One of my most favorite vintage shows is always the Triple Piers Show held at the Passenger Ship Terminal Piers on 12th Avenue between 48th and 55th streets. The January show is (as expected and understandably) always the most calm and quiet, with a smaller group of dealers present, and smaller group of attendees. And while it is not as exciting or inspiring as some of the others, I always find interesting items to look at and buy.
Walking around the aisles, I didn’t see any fashion designers (you know- the ones who are normally out and about prowling for finds) but I did see dealer friends like Vicki Haberman- who is always very consistent with her chic assortment on display. This time standouts included an amazing nude quilted patent leather oversized Chanel purse with chain stap, several massive Pauline Trigere gold bibs (which the designer was known for wearing herself), and two fabulous lingerie inspired Geoffrey Beene dresses.
Ira Scheck’s (irascheck@aol.com) booth, with his amazing selection of statement making beads, pearls, costume jewelry and belts (including many large pieces from KJL) always catches my eye, and this season is a perfect time to layer on those jewels! And Dierdre (Dierdre’s Desire) always sells wonderful ladylike coats and shoes (this time, a pair of red leather pointy toed heels and a $75 white ermine ‘scarf’ had me taking a second look.
I also discovered Karen McWharter, sharing a space with Dierdre, who was selling a huge custom made 1950’s Hong Kong silk handbag (in a gorgeous shade of coraly pink) in an unsual trapezoidal shape, lined in a contrasting taffeta plaid and boasting a striking black bakelite frame. She is offering this unusual piece for about $175 and the best part is that this item can be custom made in any other color or fabric of your choosing. For more information, call her at 212 982 5462 or email: warwithfun@msn.com.
Another dealer who was new to me and who had a great selection of upbeat, colorful, feminine, and utterly appealing items, was Desi Scheck (desischeck@nyc.rr.com), whose company is named Back Thennish. I especially loved her oversized tapestry bag with gold frame (at the hefty price of $695), a very large Jana floral carpetbag in great condition, and a chrome yellow patent structured purse with beautiful bakelite frame ($90). As it turns out, she did in fact admit that bags happen to be her obsession and her specialty.
The aisles were filled with a myriad assortment of furs (coats, jackets and little fur stoles), coats, printed dresses, leopard patterned everything, Pucci, gloves galore, and pearls, pearls, and more pearls.
Speaking of which, if you are in the market for an unusual pearl ‘bib’ rather than a traditional strand, check out Uniquities booth (contact Francine Cohen, 973-763 1778). She was displaying a very striking Richelieu pearl bib ($175) that is almost big enough to replace a camisole or tank under that jacket).
Oh and by the way, the hands were courtesy Ann Marsh (markmarsh@rcn.com), a pottery dealer based in Danbury, who was also selling a rather unusual bust of Elvis- the perfect gift for someone who collects Elvis memorabilia.
The Show is produced as always by Stella Show Mgmt. Co. and if you call 212 255 0020 or click on to www.stellashows.com, you can find out when the next one will be scheduled.
nice