Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Vintage dresses

Ebay has opened up a world of possibilties for some really fantastic vintage finds. I've been so lucky as to find not just one, but two gorgeous dresses by the master of sequins, designer Naeem Khan. I saw Michelle Obama wearing this designer during a state dinner at the White House (picture by the Huffington Post):


The first one I found is a minidress, with sequins, beads and pearls. I enlisted professional help to have it altered to fit me. I paid USD 100 when buying it, and later on I've seen several other Khan dresses similar to this one listed for up to 1200 dollars.


A closer look at the details:



The tailor who helped me with this one, said she could see it was embroidered with a certain technique that's only done somewhere in India. It's a special way to fasten the beads so they do not come off easily. She said it was exquisite and demanded to know where I had found it for such an extremely low price!

The next dress I paid USD 37 for (plus shipping of course). It's obviously very 80's. I just got this a couple of weeks ago, and it's huge, so I'll have to have take it to my tailor as well. I plan on having it taken in and getting the batwing arms removed, altering it completely into a sleeveless, tightfitting halterneck dress. It looks absolutely fantastic when the light is shining on it - like a night sky with a million stars.


Krystle Carrington - move over!

I've also got another vintage dress that I got in 1991 to wear for a New Year's Eve ball. It still fits me, even though it hasn't been used for more than ten years. This I got from a dress store in Oslo on a sale.


Small rhinestones at the front, and some bigger ones at the back:


So, whenver I'm invited to a grand party next time, I guess I really can't say I've got nothing to wear.

9 comments:

  1. Hi, Thanks for visiting my blog! Love your blog header; too funny :)

    Beautiful dresses!

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  2. WOW! så utrolig vakkre kjoler! <3
    Må bare spørre deg om hvorfor du skriver bloggen din på engelsk? er litt nyskjerrig bare:) Håper det går bra at jeg komenterer på norsk.

    Lill

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  3. Hei! Takk for komplimentet!

    Javisst, det går helt supert å skrive på norsk også! Det er bare det at jeg har en nær venninne og noe familie i USA som ikke skjønner et kvekk norsk, derfor er det greiere å skrive på engelsk. Jeg snakker veldig mye mote og klær med venninnen der borte, og det var i grunnen henne som inspirerte meg til å starte en blogg. Dessuten er det enklere i bloggverdenen når man er rundt og ser på utenlandske blogger, kommenterer der og får besøk tilbake igjen. :)

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  4. I love the beaded mini-dress, but that last red one is just stunning!

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  5. Aha! Du er jo sinnsykt flink til å skrive engelsk, og det forklarer jo en del da siden du har familie og venner i USA. Lurt å tenke litt internasjonalt:)

    Lill

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  6. @Struggler and Lill Beate: Thanks for the nice words! :)

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  7. Hi! Have just zipped across after reading your comment on my blog - lovely to meet you and your fantastic blog!! Those dresses are so beautiful-the beading and detail on the first one is exquisite and the red one must make you like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman! Am so excited about our trip to Norway on Friday. We went once before to the wedding of our friends-it was up in the mountains and so beautiful. Am planning on doing a post about it before I leave!
    TG39 xx
    p.s. I really need to hone my vintage ebay purchasing skills!

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  8. Julia Roberts? Lol..I wish (not the clingy, short dress and thigh high boots-part, but the red dress-part, oh yes!) Not to mention when she goes shopping..one of my all time favorite movie quotes. Speaking to the sales clerk working on commission: Big mistake. Big. Huge!

    I so love that scene!

    I'll make certain to follow your updates on the Norwegian trip. And vintage buying on Ebay is great fun, so I say go for it!

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