The Pechuga Blog

   *Cracks knuckles* It’s been a while, eh? I told my assistant, Sophia, that if I didn't knock this Paris shopping list outta the way this week there was absolutely nothing else I would be doing (ie. posting). It's the guide that's been a long time comin' (for about a year now) and for the reader who left a comment on a recent Pechuga IG post asking where this list was, this article is actually just for you (no, I'm serious) and well, for anyone else that may find themselves in Paris in the fall or in the future, hope you find this guide helpful. 

Stop, why is this literally me at my desk right now?

    For the first Pechuga Paris shopping guide click here! This first entry will give you a bit of info. as to why I travel to Paris often and you'll find a resource of 10 vintage spots that I personally shop at all located in the City of Light. 

She is truly that wonderful 

   I divided my 2019 Paris guide into three sections but this time around I actually visited more specialized shops and less dépôt ventes "consignment shops" (although I'm sure some of these vintage stores below do take in some consigned pieces ). This year's guide will start with my go-to (Vintage 77) and then the newest discoveries. Just like my first Pechuga Paris guide I'll use the $$$ to denote the price range of the shops listed, with three dollar signs being the highest. 

Vintage 77 $$

77 rue de Ménilmontant, 75020 Paris, France

   This shop sits in the middle of a steep incline in the 20th arrondissement and I make it a point to come here every time I find myself in Paris, in 2008, when I was a student at Sciences Po. Vintage 77 was the place I made my first Parisian vintage purchase, a Lanvin scarf with a portrait of Louis XIV. The store owner, Djenette, is super sweet and super welcoming. She'll tell you about the quartier's doings & what she thinks of current French affairs whilst giving you a brief lesson on the uniforms that Balenciaga made for Air France in the 60's. 

Me and the Pechuga girls pulling up in our best Cristóbal

   At Vintage 77 you'll find your classics : Dior, Courrèges, and Leonard. However, if you dig long enough you will bump into some Comme des Garçons and Issey. This time around I found a vintage Mugler skirt suit in impeccable shape and I absolutely had to bring it home with me. You can follow Vintage 77 on IG @vintage77menilmontant. 

Thanx God I'm a V.I.P. $$$

12 Rue de Lancry, 75010 Paris, France

   This place was recommended to me by a couple of people in the Pechuga DMs and when I was shopping around Paris it was the one place that others kept recommending as well so I decided to go check it out for myself. The store itself is actually very spacious & everything, no I mean everything, is organized by color and neatly placed. The walls are painted a light graphite and that gives the store a very crisp, modern feel. You can actually take a virtual tour of the store by clicking on the name above. 

See? Chic. 

  What you'll find here : you'll see giant Chanel and Hermès carrés decorating the store fronts & if you walk all the way to the back of the boutique you'll be greeted by a very chic in-store café with a lush green wall serving as a backdrop while you shop. Labels and pieces seen her include: YSL, Claude Montana, Versace kimonos, Hermès cardigans, Gucci bags, and 1940's style pieces (some vintage and some vintage inspired). You can follow the shop on Instagram @thanxgodimavip. I recommend coming here with a lot of time because if you're anything like me you'll want to look at every single piece and trust me, there's a lot!

 Linda Evangelista for Hermès SS90

Vintage Clothing Paris $

10 Rue de Crussol, 75011 Paris, France

   As the store's name would suggest, the findings at Vintage Clothing Paris are pretty straightforward! Tanis, the owner of Vintage Star Paris brought me here and I have to tell y'all that the prices are good! There were a couple of gems here and there, to this day I'm still thinking of these Claude Montana suede opera gloves with metal studs & as I write this I'm kicking myself for not buying them. 

The way I can feel this Montana model judging me for not buying those gloves

  The store's owner, Briggite Petit, is quintessentially French, and will occasionally seem animated when she sees you looking at a piece she loves. Standouts here included a Vivienne Westwood cotton twill skirt from SS98, "Tied to the Mast" and a bubblegum pink Chanel cardigan (this latter piece I had to take home with me). You can follow the shop on Instagram @vintageclothingparis.

