Designer Desire: Malcolm Starr

Malcolm Starr was born to be a somebody in fashion. His mother, Claire was a costume designer. His father, Frank Starr, was a well-known figure in the New York textile industry who, in the 1940s, founded the Malcolm Starr clothing company located at 530 Seventh Avenue in Manhattan’s garment district. When Starr senior died in 1969, Malcolm took over the business.

Some of the designer names associated with the Starr label include Bill Tice, Youssef Rizkallah, Elinor (Rizkallah) Simmons, Gino Charles and Carol Horn.

Elinor Simmons was a designer at the company from the early 1960s up to 1972. Youssef Rizkallah joined Starr in 1969, working there until 1975. Carol Horn was at the label during the early years of the 70s.

Those aren’t the only branches in the Starr fashion family tree. In 1966, Starr partnered with Teal Traina to form Gino Charles (a combination of the two men’s middle names). This line was designed by Alan Phillips.

There’s an iconic photograph of the model, Veruschka in 1965 wearing an eye-catching lime green Malcolm Starr maxi dress.

The fashion house continued to operate until 1976 when Starr sold it for a reported 7 million dollars.

In March 2008, Starr passed away following a fall at his Connecticut home; he was 84.

Vintage Malcolm Starr pieces are readily available online and at auction, especially in the USA. Try 1stDibs, eBay and Etsy.

Image credits:
1stDibs | Live Auctioneers

What to do when buying clothing online

A 2020 Statista survey indicated that 60% of women purchased clothing from online stores. Indeed, there’s a freedom that comes with internet purchases. There’s no waiting in line or tapping your fingers at the till while the cashier calculates your items and bags them. You’re usually spared the agony of trying several items on, hoping that a few will be the right size for you. However, online shopping for clothes can be fraught with issues, which is why you need to know a few things before using these platforms. Here are some of them.

Select reliable shops

According to cybercrew.uk, clothing is the most common item bought online by the UK public. In other words, people find it more convenient to shop for apparel on online platforms than visit physical stores. Due to the interest in these shopping platforms, statistics indicate that between 2018 and 2020, over six thousand online clothing shops had commenced active business. Admittedly, this makes it difficult to choose from the vast selection. Moreover, with such fierce competition, people with purchasing power may be spoilt for choice.

Unfortunately, in such environments, scammers find fertile ground in which to operate. Aside from that, some online shops may see it as an opportunity to sell substandard clothing. Indeed, there are several issues about which you may want to be wary. This is why it pays to select a reliable shop like the Japanese store or others with whom to transact business. One way to find a reliable online shop that sells quality clothing is to research social media. The internet holds a wealth of information, and you’d be thankful to use it to make your final choice(s).

Check the size charts

Because you won’t be trying the clothes on physically before purchasing, it’s recommended to check the size charts first. Usually, online buyers are lured by the attractiveness of these clothes and fail to pay attention to the size charts. In the UK, size charts tend to be different from the ones in the US and other countries. Because of this, it’s important to first know your size and compare it to the item(s) of clothing you intend to purchase online.

To get it right the first time, it’s necessary to measure your bust, waist, hips and torso. If your values fall within a range, you can then compare them to the standard UK size chart. The trick with self-measurements is to avoid tying the tape too tightly around your body. Doing that could give you the wrong size. Moreover, different clothing brands have slight variations in their size charts. However, the values may not be too much to alter your correct size.

Research clothing materials

Have you ever felt drawn to an online clothing item only to be disappointed when it’s finally delivered? Some clothes may look like the best item you ever saw, but the material could be wrong or uncomfortable on your skin. This is one of the reasons you should look into on materials from which these clothes are made. For instance, while some people’s skin reacts to wool, others are irritated by latex. Again, due to technological advancement, some manufacturers make use of experimental fabrics. Indeed, an item of6ty clothing may not be 100% experimental fabric. However, a mixture with regular fabric like polyester could be problematic.

Therefore, to avoid any discomfort, disappointment or inconvenience, it helps to read about the fabric to learn the pros and cons. Moreover, if you’re into being environmentally aware, you may be more interested in sustainable fabrics than those that ‘hurt’ the planet.

Read about their return policy

One of the most disappointing moments is to buy a clothing item from an online store only to realise that it’s unreturnable. In other words, you spent good money on something you’ll never wear. However, you can avoid this if you ensure you read the online store’s return policy. Some businesses may have a seven-day return policy, while others allow just three days.

