Emporium Style: Halston, Just Like Mom Used to Wear

Fashion Emporium Editor — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:30:17 EST

When I was a little girl, my grandma had a picture of my Aunts and my mom on top of her giant wooden console television. It was my Aunt Darlene's wedding, if memory serves me correctly. I used to stare at that picture. In this photo, my mom, who wasn't one to dress up in her later years, was wearing a long sleeve, rust color floor length deep v-neck gown. I don't know for sure if it was Halston. Mom wasn't into labels, but it sure was reminiscent of the classic Halston disco dresses of the 70's. Combined with her long parted in the middle hair, wooden platform heels (which I wore as part of a Halloween costume as a teen, but now wish I still had) she looked so beautiful to me. I haven't seen that photograph in years, but I looked at it so much, its permanently in my mind.

With the Oscars coming up, and in honor of my mother, I decided to put together a layout of both vintage and current Halston.

Roy Halston was said to be the first designer to see the potential in licensing himself. Like Diane von Furstenberg, he learned that over saturation and handing over your business can have its down sides. In 1984, he was fired from his own company and lost the right to sell clothes under his own name. That doesn't mean he didn't create an unforgettable and highly identifiable aesthetic. Jackie Kennedy's pill box hat at the 1961 inaguration--that was Halston. And that long silky dress that I mentioned above was Halston's signature.

The label was revived in 2008, with Versace designer Marco Zanini as creative chief and the line had mixed reviews. This past season, Fall 2010, Marios Schwab stepped in to face the same criticisms. Sarah Jessica Parker was just added to the roster as creative director and president and it was announced today that Halston will give its men's label another go. Still, the long classic gowns stand out among any of the newest attempts to create "a new classic."

1) Vintageous 2) Netaporter 3) Posh Vintage 4) Memphis Vintage 5) Swank Vintage

6) Rusty Zipper

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Emporium Style: Halston, Just Like Mom Used to Wear