DO YOUR EARS HANG LOW?

Who is the woman who can handle nine each earrings from Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche? We found her yesterday! These multi gold disk and pearl earrings with orange enamel abstract organic leaf motifs sold as we were shooting the picture. They created such a stir at Decades yesterday that they almost became a personal challenge to the purchaser to see if she could carry these off. Well, she could and they have went to a terrific home and look for them on our client when she attends the Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in May. All the ladies have been coming to see us not only for Oscar gowns but preparing for the Met gala when you get to wear real fashion. These earrings are fashion...runway prototypes from the spectacular collection of 1000 pieces of vintage YSL jewelry that we will likely be posting until the end of time or at least until 2012 :)

Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche orange enamel with gold disks and pearls 9" earrings, Spring Summer 1989. SOLD

For additional information, please email blog@decadesinc.com or call + 1 323 655-0223. You may also visit us in person at Decades 8214 1/2 Melrose Avenue (2nd Floor) at Harper Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Please reference the description above, if calling or emailing. For email requests, kindly include your full name and phone number plus City, State, and Country from which you are contacting, so may offer you a high level of personal service.

MID-NIGHT

The dress may be Valentino and from his Night collection which was popular in the late 80s and early 90s and featured dresses to wear, well, at night, but don't let your eyes be fooled as this isn't black. Instead this ribbed silk and chiffon spaghetti strap gown with feminine knotted bow and tiered skirt is in the darkest shade of midnight blue, perfectly appropriate for the Night label and a night out on the town. Valentino is the epitome of beauty and this dress is an example of the maestro's work. When fashion players are overly obsessed with being edgy at night, sometimes being beautiful is the coolest option of all.

Valentino Night midnight blue silk ribbed and chiffon tiered evening dress, c. early 1990s. Marked size 42, modern 4 to 6

SOLD

For additional information, please email blog@decadesinc.com or call + 1 323 655-0223. You may also visit us in person at Decades 8214 1/2 Melrose Avenue (2nd Floor) at Harper Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Please reference the description above, if calling or emailing. For email requests, kindly include your full name and phone number plus City, State, and Country from which you are contacting, so may offer you a high level of personal service.

YESYSLYESYSLYESYSLYESYSLYESYSLYESYSL

When it rains, it pours, and it is pouring in Los Angeles. Not only from the heavens (literally it's going to be a wet one in LA), but also from one of the closets of a former Yves Saint Laurent Directrice of Accessories from the 1980s who has OVER 1000 pieces of Rive Gauche and Haute Couture jewelry -- most of which is straight off the runway, first prototypes, including many unproduced and one-of-a-kind pieces. This is a MAJOR collection that we are honored to be selling to our discriminating global clientelle. We will post around 30 pieces a month. This may take over a year to go through the entire collection, but everything is being meticulously documented to include recollections about each piece as well as estimated dates of the season from which the jewelry was shown. These are all designs from Loulou de la Falaise and are a wonderful reminder of her design prowess in collaboration with YSL. As with most prototypes, the pieces are often unsigned, but any connoisseur of bijoux fantasie will be aware of the signature YSL design elements regardless of any stamp. Some pieces will have numbers taped to the jewelry indicating their passage and an example of an actual runway piece worn by the model at a show!

Let the games begin:
The owner describes these pieces as follows "Saint Laurent takes his inspiration from a natural element. He adores creating bracelets like this one and his adapations are always flawless."

Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche gold tone bamboo, Spring/Summer 1989

CollarSOLD

CuffSOLD

EarringsSOLD

For additional information, please email blog@decadesinc.com or call + 1 323 655-0223. You may also visit us in person at Decades 8214 1/2 Melrose Avenue (2nd Floor) at Harper Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Please reference the description above, if calling or emailing. For email requests, kindly include your full name and phone number plus City, State, and Country from which you are contacting, so may offer you a high level of personal service.

Gold on Gold

We love gold here at Decades, and the pictures below are proof of our obsession. The leather is Cuir Chevelle, which is no longer being produced by Hermes. The gold leather paired with the gold hardware make for a truly rich bag. The bag comes with the strap, lock and key. There is a light white line on one side of the bag, but it is not easily noticed. Much like the previous, this Kelly has just returned from the Spa, so it is otherwise in spectacular shape.

