1930s Clothing

1930'S Baby Pink Rayon Crepe Nautical Anchor Art Deco Print Dress

1930S Rayon Crepe Gold Sequined Short Sleeve Zipper Front Dinner Jacket

1930S Black Silk Faille & Lace Collared Dress With Sleeves Deco Glass Buttons

1940's cotton velvet with metal zip on left side. Original bolero jacket.

As fashion in Japan began to skyrocket, the strong presence of the traditional kimono still remains. The straight cuts of silk are carefully sewn together, crafting a robe that can fit every figure, making it easy to wear and infinitely adaptable. The cultural impression of the kimono was an eye-opener to the western world, becoming a stunning blend of elegance and cultural significance. Fashion industries across the globe began to fall head over heels for this traditional attire that remains a symbol of eastern regions today. Sewn from the finest of damask silk this 1930’s...

From as early as the late 1910s, the trend of Orientalism was all the rage in the Western fashion scene. With various styles, the mid-to-late 1920s saw the rise in the popularity of chinoiserie blue derived from the artistic decorations of Chinese porcelains. This rich color trend graced the designs of haute couture designers such as Lucien Lelong and became widely available to the upper-class masses. From the former San Francisco based department store, I. Magnin, this 1930s evening cape is a vintage treasure that captures its time. Done in a rich blue silk velvet, the cape is multi-tiered coming down to knee level with two heavily flounced tiers that encircle the torso that cover the arms acting as sleeves. The sumptuous layering of the silk velvet pairs with a mock shawl collar that creates a regal aura to this design. This cape is an excellent vintage outerwear...

As fashion in Japan began to skyrocket, the strong presence of the traditional kimono still remains. The straight cuts of silk are carefully sewn together, crafting a robe that can fit every figure, making it easy to wear and infinitely adaptable. The cultural impression of the kimono was an eye-opener to the western world, becoming a stunning blend of elegance and cultural significance. Fashion industries across the globe began to fall head over heels for this traditional attire that remains a symbol of eastern regions today. Sewn from the finest of damask silk this 1930’s...

1930S White Rayon Knit Crisscross Ruffle Trim Blouse

1930S Rayon Crepe Gold Sequined Short Sleeve Zipper Front Dinner Jacket

1930S Tomato Red Rayon Crepe Asian Styled Lounge Pajamas

1930S Blue Hand Woven Rayon Blend With Real Silver Threads Kaftan Vest

"In difficult times, fashion is always outrageous" Elsa Schiaparelli,1930's. "Life has changed so much, A Schiaparelli was never made for the streets." Karl Lagerfeld, 1970's. 2 quotes,2 designers, 4 decades apart. 4 decades later. Although these quotes are highly debatable, especially in the context of today's high-low designer collabs and pop up retailing, iconic fashion endures. Whether now relegated to a museum exhibition, a collector's acid free box or a celebrity one nighter, these fashion artifacts from the french Haute Couture of the 1930's echo a time, pace and culture unrecognizable to most people today. Schiaparelli changed the definition of what it meant to be a designer at an important time in the evolution of the Haute Couture. Rather than simply making beautifully elegant garments (which she also did), she focused on the concepts behind the pieces. For her fashion was a fluid medium and she effortlessly blended fashion, politics and the fine arts. She was one of the most innovative and rebellious designers of the period working against what she considered the stale fashion currents of the day. She was elegant yet untrained. As a protege of Poiret, she gained entry into the world of Parisian fashion. While her rival Chanel was essentially uneducated and a “primitive” in the artistic circles in which she socialized, Schiaparelli’s impeccable social credentials as the daughter of an old and distinguished Roman family gave her a relatively easy entree into Paris society. She was a subversive, a punk, a desecrator, a collaborator, an innovator as well as the ultimate insider whose plans on design domination and creating "la zone rose" for the modern world were cut short by the advent of WWII. She was at the height of her influence and power showing 4 iconic collections in the last years of the decade. Fascinating to consider what the House of Schiaparelli could have brought forth in the following decades had the world not been swept away in turmoil at that moment. In the context of her short prewar career, few remaining masterworks have survived. The rare "moment" she created in the 30's lives on within each art piece, safelocked away within each stitch and sequin. Each design retains her spirit and legacy as a free thinking, modernist rebel who used the avantegarde as her platform in the most creative period of fashion design in the 20th Century. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rare and Important Elsa Schiaparelli Haute Couture...