Princess Diana’s Gowns Back on the Block

Hello-Hello, happy Monday.

Today, a look at what will be another remarkable auction of evening gowns worn by the late Princess Diana, ten of her most famous frocks will be auctioned tomorrow. Below, a 1987 dress created by Zandra Rhodes.

All Images via Kerry Taylor Auctions

In the notes for each lot there are some fascinating details, I loved reading about the many design elements for the Rhodes dress, especially the pattern for the material.

…printed with ivory ‘Buttons & Bows’ pattern, zig-zag bands to the hem on white silk chiffon, over white silk jersey lining, the cross-over pleated bodice studded with pearl beads and sequins, waistband of quilted, top-stitched white satin over gently draped skirt, the whole edged with pink crystals and white pearlised beads, small pearl quatrefoils to the rear closure all applied by hand

Also, a Catherine Walker Burgundy Velvet Sheath, the estimate on this is $40,000-$60,000.

All Images via Kerry Taylor Auctions

An interesting tidbit on the dress, the following is from designer Catherine Walker’s autobiography:

This design was in fact inspired by the colouring of an Imperial Russian court dress and was originally offered to the Princess as a burgundy tailcoat over a rich ivory silk crêpe bustier dress. The Princess, however, felt that all burgundy would be more fluid and easier to wear, and I think she was right.’

If you think you’ve seen the gowns at auction before, you have. These were all part of the 1997 Christie’s auction the Princess organized herself as a charity fundraiser.  More from the Daily Mail:

U.S. businesswoman Maureen Rorech Dunkel bought the ten dresses in 1997 as an investment. But following the Princess’s death that year, she exhibited them to raise money for charity – and is now selling them after running into financial difficulties.

With auctioneers estimating the 14 gowns could make as much as $4.15million, Ms Dunkel will at last be hoping the dresses can bring her financial help rather than woe.

In the auction catalogue, she wrote: ‘It is time to close the “Diana Dress” chapter of my life and focus on my greatest love, my desire to use my time, talents and treasure to serve God.’

Until seeing the auction catalog photos I had no idea this Catherine Walker was slit so high on the side.

All Images via Kerry Taylor

More of the history on the gown seen above, from the auction catalog:

Catherine Walker made two of these dresses, the first in black silk crêpe was worn for a dinner given at the palace of Versailles in December 1994. The Princess returned it to Catherine Walker for a slight alteration at which point Catherine suggested that the dress would work even better in black velvet. Princess Diana agreed and the second velvet version (this one) was worn for Princess Diana’s famous Mario Testino photo-shoot at Kensington Palace for Vanity Fair in 1997. The photographs of Diana with slicked back hair, looking healthy and happy are arguably some of the finest portraits ever taken of the Princess.

Mario Testino/Vanity Fair

Arguably the most famous frock is this one, the midnight blue Victor Edelstein worn for a State Dinner at the White House.

Via Kerry Taylor

This is one of those gowns that shows much better on a real person as opposed to a mannequin.

Courtesy Everett Collection via Kerry Taylor

Back to the Daily Mail’s story:

Auctioneer Kerry Taylor said: ‘Princess Diana knew how to dress and the midnight-blue gown is one of her most memorable.

‘When she visited the US, her one wish was to dance with John Travolta and she spent more than 20 minutes being twirled around the floor by him in that beautiful dress.’

We look at one more dress, this is another by Catherine Walker.

All Images via Kerry Taylor

More about the extraordinary gown from the auction catalog:

…the sleeve-less gown with deep scooped neckline, long princess-line bodice densely embroidered to the dropped waist-line with three-dimensional exotic blooms in looped and satin-stitched corded silk, layered pink sequins, centred by amber, green and pink crystal beads, scattered with small white floret-shaped sequins against a green iridescent sequined ground with gold chain-stitched leaves, the bolero jacket similarly embroidered to front and back, lined in ivory satin, the plain silk cuffs each with three large buttons inset with emerald and pink rhinestones…

A better view of some of the details described above.

All Images via Kerry Taylor

For those of you bidding from home, that is Lot #9 from tomorrow’s auction.

You can view a virtual catalog by clicking here.

