Smart Buy: PHI Shorts in Summer's Shape

We at Vnyc love vintage, but since we pay so much attention to current fashion and love a look that's the right mix of high & low, vintage & contemporary, we can't resist stocking up on current must-haves and this is reflected in our shop's range. From a label we truly covet, one that we watch each season with excitement, New York label PHI, come these shocking magenta balloon shorts in this season's must-have shape. One could say this decade has been not only about revivals, but also about tweaking classics and paying attention to one item at a time. The trench coat, the bag, the jean, the shoe and especially the dress, have all had their fair share of the spotlight...and now more than ever it seems to be the time of the pant and short. From Chloe to Louis Vuitton, the pant has been given a rigorous re-thought, from skinny to balloon, to drop-crotch, harem and lantern, bottoms haven't been such a strong option for quite a long time. These PHI shorts quietly hit so many trends dead-on for one item while retaining a very chic, luxe appeal.

Trend Alert: note the jewel tone, vague military references, pleated balloon shape and 70's inspired sumptuous sash wrap.
PHI Fuschia Pleated Balloon Shorts w Sash-$188

Check Out Vnyc's Interview with Style Will Save Us

We are pleased to announce that one of our favorite sites, Style Will Save Us(an independent digital style magazine that loves all things stylish, organic, ethical, eco-friendly, vintage, recycled and sustainable) has just recently published one of their Itsy-Echo interviews with us at VagaBondnyc.com. Be sure to check it out!

Some excerpts from SWSU:
"Fashion alert! Vintage shopping just got even cooler thanks to fash-tastic Andrea Perini. ‘Vagabondnyc.com’, their newly launched online boutique, showcases covetable but surprisingly affordable pieces modeled by a bevy of New York cuties"

"With an acute eye for what’s relevant in creating a contemporary look out of vintage finds, the clothes are styled in a way that makes them top of the hot list for thoroughly modern minnies"

Click Here to read more...

Inspiration: The Video Art of Catherine Sullivan

A still from Catherine Sullivan's Triangle of Need

We at Vnyc are always looking at different artist's and artistic mediums to help fuel our vintage buys and last year we were lucky enough to view Catherine Sullivan's performance film Triangle of Need, which was based on highly disparate references from Nigerian e-mail scams to figure skating and even a fictional Neanderthal language. Video art & performance art in general, to us is usually hit or miss and often feels too intellectualized, pretentious and almost always ridiculous.

Yet Triangle of Need, with it's operatic, silent movie feel, haunting Colonial imagery and fluid realization, was ambitiously genius and full of subtle, delightful provocation. For the piece, Sullivan worked with numerous collaborators, enlisting the expertise of Nigerian director Kunle Afolaya, composer Sean Griffin, choreographer Dylan Skybrook and figure skater Rohene Ward, among others. Working with such acclaimed collaborators gives the piece a concise, in-depth production value, making it not only a beautifully puzzling journey into the scathing psyhce of industrialism, but a beautiful, chaotic piece of work as well. We found it for you on Youtube, have already seen it about 20 times, and hope you enjoy it as well!


Featured Above: Catherine Sullivan's Triangle of Need

Featured Above: A brief interview with Catherine Sullivan on Art:21

CFDA Awards Night...Another Year, Another Bore

Anna Sui with her Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Acheivement Award

Carine Roitfeld in her recent CNN profile might have said it best when she was talking about how over the past decade, people's interest in fashion has grown exponentially, noting that everyone wants to know everything about fashion, from why & how it was made to how it was shown and how it will impact the rest of our daily lives. And with Diane Von Furstenberg heading the Council of Fashion Designers of America, there was a lot of speculation and hope that she would turn the game into a more democratic organization, one that many of America's unrecognized talents would benefit from. And one must note, American fashion is and has always been in a constant state of flux, always being overshadowed by the relentless magic that comes out of Europe.

So they say the CFDA has been revamped, given new blood, but if you ask us, what it has become is a forum for the same eight to ten designers year after year. Yes, young talent needs that kind of spotlight, and yes, we do want to know who's out there, who's talented and under-the-radar. The thing is, those same eight to ten designers have already received enough attention over the past five years. Why can't the CFDA really put their ear's to the ground and search for new, untapped talent? Proenza Schouler are big league now, they don't need any p.r help, yet to us, the CFDA Awards seem to be one big publicity machine for several of Vogue's favorite designers. Year after year it's Vena Cava, Band of Outsiders, Rag & Bone, Proenza, Doo.Ri, Narciso Rodriguez, Erin Fetherston & Marc Jacobs. Eventually all of those mentioned will have an award, so then what?

Besides the annoyance this circle of friends made us feel the other day, we at Vnyc were quite pleased to see Anna Sui win the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award. Over the past few decades Sui has built a very strong, concise vision for her brand, and in a male dominated industry, her win comes as a nice surprise. It always seems strange that there are only two big league black designers around today, but it's the lack of women in an industry for women that is even more dumbfounding.

