This is a spectacular dress that has no label and could very well be a one off. I can't help but think that it was inspired by the stunning dress worn by Hedy Lamarr in the 1941 film Ziegfeld Girl. This would make a spectacular event dress and would absolutely be a phenomenal piece for a bride.

The upper bodice of the dress is made from a deep nude coloured netting done in a double layer. Onto this is a white netting that has gold flowers woven through it. Rhinestones are scattered over the entire bodice and run down and around the waist. The neckline is made from four flowers cut out and wrapped around the neck. It is meant to skim over the bust and waist and then the skirt falls from under that to the floor. The skirt widens out substantially as it nears the hem which gives you beautiful movement when you walk and move. The entire lower hem of the skirt is finished with more of the same rhinestones that are scattered across the bodice. It is gorgeous. The sleeves are spectacular. Each sleeve falls from the shoulder all the way to past the hem of the dress. They are cut very wide and are open to give them a cape feel. Each one is finished along the bottom hem with a row of ostrich feathers in a deep ivory. This is a clever way to add some weight to the bottom of the sleeve and also add spectacular movement. When I say they are wide by the bottom of the hem, I mean it. I measured and each one is just under 8 feet across. Each sleeve is detailed with more of the rhinestones along with more cut outs of the gold and white flowers set along the vertical lengths on each side of the sleeve. It is beautifully elaborate and over the top. This is the type of piece that you will only ever find in vintage. It is spectacular. Excellent condition

The dress is lined in an ivory silky rayon through the skirt and a the same nude netting through the bodice. It closes with a zipper at the back. The zipper has a slight sticky feel to it, but it is original and works perfectly fine so I have left it. Otherwise it appears to have been worn very little.

Sleeves: 60" plus the feathers go past the hem a few inches
Shoulders: 16"
Bust: to 19.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: to 15.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: approx 15.5" from neck to waist
Total length: 59" from neck to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: MED-LRG

Item# DD4918

Reference photos: Cherie, Owner of Shrimpton Couture, by Erin Leydon.

All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.

I am always thrilled to find a really great Emilio Pucci piece. The truly great ones are getting very hard to find and this one is exceptional. By the 1960s, the time period that this dress is from, Pucci was a world-wide phenomenon. Hollywood stars like Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren and even Jackie Kennedy were huge fans. For all of the many attempts since to catapult the label back to the height of its glory, the days when Emilio himself oversaw the label and designed the prints will always be the most special to me. It is very rare to find documentation on these early pieces and to have that for this one makes it extra special.

This is one of the prettiest Pucci pieces I have ever had in the shop. It is a gorgeous combination of a pinks, ivory and soft pastels. These colors are combined in a beautiful curving and graphic design that sweeps over the entire jumpsuit. The cut is very flattering. The neckline curves in a slightly upward slope across the front and then the back curves down. There is a full inner bodice built into this one that is lightly boned and made out of a heavy almost grosgrain feeling fabric that sucks you in and holds the jumpsuit in place all around you. The waist is seamed and I have added a pretty pale, pastel dusty pink ribbon that will be sent with the jumpsuit. From there the pants flare out to the floor. Each leg opens up to have tremendous volume. They are fully through the upper leg and then the  lower leg is finished with the bottom ruffle that is over 5 feet around the hem. The movement and drama that this creates when it's on is absolutely wonderful. I cannot gush enough about how fantastic the legs are on this jumpsuit. As is typical in a Pucci piece, he has used bands of a different printed silk to define the neckline and bottom hem on each pant leg. On this one, the borders are pretty little stripes made up of the main colours in the print. That combined with the way that he has pleated them to give it a bit of a ruffle feel is the perfect finishing flourish on the jumpsuit.  It is very feminine but sexy at the same time. I absolutely love it. You will probably never see another one like this. It is exceptional. Excellent condition

Unlined through the body of the jumpsuit, and there is a built-in boned corset as described above through the bodice. It closes with two zippers, one that is on the inter corset and one that is on the exterior silk. An inner waist stay hooks to close.