Neiman Marcus Says Goodbye to eBay, Targét + Lauren Bush Lauren = Collaboration

Hello and happy start of a new week.  Is anyone else dragging just a teeny bit?

Via CopyPress

On to our news of the day, remember the big announcement that many luxury brands were opening stores on eBay? We wrote about it back in September of 2011, the “eBay Fashion Outlet Mall” had many popular companies signed up to participate, the following is from that 2011 post:

Brands taking part in the new mall that may be of interest to our crowd include Brooks Brothers, Hanes, Elaine Turner, Hanky Panky, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, Hickey Freeman.  eBay claims almost 200 other brands however (more on that number later), most of them ‘household names,’ from off-price department stores like Neiman Marcus Last Call to run of the mill retailers like Elie Tahari, Bruno Magli, Fossil and Hush Puppies.

A story last week from Reuters got me thinking about the undertaking, it’s titled “Last Call for Neiman Marcus’s eBay Store“:

Luxury department store operator Neiman Marcus is shutting its eBay Inc store, a setback for the e-commerce company, which has been trying to lure large retailers to its online marketplace.

Neiman launched a store on eBay.com in 2011 for its Last Call outlet brand. It was one of a slew of large retailers that eBay has attracted to its online marketplace in recent years, an important part of the e-commerce company’s effort to compete more with Amazon.com Inc.

The story notes Neiman’s will be selling deeply discounted merchandise on its own Last Call site. The retailer has upgraded the Last Call website substantially, so it makes sense to sell via their own means. eBay gets a cut every time Neiman’s sells merchandise via eBay’s site, why keep putting money in eBay’s pocket?

As it turns out, many of the upscale brands initially associated with the ‘Outlet Mall’ no longer seem to be participating. For example, this is what one saw when visiting the Brooks Brothers’ eBay store back in 2011.

Preppy Princess Blog 9.20.11

A quick check for the Brooks Brothers store turns up nothing, they no longer seem to be part of the eBay Designer Outlets. Nor could I find Lacoste, Elaine Turner or several other “luxury” names. However, Bobby Jones and Calvin Klein are still present, as are Bruno Magli and Tahari. My guess is that there will be fewer and fewer brands remaining as part of the eBay endeavor, it just doesn’t make sense to pay eBay when you can dispose of the goods yourself via your own means without handing over part of the profits to a third party.

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Our other item of note, Target has announced its next partnership will be with Lauren Bush Lauren’s FEED project. More from USA Today:

With FEED, Target is going the more minimalist, feel-good route with a collection launching June 30 that includes tote bags, kitchenware and blankets. Proceeds will benefit Feeding America, a non-profit with more than 200 food banks across the country.

Two of the items in the collection.

Via People StyleWatch

There will be 50 pieces in the line, including iPhone cases, bags, more jewelry and kitchenware. The collection launches June 30.  Here’s a bit more on the collapsible bicycle shown above from that StyleWatch story:

And the bike is a personal favorite of hers: “I ride my bike to work and around my West Village neighborhood, [so] I love [it],” she says. “Plus, it’s foldable and easy to store if you don’t have a lot of space in your apartment.”

I like this one, it is good to see Target offering a collection specifically tied to a charitable initiative.

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Also today, a quick glance at the big winners of this year’s Cruft’s International dog show. Cruft’s is a little different from our annual Westminster show, among other things, they include additional competitions, like “Flyball.”.

onEdition Photos via Cruft’s Flickr Feed

Two breeds we’re partial to, Scotties & Schnauzers.

Cruft’s Facebook

As always there were other events, many not involving the show ring. Below we see a Yeomanry Infantry group donating a big check to Hounds for Heroes, the organization provides dogs for disabled British military forces.

Cruft’s Facebook

Below we see the big winner, a Basset Griffon Vendeen (Petit) named Jilly, with handler Gavin Robertson.

Cruft’s Facebook

“Big winner” is an accurate appelation, more than 27,000 dogs were involved in this year’s show.

It must be the season for dog shows, we actually went to one ourselves a few weeks back.

That is a giant schnauzer, like our boy Phred, the pooch we had before Silly Tilly. It wouldn’t be out of the question to see another schnoozer at The Prepatorium.

