Daphne Guinness at FIT, Serendipity at Angel Street Thrift

I covet Daphne Guinness' fearless Cruella de Vil look, her eccentric style and glamor, but especially her incredibly exotic collection of avant garde couture. Pieces from her extensive fashion art collection are on exhibit at The Museum of F.I.T., ending tonight, and include works from Alexander McQueen, Valentino, Dior, Gareth Pugh, and Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, as well as several of her own designs.

 

 From Daphne's playlist, a little Bach from Glenn Gould:

Gareth Pugh silver metallic foil 

dress and hooded cape

H. Hunstman tuxedo 

 Rick Owens sleeveless evening coat

Step into her heel-less sparkly shoes and you add a foot to your height. Button up in her pint-sized jackets and you are able to take the world by storm.  My favorites? The tiny menswear cutaway tuxedo from H. Huntsman and impeccable top hat, the japonoise chopine shoes from McQueen, the black and white corsetery jackets from Dolce e Gabbano and the feathers and sparkle that comprised or just added serious bling to outfits. Divided into six themes, from Dandyism to Armor, to Exoticism to Sparkle, to Chic and Evening Chic, the quirky and talented style icon and brewery heir's passion for fashion makes you thirsty for more.

 Noritaka Tatehana heel-less platforms of red crystals and gold metal studs

 Serendipitously, walking from the exhibit, we came upon a sample sale of very Daphne-esque jewels at Angel Street Thrift shop on West 17th, priced from a dollar and up.

As Daphne has famously (infamously?) said: "We need better things, not more. We should not pollute the world with meaningless, unused things when we can make and support things of rare and precious beauty."

We did not consume.