Felling Inspired: Le Petit Chinoise

Giving you a peek from our mood board we've been putting together in preparation for a chinoiserie themed photo shoot. This is a trend that I feel is going to begin showing up everywhere, for we've been catching whiffs of the look here and there on the Spring 2011 runways: from Rodarte's nod to Chinese detailing to Vuitton's all-out Eastern extravaganza (which was reminiscent of Tom Ford's last collection for YSL in the FW show of 2004).

We like how the louche glamour of pajama dressing (hello Celine 2012 resort!) mixes right in with this aesthetic, creating an aura of exotic luxury -- just the thing when headed to the local high class opium den (or at least a Chinese restaurant by day // secret disco by night).

The alchemy of our Far East incarnation of dress includes abstracted references from Chinese gangster movies -- specifically Kar Wai Wong's Fallen Angels, Nobuyoshi Araki photographs, Diana Vreeland's interest in Asian exoticism, Paul Poiret's French Orientalism, 70s street style, Japanese rockabilly bands, and Claude Cahun's explorative self-portraits from the 20s. We feel that the modern approach to this style of dress involves mixing androgynous and grungy elements with luxurious silk brocade fabrics and a flowing, loose silhouette.

Check back in with us soon to see the fruits of our labors in editorial form, and in the meantime, these chinoiserie inspired pieces from our store are available now!

Emanuel Ungaro's Exotic Vision at Vnyc

We're pretty confident the warrior woman look has cycled through the marketplace to the point of exhaustion and that it's time for something more demure, for sensuality, unadorned beauty and a bit of romance. All of which can be found in these signature mid 80's Emanuel Ungaro pieces we picked up along the way. So, until the chiefs at Ungaro hire someone who'll respect and utilize the house's incredible archive and put the label back in party mode, we're content to offer you this carefully chosen assortment of Ungaro at it's best.

In Full Bloom
80's Ungaro Floral Silk Blouse
Party girls the world over turned to Ungaro for his perfect cocktail numbers and ruched pieces, but it's his recognizable floral prints that are often sadly overlooked. Take this back-buttoned green silk blouse with it's bulbous floral & strawberry print, it makes a winning combination with our velvet skirt for cocktail hour, or dress it down with distressed denims for a look that's powerful yet breezily louche.

80's Emanuel Ungaro Floral Printed Silk Blouse-$108

Pattern Plays
80's Ungaro Brocade Jacket
Leave it to Ungaro to update the classic quilted Chanel style jacket in a luxe metallic blue & green Chinoiserie floral print that's hyper-bourgeois yet quietly ostentatious.

80's Emanuel Ungaro Quilted Brocade Jacket-$228

Pencil Yourself In
80's Ungaro Velvet Pencil Skirt
The high-waist body-con pencil skirt having become a wardrobe essential over the past few years, and with velvet itself making a major comeback, this 80's era Ungaro beauty doesn't disappoint with it's sumptuous textured velvet composition and rich purple tone.

80's Emanuel Ungaro Purple Velvet Body-Con Skirt-$112

At the moment Vnyc has over 300 one-of-a-kind vintage stunners with over 100 under $100. And there's more to come this Monday, keep an eye out for early Yohji, Comme Des Garcons & Katherine Hamnett. Shipping is Free-Worldwide.