Today in Chelsea, 85 top vintage dealers gathered at Metropolitan Pavilion for a textile show and sale. The room was full of sparkling jewels, fur coats, and gowns fit for princesses. Menswear wasn't ignored either; vintage boots, suits, and cufflinks were abundant.

Above is a display of items from Exquisite Costume, a vintage clothier with a shop in Soho. At right is a closer look at that fabulous boa; one of the most exciting pieces we saw.

Our pick of the show was a boutique called Grape in the Shade. Previously featured in Travel and Leisure, Grape in the Shade is a vintage shop in Connecticut with a reputation for having whimsical, classical wares. Owner Joanna Lombardi, whose taste is exceptional, was an absolute treat. Their website will be up and running soon. For now, you can contact the shop (we recommend them for hats and jewelry) at 860-868-9119.

Also spotted at the Manhattan Vintage show was Mad Fashionista Elisa DeCarlo, an eccentric seller of fine plus-sized vintage clothes.

The next three shows are already scheduled, so if you didn't make it this time, watch for the show again in February, April, and October of 2009. You can keep tabs here at ManhattanVintage.com.

On Sunday evening, a select group of Los Angeles design luminaries will converge at the intersection of fashion and architecture -- Katy Rodriguez's show at John Lautner's Harpel residence. Models and It Gals like Chloe Sevigny and Christina Ricci will be wearing Rodriguez's latest designs and mingling with guests including artists Shepard Fairey and Raymond Pettibon.

Judging from the collection, it feels like the perfect setting -- the clothes have an architectural quality, and they're filled with the rich, subtle detailing that distinguishes good design from the ordinary, or the ostentatious.

The Harpel house has been meticulously restored by Rodriguez's business partner Mark Haddawy. He's spent the past two years removing a superfluous second story and bringing the house back to its original, sublime logic.

Between the high fashion and the cityscape below, the views should be pretty spectacular. Check out the gallery to see a few images of the Harpel house and more pieces from Rodriguez's Spring/Summer 2009 collection.

As a thank you to their customers for 30 years of business, Diesel is selling their limited edition 'Dirty Thirty' jeans for just 30 euros today only ($50 in the U.S.). A total of 30,000 pairs will be distributed to the 160 Diesel stores and come in both male and female models. The jeans have a back patch with a a xXx sign and the words "Dirty Thirty" and the dates 1978 – 2008 will be embroidered on the sides. You can also order online here.

[via The Telegraph]

Designer vintage clothiers have always boasted a discerning clientele -- it takes a certain skill to identify and hunt down the fashion highlights from seasons past. In the current economy, high-end vintage outlets like The Way We Wore and Decades tell the LA Times that business is hotter than ever.

As Jared Paul Stern reported earlier this fall, Christie's is about to auction some of the 20th Century's most amazing vintage finds, a collection amassed by the bicoastal favorite Resurrection, a pioneer of designer vintage during the last economic downturn.

Vintage prices are indeed wallet-friendlier. Consider the Oscar de la Renta gown at right. Original retail: $14,000. For sale via eBay for the buy-it-now price of $3,500.

Your feelings about Reaganomics aside, the vintage trend has had successful trickle down: sales are up at Goodwill and Salvation Army, too.

[via Los Angeles Times]

Globe-Trotter, a British company specializing in luxury luggage since 1897, has teamed up with J. Crew to bring you a beautiful line of travel cases.

Pictured at right is the Globe-Trotter Centenary, a 21" case at $1,800. The Centenary is made from the finest materials, including leather trim and straps and a Vulcan Fibre® shell.

The line also includes suitcases in other sizes and a vanity case. Don't miss the 26" suitcase in black!

More bad news on the UK fashion front. Following fast on the heels of Hardy Amies, the British arm of Miss Sixty, the Italian retailer of denim and more, was placed in administration on Monday. Sixty UK which operates 12 stores as well as concessions in stores such as Harrod's was unable to repay a loan from its parent company. So far no changes are planned for the stores while the company tries to restructure. There is, however, the possibility that some stores may closed at a later date.

Bastion of top-drawer British style Bamford & Sons is looking for an investor, and luxury goods behemoth LVMH, owner of Louis Vuitton, might buy in. "We've come to the end of phase one, and we need a partner with more expertise in other markets," Lady Carole Bamford, who founded the brand in 2004, tells the Financial Times. She has engaged the Blackstone Group to help the firm, which has experienced 50-55 per cent growth per year for the past two years, field investment offers.

LVMH and rival luxury conglomerate Richemont are in the running, the paper reports. We have previously written about Bamford's custom $30,000 black PVD Rolex Daytona and its fall line of cashmere shooting jackets and such made from sustainable materials. They currently have men's, women's, accessories and bath & body collections, carried at their own retail stores (above) and the likes of Barneys. Bamford bills itself as "the first mainstream luxury brand to make an identity out of its organic stance."

October is breast cancer awareness month and White+ Warren has some pink cashmere pieces that are so cute you'd want to buy them even if they weren't benefiting Columbia Presbyterian's Women at Risk charity. And they aren't just doting the often obligatory 10 or 15%, White + Warren is donation 50% to women at risk. The little wristlet gloves in pink and black color combinations sell for $65. The cashmere slippers in a pouch are $145, the pink city scarf is $165 and the luxurious travel wrap is $275.

One of Britain's esteemed Savile Row clothing firms Hardy Amies may become a victim of changing styles and changing finances. As my colleague Jared Paul Stern reported earlier this year, British couturier Hardy Amies, whose Savile Row shop opened back in 1946, designed clothes for everyone from Stanley Kubrick to the Queen of England. Sir Hardy Amies died in 2003 (at the robust age of 93) but since then his company has carried on and recently launched a handbag line.

