Monica D. Murgia

Where art, creativity, and fashion meet

Archive for the ‘Vintage’ Category

April 20th, 2013 by Monica Murgia

Augusta Auctions

Earlier last week, I took my class to see the preview of Augusta Auctions latest sale. Twice a year, this auction house comes to New York, offering gorgeous fashion, textiles, and accessories that are de-accessioned from museum collections or consigned from private estates.

Pursuing the selections was so much fun. There were gorgeous dresses from every era spread out on racks and tables. I loved this day dress from the 1930s. The top stitching on the collar and sleeves was such an elegant touch.

Every object could be handled, as long as you wore a white glove. Auction previews are a great way to examine objects before they hit the block. You can determine the condition and your budget. If you are unable to attend when the lot is up for bidding, you can submit a phone bid. No more wasting the entire day waiting for the lot of your dreams. (New to auctions? Keep in mind that every auction house has a buyer’s premium. This means an extra percentage is added to your final bid. These premiums range from 20% to 35% depending on the auction house.)

There were also some fantastic dresses from the 1920s. Their condition was really impeccable. These dresses were carefully housed in a blue board box, and cushioned with tissue paper to preserve the shape.

I just loved the hemline on this dress.

This was another favorite! The auction estimates were very reasonable. I was really tempted to bid on a few things. Who wouldn’t love a dress with beading like this?

There were bins of ethnographic embroideries and textiles from around the world. Seeing the quality and craftsmanship of historical textiles makes it so difficult to shop the contemporary market. Just look at these hand embroidered flowers on this velvet cloth.

The best part? I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in ages! Giselle from Fashioning the Past was also at the fashion preview. If you haven’t seen her blog, you should really check it out.

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Tags: Augusta Auctions, couture auction, fashion auctions, New York, vintage auction
Posted in Accessories, american fashion, Art's Influence on Fashion, fashion, fashion history, great blogs, Inspiration, Shopping, Teaching, textiles, Vintage | 12 Comments »

April 17th, 2013 by Monica Murgia

Pauline Trigère & La Tortue

There is a special place in my heart for books. Libraries and bookstores are some of my favorite places to hangout. Time spent paging through books always leads to an interesting discovery. Never once have I been disappointed by spending time in the stacks. Today, I was setting aside some books for a course that I’m teaching. I wasn’t sure what I would find in the library, but wanted to have a few good resources on reserve for my students. I pulled a lot of books I’m familiar with. There was one I came cross that I’d never heard of before: The Fashion Makers by Barbara Walz and Bernadine Morris. I started flipping through, and then there she was:

Pauline Trigère at her home, La Tortue! Last year, I was lucky enough to find a dress by Trigère. It started my fascination with the designer. (New to my site? Please take a moment to read these previous posts)

Pauline Trigère (1908-2002) was born in Paris and became an iconic fashion designer in Post War America. Her mother was a dressmaker and her father a tailor who had made military uniforms for Russian aristocrats. Trigère learned quickly from her parents, and designed her first dress as a teenager. She never sketched her designes, but worked by draping right on the mannequin.

Trigère moved to New York in 1937 with her husband Lazar Radley, their two sons, her mother, her brother Robert. Trigère first worked at Ben Gershel, and later assisted Travis Banton at Hattie Carnegie. After getting fired from Hattie Carnegie, Trigère and her brother Robert decided to start their own business.

Trigère builds quite a brand in America. So what is all this turtle business? The turtle becomes a a major element of the Trigère brand as time goes on. Robert gave her a small turtle talisman when they first started the business. Then, Trigère started to see them everywhere. The turtle became a hallmark of her line.

The Arizona Costume Institute explains:

She named her country estate in Westchester County, New York, La Tortue (The Turtle) because there were three turtles sunning themselves on a little rock when she first saw it. A collection of well over nine hundred turtles fashioned in gold, silver, needlepoint, crystal and other materials adorned the estate. In each collection, Trigere designed a garment with a turtle print.

I actually have a scarf by Trigère that depicts a turtle. The best part? If you look closely at the photo of Trigère, she is wearing a shirt and scarf of the same design. My scarf is black and red, although other colors were available.

