33 Spare Replacement Button Thread Swatch Fabric Heel Tips Chanel Prada

Burberry, a luxury British fashion house with origins in battlefield gear and outfitting real-life explorers, is universally renowned for its vintage trench coats, jackets, footwear and handbags. The brand has undergone several transformations since its inception in the 19th century.

When the 21-year-old apprentice draper Thomas Burberry (1835–1926) opened a small clothing outfitter in Basingstoke, Hampshire, in 1856, he catered to the needs of the local population, focusing on weatherproof clothing designed for outdoor activities like hunting, riding and fishing.

Building on his success, Burberry researched more fabrics that would be suitable for these country pursuits. In 1888, he patented gabardine, a durable, breathable fabric that was ready for any British weather. The material was groundbreaking for rainwear, which previously had been bulky and heavy. Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen wore it on his 1893 North Pole expedition and Burberry later outfitted Sir Ernest Shackleton on his Antarctic expeditions. These high-profile demonstrations of its design for extreme conditions fueled Burberry’s growth as a trusted brand.

The Tielocken coat — a forerunner to the trench coat — was patented in 1912, featuring just a button at the collar and a single strap. Higher-ranking British officers during World War I donned trench coats designed by the likes of Burberry, Aquascutum and other firms.

The design of Burberry’s classic trench demonstrated a consideration of the demand for both weather protection and function on the battlefield, with every element having its purpose, whether it was the epaulets for an officer’s rank or the gun flap at the breast. When the now-familiar check — a plaid check with black, white and red stripes on a background of beige — was added as a lining during the 1920s, a fashion icon was born. Scarves and other items featuring the pattern rendered the Burberry plaid an instantly recognizable hallmark of the house around the globe.

The brand continued to gain popularity throughout the 20th century, but by the 1990s, it was in dire need of a refresh. By the time Christopher Bailey was named design director at Burberry in 2001, the check was so ubiquitous through rampant knockoffs that it had become a reference for kitsch rather than quality.

Drawing on its heritage of craftsmanship with a new streetwear edge, Bailey helped rebuild Burberry’s relevance as a reputable fashion brand. Key to this reimagining was developing an understanding of how to democratically market high-end luxury fashion. Milestones in this regard materialized in 2010, when Burberry became the first brand to livestream a fashion show (and did so using 3D technology), and in 2020, when the house brought its London Fashion Week presentation to Twitch, a popular American livestreaming service. The international visibility brought with it renewed interest in the brand, which eventually revived its tartan after dropping it from many of its clothes, including in a 2018 collaboration with Russian designer Gosha Rubchinskiy that swathed shirts, dresses, coats and bags in the check.

Although tastes have changed, the signature trench coats that date back to Burberry’s beginnings remain at the brand’s core, with new fabrics and fits continuing to adapt this British style classic to contemporary trends.

Find vintage Burberry trench coats, shoes, handbags and other outerwear and accessories on 1stDibs.

Shapely lingerie models, animal and floral prints and the Mediterranean heritage of Sicily have come to define the romantic and sensual style of Dolce & Gabbana, a leading international brand that from its earliest days of corsetry, copious lace and provocative silhouettes has challenged fashion with an audacious vision for femininity.

After meeting in Milan in 1980 while they were both working for Italian designer Giorgio Correggiari, Domenico Dolce (b. 1958) and Stefano Gabbana (b. 1962) would go on to establish their eponymous fashion empire in 1982. Three years later, a breakthrough for the duo materialized in the form of an up-and-coming talent showcase at Milan Fashion Week, where they unveiled an approach to fashion design that broke sharply from that of the era’s reigning Italian houses. By then romantic partners as well as a business, Dolce & Gabbana were outsiders. Soon, their distinctive garments — sexy, feathery skirts and stretchy jersey evening dresses that favored full figures — demanded the fashion world’s undivided attention.

Though Dolce & Gabbana forged a path in womenswear that would take shape with a 1986 collection called “Real Women,” the brand’s offerings broadened quickly to encompass knitwear, swimwear, lingerie, ready-to-wear, menswear and perfume. In the early 1990s, Madonna helped catapult the luxury house to international stardom: The renowned singer and actress famously tapped the brand to create the looks for her 1993 tour “The Girlie Show.” It saw Madonna working closely with the designers and even starring in their ad campaigns. Dolce & Gabbana has continued to develop a high-profile clientele that includes pop sensations such as Beyoncé and Lady Gaga. The latter donned Dolce & Gabbana’s armor corset dress in the music video for her hit single “Paparazzi.”

Rather than following the rapidly changing trends of fashion, Dolce & Gabbana have instead held to their close-fitting tailoring and decadent designs. The house continues to work with recurring themes such as the culture of Italy and Catholicism, which is manifest, specifically, in their widespread use of black lace, a fabric that references the dresses worn by Sicilian widows. The duo is also inspired by Italian cinema and its icons such as Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren; in 2015 they introduced the Sophia No. 1 lipstick in her honor.

Although Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana separated as a couple in 2005, they continued their business as a creative partnership. In 2012, they closed their less expensive D&G ready-to-wear line to focus on exclusive extravagance, such as their Alta Moda custom pieces. Today, Dolce & Gabbana maintains a popularity with a wealthy clientele, and the house’s 2020s collections have featured technological experiments that update traditional styles, such as a bouclé jacket with a pixel-like pattern, as well as throwbacks to the 1990s fashion that made the brand a household name.

Find vintage Dolce & Gabbana handbags, day dresses, shoes and more on 1stDibs.