Those Vineyard Vines Hotel Suites

Hello-Hello, welcome to an almost-weekend here in the Corner Condo at the Prepatorium.

Today we are engaging in some much-needed Friday Fun, starting with news that Vineyard Vines is decorating hotel suites. From Women’s Wear Daily:

Talk about living the Vineyard Vines lifestyle.

The nautical-inspired brand has partnered with Lark Hotels, a boutique hotel group with properties throughout coastal New England, to create two guest suites.

Below, a suite at the Captain Fairfield Inn in Kennebunkport.

Captain Fairfield Inn

Back to the WWD.com story:

The suites mix the brand’s coastal preppy chic touches with the modern influences for which Lark Hotels is known. Pillows and bed bolsters are made from boardshorts material, and the edging on the window shades is from Vineyard Vines belts.

Another part of the suite.

Captain Fairfield Inn

The Captain Fairfield Inn is the first Lark property to have suites with VV decor.

Captain Fairfield Inn

Next to have the Vines treatment: 76 Main on Nantucket. That property’s grand opening is June 9.

This isn’t the first interaction between the two brands, Lark employees are outfitted by Vineyard Vines. More from the Lark blog.

From managers to housekeepers (and even friends and family!), you’ll see the crew at our hotels decked out in stylish vineyard vines dresses, khakis, polo shirts, tunics and capris.

Lark Hotels Blog

Lark’s other properties include the Attwater in Newport and the historic Danforth in Portland (Maine).

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Our other tidbit involves Friday Fun of the Four-Legged kind, we wanted to share more preppish duds for your pooch.

ParsonsDesignGrad on etsy

The madras coat is by ParsonsDesignGrad on etsy. The shop owner and design whiz got in touch last week about her creations and I just fell in love with them.  One of the niftiest things about the coat is that it is reversible, the flip side of the oh-so-snappy madras is a lovely repp tie stripe.

ParsonsDesignGrad on etsy

The coats are made from re-purposed and upcycled vintage linens, there are some wonderful patterns available.

ParsonsDesignGrad on etsy

If interested in visiting the ParsonsDesignGrad etsy shop, just click here.

We also stumbled across some new styles while endlessly grazing studiously reading some of today’s offerings at Fab.com.

Preppie Pup at Fab.com

These are by Preppie Pup, available at Fab, there are definitely some ‘fashionable’ looks.

Seeing these dapper styles reminded me of the posts we’ve done showcasing The Rover Boutique. Below, some of the images we have previously shared.

Rover Boutique

There are new styles at the Boutique, including the Fieldwork Raincoat.

The Rover Boutique

This one has a bit of the Barbour touch, don’t you think? Just in time for spring, the Boutique also has some cute new bowtie collars, like this seersucker style, definitely today’s Pretty in Pink.

The Rover Boutique on etsy

On that cheery note, g’bye until next time!

A New Heel Height? We’re In. (Version 2.0)

Hello-Hello, welcome to a Wednesday. There is white matter falling from the sky and yours truly is perilously close to becoming Little Miss CrankyPants about the weather.  Harrumph.

We soldier on with a post we are completely flummoxed about, one that is shown as being in draft mode. Yet apparently it has been published at some point, somehow, as a dear friend has discussed it with The Consort, so confusion reigns here at the Prepatorium.  Please forgive the tedium if you have already seen this, my addled brain is beyond baffled at this point. (But if you do remember seeing the not-ready-for-primetime-post in all its ghastly horror of rampant typos, misspellings and other signs pointing to an illiterate Princess, don’t be shy about letting us know, it would be appreciated to the nth degree!)

Moving on.

Today we share news that made us smile when first reading it a few weekends back: according to an article in the Journal, we may be seeing the return of more sensible heel heights.

The age of the relatively sensible heel—about 3½ inches and under—is upon us. “After so many seasons of aggressive platform shoes, these new single-sole, lower-heel silhouettes are a palate cleanser,” said Anamaria Pimentel, accessories director for Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.

The piece, titled “Sweet and Low-Down Heels,” is written by Meenal Mistry, gives one hope we might finally be able to bid adieu to styles like these.

