Few fashion terms are as misused by the masses as couture. It’s a phenomenon Juliana Cairone, owner of Manhattan boutique Rare Vintage, encounters often. “A lot of people think they have couture,” she says of her scouting trips. “But you get there and it ends up being Ungaro Parallel or something.” Thus, when a woman happened into her 57th Street shop claiming to have trunks of couture at home, Cairone was skeptical at best. Turned out she hit the haute jackpot — the shopkeeper made a house call and walked away with several pieces of true blue Chanel haute couture, including her favorite piece-of-the-moment, a black jacket trimmed in curly ivory feathers, from the Seventies, during the tenure of Yvonne Dudel and Jean Cazaubon. Check Cairone’s blog, rarevintageinc.com, for back story and sales updates on Rare Vintage stock.
