A-List vintage : LILY ET CIE

[MrBern]

CRITICAL SHOPPER | LILY ET CIE
Vintage Clothing, Red-Carpet Ready

full story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/fashion/14CRITIC.html

Lily et Cie, a Los Angeles institution for more than 30 years, is famous for being a veritable museum collection of, it says, more than a half-million pieces of vintage fashion. It is almost equally famous for having some of the most unpleasant service this side of France.

It struck me, after my escape, why Lily et Cie has a half-million pieces: Ms. Watnick isn’t selling her formidable collection so much as hoarding it. One senses that she looks upon this mountain of untouchable fashion as her children and is loath to see any of them go.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

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Before eBay existed, many vintage dealers in L.A. sold their best stuff to Lily & Cie. That store had access to vintage-wearing movie stars (Winona Ryder comes to mind) whom we "petty" dealers couldn't come close to.


My friend Ben McGinty, a former dealer, had an exquisite vintage '30s beaded gown which none of his customers would buy at $600. He ended up selling it to Lily & Cie for $650 -- and Lily & Cie then sold it to Winona Ryder for thousands of dollars!


.

 

[Foofoogal]

Nothing like the vintage food chain. lol
I would love to meander around in that shop. They wouldn't even have to be nice to me.
I also am ecstatic these vintage treasures are being preserved by someone.

Is this the first time you’ve worn shoes since leaving the Ozarks?”

I especially loved this one now that I live in A.r.K.n.S.a.
Since most of California is moving here lately I think I will just wait till Lily decides to follow her customers.

 

[DandyRags]

Lily who?

uh...I'm sure I saw a nose print on that big ole glass window
Barefoot is beautiful, at least until the snow falls. I would love to go clomping in with my jeans and cowboy boots (poop scraped off tho) they would have a neck hook and throw me out the door before I made it to the first rack. lol
This just proves that people are funny but not always ha-ha.