And with every awards gala there is the requisite red-carpet, and as if last year's CFDA Awards red-carpet wasn't disappointing enough, there was this years puzzling mix of day and night looks. Looking back, there seems to be a great divide, was it black tie? Apparently not. It was surprising to see one patron of the event wearing a head-to-toe beaded maxi while another looks like one very well dressed kindergarten teacher. In the end, if Roitfeld is right about people's insatiable need to know everything about fashion, it seems that those behind the CFDA don't really understand that they can't keep fooling people with the same awards regiment again & again.

Out of the hundreds of guests, our two favorites were:
Model Anja Rubik, in Kaufman Franco pictured above

Style.com's Nicole Phelps, in Akris

Accessory of the Week: The Return of Celine

After dealing with the extremities of the downfall of the economy, it's always nice to get a dose of good news like the return of Phoebe Philo who is now at Celine. She left Chloe behind & it seems to be in good hands under Hannah MacGibbon, and not to get too wordy, but Celine has had it's fare share of downfalls. It's never been a big house, just a quiet French label based on classics and once upon a time shoes were the main focus. And it did have a very nice LVMH style redux under Michael Kors at the very beginning of this decade, but that was about only 10 seasons of a run. Kors made Celine a great label for tried-&-true jet-set finery, and in his style it was campy yet very, very refined in the best sportswear sensibility.

So where was Philo to take Celine? Judging by her first outing for Resort 2010, she has keenly taken full grasp of the house's identity, the state of today's economy and the reality that comes with those two very weighty issues. To tackle those dilemmas, Philo kept things fuss-free and simple, not too-cool, not too preppy mommy. And now that the "It" bag & shoe craze is finally over, we at Vnyc were really into the easy, classic & somewhat preppy bags. One bag in particular was a dead ringer for own Celine turn-lock mini bag from the 70's, and like that one, her bags were slightly uptown, streamlined and vaguely equestrian. Just how we like bags at the moment: no logo, no tricks, no prints, just clean, timeless touches.

Our 70's Celine Navy Accordion Mini Bag above-$108
Pictured above, a purse from Philo's debut Celine 2010 Resort Collection

Grecian Draping: Resort 2010/Versace 1995

It's no surprise given the state of the economy that over the past few season's resort has become a very important collection for designer's as it highlights their statements in a vision that is more clear & concise than runway presentations. And of course we at Vnyc like to look at what's going on in fashion to fuel our own vintage buys to elicit a contemporary feeling.

Looking at Michael Kors pragmatic Resort Collection for 2010 instantly reminded us of one of our favorite new buys, this mid 90's lilac Grecian draped GIANNI VERSACE skirt. Kors used similar jersey draping to full urban effect while evoking the disco-fied glory days of the 70's, while Versace made his romantic draped vision boldly feminine. We love Versace's insightful play on what you could call a more sophisticated sarong and on a breezy day vacationing, what sounds better than an ultra-packable, fuss-free, fluid option in such a soothing palette?

90's Gianni Versace Lilac Grecian Skirt-$188

P.S: Take note of Kor's savvy styling trick, the heavy military influenced belt is a great counter point for such fluid jersey. It instantly adds weight and more substantial focus for the eye.


Looks from Michael Kors 2010 Resort Collection

New Look at VagaBondnyc.com: Ray

Head to Vnyc to check out our latest new look: Ray, inspired by the vision of Ray Petri, the late legendary stylist. We at Vagabond Nyc have always been fond of his mad-cap mix of designer rags teamed with bits of lingerie, athletic basics and under garments to create a strong look that juxtaposed the diverse street scenes of the 1980's. If anything, one could argue that Petri's high-lo contribution to fashion, his mix of genre defining elements, is exactly the way people dress today.

Our take on the era features various finds from our shop that are as disparate in concept from Jean Paul Gaultier bodysuits to a classic Chanel Tuxedo blouse complete with bow, all while trying not to get trapped in that all too literal 80's retro-box designers seem to be getting into these days.

Volume Without Pads:70's Versace for Callaghan

It's more than obvious that we at Vnyc have a thing for designs from GIANNI VERSACE and a penchant for collecting CALLAGHAN, so we were more than floored when we found what think is one of favorite buys ever, this jewel toned late 70's Callaghan dress that was designed by Versace. Being such an early piece from Versace already amps up it's desirability factor, but its the pieces sci-fi feel that truly gets our motors running. At first glance, it instantly conjured Alber Elbaz's genius Fall 2007 show for Lanvin, where creating broad shouldered volume without pads on leg-of-mutton sleeves was done with such discipline, the end result was an aerated shoulder.

This dress is what you could consider the precursor for all of that 80's volume, yet it's rich jewel tone and contrasting matte satin sleeves enrich it with an almost other-worldly superhero/princess quality, while its streamlined and unadorned silhouette is concise and minimal at the same time, saving it from being too precious or over-the-top. When everyone is looking at shoulders and the 80's, we love the fact that the voluminous pleating construction on the shoulders gives you that considerable amount of volume, and that the fabrication on the sleeves is so lightweight that it almost feels like paper, ultimately giving the shoulder a much more fluid exaggeration than with the structure of a pad.

70's CALLAGHAN by Versace Sci-Fi Jewel Tone Dress-$548