1990's YVES SAINT LAURENT silver & black "Passementerie" top handle bag
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Height: 7.5 in (19.05 cm)Width: 9.5 in (24.13 cm)Depth: 3.5 in (8.89 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. There are light signs of wear to fabric and scratches to plastic handles. No damage.
- Seller Location:San Fransisco, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU8119464252
Yves Saint Laurent
French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent pioneered “cross-design” in fashion, taking inspiration from street trends to modernize haute couture.
Saint Laurent was the first to launch a ready-to-wear label, YSL Rive Gauche Prêt-à-Porter. He was the first couturier to open boutiques for both men and women. Using traditional menswear fabrics and designs for women, Saint Laurent also literally cross-dressed, giving men and women alike chic pant suits, elegant tuxedo jackets and urban safari gear. By blurring gender-specific design, he empowered individual style while creating a scissor-sharp fashion aesthetic of sensual ease and beauty. Many of his designs are today considered timeless classics. Saint Laurent also consistently used Black models, like Mounia, Iman and Naomi Campbell, and he drew endless inspiration from different ethnicities and cultures, in no small part because of his Algerian roots.
Born to French parents in Oran, Algeria, in 1936, Saint Laurent went to Paris at age 17 to study fashion at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Just two years later, in 1955, his remarkable sketches were shown to Christian Dior, then the world’s reigning couturier, who hired him immediately.
Surprisingly soon thereafter, Dior publicly chose Saint Laurent as his successor, which sadly proved prescient when the fashion legend died unexpectedly, in 1957. A mere slip of a youth, the 21-year-old Saint Laurent was nevertheless up to the challenge. He shook the traditional couture clientele to its core with youthful silhouettes and styles like the A-line trapeze dress that hung with seeming effortlessness from the shoulders, the antithesis of the pinched waists and molded skirts that had been all the rage after the deprivations of World War II.
After a mandated spell in the torturous French military, Saint Laurent suffered a nervous breakdown and was dismissed by Dior in 1962. Out of the ashes rose the Age of Yves. With Pierre Bergé, his then-lover who became his lifelong business partner and friend, the designer founded Yves Saint Laurent YSL to encompass prêt-à-porter, or ready-to-wear. In 1966, they opened the first YSL Rive Gauche women’s boutique in Paris, followed soon thereafter by YSL Rive Gauche for men. Saint Laurent had given birth to a global brand.
His revolutionary Mondrian mini dress from 1965 is a core element of his fashion biography. It is a prime example of how Saint Laurent, an avid art lover and collector, looked to painters, from Goya to Picasso, Ingres to Matisse, for inspiration.
With its pure lines and hues, Mondrian’s ground-breaking 1935 color-block painting Composition C transmutes beautifully into a dress that is highly valued by collectors of contemporary fashion and widely copied commercially to this day. The design is the epitome of Saint Laurent’s aesthetic, requiring a meticulous hand piecing of each color block so that, despite the body’s curves, the visual plane is as flat as a canvas when the garment is worn. Mondrian’s purity met its match in Saint Laurent.
“I am no longer concerned with sensation and innovation, but with the perfection of my style,” Saint Laurent said four years before retiring, in 2002. After a long period of ill health, he died at his home in Paris on June 1, 2008.
Browse an extraordinary collection of vintage Yves Saint Laurent evening dresses, shirts, handbags and other clothing and accessories today on 1stDibs.
Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche
Visionary French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent was the first to launch a ready-to-wear label, YSL Rive Gauche Prêt-à-Porter. The inaugural Rive Gauche boutique — a modern shop in Paris’s bustling, bohemian Left Bank district — offered stylish garments and accessories that were intended to be affordable for a younger generation of fashion enthusiasts. The store featured Mies van der Rohe chairs and played host to actor Catherine Deneuve during its grand opening.
Saint Laurent pioneered “cross-design” in fashion, taking inspiration from street trends to modernize haute couture. He was the first couturier to open boutiques for both men and women. Using traditional menswear fabrics and designs for women, he also literally cross-dressed, giving men and women alike chic pant suits, elegant tuxedo jackets and urban safari gear. By blurring gender-specific design, he empowered individual style while creating a scissor-sharp fashion aesthetic of sensual ease and beauty. Many of his designs are today considered timeless classics. Saint Laurent also consistently used Black models, like Mounia, Iman and Naomi Campbell, and he drew endless inspiration from different ethnicities and cultures, in no small part because of his Algerian roots.
Born to French parents in Oran, Algeria, in 1936, Saint Laurent went to Paris at age 17 to study fashion at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Just two years later, in 1955, his remarkable sketches were shown to Christian Dior, then the world’s reigning couturier, who hired him immediately.
Surprisingly soon thereafter, Dior publicly chose Saint Laurent as his successor, which sadly proved prescient when the fashion legend died unexpectedly, in 1957. A mere slip of a youth, the 21-year-old Saint Laurent was nevertheless up to the challenge. He shook the traditional couture clientele to its core with youthful silhouettes and styles like the A-line trapeze dress that hung with seeming effortlessness from the shoulders, the antithesis of the pinched waists and molded skirts that had been all the rage after the deprivations of World War II.
After a mandated spell in the torturous French military, Saint Laurent suffered a nervous breakdown and was dismissed by Dior in 1962. Out of the ashes rose the Age of Yves. With Pierre Bergé, his then-lover who became his lifelong business partner and friend, the designer founded Yves Saint Laurent YSL to encompass prêt-à-porter, or ready-to-wear. In 1966, they opened the first YSL Rive Gauche women’s boutique in Paris — Rive Gauche is French for “left bank” — followed soon thereafter by YSL Rive Gauche for men. Ready-to-wear materialized during a period of dynamic transformation and experimentation and came to dominate the Paris fashion scene. Saint Laurent had given birth to a global brand.
