Vintage Fashion & Textiles

Fascination with the royal family has been fuelled even further recently by the release of Netflix series The Crown which takes an intimate look at the public and private life of Queen Elizabeth II.

The popular image of Queen Victoria in the latter days is of a sombre, dressed in mourning black, unsmiling monarch who was definitely not amused. However, an intriguing item coming up at auction shows her compassionate, caring side.

For more than 10 years a banner sat stowed away in a cupboard at a little charity shop in Leeds after it was donated. Little did the staff know that one day that same once-forgotten item would sell at auction for a hammer price of £13,600.

London menswear specialist Oliver Brown has been boosted by sales of antique and vintage top hats ahead of racing and society event Royal Ascot which begins today.

One of the only high end vintage fairs is to return to Paris this November.

An elaborate ceremonial costume worn by one of Napoleon’s marshals led a dispersal of a family collection preserved by his descendants in a French château in Sarthe in Western France.

Three Hermès Birkin handbags were among the leading pieces at Fellows’ latest Designer Collection auction this week.

Vintage Dior jewellery regularly takes thousands of pounds at auction, but buyers at an upcoming Catherine Southon sale have the chance to score some classic pieces at three-figure sums.

If a Chanel snow globe, a Fabergé bracelet or a blue table by Yves Klein are on the list for Father Christmas this year then head to Christie’s Paris showroom this weekend.

A pink silk jacket once worn by Queen Victoria was among the lots that led Ewbank’s recent textile auction to almost double its pre-sale expectations.