Hermes 28cm Gold on gold Kelly, V stamp for 1992. SOLD

For additional information, please email blog@decadesinc.com or call + 1 323 655-0223. You may also visit us in person at Decades 8214 1/2 Melrose Avenue (2nd Floor) at Harper Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Please reference the description above, if calling or emailing. For email requests, kindly include your full name and phone number plus City, State, and Country from which you are contacting, so may offer you a high level of personal service.

Boxing

Is there a bag on this planet more classic than a black box Hermes Kelly with gold hardware? This bag has been lovingly used by the previous owner and has just returned from a trip to the Hermes spa. There are a few minor blemishes, but nothing that can be detected by an untrained eye. This is the perfect starter Kelly for any woman looking to begin an Hermes collection. The 28cm size is just enough to hold what you need for the day, and the color combo (black and gold) cannot be beat! The lock and key are shown in the picture, but there is no shoulder strap with this Kelly. A shoulder strap may easily be ordered through your local Hermes boutique should you desire.

Hermes 28cm black box supple Kelly with gold hardware without shoulder strap, U stamp for 1991. SOLD

For additional information, please email blog@decadesinc.com or call + 1 323 655-0223. You may also visit us in person at Decades 8214 1/2 Melrose Avenue (2nd Floor) at Harper Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Please reference the description above, if calling or emailing. For email requests, kindly include your full name and phone number plus City, State, and Country from which you are contacting, so may offer you a high level of personal service.

NIP TUCK

This dress requires Nature's Miracle or a good Nip Tuck. James Galanos has designed a gravity defying bias cut out dress with curved seams on red silk crepe with one shoulder strap, half a bandeau, and a bare midriff -- all the while, maintaining a sense of sexuality and decorum in Reagan Red. If you have surrendered to the power of yoga, you probably have the arms and abs for this dress. If you are top heavy, skip this dress, as it's made for a smaller athletic sized chest (gymnast?). This is one of the most exciting examples of Galanos Gone Wild and the architecture of the dress enhances a beautiful body without being vulgar. If Galanos is too often thought of us as being Nancy Reagan's designer of choice, realize his talents are many and he give Gianni Versace a run for his money as exemplified in this 1980s design.

James Galanos red silk crepe one shoulder, bandeau, and cutout gathered evening gown, c. 1980s. Modern trim and tone 4. SOLD
For additional information, please email blog@decadesinc.com or call + 1 323 655-0223. You may also visit us in person at Decades 8214 1/2 Melrose Avenue (2nd Floor) at Harper Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Please reference the description above, if calling or emailing. For email requests, kindly include your full name and phone number plus City, State, and Country from which you are contacting, so may offer you a high level of personal service.

AT THE BALLET

George Peter Stavropoulos was born in Greece in 1920 and naturally his homeland influenced his designs during his successful career which began in Greece in 1949 and continued in New York in 1961 until the house was closed in 1990. He was all about ease and fluidity of design using layers of chiffon as his primary fabric of choice. This mid 70s forest green layered chiffon dress is bias cut with spaghetti ballerina straps and a scarf that can be worn either around the neck or at the waist, which was a style favorite of Stavropoulos. Certainly, the similarity to Halston is evident as they both worked in the "classic" style of toga and goddess dressing, but this Stavropoulos had an edge on Halston as his DNA was programmed for this style of design.

Stavropoulos multi layered bias cut ballerina spaghetti sleeve evening dress of forest green chiffon, c. mid 70s. Modern 4 to 6 SOLD
For additional information, please email blog@decadesinc.com or call + 1 323 655-0223. You may also visit us in person at Decades 8214 1/2 Melrose Avenue (2nd Floor) at Harper Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Please reference the description above, if calling or emailing. For email requests, kindly include your full name and phone number plus City, State, and Country from which you are contacting, so may offer you a high level of personal service.