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Tags: American Fashion, la tortue, Pauline Trigere, Trigère, turtle, turtles
Posted in Accessories, american fashion, Designers I love, fashion, made in america, textiles, Vintage | 17 Comments »

April 15th, 2013 by Monica Murgia

Forecasting Fashion

It’s been an intense week, so things have been quiet on my blog. New classes, new students, presentations about The Stieg Collection. Everything has been so much fun, but I’ve had little time to write. I probably should be grading papers, but I wanted to write a post about my fashion forecasting class.

Much like it sounds, you can predict future fashions and trends if you know what to look for. We look at different people, what motivates them to participate in fashion, innovations in textiles, trends in colors, and lots of other things. What I like most about teaching this class is that I have to communicate how I see things. Last week, I took my class on a field trip to do some trend spotting. I have some ideas in my head already that fashion is going to become increasingly inspired by nature.

Even in the city, you can see that people crave nature. Plants line storefronts. Colorful flowers and shrubs are displayed for purchase. Food culture is becoming more focused on natural flavoring, organic produce, and saying “no” to genetically modified organisms.

We also went to Brooklyn Charm, and I noticed a lot of jewelry that took cues from the natural environment. Leaves, flowers, gems, crystals, geodes – everything pointed to the great outdoors.

I couldn’t resist! I got a few small charms for my own necklace.

I saw some vintage clothing from the neighborhood we observed that had some great references, too. I wanted to buy everything, but I was only observing.

Leaves can be dressed up or down!

And you can never go wrong with flowers.

I started to see how people were already wearing this on the street. Doesn’t it look sort of like the early 1970s?

My thoughts were confirmed when I saw all the pictures from Coachella! New York and California seem to agree some fashion points. It’s a flower power revival, don’t you agree?

Coachella 2013. Image courtesy of Celeb Buzz.

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Posted in Accessories, american fashion, art, fashion, Fashion and Identity, Inspiration, made in america, Nature inspired, Shopping, Teaching, Travel, Vintage | No Comments »

February 27th, 2013 by Monica Murgia

Find of the Week: Scarf by Jacques Fath

Ascots. Foulards. Scarves. Whatever you call them, I’m fascinated by this accessory. I have an enourmous collection of scarves. In fact, I’ve started writing a book about my own personal collection. Hopefully it will be out by the end of the year. The only problem I have is just when I’m about to finish, I find another amazing scarf to add to the collection. This week was no exception. I found this lovely scarf by Jacques Fath!

I’ve written about Jacques Fath before in How to Speak Fashion, Part II. Fath (1912-1954) was an eminent Parisian fashion designer that rose to fame during the WWII Occupation. He became popular by designing dresses that could be worn while riding bicycles – which was the main mode of transportation.

After the war, he was considered to be one of the “Big Three” fashion designers – the other two were Christian Dior and Pierre Balmain.

His influence sky-rocked postwar, as he created very feminine silhouettes. Fath’s garments were also fun, and allowed women mobility. He died of leukemia in 1954. His wife, Geneviève, took over the fashion house’s direction after his death until 1957.

Jacques Fath

The scarf is cotton, and judging by the color way, I’d say it’s from the mid to late 1960s. A little sleuthing around the internet indicated that Fath created a scarf and hosiery line in 1954. The early signatures are much different than the one on my scarf – probably because the business was sold in 1957. The image below is from Polyvore and is dated to the 1950s. It looks more like a real signature.

After the company sold, the name would have become more of a brand identity than reference to the actual designer. You can see that the label actually changed to reflect this. My scarf has a more generic looking typeface on the bottom right corner. But it’s still a gem!

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Tags: Ascots, fashion, fashion history, Find of the week, Foulards, jacques fath, scarf, scarves
Posted in Art's Influence on Fashion, Designers I love, fashion, fashion history, find of the week, Shopping, textiles, Vintage | 2 Comments »

February 19th, 2013 by Monica Murgia

Currently Admiring . . .

I’m always paying attention to what people are wearing. Currently, I’m really admiring my colleague Leigh’s style. Leigh works at the Baum School of Arts and is an amazing graphic designer. Her style is so cute, too! Look at what she wore to the office recently:

I love all the layers she put together: gray t-shirt, pastel blue oxford dress shirt, and navy blue knit sweater. Paired with khakis, it’s such a classic color palette. And I just love how the tie pulls it all together and adds a little flair.

I’ve been really into menswear inspired fashions, and am really eager to try a tie myself after seeing this look. Isn’t the tie spectacular?

