Okay, so you already know that tweed is ‘THE’ fabric of the fall season. And you already know that it shows no sign of letting up as it is going forward into spring thanks to lighter weight, more deconstructed versions. They were all over the recent runways – not just that of Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel.
And you already KNOW that I believe the best tweeds are the real, authentic vintage tweeds – they simply don’t make ‘em like that nowadays. Some great examples were recently on view and for sale (far below retail offerings, natch) at the Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show, held at the Metropolitan Pavilion (125 West 18th Street) this past Friday and Saturday.
Among the dealers whose collections stood out were Milan Tainan’s Just Say When (www.justsaywhen.com)-I loved her fur collared black and white tweed short coat; Ina Davidson’s Buy-Gone Days (www.buy-gonedays.com)- I especially loved her gold/black/red tweed Bonnie Cashin swing coat with gold hardware turnkey closures. But one of the best selections- coats and suits- was on the racks at Cat’s Pajamas (www.catspajamas.com).
Of course, there were gloves galore, shoes and bags of all kinds, lots of hats, colorful Puccis and Leonards, and there were some wonderful dresses as well, including several very newsworthy 50’s taffeta numbers boasting tanbubble skirts. I spotted Stan Herman making the rounds (he had just purchased a vintage Oleg Cassini jacket which he was planning to give the designer over dinner this week. And groups from Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren were also checking out the merchandise (for inspiration for the next season I assume).
Posted by Marilyn Kirschner
