suzy menkes wardrobe

ossie clark dress printed with a celia birtwell floral design, with a matching quilted jacket

bill gibb suede leather coat 

christian dior sunglasses

paul smith multi-coloured trench coat

hermès silk scarf

emilio pucci sleeveless summer dress

chanel personalised clutch bag

christian lacroix printed silk ensemble with matching handbag

from july 11 through july 22 christies.com is hosting a sale that features over 80 items from fashion journalist suzy menkes collection. "i have never thrown anything out of my wardrobe since 1964," menkes said adding, "there is something sad about clothes laid in a tomb of trunks. they need to live again, and this auction provides the opportunity for them to walk out in the sunshine, to dance the night away and to give someone else the joy that they gave to me."

menkes was named international fashion editor of the international new york times last week.

dying for that ossie clark ensemble!  

so purdy!

1954 dodge firearrow III concept car 

the 1954 concept vehicle, the dodge firearrow III, was one of the earliest vehicles from the house of chrysler to use design elements from the space age - a new craze in the auto world at the time.  designed by italian maestro luigi segre, under the careful eye of virgil exner, the car has a v8 engine with a 4-barrel carburetor that could generate 150 HP. another design landmark was the automatic transmission. 

the car was also driven by the first female indy 500 race driver, betty skelton, who set a record of that time by racing the car at speeds of up to 143.33 mph (while wearing heels & a dress!).

the car is being auctioned at RM auctions & is estimated to fetch $1 million at the pebble beach auctions.

what time is it?

a rare rolex split-seconds chronograph watch sold for a record price of SFr1.04 million ($1.16 million) at a christie's auction in geneva. the watch was produced by rolex in 1942 and is one of only 12 models created, of which only 8 are known to have survived.

astor-aubéry de frawenberg hours

the astor-aubéry de frawenberg hours, a book of hours dating back to the 1500s is up for auction at the heritage rare books auction on april 7.
it is believed that the book was made for a nobleman of toul, in eastern france circa 1500 - 1520. it is bound in red velvet & was later encased in seventeenth-century decorated silver gilt covers with royal arms designed for the manuscript including intricate designs of birds, vases, sphinxes & more. inside the manuscript contains 19 large miniatures, 4 full page miniatures, and 28 small miniatures with gold details by the parisian workshops of jean pichore & jean poyet.
the book was possibly crafted for someone in the aubéry de frawenberg family and the beautiful binding was added to the manuscript later. sometime before 1884, american ambassador to rome and the wealthiest man in america at the time, viscount william waldorf astor bought it £420 - a huge amount at that time. it is estimated to sell for at least $325,000.

grown-up toys

a collection of rare antique toys amassed by the late millionaire malcom forbes & his son has sold for $2.3 million at sotheby's auction house in new york on friday. the collection included antique toy boats, luxury ships, soldiers, motorcycles & board games. a three-foot long replica of the 1915 ocean liner lusitania went for $194,500, a record auction price for a toy boat. an exotic clockwork gunboat attributed to märklin/rock & graner sold for $134,500, an original monopoly game handmade by charles darrow went for $146,500 & two rare sets of incredibly detailed medieval knights made in the 1930s went for $15,000.

winston churchill's 1939 daimler

historics at brooklands will auction winston churchill's 1939 daimler db18 drophead coup this december. the historic car (chassis number 49531) was used by the prime minister during the 1944 and 1949 election campaigns. in 1939, the daimler motor company had chassis allocation to build 23 db18 drophead coupés, but only 8 were made owing to WWII. of the 8 built, 4 were confirmed destroyed in the bombings and a 5th was sold for scrap. as of today, the only known existing car is the chassis #49531. the historical car is expected to see for between £200,000 and £250,000. oh so pretty!

la belle romaine

modigliani's "la belle romaine" sold for a record-setting $68.9 million at sotheby's in new york yesterday.
the 1917 portrait was sold to an anonymous telephone bidder. the painting, which was estimated to sell for $40 million, was purchased for $16.8 million 11 years ago.

1931 bugatti type 51

a rare vintage grand prix racing bugatti is up for auction in the sale at the pebble beach motoring week in monterey this saturday. it is expected to fetch tetween 3.5 and 4.5 million, which would be the highest price ever paid for a grand prix racing bugatti. the 79 year old car raced in 17 european grand prix races and is considered on the the finest surviving models of its kind, complete with its original bodywork, engine & gearbox.

lv collection at christie's

on september 28th christie's will offer this collection of vintage louis vuitton luggage in the interiors: style & spirit sale. there are over 20 pieces, dating from the late 19th century to the 1940s, and include suitcases, small trunks, hat boxes & vanity cases. estimates range from £400 to £6,000.

audi a1 + damien hirst

damien hirst painted an audi a1 for auction at sir elton john's aids foundation white tie and tiara ball at his windsor residence. the car was auctioned off at $511,870. the a1 will be available in november.

that's an expensive bottle of perfume!

an engraved guerlain bottle from 1870 fetched the record sum of €45,600 at an auction in the city of arcachon, in the southwest of france. the flacon is engraved with house's original address, rue de la paix.

christie's - photographs

helmut newton, tied-up torso, ramatuelle, 1980 ($10,213-$14,590)

frantisek drtikol, the cry, 1927 ($29,180 - $43,770)

irving penn, two guedras, morocco, 1971 ($26,262-$32,098)

christies's is offering some amazing photos for auction on may 21 in london. included in the sale are works from robert mapplethorpe, andy warhol, irving penn, mario testino, richard avedon & helmut newton. see the full catalog here.

izzy + lee = sale of the century

over 90 mcqueen outfits, 50 hats from philip treacy and manolo blahnik shoes from isabella blow's wardrobe will be auctioned at christie's in september. the sale, from the blow estate on behalf of her family will be held by the auction house in london, south kensington, on september 15. isabella bought his entire degree collection when he graduated from central st. martins in 1994 and was a champion of his great talent throughout his career.

$42,500 for a week at vogue

the charity auction for a week at vogue just closed at $42,500. that gets you face time with anna, one week at the vogue offices and a 15 minute fashion show. wow. can't wait to see who actually ponied up that much!

gucci collector

on january 18, 2010, gucci & christie's will launch "gucci collector: presented by christie's" - the very first gucci-certified online destination for authenticating & appraising vintage gucci products. anyone can go online & upload photos of their vintage items and submit an appraisal request. a team of christie's experts as well as gucci's own in-house archivists will provide an assessment of the item, and christie's will appraise the value of each submission. you can then have the opportunity to see your item to gucci, or in a future christie's auction, if desired.

monteverdi hai

this lovely (and rare) 1970 monteverdi hai 450 ss coupé prototype is expected to bring in $750,000 at bonham's retromobile sale in paris on jan. 23rd. she's a beauty!

oh, yes please!

paquin couture ball gown, ca. 1950

valentino haute couture cream lace & silk mini dress s/s 1968, model 206

john galliano cotton coat 1987

pierre cardin jersey dress ca. 1968

lanvin georgette embroidered cocktail dress ca. 1925

the passion for fashion vintage auction from kerry taylor auctioneers has 335 gorgeous lots that will be up on the block december 8 in london. included in this auction are many pieces from audrey hepburn. i'm trying to avoid one of my favorite words....but....i WANT (insert any lot number here)!!!