I asked her where she got it. It was actually borrowed from her husband’s closet. She let me take a look at the back. It’s vintage from an Italian maker. Ponte Vecchio is a famous bridge in Florence. You can see on the back this tie vendor had locations in Florence and New York.

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Tags: currently admiring, menswear inspired fashion, street style
Posted in fashion, Inspiration, menswear, Shopping, textiles, Vintage | No Comments »

February 13th, 2013 by Monica Murgia

Behind the Scenes at Remedy

It’s so much fun when your best friend is a fashion designer! You get to see the entire evolution of the design process. And it’s even more fun when one of her models can’t be in the show and you have to fill in! Ashley McAleavy of Remedy Designs is who I’m referring to, and this post is all about my experience backstage at her F/W 2013 show.

Remedy is a line that focuses on sustainability. Ashley is really committed to creating fashion that is environmentally friendly, beautiful, and completely sourced and finished right here in America. I’ve been lucky enough to attend a collection preview before. (New to my site? Please take a look at Remedy: Collection Preview) I was really blown away by her latest collection. It was so sophisticated. When I arrived for hair and makeup, I wanted to wear every look!

Tawni Michelle Landford, left, applying makeup before the show.

There was a full hair and makeup team. I was so lucky to have the lead makeup artist, Tawni Michelle Landford of Dramatizon Makeup Design and Kristine Murillo style me. By the time they were finished with me, I felt like I could be a fairy princess on the set of Lord of the Rings! Ladies, if you have an important event and need hair and makeup, DEFINITELY contact these two talented ladies! Their artistry and vision is beyond words.

Kristine Murillo styling a model before the show.

I can’t tell you how pleasant both Kristine and Tawni were to work with. I had my hair done first by Kristine. She was so kind! She was careful to ask what I was comfortable doing with my hair, which way I like to part it, and so on. If you know me at all, I have just about given up on my hair. It has a mind of it’s own. I told her that she was the professional, so she could have her way with my unruly mane. She definitely worked her magic, creating a beautiful coil of braids around the top part of my hair. Then she curled the ends.

Next, I was off to Tawni who was beyond stellar. She was really gentle in applying the makeup. She made me feel so comfortable, telling me stories and making up laugh. We had a blast talking about everything from the makeup, fashion week, to the movie Desperately Seeking Susan. Tawni is so creative, and designed the beautiful metallic foil look. She made sure that each of model had a slightly different variation to enhance our individual features.

I think the most difficult adjustment was being the in front of the camera! Van Truong was both photographing and shooting video footage. He took the photos of Tawni working on my makeup, which made me giggle even more. I was determined to Instagram photos live from the show, so I snapped one of Van, too. The photos that Van showed me were absolutely gorgeous. Please visit his website to see more of his work!

Then, Ashley pulled my look and helped me get dressed. I absolutely ADORED this outfit! It was a black sequin skirt with a grosgrain ribbon waistband. She had transformed really lackluster dress from the 1980s into the beautiful skirt below. The corset top was made from white ultra suede from pillows, and trimmed in black ribbon along the boning. The level of skill and detail in each of these pieces was definitely couture. And I felt so beautiful! I was so happy to be wearing Ashley’s design.

Then, all of the models lined up backstage.

Ashley talked about each of the pieces in the collection. She explained what each garment had been before, and how she transformed it to what we saw on the models. It was so interesting to hear the process. She talked about spray dyeing silk, to altering beaded dresses, to transforming the ultra suede pillows into a corset. Now that is creativity and innovation! I’m in awe of her talent and vision.

And isn’t she pretty, too? I loved her black dress. Of course, it’s one of her own designs.

There were so many fabulous dresses. One of my other favorites was a black jersey dress that had hand applied Swarovski crystals down the sleeves, and closed with a metal and crystal tie back. See below:

Still, I loved the outfit Ashley had me wear. I hope no one bought it yet, because I totally want to add it to my wardrobe! Be sure to visit Remedy on the web to place your orders. And remember that Ashley can custom make pieces just for you.

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Tags: Ashley McAleavy, behind the scenes, couture, f/w 2013, fall 2013, fashion show, fashion week, made in america, new york fashion week, nyfw, remedy, remedy designs, sustainability, sustainable fashion
Posted in american fashion, Art's Influence on Fashion, Designers I love, fashion and the body, Fashion as art, Inspiration, made in america, shop local, Shopping, Vintage | 1 Comment »

February 6th, 2013 by Monica Murgia

Find of the Week: Red, Please!