Bust: 16-16.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Inner waist: 13.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 10" from top seam to waist + 2" for the top ruffle
Pants: 40" from the waist to the bottom of the ruffles at the ham, 42" to the back
Inseam: 28" and the gusset is 12.25" from back of waist to inner leg seam

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD4907

Reference Photo: Emilio Pucci S/S 1969 "Capri", "Arcate" print. Photo Sandro Morriconi.

All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.

The twin of this dress appears in the book on Thea Porter's work that accompanied the exhibit on her work. The photo appears on page 73. The caption in the book notes that "Claudia Bruce wearing a peasant style dress in a Persian paisley print combined with Damascus fabric and a leather and feather headdress. Greeks Street, London, 1969.". It is so rare to find runway photos of her shows and to have all this extra information is fantastic. 1969 is also an interesting year to note because it is the year that she started to sell her designs at Giorgio Beverly Hills. It was said that when word got out that Thea had new things in the Girorgio boutique, women ran to be able to get a piece for themselves, they sold out that fast. This is the only one I have ever seen like this outside of that book photo. Given her extremely limited run on certain pieces it may in fact be the only other one that was made and exists. It is truly a very special piece.

The dress is a fantastic combination of fabrics and this was something that Thea excelled at. She had the ability to source these fantastic antique fabrics and then mix and match them to put them together in a way that you had never seen done before. The front panel combines a floral and paisley print with beautiful detailing between. It runs down the front in a long rectangle shape and then she curved it over the shoulders and ran another panel of it down the back. The rest of the dress is made out of a clay coloured silk organza that has a beautiful pattern hand embroidered over its surface. A little chain of white embroidery runs through that pattern for a little bit of a pop. At the end of each sleeve there is an insert of the cotton fabric. This is set in a wide band all around the cuffs with these little points running up into the sleeve. The shape of the dress is easy and comfortable to wear. It skims over the body and flares out slightly as it reaches the hem. Slits run up each side so you get a flash of leg when you walk. Each sleeve is fantastic. Each is a full and voluminous balloon type sleeve that puffs up extravagantly around each wrist. The collar on the dress is perhaps the best part. A tie loops through the front part only and for most of the shots I have tied it enough so that it scoops like it does in the runway shot. However, you can loosen the front up and that allows you to push the dress down the shoulders to expose a full expanse of bare skin across the top of the shoulders. It is phenomenal. This is a very rare example of her work and most likely you will never see one again. Excellent condition.

Unlined and slips over the head to wear. The front collar can be adjusted with the tie as described above. Each cuff has a snap to close. It appears to have been worn very little if at all. There are little bits of blue dye on the front and back panel that looks like it has run a touch but I believe this is inherent to this fabric and this may have been like that since the day it was made. I do not think it is a flaw, but rather a result of the fact that the fabric was hand screened. Tagged a vintage Thea Porter UK 10. The easy cut should allow it to fit a range of sizes.

Sleeves: approx 15" and will come up a touch when the cuff is closed. Each upper arm is 13.75" around
Shoulders: no true defined scene
Bust: to 19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: to 18" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 22" flat across from side seam to side seam
Total length: 54.5" from top of shoulder to hem with 2" turned under the hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD4899

Reference Photos: Claudia Bruce for Thea Porter. Greek Street, London, 1969. (2) From the book Thea Porter: Bohemian Chic.

All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.

I have had this tucked away in my archives for quite some time and it is spectacular. This is a gorgeous little skirt and halter top set that is a fabulous example of how unique her work could be. Of all of Thea's pieces are so special. Many were one-offs or were made in very limited quantities. She often thrifted and sourced odd bits of fabric and seemed to design with things that caught her fancy rather than have a solid theme season to season. Everyone who was anyone wore her work back in the day, including Elizabeth Taylor who was a huge fan and collector. This set is just spectacular and it is a very special piece.

