Passé. Chanel Suit

When you think of Chanel you think of three things: Chanel No. 5, the Chanel 2.55, and the iconic Chanel Suit. The boxy jackets and coordinating skirts of tweeds and luxury linings were created for Chanel’s 1923 Haute Couture collection. In keeping with Chanel’s menswear inspired garments the suits were not exactly like the Chanel Suits we’ve come to recognize today. After WWII in 1954, Coco reintroduced her tweed separates and that is the tighter skirt and boucle jacket Chanel Suit with trim we know today. This iconic suit costs between $2,000 and $13,000.

À la mode. Chuck Taylor All Stars

Passé. Chuck Taylor All Stars

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Many people do not know that the All Star Chuck Taylor Converse sneaker has been produced for almost a century. The history of the All Star sneaker began in 1908 when Marquis Mills Converse founded the Converse Rubber Shoe Company in Malden, Massachusetts. Converse’s signature was first designed in 1917, and was intended to be worn by professional basketball players. Marquis Converse marketed his new shoe in 1921 by sponsoring a basketball team called the Converse All Stars. One of the team members was Charles “Chuck” Taylor who doubled as a player and salesman while traveling to high schools all over Massachusetts hosting clinics and selling All Star sneakers. The popularity of the sneakers spread when they were worn by athletes in the Olympics as well soldiers in training during WWII. This trend continued and by 1960 the Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars were worn by ninety percent of the professional and collegiate basketball players. Chuck Taylors dominated the athletic footwear market up until the 1970’s when Nike shoes came into play. Converse was eventually bought out by Nike in 2003. Today Chuck Taylor All Star shoes are worn as casual footwear and not professional athletic footwear. They still have the same look as they did nearly a century ago, with rubber soles and canvas top. Celebrities like Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Adele, and Rihanna have all been seen sporting the classic sneakers. Chuck Taylor All Stars cost around $60 dollars. 

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À la mode. Louis Vuitton Speedy

Passé. Louis Vuitton Speedy

Louis Vuitton has a history over 70 years for making luggage, bags, and apparel all branded with the signature LV. Louis Vuitton’s son George Vuitton would be the one to design one of the brand most iconic and recognizable bags known as the “Speedy”. The bags original version was designed in 1930 by George and named the “Keepall” and it was a bigger version of the Speedy. The will the Keepall was thought to be more for travel, the Speedy would be useful for every day wear. The originals featured two short handles, a longer half oval-domed shape, and the signature LV’s printed on the leather. The Speedy now comes in many different colors and four different sizes. The price for this bag ranges anywhere from $800-$2000. This bag is a classic staple bag for Louis Vuitton and will probably remain so for the next 70 years. 

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Passé. Christian Dior Pencil Skirt

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This now iconic silhouette was first created by French designer Christian Dior. The modern pencil skirt we know today was an adaptation of the hobble skirt worn by women pre WWI with the same H-line, but with a longer hemline and not as close fitting to the body. The pencil skirt was a part of his successor line to his previous wildly successful movement known as the “New Look”. In the late 1940’s he felt fashion needed another revamp after WWII, when women came home and stopped working in war-related jobs. Dior felt there needed to be a new style of dress that would express femininity and bring back the female style, and thus the pencil skirt was designed. The designs straight lines and higher hemline meant less fabric, which made it especially appealing for knockoffs because during this time there was not a lot of material to be rationed after the war. The pencil skirt is still popular today and has since its creation, been a fashion stable in women’s wardrobes. Pencil skirts are usually worn today as work or business apparel and worn with suit jackets for office attire. Dior almost always has one in their collections and they typically run around $900 for a Dior original. 

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À la mode. Hermès Birkin Bag

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À la mode. Hermès Kelly Bag

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Passé. Hermès Kelly and Birkin Bags

IMAGE: GRACE KELLY

Hermès has a long history of producing luxury leather goods. The original atelier is still located on 24 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré and dates back all the way to 1880. The company started out in saddle making and slowly evolved into creating one of a kind jackets, luggage, and leather goods. Hermès’s most recognizable leather bag was designed in the 1935 named the “Sac à dépêches”. This bag was later named after actress Grace Kelly and called the “Kelly Bag”. Grace Kelly was seen using the famous bag to cover up her pregnancy from the paparazzi while walking down the street.  Years later in 1981 the chief executive of Hermès, Jean-Louis Dumas, during a flight from Paris to London he met actress Jane Birkin. Jane and Jean-Louis got to talking about her straw carryon bag and how she wishes she had a bag that would hold all of her things. 

IMAGE: JEAN-LOUIS DUMAS

Three years later 1984 Jean-Louis came out with the Birkin bag. The Birkin bag was a re-design of a previous leather bag from 1892 and similar in style to the Kelly bag. Kelly bags have only one handle, while Birkin’s have two. Like the Kelly bag, Birkin bags are each hand crafted and take nearly 18 hours per bag to produce. They now come in various colors depending on the season. Birkin bags can cost you anywhere from $9,000-$150,000 depending of the material and hardware used.  In an episode of Sex in the City, character Samantha has her eye on a Birkin and explains to Carrie that if she purchased a Birkin bag she will know she has “made it”. 

IMAGE: GRACE KELLY