April 23, 2024

DRESSCODE: VERSACE

Mr. Gianni Versace was driven by extravagance and so was Nomi Malone, and neither of them are what you’d call subtle. Since 1978, the Versace family have been designing empowering clothes, elegant accessories and exquisite household goods made for people who aren’t afraid to break the rules; something Nomi Malone knows well.  

If you’ve not had the pleasure of getting to know her at switchblade point, Nomi (played by Elizabeth Berkley) is the main character in Showgirls, a deeply misunderstood satire movie about a grifter who is down on her luck. She moves to the City of Sin, Las Vegas, to leave her mark and make it big - and she certainly does - with a little help from Versace along the way. 

Elizabeth had suggested during filming that she mispronounce Versace as Ver-sayce, mainly because a small town girl wouldn’t know how to say the fashion house name, but the pop culture joke which has since made fashion history goes deeper than that. It’s not that someone classy doesn’t know how to say Versace, it's because that person wouldn’t be wearing it in the first place. As supermodel maker Gianni himself once said, 

Versace was inspired by the knights of ye olde medieval times, his seamstress mother and fashionable platinum blonde sister and above all, the ever watchful Medusa. The Medusa represents the brand in that once you look into her eyes and fall in love, there is no way back. 

Versace celebrates the female form rather than eliminates it and all forms of royalty have donned the Italian don dresses - from Elizabeth Hurley wearing THAT dress to Princess Diana, who attended Gianni Versace’s untimely funeral just before her own. 

Now available online is a selection of blouses with broad masculine shoulders mixed with softer feminine shapes, reminiscent of a Goddess statue in the Versace hometown of Reggio Calabria, or even the “ancient” Roman statues at Caesars Palace on the Vegas strip. So if anyone says to you, “Oh I love THAT blouse, where did you get it?”  You can proudly say, “Oh this? It’s a Ver-sayce from Recess.” 


 

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Vintage Oscar de la Renta Domed Gripoix Scalloped Cocktail Ring front @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Domed Gripoix Scalloped Cocktail Ring on mannequin hand @recess la
Domed Gripoix Scalloped Cocktail Ring
Domed Gripoix Scalloped Cocktail Ring
Domed Gripoix Scalloped Cocktail Ring

OSCAR DE LA RENTA

Domed Gripoix Scalloped Cocktail Ring

$159
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Plum Candy Drops Ring front @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Plum Candy Drops Ring on mannequin hand @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Plum Candy Drops Ring detail @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Plum Candy Drops Ring band @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Plum Candy Drops Ring cartouche @recess la

OSCAR DE LA RENTA

Plum Candy Drops Ring

$129
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Baroque Shell Ring front @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Baroque Shell Ring on mannequin @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Baroque Shell Ring detail @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Baroque Shell Ring view of inner ring @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Baroque Shell Ring cartouche @recess la

OSCAR DE LA RENTA

Baroque Shell Ring

$125
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Pinks Mixed Cut Crystal Ring front @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Pinks Mixed Cut Crystal Ring on mannequin hand @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Pinks Mixed Cut Crystal Ring detail @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Pinks Mixed Cut Crystal Ring view of inner ring @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Pinks Mixed Cut Crystal Ring signature @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Pinks Mixed Cut Crystal Ring inner discoloration @recess la

OSCAR DE LA RENTA

Pinks Mixed Cut Crystal Ring

$135
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Greens Mixed Cut Crystal Ring front @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Greens Mixed Cut Crystal Ring on mannequin hand @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Greens Mixed Cut Crystal Ring detail @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Greens Mixed Cut Crystal Ring inner ring @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Greens Mixed Cut Crystal Ring signature @recess la

OSCAR DE LA RENTA

Greens Mixed Cut Crystal Ring

$135
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Yellows Mixed Cut Crystal Ring front @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Yellows Mixed Cut Crystal Ring on mannequin hand @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Yellows Mixed Cut Crystal Ring detail @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Yellows Mixed Cut Crystal Ring inner half ring @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Yellows Mixed Cut Crystal Ring interior @recess la
Vintage Oscar de la Renta Yellows Mixed Cut Crystal Ring signature @recess la

OSCAR DE LA RENTA

Yellows Mixed Cut Crystal Ring

$135