Ok, so I’ve established that fashion is always on my mind. Even when I’m not intentionally shopping, I seem to find amazing stuff everywhere I go. For many years, it’s made budgeting difficult. But my taste has evolved. I’m much more discerning about my purchases now. I’ve also gotten much better with setting and sticking to a budget.

Budgeting has, in fact, improved the quality of my wardrobe. I think twice before buying something mediocre. And I always seem to have the funds when something amazing is on the radar. I thought it would be fun to start a new category devoted to some of my stellar finds. So stay tuned for “find of the week“.

So today, I found this amazing sweater!! It works perfectly with the trending and classic “touches of red” styles seen just about everywhere lately. (It’s really a classic trend! Just ask The Vintage Traveler.)

I love this sweater! It’s such a classic, and is durable. It can be casual with jeans and boots, or upscale with a skirt or dress. The gold buttons add a little shimmer. And the pockets are such a menswear inspired detail.

Best of all, I can just toss it in the washing machine. I was sad, however, that the original tag had been cut out. I wish I knew who was responsible for making this adorable cardigan.

But I guess the amazing red dress it came with sort of evens things out. Yes, they came as a set! I wouldn’t pair these two pieces together, though. I like them worn separately. The dress is so perfect for spring. Or a summer night. I can hardly wait for warmer weather!

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Tags: budget, classic looks, Find of the week, improve your wardrobe, menswear details, Shopping, touches of red, trends, vintage, what to wear
Posted in find of the week, Shopping, textiles, Vintage | 1 Comment »

February 2nd, 2013 by Monica Murgia

Menswear: Trainspotting

Street style blogs are so great. They are great visual chronicles of what’s going on in a specific city or town. I’m not sure why I haven’t dedicated more posts to admiring other people’s style.

So today, I’m branching out and doing a street style recap. Earlier in the week, I saw this stylish gentleman on the train.

I wasn’t too sure about sneaky photo etiquette. I really just wanted to “snap and run“, but it seemed sort of rude. What would you think if you caught a random stranger taking your picture on the train? The word creepy comes to mind…

So I decided to walk over and ask if I could photograph him. Thankfully, after fumbling through my explanation of how I blog and what I was doing, Mauricio allowed me to take a few pictures.

So here is what I like about his look:

The outfit is minimalist, which is classic and versatile. The pieces are well-cut, crisp, and monochromatic. Since the colors are muted, each piece can be mixed and matched in endless ways. Minimalist pieces are a great way to expand your wardrobe because each one acts as a building block.

The accessories compliment the look without being overpowering. The bag is vintage, which also gives the look a bit of originality. Vintage finds are always a nice way to make your look authentic- it’s rare to find the same vintage piece twice!

We only chatted briefly – 3 or 4 stops- but Mauricio recommends the following brands and stores:

G Star

Diesel

Bergdorf Goodman

Bloomingdales

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Tags: bergdorf goodman, bloomingdales, diesel, g star, men's style, mens fashion, menswear, minimalism, minimalist fashion, minimalist fashion for men, street style, vintage
Posted in Accessories, blogging, fashion, Fashion and Identity, fashion and the body, Inspiration, menswear, minimalist fashion, Shoes, Shopping, Travel, Vintage | 2 Comments »

January 30th, 2013 by Monica Murgia

Inspiration to Shop My Closet

Yesterday was my birthday. I celebrated by catching up on all my magazines. There was an unnerving stack piling up, and I’ve just been too busy to comb through them.

Honestly, I’ve been disappointed with the fashion industry in the past few months. Everything that I see in stores recently is lackluster. The quality is poor. The cut is worse. Retailers have cut corners in ways I never imagined would become acceptable.

I recently bought a pair of pants at Zara only to get them home and find a hole in the seam and the rivet fell off almost immediately. I had no desire to shop on my birthday. Instead, I hoped the endless stack of magazines would give me inspiration to style things I already own. These were my major inspirations:

Scarves

The image above is from Raf Simon’s collection for Dior. Models sashayed down the runways with beautiful scarves tied about their necks. If you know me, I’ve got a small (insane) obsession with scarves. So shopping my closet for this look won’t be a problem. I have an entire suitcase of drool-worthy scarves. The only problem is many of them are so beautiful and artistic I’m afraid of ruining them. (Yes, the suitcase is full.)

