  Let me rephrase that.  I have no problem with basic, but I just don't like boring.  Take for example this Givenchy silk dress.  It's very basic in it's silhouette: a sleeveless scoop neck shift with a wide sash belt.  However, it refrains from being boring because of the pop-ish primary floral print.  Suddenly this day dress will have you day dream of running barefoot through a wild flower patch.  Reality comes calling.  Just wear this effortlessly through summer with sandals or princess heels and bring a little joy into everyone's life around you since a flower a day, keeps the doldrums away!

-Cameron

Givenchy Nouvelle Boutique silk floral print dress, c.1970's. Modern size 4. 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.

THE DOW HIT 15,000 SO HAVE A COCKTAIL

Today is a good day to be rich.  Actually, almost every day appears to be a good day to be rich!  I am sure many a trader and trader's partner is celebrating as the Stock Market hit new highs today.  What to wear to celebrate?  Givenchy Haute Couture straight out of Holly Golightly's fashion rule book, of course!  This LBD of hammered silk with boat neckline, gathered waist, scoop back, and seductive bow screams business in the front and party in the rear.  I have a feeling there will be a lot of partying in the front AND back this weekend!  Get as sloppy as you want, but still dress chic!

-Cameron

Givenchy Haute Couture silk dress in black, c.1960's. Modern size 4. 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.

OFF THE WALL

I am not suggesting that Nicki Minaj can hold a candle to the King of Pop, but she certainly has style and I know that it is wise to put on something major tonight for Minaj's concert at the Nokia theatre in Los Angeles.  Why not channel a bit of MJ and give some decadent fashiON with this early 80s Givenchy Nouvelle Boutique silk satin royal blue blazer with intricate gold metallic embroidery surrounded by sequins and enhanced with cobalt beads.  Fit for a King or Queen in the color of royalty.  Now, what do you think Nikki Minaj is wearing tonight. I hope some Jeremy Scott for Adidas!

-Cameron

Givenchy Nouvelle Boutique cobalt satin and sequin jacket, c. 1980s  Marked size 38, modern 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.

PERFECT TO WEAR FOR VERSAILLES 73 2.0

Last night's secret LA screening of the new fashion documentary Versailles '73 at Soho House was quite the scene.  Raf Simons, Marisa Tomei, Camilla Staerk, Garcelle Beauvais, David Meister, Jennifer Tilly, Magda Berliner, Christa B. Allen, Kevan Hall, Tracee Ellis Ross, and JC Obando are just some of the bold names who were at the SRO screening.  As a matter of fact, an early bird screening was added by overwhelming demand.  The next top is Atlanta on 4 September.  A lot of the super models from the film that helped change the course of American fashion and broke the color barriers on the runway will be in attendance.  A few days after that, the show comes to NYC for a huge premiere and a theatrical run.

I keep blogging about designers who were part of the Big Ten invited to show in Versailles.  Hubert de Givenchy was one of the privileged few representing the French.  This 1970s goat fur coat of rust and black could have very well been designed around 1973 by Monsieur Givenchy.  Although many may think of Givenchy of the past as being purely Audrey Hepburn, he definitely channeled his inner rocker with this design that has a 1940s-meets-Marilyn Manson sensibility...something I can wrap my head around!  You don't need to be a goth chic or a glam rocker to wear this jacket.  It goes with everything.  Gowns, jeans, LBDs.  It will make your outfit!  Besides, my dream is to recreate the legendary Versailles fashion show next year with a crop of current designers, so start planning your outfits!

-Cameron

 

Givenchy Nouvelle Boutique goat fur in rust and black, c. 1970s.  Modern size 2. 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.

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.

OSCARS OSCARS OSCARS

As we recouperate from the madness that Oscars Week is, everything is still hazy. We were thrilled when Jean Dujardin won, happy to see Maryl Streep add another statuette in her collection, weirdly obsessed with Angelina Jolie's black velvet Versace gown..and her right leg...elated to see Gwyneth Paltrow perfect in Tom Ford, but most of all we were happy to see Melissa McCarthy in her custom made Marina Rinaldi gown. The most important thing in a ceremony like this, which always tends to be on the boring/conservative side, is to look beautiful, not the dress or the borrowed jewels or the clutch, but the woman herself. Melissa looked radiant. Her smile was contagious. Her awe of being recognized was visible. She looked like a real beautiful woman who took the time to appreciate a surreal event like the Oscars and the red carpet.

