Fashion Blogs

Loris Azzaro was working as a professor and in the mid 1960′s he had decided to start up his own fashion line in Paris.  He made form fitting and slinky evening wear that actresses at the time such as Raquel Welch and Sophia Loren couldn’t  live without.  In Dec 1968 ELLE magazine put Azzaro dress on the cover and the brand became legendary.  Brigitte Bardot loved his designs.  He once claimed that he wanted to design dresses that women love wearing and men like tearing them off !”  Loris Azzaro

This Dior vintage gown looks like something Karen Carpenter would have worn.  The cropped lace trim bolero jacket with a halter floral pattern gown…  I’m not sure if this is late 70′s or early 80′s but it’s in between that’s for sure.  I absolutely love the jacket part of this gown… LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT…  This 2 piece gown knocked me out of my sockets and left me stranded on the floor for quite some time…  You just don’t run across these types of gowns just every month or every year!  Floral

You can’t look at this vintage 70′s Guy Laroche silk paisley print blouse without thinking the word “CHIC”…  I know you can’t… it’s impossible.  When Guy Laroche launched his eponymous couture label in 1957, he had a clear aim in mind: liberating women’s bodies away from the New Look, towards a comfortable, understated elegance both “refined and discreet”.    His designs marked decades: creations such as the coat dress and the shirt dress continue to be a staple in women’s wardrobe today.  He pa

Before I get on my soap box let me say that we all can change this abuse by the textile industry and that is by buying items that are second hand, recycled, reused, repurposed, thrifted etc etc . Industrialization of the textile industry and use of a large variety of chemical treatments and dyes has resulted in a public health threat created by pollution. 17-20% of industrial freshwater pollution is caused by textile dyeing and treatment. Estimations state that 10-15% of totals dyestuffs used du

A native Parisian, Isabel Marant blends ethnic bohemia and tomboy street chic effortlessly, and her name has long been on the lips of fashion insiders: editors, models, and sexy actresses like Sienna Miller, Rachel Weisz, Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Connelly, Kate Moss & Alexa Chung.  She spent her childhood on trips to Africa, Asia, India and the Caribbean and that influenced her style and design.  She collaborated on projects for Yohji Yamamoto, Martine Sitbon & Chloe.  She designed jewelry for

When I first spotted this red leather bag I didn’t at first notice the Bally gold label outside the bag.  What I first noticed was the quilting and then when I picked it up and felt the leather…. OMG.  This has got to be the softest leather on the planet.  I mean it’s like BUTTA…  The Bally hallmark is the crafting of exquisite leather.  Since 1851, Bally has been globally recognized for it’s ‘Swiss Made’ quality and its contemporary style.  The founder was industrialist  Carl Franz Bally and hi

I was meeting my friend Hollis Gillespie,  for  dinner and I arrived a little on the early side.  I noticed there was an antique store / mall that had all kinds of dealers inside near the restaurant,  so you know I explored.  Inside were antique booths and yes some dealers even had racks of clothing…  I was digging through a entire rack of dresses, all stuffed like they were friggin sardines, when out of the blue I spotted this Hanae Mori navy silk 80′s polka dot dress….  It was delicious!  I me

Korean Impressions
Watch out the “Korean wave” - an incoming tide of Korean fashion, Korean beauty standards and Korean culture that has swept across the world!
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The Sunday Morning show on CBS with Charles Osgood this past Sunday featured The Green School in Bali and all I kept thinking was “why didn’t I go there?”  When you click on The Green School’s website I loved reading their mission statement “Our vision is of a natural, holistic, student-centered learning environment that empowers and inspires our students to be creative, innovative, green leaders.”  The Green School is located in Bali, Indonesia, one of the most amazing environments on planet Ea

Love this vintage Valentino dress on every level.  First I always crack up when I see the sizes because this linen dress says it’s a size 12 but it’s so vintage it’s really a size 4!  I love the peplum effect.  I love that it has pockets.  I love that the buttons are big round and fun.  If you could see the interior of this dress you would know why they have always called this man The King of Luxury….  Known simply by his first name, Valentino Garavani is one of Italy’s finest exports.  Universa

Weeks ago they pulled 18 pieces from my store DOUBLETAKE for a fashion show called  ”A Divine Tribute to Fashionata” a tribute to Rich’s department store.  The day the AJC was photographing the photo shoot to cover the event with models from the past, I styled the models for the photo-opt.    I handed the AJC “journalist” Nedra Rhones my card and she said she would be contacting me to interview me for the article.  Needless to say the “journalist” Nedra never called and the article came out that

Several months ago I interviewed Amber Bickham who is a casting director & producer out in Los Angeles.  She is always hunting for vintage luxury and believe me this lady has a real sharp eye for design.  I recently got an email from her about another recent acquisition and wait till you read what it is….   Here goes our interview…

Q:  So Amber you struck gold again…  please tell us what you found and how much you paid for it….