As long as you fall within that range, you can take advantage of the return policy. Even with that, it may come with conditions. For example, the item has to be returned with all its labels and packaging intact. With certain policies, what you get is a replacement rather than a money-back guarantee. If you’re comfortable with the online store’s return policy, you can proceed to transact business with them.

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Auction alert: Passion for Fashion

I have a passion for vintage fashion, so the Passion for Fashion sale at Kerry Taylor Auctions is always a highlight of the year. This one takes place on Tuesday 7^th December 2021 from 1pm. There are 265 lots of quality apparel from around the world, dating from the mid-1800s through to the 21^st century.

Many of the lots are museum quality, for both craftsmanship and provenance. There’s such exquisite workmanship in the beading, braiding, sequins and embroidery in many of the pieces. There are hundreds of man hours in there! The are a few of the dresses that I think would make spectacular wedding dresses and despite the fact that they’re ‘couture’, they’d probably be less pricey than one from a bridal shop today.

Buyer’s premium is 25% (ex. VAT). If bidding live via Invaluable, the buyer’s premium is as follows: £0 – 49,999: 28% / £50,000+: 23%

Lot 54: An ivory chiffon couture dinner dress, attributed to Gabrielle Chanel, circa 1925
With simple V-neck, with double layered chiffon sash-like waistband with ties to one side, the tiered skirt with asymmetric point to one side, the whole finished with picot edging, the back with floating panel with centre-split, bust 102cm, 40in.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds a similar chiffon Chanel dress with floating back panel and waist sash with side ties. Their dress is labelled in the slip which is missing from this example, see accession Number: 1995.468.1a–c
Estimate: £1,500 – £2,500

Lot 61: A beaded black chiffon flapper dress, circa 1926
With stylised floral motif to waistband, embellished with cut beads in shades of silver, spangled with sequins, bust approx 86-92cm, 34-36in, waist 92cm, 36in; together with a later-made associated slip; together with two lengths of devoré velvet and floral chiffon, probably 1920s-30s (4)
Estimate: £200 – £300

Lot 64: A fine and rare Paul Poiret purple sequinned evening dress, 1928
Large woven satin Paul Poiret à Paris label with Iribe rose, the purple chiffon ground applied with a shimmer of sequins to the bodice, the V-neck edged in seed pearls and silver bugle beads, revealing pink satin petticoat, the pink cotton overlaid with purple and silver lace, the dropped waistline defined by demi-lunes filled with brilliants, silver ovoid, seed pearl beads and glass bugles, the skirt formed from gladiator-like similarly-worked sequinned floating panels interspersed with chiffon godets to produce an irregular handkerchief hem, the integral black chiffon underskirt with sequinned gold to purple dégradé sequinned bands which are visible through the chiffon over-skirt, bust 97cm, 38in; with matching chiffon stole (3)

Exhibited at the Melbourne Art Festival ‘L’Époque d’Élégance’, 1991. The Sandy Schreier Collection
Estimate: £6,000 – £10,000

Lot 68: A Mainbocher couture ivory satin court presentation gown, early 1930s
Labelled, with handwritten bolduc: ‘232 Kiefe 33 69-388’, the belt to front waist with decorative oversized metal buckle inset with cut brilliants, integral silk petticoat with knife-pleated hem; together with a pair of ivory leather opera-length gloves and Ostrich feather fan (4)

Provenance: Margaret ‘Peggy’ Winifred Fass. Peggy was presented at court twice: first as a debutante in the late 1920s, and then c.1931 as a married woman – ‘Mrs Logan’, when she wore this gown for the occasion. Her father was Sir Ernest Fass, who at the time of his daughter’s wedding was financial advisor to the Sudanese government. He was knighted for his services to the British government and had a very distinguished career, which culminated in his appointment as Public Trustee.
Estimate: £400 – £600

Lot 79: Audrey Hepburn’s Givenchy couture white point d’esprit ball gown worn in the opera scene of ‘Love in the Afternoon‘, 1956
Paris labelled but not numbered, the boned, fitted bodice lined in rayon, the bodice and skirt completely overlaid with double-layer of white tulle, the upper bodice edged with scalloped lace embroidered in silver thread with vermicular trails and florets centred with turquoise, silver tinsel strip florets with clear and turquoise rhinestone brilliants overall, full skirt, three integral tulle petticoats, the two upper layers of organza underskirts, bust approx.76cm, 30in, waist 52cm, 20 1/2in; together with a photograph of Audrey with the dress; together with a letter of authenticity from the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund, signed by Sean Ferrer, 12.01.2009 (3)

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Tanja Star-Busmann.
Tanja and Audrey were friends from childhood. Whenever commissioning gowns from Hubert de Givenchy, Audrey always requested he made extra-large seam returns so that she could pass the dresses on to others. Having been brought up with the privations and shortages of WWII, she held a ‘waste not, want not’ attitude that she retained throughout her life.