Refinery 29

More from the story:

Even without punky hardware, low heels—despite their associations with more staid looks—have developed a cool cachet, simply by zigging while other shoes zag.

Obviously there’s many a flat we’re fond of, these are just a few from Tory Burch.

ToryBurch.com

But the new trend isn’t limited to flats, far from it. There are kitten heels and chunky heels, like these from Stuart Weitzman, as seen at Zappos.

Stuart Weitzman

Nor does it mean goodbye to all platforms, below we show Stuart Weitzman’s Platswoon, a 3-1/2″ heel on a 1/2″ platform, making these more than manageable.

Stuart Weitzman Platswoon

The story does have some good reminders about switching to the lower height.

Switching to a lower heel partly requires a perception shift: The eye has to become accustomed to a different proportion. More concretely, the adjustment can mean hemming your trousers so they don’t drag, or opting for slimmer silhouettes that are still flattering without the boost of an extra 3 or 4 inches.

There are some darling little kitten heels this spring, like Manolo Blahnik’s Lisane Bow, as well as cute Manolo sandals, below right we see the Carolyne.

Manolo Blahnik at Neiman Marcus

Not that we don’t love the venerable “Reva” by Tory Burch in a variety of finishes.

ToryBurch.com

Or the vast array of Belgians available.

Belgian Shoes

It’s just that it is nice to have options that fit between these:

Sperry

And these, as seen on Eva Longoria.

Just Jared

More like these from Kate Spade. On the left we show the Paloma (heel height 3.5″) and the Karolina (heel is also 3.5″).

Kate Spade Paloma & Karolina

Or these from Gianvito Rossi and Valentino.

Gianvito Rossi & Valentino shoes via the Wall Street Journal

Or these by Jimmy Choo; on the left we see the Baxen Peeptoe Wedge, on the right, the Nova Glittered Platform Slingback.

Jimmy Choo at Neiman Marcus

I’m happy to see what I call “silly shoes” fading in popularity; I’ve long thought that when someone is struggling to walk in ridiculously high heels it detracts from the clothing and the person wearing the clothing. But then, I’ve been known to embrace my inner frump (heh-heh-heh), so clearly I’m not one to dispense style advice. 🙂

You can read the story in its entirety here.

That Ivy Style Exhibit

Hello-Hello, happy middle of the week to everyone.

Today’s schedule mandates brevity, so we’ll keep the post to one topic. It is a subject I should have written about months ago, hopefully it isn’t tedious for too many readers.

Hickey Freeman Blog

We’re talking about the Ivy Style exhibit at the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum, unfortunately it closed in January. More from the Museum’s show notes.

“Ivy style” is one of the most enduring and recognizable sartorial modes in the world. It began as the “Ivy League Look” on the quads and in the libraries of elite, all-male, American universities, and consists of a small repertoire of classic items, such as Shetland tweed jackets and Oxford button-down shirts, plus the more casual madras shorts and khaki pants.

Yours truly is beyond chagrined at not having written about this sooner, at the very least before the exhibition closed, arrggh. Several pieces from the show: left to right, a Brooks blazer with 1923 Princeton insignia, another with Princeton’s 1919 insignia, and a 1916 Yale emblazoned blazer.

The Museum at FIT

More from Hickey Freeman’s blog:

Many forget that the “Ivy style” as we know it began as a more formal way of dress on campuses like Harvard, Yale and Princeton, which eventually spread beyond those all-male universities. In blue blazers with gold buttons, madras prints, bowties and pocket squares, the exhibit proves this iconic way of dressing continues to influence today’s designers.

Three more pieces from the exhibition, a classic raccoon coat, a Chipp madras jacket and linen suit, correctly described by Art Info as Ivy staples.

ArtInfo.com

Art Info’s story includes perspective from the Museum’s deputy director:

While the Ivy look is pretty democratic these days, with everyone from H&M to Hermes turning out brass button peacoats and embroidered smoking slippers, this wasn’t always the case. “If you look at pre-World War II images, you’re talking about more of an elitist group of people, people with more money who could send their children to college” Mears said.

More recent looks.