A: I walked into a thrift store in Los Angeles and as soon as I walked

I wish I found Yves Saint Laurent every damn day of my life.  No lie….  Really I never get tired of finding YSL.   You know I am the owner of Atlanta’s premium luxury vintage boutique called DOUBLETAKE RECYCLED LUXURY .  DOUBLETAKE is a upscale consignment boutique and I edit every piece that comes into my store because if it’s not grand forget about it…  I love unusual, I love abstract, I love cutting edge and I LOVE YSL.  I wish all my consignors would bring in vintage YSL pieces everyday be

New blog post “I Say NO to Fashion Rules (are there such things?) – Everyone can be a Model: Women's Day Fashion Show (Hong Kong) Backstage" NOW up on La Mode by GV Miao fashion blog:

I do not reach the height of 175cm, but so what?

The fake ideal beauty image is good for nothing but fostering self-loathing which hurts self-esteem. Amina Lamarre Delafoulhouse, Hong Kong-based French-African designer is one of the very few in fashion to advocate diversity of beauty. She took the opportunity of

You know what I really love?  I love it when women are bold and think outside the box.  Why you ask?  Because this Valentino piece is actually a robe from Saks Fifth Avenue but when I added the vintage YSL rhinestone belt to it, it completely changed the look.  There is NOTHNG about this piece that looks like a robe / nightgown.  I love it when I talk to women at my boutique ( DOUBLETAKE) and they agree with me and are daring enough to venture down this highway.  I LOVE it…. If I hadn’t told you

You know how much I LOVE vintage Halston but when I find a Halston Heritage label you know I’m going to grab it and run…  To me there isn’t anything better than vintage Halston but everyone knows that… After rising in the fashion world in the 60′s as a milliner for Bergdorf Goodman, Halston launched his eponymous wowenswear label in 1968.  Newsweek dubbed Halston “the best designer in America” in 1972… As for the Halston Heritage label it was launched in 2009, giving signature archive pieces an

Yes I love Ungaro.  When you click on the YouTube interview video wait till you see the runway collection from the 80′s..  All those patterns, prints, fabrics are just so sexy & creative.  When I look at vintage Ungaro runway collections I think that they are timeless.  Any woman could wear his pieces from decades ago because they were perfection from the very beginning…  This navy knit wool short sleeve Ungaro is just that perfection…..  Enjoy the video and enjoy wearing luxury vintage…  I’m Da

You know running across Stephen Burrows isn’t exactly easy these days…  when you hunt for Stephen Burrows vintage pieces you do just that HUNT.  One so many levels this man is considered to be one of America’s finest fashion designers of our time…  In the 1970′s this man was on fire….  The first African American fashion designer to achieve international acclaim, he won several Coty awards in the 70′s and was one of the 5 American designers to show their clothes along with the French couturiers a

I love seeing women wearing long skirts, I don’t know why but I really do.  The vintage 80s Ungaro floral cotton top with the poof sleeves and high collar is just off the chart hot.  The long velvet pencil skirt by Caroline Charles is off the chart hot.  So when you put the Ungaro hot top with the Charles hot skirt you get a lot of hot-ness.    Over the years you have heard me talk nonstop about Ungaro well today I’m going to to talk nonstop about Caroline Charles….  She began her career in th

Who in their right mind doesn’t love finding a little piece of Pucci?  I flipped that’s my reaction to what I did when I first spotted it.  I know it’s a pocket handkerchief square but the right girl could use this as a head scarf for sure….  The thrill about shopping green – shopping recycled – shopping second hand is you are shopping smart.  Why you ask?  Because the world we all live in today manufactures items that have expiration dates on them.  You buy items from The Gap, Old Navy, H&M, Za