It's been in a lot of museum exhibits. Watnick credits Ryder, Demi Moore and supermodel Naomi Campbell for boosting the popularity of vintage clothing. Moore was one of the first to bring vintage couture to the Oscars when she wore a gorgeous 1940s silver gown from Lily to the '92 awards. And Watnick still receives calls from clients who want a dress like the 1959 fringy, beaded white Edward Sebesta dress Ryder wore to the 1994 Oscars - but there aren't any others. Lily, the grand dame of vintage fashion, is stockpiled with designer pieces from A to Z, a virtual museum of au couture gowns unavailable anywhere else, except possibly in Paris and the attics of high society's best-dressed women, who may ultimately sell them to the store.
Celebrities appreciate the scarcity of vintage and the wide range of styles it offers.
It's what personally motivates you. Decades, another vintage couture store catering to Hollywood's chic and famous, is more known for modern '60s and '70s styles from Gucci, Pucci, Ossie Clark and Rudi Gernreich. Proprietor Cameron Silver opened the Melrose Avenue boutique three years ago and regularly sells to Ryder, Courtney Love, Gina Gershon, Cameron Diaz, Rose McGowan, Marilyn Manson, David Arquette and Jennifer Tilly. Chic people wear vintage clothing. As evidence of vintage finding a more legitimate place in fashion, the store is opening a boutique this month inside Barney's New York on Madison Avenue.