Vintage Fashion & Textiles

Marilyn Monroe’s record-breaking ‘Happy Birthday Mr President’ dress, which sold for $1.2m in 1999; Olivier Coutau-Begarie’s two-day sale of 5000 pieces of antique silks tapestries and embroideries from the House of Hamot; the lively vintage fashion fairs held around the country every month – each has its own place in the world of fashion and textile collecting.

Kelmscott Manor

Plea to raise final £40,000 for Kelmscott Manor’s Samson tapestries

17 April 2024

The Society of Antiquaries and the Kelmscott Campaign Group, led by antiques dealer Martin Levy, are hoping to raise the final £40,000 needed to conserve Kelmscott Manor’s Samson tapestries.

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Louis Vuitton miniature trunk flies over estimate in Maine

08 April 2024

Correct in detail, material and quality of construction, down to brass hardware, stencilled cloth and monogrammed leather trim’, a miniature Louis Vuitton trunk sold for $7500 (£5900) at Thomaston Place Auction Galleries (20% buyer’s premium).

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Extraordinary mourning gown shows its Worth

08 April 2024

A sale titled Vintage for Valentines at Augusta Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) in Bellows Falls, Vermont, was topped by an extraordinary printed chiffon outfit by the Parisian fashion house Worth.

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Subject matter boosts sampler to over 80 times estimate

08 April 2024

Embroidered samplers can appeal to buyers for all kinds of different reasons.

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Ann and Gordon Getty lots: all gone, including the kitchen sink

01 April 2024

Doulton washroom elements provide surprise as final items from extensive collection come to auction

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Calder’s tapestries – the South American versions

01 April 2024

Alexander Calder (1898-1976) first produced designs for tapestries made at the Aubusson factory in the early 1960s.

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Textiles fair weaves an Indian pattern

01 April 2024

Handmade quilts, jackets, shawls, cushions and bags from Rajasthan will be on offer at textiles fair

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Decorative textiles to brighten the home

18 March 2024

There have been various trends around decorative textiles recently, including a move to curtains from blinds, as well as a desire for wall hangings, rugs and bed covers – any soft furnishing fabric to brighten up the home.

Jelly moulds in a dresser

Trend setters: Are interior design influencers all hype or helping the market?

18 March 2024

Are influencers driving this market or is it just hype? We talk to dealers to find out what is really in demand and why.

Sampler Pic

Victorian sampler returns to Berkswell primary school where it was created

11 March 2024

Historic school acquires needlework created by a former pupil

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Paris costumes and textiles sale that turned out nicely

11 March 2024

Auction staged at Drouot offered a varied selection topped by Louis XVI-era suit

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Colin Firth’s 'sensational' Pride and Prejudice wet shirt goes to UK museum

07 March 2024

Shirt from historic moment of the BBC’s 'Pride and Prejudice' sells at Kerry Taylor Auctions

Picasso designed chair

Chair prices propelled higher thanks to Picasso

04 March 2024

A Parisian sale titled Pablo Picasso and his Friends staged at Piasa in France on February 15 included a series of artworks to which the great man had contributed in some way.

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Art Deco-era vanity cases highly sought by contemporary collectors

04 March 2024

Legend has it that Charles Arpels (of Van Cleef & Arpels fame) saw a lady friend stashing her lipstick and other cosmetics in an ordinary cigarette tin for a trip out on the town.

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Fashion accessory for a 1930s foxy lady

04 March 2024

An Arctic fox fur owned and worn by a 1930s movie star dubbed Britain’s answer to Ginger Rogers turned heads at a Derby saleroom.

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Well heeled in the 18th century – ladies’ shoes sell for four figures in North Yorkshire auction

04 March 2024

When it comes to period costume antique footwear can often command some of the strongest prices.

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Fashion fair for the style-savvy

05 February 2024

Among the vintage red-carpet moments at the recent Golden Globes film awards ceremony in Los Angeles, two actresses stood out. Elle Fanning wore a 1960s white silk gown by Pierre Balmain while Carey Mulligan looked to the archives for her exact replica vintage Schiaparelli dress from 1949.

Bayeux embroidery replica

Bayeux Museum buys Victorian replica of the famous tapestry from the collection of Rolling Stones drummer

31 January 2024

The Bayeux Museum in France has bought a life-size Victorian replica of the Bayeux tapestry from the Charlie Watts sale.

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Five questions with Joseph Sullivan of Textile Antiques

22 January 2024

Joseph Sullivan of Textile Antiques is one of the exhibitors at the London Antiques Run & Textile Art Fair running this week (January 23-28) at Evolution London, Battersea.

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Lampshade highlights the work of Quentin Bell, the last of Bloomsbury

22 January 2024

A lampshade painted by Quentin Bell sold for a remarkable £4700 when Adam Partridge (20% buyer’s premium) dispersed the residual collection of Michael Evans in Macclesfield.

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