Audrey gifted this dress when Tanja gave birth to her daughter in 1958. It arrived in a large cardboard box with a note attached from Audrey, stating that she thought it might remind Tanja what it was like to have a waistline again. In 1961 Tanja lent the gown to her then nanny who wore it and adapted it, removing most of the lace trim, removing the bow from the front and making three smaller bows on the back to help conceal the panel that had been inserted to make it larger. These later alterations have been painstakingly reversed and the dress is now returned to its original size and shape.

It is extremely rare to find a screen-worn Audrey Hepburn garment – doubly so when the piece is also haute couture, designed by her close friend Hubert de Givenchy.
Audrey wears this gown in the Opera Scene of ‘Love in the Afternoon’. She plays the role of ingenue Ariane who captures the heart of a libertine American playboy played by Gary Cooper (who at the time was old enough to be Audrey’s father). Renowned French cinema veteran Maurice Chevalier plays the role of Ariane’s protective father, whose profession is a private detective, specialising in adulterous affairs. The film was directed by Billy Wilder and released in 1957. It is a light-hearted romance with an unlikely plot – and Audrey, with clipped English vowels, seemingly an unlikely daughter to French Maurice Chevalier. However, Audrey’s performance, her beauty and Givenchy’s fashions light up every scene in which she appears.
Estimate: £30,000 – £50,000

Lot 89: A Felisa Irigoyen couture embellished cocktail dress, 1968-69
Unlabelled, the ivory wool crêpe shift entirely covered with coiling bands of pearlised, domed discs, centred by rhinestones, and infilled with silver sequins, seed and faceted beads, leaf and floret shaped pearlised paillettes, lined in ivory silk, bust 86cm, 34in

Felisa Irigoyen worked as an embroideress for Cristobal Balenciaga in his Eisa couture ateliers in Spain. She was responsible for all the major embroidery including bridal gowns for Queen Fabiola of Belgium and Carmen Martinez Bordiú (the daughter of General Franco). After Balenciaga retired in 1968 she joined forces with Jose-Luis Molina Zumel, a famous Spanish fur designer, whose wife had been a major Balenciaga client under the company name ‘Felicia-Jose Luis’. They produced Balenciaga-inspired designs or near-identical Balenciaga copies, catering for a mainly Spanish clientèle, who had felt bereft at the loss of ‘the Master’.
Estimate: £800 – £1,200

Lot 125: A rare pair of Biba two-tone suede wedge-heeled shoes, 1970s
Faintly stamped to interior, together with a pair of Biba blue cotton-twill knee-high boots and three pairs of shoes with ankle straps, 1970s, stamped to interiors, various sizes (qty)
Estimate: £200 – £300

Lot 241: A Rei Kawakubo/ Comme des Garçons 2D collection ensemble, Autumn-Winter 2012-13
labelled and size S, the red felted wool ‘cloud’ top with matching angular shorts, size M (2)

The Sandy Schreier Collection
Estimate: £500 – £800

On our radar: Jil Sander / Birkenstock sandal collaboration

I’ve been a fan of Birkenstock sandals for decades. They’re versatile, they can be dressed up or dressed down. They’re available in so many styles and colours for men, women and kids. They were one of the first footwear companies, to my knowledge, that had a range of vegan shoes. Most of all though, they were hard-wearing and comfortable.

This week, I discovered that there’s to be a Jil Sander Birkenstock collaboration – a range of four styles in three colourways. Prices range from £320.00 to £500.00. According to Birkenstock:

The three existing models, now with a wider, rounded and higher profile in black, extend the grounding but sophisticated feel. Its reimagined thinner buckles in precious satin nickel contrast elegantly with straps in raw edged calfskin and suede. Accompanied by neutral black, the warm colour palette of cream and olive underlines the natural look.
As an addition to the collection, the newly designed model Velan, a reinvention of the Berlin closed-toe sandal, with a soft nappa strap to wrap around the ankles, is the ultimate flat strappy sandal for sophisticated world travelers.

BUY SANDALS HERE

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Tag: ladies fashion