But The Guardian delivers the sad news that the firms is now struggling and has said that t it may have to go into administration after failing to secure funding from a major shareholder. When the funding didn't come through the company requested that the stock exchange suspend the shares until the company can regroup. Icelandic investment firm Arev Brands Limited (ABL) owns a 49.3% stake and has provided substantial loans to prop up the company but has refused to give additional funding. The company has has losses for several years. Some say that the brand is done, that it is too matronly and does not understand today's woman. A ready-to-wear line also failed to capture public attention.

It seems that unless the brand is sold to someone who will buy the business as a whole or additional funding is secured, we may witness an ignominious end to a great British brand.

Men's pants have always been pretty strait-laced: there are the Brooks flannels, dorky Dockers, a few hipster skinny jeans here and there. Menswear designer Bonobos is attempting to liven things up by "policiticizing pants" according to HuffPo. The design team has crafted trousers to accompany your electoral wishes for November: the "charismatic, well-traveled" pair of Obamas versus the "conservative, clean cut" pair of McCains.

Each pair retails for $120, and Bonobos will track the trouser competition on its site until November.

[via The Huffington Post]

Vince, the brand that focuses on what it calls "luxe staples" --mostly cashmere sweaters and comfy separates -- has today launched its e-commerce site. Joining the ranks of recent designers flocking to the interwebs (including such high-enders as Alexander McQueen and Oscar de la Renta), Vince is attempting a more direct relationship with its customers, as it also opens a store in New York this winter. The brand opened two stores in Los Angeles recently on Robertson and Melrose Place.

Vince will also continue to be available at all the usual suspects, Barney's, Bergdorf's, Lane Crawford, et al.

The invitation-only online sample sales run by Gilt Groupe have gotten a major boost in an economy that needs a major booster shot. Launched less than a year ago, the site claims it maintains a "private online community," whether fashion-seekers are invited by existing members or through customer service on the site.

Sample sales are announced via email and generally last 36 hours -- or less, considering prices are 70% off retail. This week alone, I've received messages for sales on Chloé, Derek Lam and Thakoon. (The image above is from today's Marc by Marc Jacobs sale.)

The fledgling startup has recently forged partnerships with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and the CFDA. It also appointed last week the former Martha Stewart CEO Susan Lyne in preparation for click-happy recessionistas. The site does civilize the whole sample sale scene -- no Balenciaga tug-of-wars beyond the virtual.

The remarkable 50-year career of Valentino, founder of the first couture house to be recognized by the French government outside of Paris, is given the coffee table treatment in a lavish new book, Valentino: Themes and Variations (Rizzoli, $75).

The tome on Rome-based Valentino Garavani is published in association with a prestigious exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, curated by the author, Pamela Golbin. The book focuses on the designer's haute couture creations, culminating in his brilliant Paris presentation last January.

"I have always considered my work as the one of a writer," Valentino notes in the foreword. "Over the years I wrote only one story, the one of my style, where each collection represents a single chapter, with all its emotions, ideas and motifs. The looks may change with every chapter, but the main characters are the same, as are the people and things that inspire me."

Rachel Roy is in the news again, and this time it's not because of the dough that she and husband Damon Dash owe. Roy has teamed up with vodka maker Grey Goose, which commissioned her to exclusively design and create a signature cocktail dress to be worn by the brand's spokesmodels at select Grey Goose-sponsored events across the country. The dresses will be labeled "Rachel Roy exclusively for Grey Goose Vodka." Grey Goose was the official title sponsor of the Rachel Roy Spring 2009 Fashion Presentation earlier this month during New York Fashion Week, and the partnership also will include trunk shows and store openings.

The cocktail dress will resemble a classic silhouette with clean, modern lines. Made of stretch wool for structure and ease of movement, the design will include a feminine draped neckline and an element of fluidity in the back detailing. (See gallery.)

Roy's creation is "derived from the classic heritage and discerning taste of the luxury vodka brand," according to Grey Goose. Roy notes, "In keeping with this tradition, my design matches the timeless fluidity of the little black dress, with a hint of the iconic, signature blue to capture the effortless elegance of this occasion."

In addition to joining with Grey Goose, Roy has jumped on the green bandwagon by designing eco-friendly clothing, which she will continue to selectively incorporate in seasons to come. Roy will donate 100% of the proceeds to Orphan Aid Africa, an organization that aims to help orphans in Ghana.

[Via Grey Goose and BlackVoices.com]

Some luxury brands are thriving in these tough economic times but it looks like women's clothing and accessories brand Escada isn't one of them. The company recently cut their forecasts for the year after a sharp decline in third-quarter profits. This was the third cut in the forecast this year for the German company, it has now lowered its estimate for earnings before tax interest depreciation and amortization for the year to 23 million euros ($33.9 million), to 26 million euros ($38.3 million) for the year ending in October. This is a sharp drop from the previous estimate of 37 million euros (around $54.5 million). Shares of the company fell on the news.

Why is Escada faltering while other brands are still thriving? Part of the problem seems to that their main markets are countries like the U.S. and Spain while other brands in the same luxury sector have made a more aggressive advance into developing markets like Russia, the Middle East and Asia. Bloomberg reports that revenue at the main Escada clothing division fell 16 percent to 91.6 million euros while sales declined 10 percent to 47.9 million euros at the Primera unit, which sells cheaper women's fashions under the BiBA, Laurel, cavita and apriori brands. It is beleived that Escada will sell off Primera. Escada has made the smart move of hiring iconic supermodel Christy Turlington as their face and perhaps by selling Primera the comany can focus on keeping Escada afloat.