What We Found: Vintage Evening Gown

Where: Rodeo Drive Consignment Boutique, St. Louis Park

When: October 26, 2007

What’s to Love: The glimmer of the silver paillettes that cover the bodice and surround the hem of this late 1960s dress are what first catch the eye. It’s a gown with built-in jewelry—a current fashion trend—paired with the color of the moment—gray. Though vintage, this full-length dress is very modern, a definite score for the stylista who wants to stand out in a crowd. Sold as is (broken zipper), $42.

Fabric
Using gray wool flannel—a classic menswear staple—makes for a dress that’s unexpectedly chic, but also isn’t taken too seriously. The weight and A-line drape of the wool gives the woman who wears it an added feeling of confidence. The icing on the cake is the embellished bodice. The paillettes—an oversized cousin of the sequin—are interspersed with skinny rectangular pieces of the same metallic material. The combination provides texture and interest.

Authenticity
The label inside reads Saks Fifth Avenue. But when we brought it to a Kenwood-area tailor for repair, he set the record straight as to which Saks. There was once an independently owned woman’s shop in Uptown called (gasp) Saks Fifth Avenue. The old-guard fashion mavens tell us the shop was around for some forty years (it closed in the early ’70s) during an era when Manhattan wasn’t necessarily paying attention to a little store in Minneapolis. Besides ready-to-wear fashions, the shop made numerous custom pieces for its stylish clientele—including (perhaps) the dress shown here. The quality of finish inside the dress suggests custom work. According to our tailor, the boutique made “hundreds” of party dresses (and suits) for “ladies on the hill” (meaning Lowry Hill) who didn’t want to wear the same dress as her neighbor.

Application
True confession: I bought this dress for personal use and wore it to the annual Butter Ball at Graves 601 Hotel in November. Since there wasn’t time for full alterations (the dress was a little big), I borrowed a dark charcoal-gray satin sash from another dress and tied it snug at the empire waistline with a floppy bow centered just below the bust. The goal was party attire rather than black tie, so I opted for round-toe, zebra-print pony-hair pumps (A Rodeo Drive score from last summer); a larger scale, zebra-print pony-hair frame bag; a wide ivory leather cuff with pewter rhinestones (from StyledLife); a vintage cocktail ring, and rhinestone-covered hoop earrings.

The dress was purchased at Rodeo Drive Consignment Boutique, 4110 Minnetonka Blvd., St Louis Park, 952-920-0188. Other favorite shops I explore for vintage evening wear include Melrose Antiques, 13 NE 5th St., Mpls., 612-362-8480; Via’s Vintage, 2408 Hennepin Ave., Mpls., 612-374-3649; and Lula, 1587 Selby Ave., St. Paul, 651-644-4110