DRESScapade™

 

It's been a while since I have engaged with this digital space. Since my last post so much has happened; A global pandemic, an election cycle, I've produced another holiday card, curating dresses for the 55,000 Dresses collection and so much more.

I have started a YOUTUBE Channel and web series called DRESScapade™ ----> Episode 3 will drop this weekend and every Saturday for the remainder of the year!

Enjoy the trailer below.

For those of you who are new to this space or returning after my long absence Thank you for being here! I am Lisa Graystone, Sustainable Wardrobe Stylist and your guide on this DRESScapade™. A dress escapade and fashion adventure that will travel through fashion history, style sustainability, address inclusivity in the fashion industry, wardrobe styling tips, designer profiles, costuming and re-styling pieces of fashions past to creatively keep them in your closet and out of the landfill. I have spent over 10 years in the Vintage re-sale and wardrobe styling industry and have been a student of fashion my entire life. I care about our environment and the impact the fast fashion industry has on it. I want to help you make a wardrobe shift into creative and compassionate consumption. You can dress authentically, "follow trends" AND be kind to mother earth. I am currently curating the 55,000 dress collection for sale and pieces from the collection will be a frequent feature on this DRESScapade™. Some of the items featured will also be available for purchase!

You Ready?

55,000 DRESScue Mission: So it begins

Back in 2014 I met dress collector Paul Brockman in his Gardena warehouse that at the time held approximately 22,000 of his reported 55,000 dress collection. Red my blog HERE from my initial visit. With the passage of time I always wondered what ever happened to Paul and his collection. I reached out to him and his daughter in March of 2017 to check the status of the collection and see if I could help.

I visited with a proposal to help liquidate the dresses and approach this mammoth project in a new way. 

Fast forward to last weekend. Myself, Paul's daughter Louise and 2 hired guys moved 495 bags of vintage dresses into a sorting facility. This is the contents of container 1 of 4!! We cannot liquidate what we don't know is there so we are sorting by era/color for now. Everything is for sale!

6am - 495 Bags

Time lapse of unpacking the second truck ..

Of course we unearthed some amazing treasures. 

 1980's Polka Dot Dress - $48

80's Polka Black and Dot Dress - $45

1950's Cherry Print Dress - $85

1960's Floral Maxi - $68

Shop a curated selection from the collection via Evolution Vintage with more to come daily.

Let the DRESScue mission begin .... 

Are you a dealer who wants to shop in bulk? or a vintage fan ready to fill bags to the brim for a great price? email me for an appointment.

Mock the Crop

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Fashion is all about innovation, changing what has came before and creating what we have never seen. It is almost summer but we are still getting wet, foggy, mornings here on the coast of California.

This dress is perfect for such a morning and all seasons beyond. It is a soft stretch fabric from the 1980's and in a Mock Crop Layered silhouette. I had a hard time describing this piece. The top is over sized and boxy, with a front pocket and long sleeves over a fitted under layer that is attached to the skirt. The dress also has pockets which is a major selling point for me. When I was trying to describe it I recalled the CHANEL 2014 S/S Haute Couture collection showing similar silhouette.

I wonder what Karl called it?

I call it Unique and Fabulous! Don't be afraid to Mock the Crop ladies! You could take a page out of Karl Lagerfeld's book and style the Vintage Grey dress with sneakers.

Get the details on the Evolution Vintage offering HERE.

Fashion Friday: Amal Clooney

I love fashion, street style, celebrity style, basically every woman on the planet's style. I am always fascinated with peoples fashion choices and how they style those choices and wear them in their daily lives.

I have a hand full of style inspirations but for some reason Amal (Alamuddin) Clooney snuck under my stylist radar. She is much more than a pretty face and the wife of actor George Clooney. She is an accomplished attorney (Barrister) specializing in international law and human rights. She didn't pack up her briefcase after getting married either, she is still actively practicing and working.

 She is also the president of the Clooney Foundation for Justice, which she co-founded with her husband George Clooney in late 2016 to advance justice in courtrooms, communities, and classrooms around the world (wiki).  I also just realized that we are around the same age, her birthday is 3 days after mine, just a year ahead which makes her an Aquarius and an instant style sister.

I love that she does not use a stylist and chooses her own looks and pieces. Many pieces that are VINTAGE, frequenting her favorite shop in London William Vintage. She has many contemporary looks that are fantastic as well but I love her Vintage pieces, re-styled in a current way. 

 Vintage 1960's Dress/Jacket Set (No Label)

 1960's White Fringe Dress (No Label)

 1964 Balenciaga

 Vintage CHANEL circa 1963

 Vintage Christian Dior

 Courreges c. 1960

 Vintage LANVIN

 Madame Gres c. 1945

 Vintage Ossie Clarke - 1970's

Vintage YSL

Finally a public figure who mixes fashions past and present in a really chic way. I have so many pieces at Evolution Vintage I would pull for her, see below for some of my favorites.

My picks from Evolution Vintage for Amal:

Vintage Oscar de la Renta

Vintage Bill Blass

Vintage Lilli Diamond

Mister Robert Coat Dress

Vintage Sequin Animal Print

Vintage 60's Top and YSL Skirt

Pink Holiday Style

The holiday season is here! In the US this encompasses Thanksgiving and for people in the rest of the world the halls have all ready been decked and trees ready to be trimmed for Christmas. The holidays to me mean parties, celebrations, dinners, and gatherings of all kinds, sizes and calibers.

Everyone has a certain combination of colors for their interior (and exterior) decor to reflect who they are and I would guess that the same is true for their holiday wardrobe. From casual chic to gown gorgeous you know, through color what says holidays to you.

SHOP - Vintage pink velvet Gown $80

I personally have a broader scope from the traditional red, green and gold that is typical at this time of year, even beyond silver, blue and white ... what about PINK?

It is a fabulous accent to silver and winter white and in pretty opposition to the seasons traditional fiery red. Pink is not a "traditional" holiday color or even usually part of the fall/winter color pallet but for me it is a beautiful option for holiday dressing! 

THINK PINK with EVOLUTION VINTAGE

 Vintage Pink Textural Dress With Fringe - $85

 Pink Floral Gown - $90

 Hand Beaded & Chiffon Gown - $350

Image: Tom Fowler

 Vintage Chiffon Gown With Crystal Waist Detail - $150

Image: Tamara Wickstrom

 Vintage Pink Beaded Dress - $120

Image: Tamara Wickstrom

Pepto Pink Gown (color in this image varies from actual - it is darker) - $80

Will you have a PINK Holiday Season?

Pink Sequin Nutcracker - $29.95 (Save 15% Use code MERRY15)

Color Combo: B&G

Vintage Gold Tone Necklace

SJP Collection "Carrie" in Black

When you get creative with personal style the color combinations are seemingly endless. There are several elements that one can use to make their personal fashion expression unique to their experience and color is one of them.

Today I am feeling the Black and Gold vibe. Understated from a color stand point but a timeless and chic color combo.

I fist fell in love with this combo in the early 1990's via CHANEL. They are the ultimate black and gold fashion house to me. The accessories are, and always have been on another level.

CHANEL 1991

VOGUE Paris Shot by Arthur Elgort 1991 - Christy Turlington in DIOR

EVOLUTION VINTAGE Goes B&G

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