Money has brought more than influence and respectability. Designers now have Gulfstream jets (Klein and Lauren) and houses in all the right places. In 1987 when the Duchess of Windsor’s jewels were auctioned, Klein bought his preppy new wife two pieces. When the queen of England dined at the White House, Blass was in attendance….
Spring 2006 looks from Chloé, Hermès, Rochas, Balenciaga, Givenchy, and Prada. Whether it was Tommy Hilfiger’s East Coast prep or Comme des Garçons’s Anglophile collection, Balenciaga’s 18th-century dream dresses or Prada’s flapper frocks, the spring 2006 collections offered variety with a soupçon of fantasy. And 20 years later they just might offer a road map…
“The Grand Duchess Vladimir wore a dress made by Félix, of palest pink velvet, with a long train bordered by rouleaux of sable; two black wings powdered with diamonds in her hair, and a stomacher of diamonds and rubies.” —Vogue,* March 18, 1893 “2.30 a. m. I have just returned from the Countess of Ludleigh’s…