His revolutionary Mondrian mini dress from 1965 is a core element of his fashion biography. It is a prime example of how Saint Laurent, an avid art lover and collector, looked to painters, from Goya to Picasso, Ingres to Matisse, for inspiration.
With its pure lines and hues, Mondrian’s ground-breaking 1935 color-block painting Composition C transmutes beautifully into a dress that is highly valued by collectors of contemporary fashion and widely copied commercially to this day. The design is the epitome of Saint Laurent’s aesthetic, requiring a meticulous hand piecing of each color block so that, despite the body’s curves, the visual plane is as flat as a canvas when the garment is worn. Mondrian’s purity met its match in Saint Laurent.
“I am no longer concerned with sensation and innovation, but with the perfection of my style,” Saint Laurent said four years before retiring, in 2002. After a long period of ill health, he died at his home in Paris on June 1, 2008.
The vintage YSL Rive Gauche clothing for sale on 1stDibs includes evening dresses and gowns, jackets, shoes, handbags and other items.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Oakland, CA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- 2005 COMME DES GARCONS natural leather bag with hand woven saddle stitchingBy Comme des GarçonsLocated in San Fransisco, CAVery rare untreated natural cowhide leather bag with hand woven saddle stitching details from Comme Des Garcons dating to spring of 2005. Very similar to pieces seen on the runway. B...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Tote Bags
- 1990's VALENTINO black textured leather convertible 'envelope' clutch bagBy ValentinoLocated in San Fransisco, CABlack textured leather convertible bag in the shape of an envelope designed by Valentino dating to the 1990's. Strap is completely removable. Gold hardware. Off-white top-stitching. ...Category
1990s American Clutches
- 1990's RENAUD PELLEGRINO textured leather convertible shoulder clutch bagBy Renaud PellegrinoLocated in San Fransisco, CAColor blocked textured leather convertible clutch with exterior pockets designed by Renaud Pellegrino dating to the 1990's. Bag measures approximately 8.875" wide by 7.75" tall and 1...Category
1990s American Clutches
- Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent lucite evening bag, 2003By Yves Saint LaurentLocated in San Fransisco, CAVery rare clear lucite evening bag with rhinestones lined in black satin with black velvet strap designed by Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent dating to Fall 2003. Bag measures just ov...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Evening Bags and Minaudières
- COMME DES GARCONS brown embossed leather bag with silver 'kiss lock' frameBy Comme des GarçonsLocated in San Fransisco, CABrown, crocodile embossed, leather bag with adjustable black nylon shoulder strap and silver kiss lock frame designed by Katsuyuki Yoshida for Comme ...Category
Early 2000s Japanese Shoulder Bags
- 2005 TOM FORD for YVES SAINT LAURENT suede & leather bag with wood beadsBy Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, Tom Ford for Yves Saint LaurentLocated in San Fransisco, CAVery interesting, black suede and leather handbag with brown wooden beading and brass hardware from Yves Saint Laurent dating to the 2005 as designed by Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laure...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoulder Bags
- Chanel Blue Deauville Grand Shopping Tote BagBy ChanelLocated in London, GBA chic Chanel blue Deauville Grand Shopping Tote bag. The exterior of this tote is crafted in blue canvas with silver-tone hardware. It features an interwoven chain link with blue le...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Tote Bags
- Chanel Vintage Rare Black Caviar Top Handle Classic Kelly Flap BagBy ChanelLocated in Miami, FLChanel Vintage Rare Black Caviar Top Handle Classic Kelly Flap Bag Structured Leather Top Handle CC Turnlock Closure Interior Zip And Slip Pockets Cavi...Category
1990s French Tote Bags
- Chanel Vintage Beige Velvet COCO Classic Flap Bag Kelly Top Handle SatchelBy ChanelLocated in Miami, FLChanel Vintage Beige Velvet COCO Classic Flap Bag Kelly Top Handle Satchel Year 2000-2001 Champagne Gold hardware Iconic CC Turnlock closure Velvet beige and brown with COCO written...Category
Early 2000s Italian Top Handle Bags
- Chanel 2015 Timeless Quilted Carry-on Travel Tote Royal Black Patent Leather BagBy ChanelLocated in Miami, FLChanel 2015 Timeless Quilted Carry-on Travel Tote Royal Black Patent Leather Bag Spring Summer 2015 Silver hardware Black patent leather Black calfskin leather trims Dual-rolled le...Category
2010s Italian Tote Bags
- Chanel 90s Beige CanvasTop Handle Wood Satchel Tote Kelly BagBy ChanelLocated in Miami, FLChanel Canvas and Wood Flap Bag with Top Handle Handle drop approx 3.75" Beige canvas body Handle and turn lock closure have a polished wood appearance Flap and CC turn lock closu...Category
1990s French Top Handle Bags
- Chanel Vintage 2001 Caviar Quilted Satchel Classic Top Handle Kelly Flap BagBy ChanelLocated in Miami, FLChanel Vintage 2001 Caviar Diamond Quilted Satchel Classic Top Handle Flap Bag circa 2001 black caviar leather diamond quilting single rounded top handle fold-over top signature in...Category
Early 2000s French Tote Bags
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
How to Spot a Fake YSL Bag
Counterfeiters know that savvy fashionistas cherish YSL bags. Learn how to tell if yours is the real deal. Of course, you don't have to worry about that on 1stDibs, where every seller is highly vetted.
Quiet Luxury May Be Trending, but These Famous Interiors Prove That Quality and Quirk Endure
Because truly timeless design requires personal vision, transcendent taste, real fortitude and top-notch objects, even if the wider world hasn’t caught on yet.