Vintage Fashion

A Books, Manuscripts and Historical Photographs sale that ran online at Bonhams Knightsbridge (28/27/21/14.5% buyer’s premium) included a fine group of Suffragette textiles. A particular rarity is the Votes for Women ‘motoring’ scarf.

Initially conceived of and worn by Madame de Montespan, Louis XIV’s most prominent mistress, to conceal her pregnancies, the robe à la française or sack-back dress became a dominant form of fashion in the mid- to late-18th century.

It is said Louis Vuitton spent 17 years mastering the art of trunk making before establishing his eponymous company in 1854.

Farm buildings and more humble structures can provide ideal showcases for antiques businesses

A remarkably well-preserved blue sprang sash, dated c.1620, was the stand-out lot in a sale of textiles and antiques at Cirencester auction house Dominic Winter (20% buyer’s premium).

This late Tudor or early Stuart purse or sweet bag with a connection to Mary, Queen of Scots sold for £30,000 (plus 25% buyer’s premium) at a recent sale at Hutchinson Scott.

Christie’s Exceptional sale format offers works across a wide range of different categories that are notable for their quality, rarity, provenance or a combination thereof.

Coloured Vuittonite canvas – in yellow, red, green, black or orange – usually appears on trunks made from 1900-20.

A rarity spotted in the Summer Gallery Auction at Hartzell’s (24% buyer’s premium) on July 29 was a pair of early 20th century women’s evening shoes with appliques by the Wiener Werkstätte.

A single-owner collection of 37 pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage formed part of Sworders’ (25% buyer’s premium) Design sale.

The largest private collection of Louis Vuitton trunks ever to come to auction was sold by Christie’s Paris (26% buyer’s premium) earlier this year.

The first section of the Dominic Winter (20% buyer’s premium) Historic Textiles & Antiques auction on July 26 contained 33 lots of textiles from the collection of the Quaker antiquary Martha Spriggs and her descendants.

A pale blue and white striped garment offered at Martin & Pole’s (22% buyer’s premium) General Auction on August 7 was simply described as an “antique silk dress, appears in a photograph worn by Esther Palmer in around 1925”.

Leslie Verrinder started with an accessories stall in Camden but is now a happy fixture in Alfies Antique Market on Church Street, north-west London.

The colours and designs of Qing dynasty robes were designed to convey rank and entitlement.