Via StyleSight

From The Journal’s review of the show:

Brooks Brothers, J. Press, Arrow, Hathaway and Gant—these are Ivy eternals. Chipp, an offshoot of J. Press, would expand and popularize the “Go to Hell” look, a mix of bright colors normally considered outside the masculine palette—coral, yellow, mint—and constituting a casual smack at the status quo.

Below, one of the tableaux from the exhibition via the Princeton Alumni Weekly.

Photo by Eli Schwartz, Princeton ’60 via Princeton Alumni Weekly

Back to The Journal piece by Laura Jacobs:

Ivy-style clothes need not come at great expense; they need not be new; but they must hit the ineffable balance between carefree, careless and correct. I have never forgotten the scorn of a young man commenting on Nantucket Reds that weren’t bought at Murray’s in Nantucket. They would never fade to the proper shade of shrimp pink and so they were impostors—”not our sort of people” pants. Getting the uniform wrong locks you out of the tribe.

Below left, items circa the twenties, on the right, an Arrow shirt signed by Harvard’s 1933 Football Team.

MFIT Ivy Style Microsite

From Women’s Wear Daily’s story:

Ivy League style permeates nearly every fiber of American fashion, and a new exhibition at The Museum at FIT delves into its history.

It explores the “decline and resurgence” of Ivy League fashion and the rise of the preppy movement.

George Chinsee/Women’s Wear Daily

The WWD article quotes Town & Country’s G. Bruce Boyer, he was a collaborator on the show:

Boyer said the show is “very timely,” since “every Italian brand today is trying to do the authentic Brooks Brothers button-down. And look at Thom Browne and Michael Bastian — they take great traditional looks and make them hip and contemporary.”

I didn’t realize the origins of the polo coat, more from the exhibit microsite:

Many garments have been derived from the game of polo, including this camel hair overcoat that was originally used as a “wait” coat by British polo players during “chukkas” (the term for polo’s periods of play). In design, it was at first little more than a heavy bathrobe type wrap coat, but when British polo teams began making regular visits to the U.S. in the 1920s, it was modified and became popular on elite college campuses.

Ivy Style Microsite

Details magazine offered this:

While traditional J. Press and Brooks Brothers gear features prominently in the exhibit, it’s fun to see styles loosen up and evolve over the years, from the formal evening ensembles of the 1920s to the preppy sweater-and-shorts combos of the fifties and sixties.

Details

Even though I missed seeing the exhibit in person, there is a wonderful book of essays accompanying the exhibition, edited by Ms. Mears.

Yale University Press

More on the book from its publisher, Yale University Press:

Ivy Style celebrates both high-profile proponents of the style—including the Duke of Windsor, Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and Miles Davis—who made the look their own, and designers such as Ralph Lauren, J. McLaughlin, Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Bastian, and Thom Browne, who have made it resonate with new generations of style enthusiasts.

Ivy Style is also available at Amazon and other outlets.

One of the best parts of the exhibit is the way curators drew upon the blogging community, several of my favorite blogs were involved in a variety of ways. Christian Chensvold over at the Ivy Style blog has an essay in the book discussed above, he has several stellar posts on the show. One offers a delightful video walk-through of the exhibit hosted by Richard Press.

Muffy Aldrich of Daily Prep renown is another author I admire tremendously and love reading, she donated items for use in the exhibit. I think you’ll enjoy this April post showing preps for the show. TDP was also featured in a Symposium affiliated with Ivy Style, for a real treat spend some time on this post, the entire slide show about Muffy’s blog is viewable.

John Tinseth writes The Trad, always enjoyable and a place where I have lurked for years, he was part of the Symposium as well. In this post you can see loads of photos from the exhibit, including the vintage dorm room shown below.

The Trad

Dusty at Maxminimus is yet one more writer I regard with great admiration, he was also part of the Symposium and this post details that experience brilliantly.

The show may have closed in January, but hopefully you will be able to enjoy it virtually via some of the links included above.

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One more tidbit, anyone interested in a new personalized phone case might want to visit the always-wonderful Nautical by Nature blog. We’re just tickled to be sponsoring a giveaway for one of our Preppy Planet custom cases.

Nautical by Nature

Even if you don’t need a case, pop in and say ‘hey’ to Kate, she is the bee’s knees.