Leopard & Cheeta Prints

This was in just about every magazine I opened! This is a print that I only do in small doses. It’s easy for it to look overdone or just tacky. I always stick to animal prints in my accessories. Happily, I can bring out some of my old favorites: d’orsay heels, a Marc Jacobs cuff, and a Dolce & Gabbana scarf!

Touches of Red

So classic! I love red. Red dresses. Red skirts. Red accessories! Bright red never goes out of style. It’s just nice to be reminded to wear it again. Sometimes, I get so caught up with daily life it’s easy to wear the same few outfits and accessories as a routine. It’s especially easy to forget when you have the kind of schedule I do. I barely even know if I’m coming or going I’m so busy. I’m definitely making an effort to wear some (maybe all) of my red accessories this week.

In my collection? Clockwise from center back: Narciso Rodriguze cutout peep toe heels, Giuseppe Zanotti tri-color pumps, Louis Vuitton epi leather purse, Foley & Corrina leather belt, vintage leather gloves.

Plaid

Jessica Alba was interviewed in InStyle. This picture of her was super adorable! I loved her plaid skirt paired with a black leather jacket. It reminded me of a skirt I bought a few months ago and still haven’t worn. And on the topic of leather and plaid together, I played around with my skirt. I usually wear my red leather skirt by Luca Luca with a black bustier top. But isn’t it really fun with this vintage plaid shirt?

Black & Blue

Hurray for this trend! Blue is my favorite color. I don’t think anyone can go wrong with pairing an icy blue with black. It’s just so beautiful! I love that these two dresses have a sort of painterly textile print. There’s a lot of visual movement and color variation. It adds a lot of interest, and the black details give it an extra pop. This gave me an idea to layer my Brian Reyes sheath dress with a black long sleeved shirt.

I can’t wait to wear all of these new looks! And they were already in my closet. :)

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Tags: animal print, black and blue, cheetah print, fashion, latest trends, leopard print, plaid, red, red accessories, red leather skirt, scarves, shop your closet, style your wardrobe. styling, vintage, vintage fashion
Posted in Accessories, american fashion, Art's Influence on Fashion, blogging, creativity, Designers I love, fashion, Shoes, shop local, Shopping, textiles, Vintage | 2 Comments »

January 7th, 2013 by Monica Murgia

Menswear: Courrèges Homme

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to find a dress designed by André Courrèges. It was one of my most exciting finds. I never dreamed of finding something by such an iconic designer. It’s like getting struck by lightening – within the realm of possibilities, but highly unlikely to occur. Well, lightening struck me twice, because this Saturday I found a jacket by Courrèges Homme.

Courrèges trained under Cristobal Balenciaga from 1950 to 1960. Learning from such a master influenced Courrèges for a long time. After working for Balenciaga for 10 years, Courrèges opened his own house, Maison de Courrèges. His designs always focus on comfort, simplicity, and precision – much of what he learned from Balenciaga. During the 1960s, Courrèges became well-know for innovative silhouettes. He was among the first to show a mini skirt in a couture show and introduced “moon boots” in 1964. Moon boots are white, flat heeled, calf length boots. Courrèges continued to innovate fashion throughout the 1960s and 1970s. His Space Age collection in 1968 featured clothing that was simple, futuristic, and used lots of industrial hardware.

Ensemble and Moon Boots by André Courrèges, c. 1965. Images are courtesy of the permanent collection of the Powerhouse Museum.

It wasn’t until 1973 that Courrèges started designing menswear under the division Courrèges Homme. Like most men’s fashion, it seems that Courrèges Homme is mentioned only as a side note. There are hundreds of articles and chronologies on his work, and they all only seem to list “1973, Courrèges Homme”. So, I’ll have to rely mostly on looking at this menswear jacket and comparing it to the women’s wear labels to tell you more.

A major difference between the menswear line and womenswear is the logo used. The menswear has an interlocked “a” and “c” monogram, referencing the designer’s initials. Here the logo is on the left side as an embellishment, and it also appears on the label.

This interlocking monogram only appeared on objects for men, from what I’ve seen. I was able to locate images of the Courrèges Homme fragrance, and a pair of men’s pants that have a label. The pants look to be much more recent that the jacket I found.

Courrèges Homme aftershave. Image courtesy of Profumomania

Courrèges Homme label from pants. Available for purchase on eBay. Image courtesy of Mossvivace.