These skirt and cropped top sets really showcase what the seventies flower power / hippie movement was all about. This set is especially fascinating with its screened wildlife covering both pieces and then the corresponding text that feels like it is from an encyclopedia explaining the different animals shown. The top is a simple halter type top that hooks into place behind the neck and then the bottom wraps and ties around you. When off the body you see that it is one elongated triangle with a strap that goes around the neck and then on each side the fabric extends out into long ties. I shot it with the ties at the back so you could get the full impact of the print on both pieces but you could also choose to wrap the ties to the front. The ties also lets you control how short or long it sits on the torso. You can wrap and roll the fabric so it sits higher or you can leave it where you see it in these photos. The skirt is equally as easy to wear. It has no band at the waist so that the text and photos printed on it are not broken up in anyway. It widens out dramatically to the hem from there. I took a photo of it laying out flat so you can see how wide the bottom hem ends up being. The fabric is a cotton that is a decent weight so that the shape is held. The combination of text and what looks like hand painted animals, but are actually screened into the fabric, is fantastic. It is gorgeous and I love that because it is two pieces you can mix and match it with other things in your existing wardrobe. This was almost certainly a one off and very rare. Excellent condition

Both the top and skirt are unlined. The top is as described above. The skirt zips to close. Both pieces appear to have been worn very little if at all.

Top
It is flexible in size since it wraps and ties and has coverage across the front. The front halter is 17" from side to side with no true side seams and is 13.25" long from neck to bottom.
Neck: 14" from end to end

Skirt
Waist: 12.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 41.5" from waist to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD4898

All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.

This is one of two remarkable dresses that I have today that are absolutely insane to see in real life. Each is so very good and they are not even photoing half as good as either is in person. The sheer amount of hand work to apply those thousands of sequins, crystals and beads needs to be seen in person to truly appreciate. This is one of those pieces that really showcases the higher end work that the label was capable of. The dress is the work of Elinor Simmons who designed for the Malcolm Starr label from the early 1960s to 1972. She excelled at these early heavily embellished pieces that the label became known for and this is an outstanding example of that. It is even more amazing in person and the photos cannot convey the impact and presence it has. It is gorgeous

The fabric on this dress is gorgeous and you would never see its equivalent in modern fashion unless you are looking at a couture piece. The base fabric is a red silk brocade that has a heavy shot of gold metallic thread running through it that gives the dress its golden glow from shoulder to hem. The bodice skims over the bust and the neck is cut into a curving V at the front. The back also curves into a V and it dips lower for a bare expanse of skin to show. The waist is seamed and set a touch higher under the bust. From there the skirt falls to the floor and widens out as it nears the hem to perfectly balance the shape of the bodice. The simplicity of the shape is what allows the extraordinary detailing that sits on top of the brocade to shine. Onto the red and gold thread silk brocade are thousands upon thousands of tiny silver sequins, gold beads, glass tube beads, paillettes, and pink and red glass prong set crystals that have all been applied by hand. These cover every square inch of the dress and give the dress an incredible 3D feel and shine. The hand work was all done in the British crown colony of Hong Kong, which, during this period of time, was doing some of the best hand work on the planet. The dress has weight to it but it is balanced so perfectly that it is not too heavy once on the body. It just feels like you are wearing something of substance and beauty. The entire dress has a beautiful and subtle shimmer from every angle. I love it. It is just a beautiful dress that showcases just how good hand work and detailing can be. Excellent condition.

Fully interfaced in a red cotton muslin to hold the weight of the bead work and then lined in a silky rayon through the bodice and a red silk through the skirt. It zips to close at the back. It appears to have been worn very little if at all. I see the tiniest bit of grubbiness along the inner edge of one arm. Ribbon edged inner hem and hand finishes.

Bust: 18" flat across from side seam to side seam
Seam under the bust: 15" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 11" from top of shoulder to the seam under the bust
Total length: 54" from top of shoulder to hem with about 3.25" turned under

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD4867

All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.