SHE'S ARRIVED

Our Wolff size zero dressmaker form has finally arrived and we are elated and scared at the same time. Elated that we have something to showcase our tiniest dresses on and scared that it's humanely possible to have a waist that small! Anyway, vintage tends to be elite petite and this incredible Lesage embroidered Pierre Balmain Haute Couture evening gown is proof in the pudding (but certainly anyone size zero skips the pudding course!). A simple A-line silhouette, this nearly 40 year old gown is an example of streamlined modernity that looks very fresh against today's current red carpet fashions of dramatic goddess draping. The top is a spectacular example of Lesage embroidery and our detailed photo shows the unusual materials used to compose the elaborate pattern of pearls, white beads, and cork colored leather. Although this dress would be divine on a bride, we don't think it is exclusive to the marrying kind, but perfect for any woman wishing to make a grand entrance. The skirt of thick silk faille appears to float as you walk and that adds to its appeal and entrance making quality. We have a few more gowns from this era of Balmain to post in the next days.

Pierre Balmain Haute Couture Lesage embroidered and white silk faille A-line evening gown, c. 1969. Modern size 2 SOLD
For additional information, please email blog@decadesinc.com or call + 1 323 655-0223. You may also visit us in person at Decades 8214 1/2 Melrose Avenue (2nd Floor) at Harper Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Please reference the description above, if calling or emailing. For email requests, kindly include your full name and phone number plus City, State, and Country from which you are contacting, so may offer you a high level of personal service.

HIPS DON'T LIE

If you have hips, this isn't a dress for you. This is a dress for a tall and lean client who can wear a clingy jersey dress and feel confident as this vintage Halston shows all; although it's long sleeved and rather covered. Don't let the modest yfool you! This is a dress for somone who channels the energy of Ron Galella photo subject in his fantastic tome Disco Years.

If you feel like celebrating the hedonism of the bygone Studio 54 era and like to keep it clean and simple, this vibrant purple Halston button front shirt dress satiates more than an illegal substance on a dance floor.

Halston classic purple jersey full length shirt dress, modern size 4. SOLD

For additional information, please email blog@decadesinc.com or call + 1 323 655-0223. You may also visit us in person at Decades 8214 1/2 Melrose Avenue (2nd Floor) at Harper Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Please reference the description above, if calling or emailing. For email requests, kindly include your full name and phone number plus City, State, and Country from which you are contacting, so may offer you a high level of personal service.

In Bloom

Freshly picked from the Jardin du Hermes is a shoulder Birkin in the newest color, bougainvillea. This brand new bag is 42cm* and in Clemence leather with palladium hardware. The color is not the easiest to say, nor is it easy to spell (trust us) but it is a beautiful mix of pink and orange sherbet. This is the second version of the shoulder Birkin, now with interior pockets whereas the first version had none.

If you are an admirer of this blog then you know how we get tired of repeating ourselves. Lets just say this is a brand new perfect bag in the brand new color with the box, dust cover and so on. If you think you are the slightest bit interested in this bag we recommend calling immediately. This shoulder Birkin will sell, and it will sell fast.

* Thank You to the lovely woman who called and made us aware of a sizing error. Without our loyal blog readers and clients we would be nowhere!

Hermes Bougainvillea 42cm shoulder Birkin in Clemence with palladium hardware, 2009. SOLD

For additional information, please email blog@decadesinc.com or call + 1 323 655-0223. You may also visit us in person at Decades 8214 1/2 Melrose Avenue (2nd Floor) at Harper Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Please reference the description above, if calling or emailing. For email requests, kindly include your full name and phone number plus City, State, and Country from which you are contacting, so may offer you a high level of personal service.

Fab in Fendi

We don't carry very much Fendi at Decades, but this little black party dress was absolutely too cute to pass up! The denim top has a sweetheart bust, two pockets and buttons all down the front (which lends itself well to some sexy disrobing later in the evening). The black gazaar skirt is a fabulously flirty contrast to the structured denim bodice. This is the perfect little number to toss in a carry-on for a fun weekend in Vegas.

*Daniel*




Fendi black denim and gazaar strapless dress, c.90's. Marked size 40, contemporary size 4.

For additional information, please email blog@decadesinc.com or call + 1 323 655-0223. You may also visit us in person at Decades 8214 1/2 Melrose Avenue (2nd Floor) at Harper Avenue in Los Angeles, California. Please reference the description above, if calling or emailing. For email requests, kindly include your full name and phone number plus City, State, and Country from which you are contacting, so may offer you a high level of personal service.