I always like to hear it straight from the experts…so I asked Clair Watson, Director of Couture for Doyle New York, to give me some quick, off the cuff impressions of Tuesday’s sale, and this is what she told me…
“Fabulous Lucile result – the Orientalist gown from 1910, $35,850, unbelievable! Worth every penny as far as I am concerned, and obviously recognized by the market as being rare and special.
Then the two Worths from a couple of years prior, so the son, not the dad (the main man) but at $13,145 for each of them, a validation of beauty. All the above three were from the Margaret Daly Brown family estate, a woman with a gorgeous dramatic taste.
Then the Balenciaga for $8,365 was lovely (an embroidered tulle dress and Gros de Londres Coat); the Beene pieces did well: especially a paillette jacket for $4780; the furs did really well as it is the season, fashion AND calendar ($19120 for the Vissot Couture chinchilla); the capes did dash out within estimate by the way, a first as the rule of thumb was ‘capes never go’…
Re: accessories – Hermes, Hermes, Hermes – the ostrich Kelly made over $7000 – Oh, and remember all the articles when Tom Ford retired re: when his pieces would be collectible? I put in the pearlescent lingerie dress he did for YSL that WWD put in ‘top ten’, lot 3616, just to see and it sold for $800, original price FYI just under $3000, 18 months old. What we can conclude from this it is too early to say but it matched prices for 60’s couture!”
– Posted by Marilyn Kirschner