The labels from Courrèges’s womenswear are much different. They have a different monogram, it’s more stylized and the letters are placed next to each other. See the label below, courtesy of Fuzzy Lizzie via the Vintage Fashion Guild

Some womenswear contains no monogram at all, like the dress I found.

Regardless of gender, Courrèges liked to use industrial hardware in his designs. He used metal zippers, vinyl appliqué, and other non-traditional materials. Instead of hiding zippers and seams, Courrèges liked to make him a focal point in a garment. The jacket has a metal zipper with a circular pull tab – a detail so iconic of the designer.

The jacket also has metal snaps at the collar, side pockets, and waistline. These details enhance the overall silhouette by keeping the fabric streamlined to the body. The metal also adds interest to the plain jacket. You can see a similar approach to using hardware as a design element in Courrèges’s womenswear. This pink jersey dress zips up the left side had has snaps to secure the belt and other embellishments.

Dress André Courrèges by Image courtesy of Shrimpton Couture.

Sadly, I wasn’t able to discover much regarding the history of Courrèges Homme. A women’s line is still available online, but there is no mention about the menswear division. (Sorry, guys!) However, I found it really interesting to compare details between his garments for men and women.

If you have an information on Courrèges Homme, please share in the comments! I’d love to learn more.

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Tags: 1970s fashion, André Courrèges, couture, french designers, futuristic fashion, industrial materials, Menswear: Courrèges Homme, metallic zippers, mod fashion, Paris fashion, space aged fashion
Posted in fashion, fashion history, menswear, Shopping, Uncategorized, Vintage | No Comments »

December 25th, 2012 by Monica Murgia

Merry Christmas!

A short post to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope you have a wonderful day. Thank you for reading and enjoy these love vintage inspired greeting cards I’ve stumbled upon.

Happy holidays!

Image courtesy of Life, Love, & Luxury.

Image courtesy of Life, Love, & Luxury.

Image courtesy of Life, Love, & Luxury.

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Tags: merry christmas, vintage, vintage christmas.
Posted in art, fashion, Fashion as art, fashion history, Vintage | No Comments »

December 24th, 2012 by Monica Murgia

A Thing for Stockings?

It has to be a really special occasion for me to wear stockings. While I love the look and how sexy stockings can be, they definitely aren’t in my daily wardrobe rotation. It seams that nearly every time I put a pair on, I somehow snag them and create a terrible hole or run. Still, I will slip on a seamed pair of stockings every now and then.

Stockings weren’t always optional for women. They were a necessity for any lady’s wardrobe. And who better to recommend the perfect pair than Antonio Castillo?

Yes, my collection extents into old magazine advertisements. I recently acquired this 1947 ad, during which time Castillo was a designer for Elizabeth Arden’s Fashion Floor. Illustrated by Rene Bouche, the beautiful ad issues Castillo’s fashion decree. It reads:

” ‘Seam-free nylons belong to the new fashions’ says Castillo of Elizabeth Arden. Elegance in Castillo’s after-dark suit, complemented by DANCING TWINS seam-free nylons. Here is the stocking that enhances the leg, defining its loveliest lines! Now at better stores, under leading brand names.“

Stockings were traditionally made of silk until 1940. This was when nylon was introduced to the market. Women demanded nylon stockings in droves, as they were less expensive than silk. The demand for nylon stockings was so great that manufactures couldn’t keep up with the demand. Then, America entered into World War II. Nylon was rationed to make parachutes and other wartime supplies. Women carefully mended and darned old stockings, or drew seams on the back with eyeliner or burnt cork. These drawn lines mimicked the look of stockings.

After the war, stockings flooded the marketplace. Designers, like Castillo, started to offer them as part of their merchandise in stores.

Castillo started designing for the House of Lanvin in 1950. He continued to offer stocking. I have an original box for stockings Castillo offered while at Lanvin. The box described the style as seamless, and size 8.5 medium.

I’m not sure if the two pairs inside the box are really Lanvin-Castillo. For starters, they are seamed. They also read size 9. But what is really interesting are the marking on the pair. Fully fashioned refers to the cut of the stockings. They were cut and constructed to fit the leg precisely – much in the way that a sweater is cut and constructed to fit the body. Seamless stockings have no seam down the back, and have a reinforced toe and heel. They aren’t shaped to fit the leg because they are made in circular knitting machines. That’s why modern day tights and stockings have a tubular shape.