Fashion Blogs

This is my first piece of Koos Van Den Akker and yes that was the sound of a cherry popping!  I almost flipped when I saw this piece while I was strolling through a festival, yes a festival.  That’s just it you have no idea what you’ll find wherever you may be but I guarantee you’ll find it if you know what you are looking for…    Koos was born in The Hague, Netherlands and at a very early age taught himself how to sew.   His impressive portfolio allowed him to enroll at the age of 15 to the Roy

Here I go again with another fabulous vintage piece by one of America’s finest fashion designers that ever lived, Geoffrey Beene. This navy Beene Bazaar 60′s vintage dress with pockets and pleats on the back is just off the chart HOT. It’s timeless, it really is. This is just a true piece of fabulous deliciousness. I love polkadots and I love it when Geoffrey Beene did them ! This man in the 60′s 70′s 80′s dressed all the best dressed ladies in NYC & Hollywood not to mention all over the world.

This vintage red silk dress with a black border trim by Yeohlee is a piece of artwork.  Really just look at the collar…  Yeohlee Teng design is universal.  She believes that design comes from serving a function and is refined through time and process.  Yeohlee Teng moved to NYC from Malaysia to study at Parsons School of Design.  She launched YEOHLEE in 1981.  She is a master of design management and believes in the efficiency of year round seasonless clothes.  Yeohlee’s designs have earned a pe

The USA has made great strides on clean technology recently but it might surprise you to find that so has Bhutan, Iran, Norway, Nigeria & India. Bhutan is a tiny Himalyan nation that has pledged to become the first 100% ORGANIC NATION on Earth!!! Bhutan promotes a weekly “pedestrian day” in a effort to curb vehicle emissions. This tiny country has partnered with Nissan to slash fossil fuel imports and embrace electric cars. Iran by 2018 is targeting 5,000 megawatts of new wind & solar power. As

I don’t have to tell anyone just how much I love vintage Bill Blass because anyone that just spent 10 seconds on The Thrifters site you would know that…  He was a legend.  This black silk vintage Bill Blass long blouse / tunic is so off the chain hot it’s not funny.  Bill Blass was a master of making the American woman look & feel glamorous, chic, sexy & empowered.  I will never pass up the chance to add another piece of vintage Bill Blass to DOUBLETAKE Recycled Luxury collection…   NEVER…  I’m

The label Suzy Perette is a very collectible one and the funny thing about the name is that there wasn’t an actual Suzy Perette.  It was just a made up name from a dress manufacturing company that wanted to make affordable versions of Parisian designs in the 50′s and the Suzy Perette silhouette was reminiscent of Dior and the famous “New Look.”  The continued making dresses up until the 70′s and you can still find Suzy Perette by Victor Costa from the 70′s.  When you see this label grab it….  I

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

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

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

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

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