Our first auction of the year is a bumper one - over 550 lots of vintage fashion, textiles and accessories – so hopefully something to interest everyone?
Stuck for something to wear to this year’s Met Gala Ball? Then look no further – see lot 183, the scarlet satin surrealist hat made to Karl Lagerfeld’s design by London milliner Kirstin Woodward in 1985. It is not only desirable as a wearable accessory but is also museum quality having previously been included in FIT’s Fashion & Surrealism exhibition, October 30, 1987-January 23, 1988. Isabelle Pascoe was photographed wearing a pink example for British Vogue, December, 1985. Vogue stated,
‘'A surreal trick of judgement with wild surmise. Surprise? Classic distortion, upholstery, plat du jour perch above the stark silhouette of something sexy and understated.'"
At Christmas, the fashion world lost its honorary Queen: Dame Vivienne Westwood and she is well represented in our sale. Highlights include Lot 160, the sleeved ‘Boucher’ corset, ‘Portrait’ collection, Autumn-Winter 1990-91, and Lot 184, which comprises a red velvet corset, ‘Harris Tweed’ collection, Autumn-Winter 1987-88 and rare ‘mini-crini’, Spring-Summer 1985. We even have a photograph showing the original beautiful owner wearing the corset, dancing the night away in the Kinky Gerlinky night club!
We offer the ‘Lucinda Portobello Collection, Part I’. Lucinda Alford was a major player in the London Vintage fashion scene for many decades. She was renowned for her exceptional eye and eclectic taste, which is evident throughout the rails filled with pretty 1930s floral chiffons, romantic Edwardian dresses, dreamy bohemian gowns and colourful prints, starkly contrasted by the brutal minimalism of pieces by one of Lucinda’s great loves: Martin Margiela.
Families gathering around their TV’s in the UK on Saturday nights during the 1960s would have been familiar with the Kaye Sisters who achieved huge fame during the late 50s and 60s with hits including 'Paper Roses’ and ‘Handed Down’. They performed in numerous Royal Command Performances at the London Palladium, as well as TV variety shows hosted by Max Bygraves and others. The three singers – Shan, Carole and Shiela, weren’t actually sisters but had matching blonde hairstyles to suggest a familial resemblance. Their preferred costumier was Douglas Darnell who also produced many of Shirley Bassey’s most glittering costumes. Shan Kaye’s razzle-dazzle stage outfits dripping in faux gems, shimmering with beads are lots 343-346.
We also feature a selection of fine antique costume & textiles from around the world, including Lot 554, a brocaded summer dragon robe - jifu, Chinese, circa 1900, Lot 539, an embroidered wool scarf, Zoroastrian, Yazd, Persia, 19th century.
We hope you enjoy browsing this sale as much as we have enjoyed creating it for you and look forward to assisting you with condition reports and bidding.
Morning session, lots 1-250, begins at 9.30am GMT. The afternoon session, lots 251-556, will begin at 2pm GMT.
For more information on how to bid, please click here. Live bidding is now possible via our website on sale day. In order to bid online, please ensure you have created an account with us and that your account is enabled for live bidding - new clients will need to email us a form of photo ID, proof of address and paid invoices from other auction houses where appropriate. Once you have created an account and have been approved to bid, please click the purple 'Pre-register for live bidding' button which will appear on the online catalogue before the sale. You then need to accept the terms and conditions to proceed. On the day of the sale, a button marked 'Bid live' will appear on the website and clicking this will allow you to access the live bidding platform. Please note that there is an additional 1.5% charge plus VAT for any lots won via our online bidding platform. Please also note that online bidding is automatically capped at £6,000 in total - if you envisage that you will exceed this amount, please contact us directly so we can remove the bidding cap - we may ask for further information from you before doing this.
Clients who prefer to bid via Invaluable still have this option and can access the catalogue here. Please note the charge for bidding online via the Invaluable platform is 3% plus VAT. We strongly advise that you register to bid in advance of the auction and not the day of, as we cannot guarantee approval once the auction has begun.
Lot 1 - A Chanel pastel checked wool ensemble, Autumn-Winter 2001-02
Sold for £550
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 2 - Two pairs of Chanel ballet flats, modern
Sold for £220
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 3 - A pair of Chanel two-tone leather ballet flats, modern
Sold for £200
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 4 - A Chanel pink tweed jacket, circa 1991
Sold for £500
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 5 - A Chanel woven cashmere jacket, early 2000s
Sold for £900
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 7 - A Chanel grey wool nautical-inspired dress, 1980s
Sold for £280
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 10 - A Chanel bouclé tweed suit, Cruise collection 2003
Sold for £850
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 11 - A Chanel cherry-red tweed suit, late 1980s-early 1990s
Sold for £850
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 12 - Two Chanel silk crepe de chine dresses, 1980s
Sold for £400
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 15 - A Chanel cream tweed jacket Spring/Summer 2002
Sold for £550
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 16 - Two pairs of Chanel clip-on earrings, 1990s
Sold for £260
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 17 - A Chanel black lambskin leather handbag, 2006-08
Sold for £380
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 18 - A Chanel printed chiffon scarf, 1980s
Sold for £100
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 19 - A Chanel marigold-yellow cotton suit, circa 1986
Sold for £200
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 20 - A Chanel checked bouclé tweed jacket, 1990s
Sold for £600
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 21 - A Chanel bottle-green tweed jacket, Autumn-Winter 1997-98
Sold for £500
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 22 - A Chanel pink and purple houndstooth tweed jacket, 1990s
Sold for £900
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 24 - Two Chanel black full-length skirts, 1996 & 1999
Sold for £420
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 25 - A red satin cocktail dress in the style of Chanel, probably late 1980s
Sold for £180
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 26 - Two pairs of Chanel black trousers, 1980s-1990s
Sold for £220
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 27 - A Chanel pink organza blouse and grey trousers, 1980s
Sold for £480
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 30 - Two pairs of Chanel sunglasses, 2000s
Sold for £100
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 32 - A Mulberry red leather Bayswater, 2013
Sold for £280
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 34 - A Mulberry grass-green leather Bayswater, 2013
Sold for £170
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 35 - A Mulberry Oak-brown leather Bayswater, 2013
Sold for £240
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 36 - Two Mulberry leather Lily bags, modern
Sold for £260
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 37 - A group of handbags and accessories, 1980s-modern
Sold for £160
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 38 - Two Pairs of Yves Saint Laurent wedge espadrilles, 1990s
Sold for £100
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 40 - An Alexander McQueen for the V&A re-issue 'De-Manta' clutch, 2015
Sold for £120
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 41 - Four Asprey leather handbags, 1980s-modern
Sold for £170
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 42 - A Louis Vuitton monogrammed canvas leather holdall
Sold for £150
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 44 - A group of luxury accessories, 1980s-modern
Sold for £200
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 46 - A pair of Hermès needlecord jodphurs, 20th century
Sold for £240
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
Lot 47 - Three Hermès printed silk scarves, various dates
Sold for £240
Buyer's premium: 25% (exclusive of VAT)
