Weekend Eye Candy - Larry Aldrich, 1967

One more dress from 1966.  Here you have op art in all its glory.  Larry Aldrich designed this black and white wool twill dress.  Sold in 1966 for $160 (about $1,124 in today's dollar.)  Hat by Halston, made to order at Bergdorf Goodman.

Halston - 1972

Now that Sarah Jessica Parker has parted ways with Halston Heritage and backer Harvey Weinstein and designer Marios Schwab are also out, perhaps it's time for a look at some original Halston garments from 1972.  Above, an angora and wool skirt is tied at the waist and worn with cashmere pants.  Recognize the necklaces?  Elsa Peretti designed them for Halston.

 Ribbed cashmere sweater.

 Matte jersey tunic and pants.

 Camel colored trench coat in Ultrasuede.

Hand painted silk chiffon caftan.

Halston's Skimp - 1974

Halston was a genius at making headlines. In November of 1974, at his fashion show that introduced his line for spring of '75, Halston once again rocked the fashion world by introducing what he called "The Skimp". At a time when all the important designers were covering women in longer skirts and pants, Halston chose to re-invent the mini skirt. Newspaper and magazines headlines blared, "Halston Breaks Ranks" and "Halston's Skimp Skips onto the Fashion Scene".

Reportedly, it was Halston employee Stephen Sprouse who convinced the designer to cut off the bottoms of the "old lady" dresses two days before the fashion show. And, in a party atmosphere, cut the dresses they did, while Halston cried, "Skimp it, skimp it!"

A sleeveless red wool jersey chemise with a matching full cape. Sold in 1975 for $260 (about $1,037 in today's dollar). Belt by Elsa Peretti.

Chamois-colored Ultrasuede skirt with a matching shirt-coat. Sold for $678 in 1975 (about $2,704 in today's dollar).

Blue crepe evening "skimp" worn with matching sash belt.

Much as Halston loved the Skimp, many of the skirt lengths in his line for Spring of 1975 stayed at mid-calf. And most of the shorter skirts were paired with longer coats, capes, and wraps. "I see a mingling of soft and more precise outlines, as well as contrasting lengths." he told reporters at his spring preview.

Happiness is a Halston

This ad for the Martha Boutiques from August of 1973 declares that "Happiness is a Halston". I'd say that is still true 36 years later. I'd be really happy if I found this dress today.

Elsa Peretti Jewelry for Halston

5 years before joining Tiffany, Elsa Peretti began her jewelry career by designing pieces for Halston and Georgio di Sant'Angelo in 1969. Halston had just started out on his own in 1968 and had become friends with Peretti when she worked as a model.

Her first piece of jewelry was a small bottle suspended from a chain for Sant'Angelo. It had no stopper and was meant to hold a flower. But it was her work with Halston that put Peretti on the map. Halston's minimalistic designs were the perfect background for Peretti's sculptural pieces.

From 1971, Peretti's silver buckle, necklace, and cuff bracelets are worn with Halston's white satin halter dress.

Peretti's silver belt, ring, and earrings worn with Halston's white satin dinner pyjamas.

Peretti's silver and leather belt, silver cuff bracelet, and silver with ivory earrings with Halston's yellow acrylic sweater.
Peretti's ivory cuff bracelet and ring worn with Halston's white cashmere and dacron caftan. The wood bracelets and ivory necklace are by Catherine T. Noll for Fabrice.

Soft 70's Hand-Painted Prints

As fashion trended away from the structured lines of 1960's Mod, we find a move toward softer, more feminine lines with lots of loose, flowing fabrics, ruffles, and draping. Many women were either going bra-less or wearing a soft knit "barely there" bra with these fashions. Shown here - gorgeous hand-painted prints from 1975. As always, click the photos for a larger view.

Halston's 3 piece evening pyjama in silk chiffon. The tunic, pants, and cape are hand-painted with yellow flowers. Sold for $950.00 (about $3,856.00 in today's dollar)

Bill Blass uses a hand-painted design on a silk crepe tunic and matches it with silk crepe de Chine pyjama pants. Sold for $620.00 (about $2,517.00 in today's dollar).

Zandra Rhodes was famous for her use of her own hand-painted prints. Here a peach design on cream silk chiffon floats over a layer of cream jersey. The one-shoulder dress has a handkerchief hem. Sold for $895.00 (about $3,630.00 in today's dollar).

Holly's Harp creates a tiered silk chiffon evening coat to wear over a pistachio matte jersey camisole and long skirt. Sold for $645.00 (about $2,620.00 in today's dollar).

Oscar de la Renta offered this one-shoulder dress in bias cut silk chiffon with a hand-painted draped shawl wrap that tied at the shoulder. Sold for $615.00 (about $2,500.00 in today's dollar).

One other note - you can see clearly in these photos a make-up trend from the mid 70's. Dark bronzer or blush was used to sculpt a dramatic cheekbone. Blush was applied from the hairline down under the cheekbone and right to the apple of the cheek.

From the same time period, Couture Allure offers this gorgeous hand-painted silk evening dress by American designer Pauline Trigere.

1963 Halston Hats

Before Halston became a fashion sensation with his own label in 1968, he was a milliner. He worked briefly for Lilly Dache, but moved to Bergdorf Goodman in 1958 where he was their custom milliner. In 1966, he was given his own in-store boutique, where he also began to offer clothes.

These two floral beauties were custom designs for Bergdorf's by Halston and were sold as Made-To-Order designs. Silk petals and leaves are attached to Guipure lace in two styles, a helmet and a wide brim design. This ad appeared in the March 15, 1963 issue of Vogue magazine.