With that said the following are some snapshots from the world of Decades and our beautiful friends celebrating last weekend.

-Eri

Melissa McCarthy in custom Marina Rinaldi gown in her early morning Oscar fitting with Cameron Silver

Actress Rachael Harris in vintage Lanvin Haute Couture with Cameron Silver at the post Oscars Vanity Fair party

Cameron Silver and the Fashion Police

Our very own Christos Garkinos at the Elton John Oscar party looking dapper in John Richmond tux and Teddy Tinson bowtie

Our beautiful friend Christine Chiu (right) in vintage Givenchy from Decades

YES IT WILL HOLD A BLACKBERRY

The only question one should ever ask of their evening minaudiere is: will you fit my BlackBerry? The answer is a resounding "YES" when questioning this 1970s Givenchy Disco-Does-Deco sculptural gold metal evening bag with Swarovski crystals and optional gold chain/rope strap. The pictures do fine justice to this design so we probably shouldn't elaborate too much on this other than to once again draw your attention to it's BlackBerry-friendliness, it's versatility (clutch or shoulder bag) and it's Givenchy!

Givenchy sculptured gold metal minaudiere with Swarovski crystals and options chain/strap, c. 1970s. 8" x 6" x 2" (approximately). SOLD

Givenchy loves a good shoulder

And if you have a nice neckline this is a great dress to have in the collection. The material is silk with a fall floral print with a hint of metallic thread, and red/brown velvet trim around the ruffled neck line. The dress has puff sleeves and a drop waist, perfect for a woman of tall stature.

Givenchy off the shoulder fall floral gown with puff sleeves and drop waist, c.1970's. Marked size 42, contemporary 6-8. 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.

JUST SAY NO PASHMINAS

What are you doing with a pashmina schmatta wrapped around your shoulders when you are in a rockin' gorgeous gown and a Black tie gala!? Enough with the pashminas. If you don't wear fur, but want some glamour for a night out on the town, then this Givenchy Nouvelle Boutique silk velvet with gold lame is the ultimate wrap. Now, all you need is a fab gown to wear underneath it, or, surprise someone you fancy and open the door draped just in this:


Givenchy Nouvelle Boutique black velvet with gold lame trim evening wrap, c 1970s. Lame trim 5" border around a 21" wide by 75" long velvet wrap. 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.

Blow Bugle Boy Blow

This lovely Haute Couture gown created under the guidance of Hubert de Givenchy is a classic little black evening sheath covered from top to bottom with black bugle beads. There is an erratic strip of cobalt blue beads running across the gown that gives the piece a segmented look. The gown has a back knee high slit and a good amount of room in the hip area. Amazingly, all of the beads are still attached to the gown (we did do a little restoration), the bead design is flawless! Beading can easily go very wrong, while it does have a great deal of "sparkle quality", the subdued construction and bead motif make it a nicely understated chic but decadent knock-out gown.


Givenchy Couture black and blue bugle bead evening sheath, c.1980's. Contemporary size 6. 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.

Gone Fishing!

Maybe you, our loyal fans of the Decades blog, can help us get some information on this lovely Givenchy gown? We are not sure if it was designed by John Galliano, who took over after Hubert de Givenchy retired in 1995, or, if it was designed by Alexander McQueen who helmed the house from 1996-2001. The original owner simply can't remember which of these two terrific talents designed her dress during their respective brief stints at Givenchy. If anyone could let us know which designer can take responsiblity for this fantastic gown, we would be most appreciated.

Now the good stuff, this gown is constructed of nude colored chiffon with a white fishnet layer over it. The gown is a 1930's inspired fishtail silhouette with a bustier top and two shoulder straps of the same material. This is a very classic Hollywood Glamour silhouette that The House of Givenchy updated for today's sensibilities. This piece is in perfect condition and appears to have been unused. A fishtail in fishnet, who among you is going to be caught by this one?

UPDATE: A few of our wonderful readers have suggested this dress is by Julien McDonald for Givenchy. We've emailed Julien photos and are waiting for confirmation as he is on Holiday at present.






Givenchy nude chiffon fishtail fishnet gown, c.1990's. Contemporary size 4.


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.