Simonetta Gianfelici for Vivienne Westwood SS98

Gaijin $$ 

20 Rue du Pont aux Choux, 75003 Paris, France

  Gaijin (外人) is the Japanese word for 'foreigner' and a term used to describe a non-Japanese citizen living in Japan. Located in the heart of the Marais, this boutique specializes only in Japanese designers. I found this shop because I was recommended by others to explore the street Pont aux Choux. Labels you can find here : Comme des Garçons, Sacai, and plenty of Issey Miyake, 

  Word of advice: the Marais has some of the best niche boutiques in Paris, if you have a day (and the energy) to spend some hours walking I highly recommend making this arrondissement a destination to explore. You'll be pleasantly surprised! You can follow Gaijin on Instagram @gaijinparis. 

Maëlee in Issey Miyake Windcoat from Gaijin, shot by Audrey Mballa

Selection Marais $$

26 Rue de Poitou, 75003 Paris, France

  I think that out of all of the new shops I discovered during this trip, Selection Marais has got to be my favorite one. The store owner is Alban Bardin and he was actually there the day that I walked in. Selection Marais is the type of boutique where you really want to take a look at every single garment because every other piece is a surprise.

  I remember grabbing a dress off the rack and Bardin looked over at me and said, "Lady Gaga wore that in House of Gucci, you know."

 Bardin as Gaga in Tirelli & Me as Leto in Selection Marais

  Indeed it was the exact Umberto Tirelli polka dotted number Gaga donned in the flick. I picked up another piece, a Versace dress with a Byzantine cross on it and Bardin again looked over and told me,

  "I have one of the original pieces from AW91 and you know Kourtney Kardashian just wore a yellow bustier from Versace with that same cross motif."

  I glanced at his direction and said with a smile, "Yeah! She bought that from me!"

    And that's when we burst out laughing and started bonding over our shared annoyance with product shots and the mutual frustrations that we both feel when we got ahold of mistreated garments.

   "How could anyone treat these pieces like this? It's unacceptable", Bardin exclaimed.

   We made plans to hang out for Bastille Day, the 14th of July, but weren't able to coordinate due to the ongoing festivities. You can follow Selection Marais on Instagram @selection_marais. 

Studio W $$

21 Rue du Pont aux Choux, 75003 Paris, France 

   Another gem that I found on Pont aux Choux, Studio W is the last store in this guide and the one stop I highly recommend making. It's also in the Marais and in walking distance from Gaijin. The owner, William Moricet, was present the day I walked in. The boutique is very well organized, mind you there is a lot to look at, so come here with some time. The store front is highly decorated, on the day that I visited there were a lot of Paco Rabanne chainmail pieces and if y'all know me I'm like a moth to flame when it comes to vintage maille. 

   Moricet is very quiet in the beginning but is super friendly once he opens up, I asked him if he knew where I could go get my shoes fixed (my Balenciaga boots broke during my visit) and Moricet was very helpful & suggested I visit his personal cobbler just some streets over. 

   At Studio W you'll find plenty of gems! Jean Paul Gaultier from the late 80's, Thierry Mugler from the early 90's, Lolita Lempicka from the mid-90's, and early 2000's Galliano for Dior. There are two main rooms, the main one, where most of the RTW will be found hanging off all four walls of the boutique and then a back room, much smaller, where Moricet sits at amongst a sea of shoes and bags. 

Moi je m'appelle, Lolita (Lempicka)

   You can follow Studio W on Instagram @williammoricet. 

La Fin

   Looks like we've come to end of this guide! Thank you so much for reading I had a lot of fun revisiting these places from memory. Paris,  just like any other big city, can sometimes be a bit overwhelming so here are some tips on how to shop and break the ice with some of the boutique owners. A kind greeting will take you far, remember you're going into people's space where they work, a polite smile will be enough to show mutual respect. Don't bring food or drinks into any of the stores, an accident could be costly. Ask before taking pictures, yes, trying on the clothes in the dressing room is half of the fun but as a courtesy ask the shop owner if taking pics. is OK (more than half the time they'll say yes). 

   Lastly, don't be shy! Ask the boutique owners for their favorite spots, they may recommend you other shops that their friends own, or their go-to spots around the neighborhood for good eats and drinks. As the saying goes, closed mouths don't get fed! So go, eat and life is short, girl, just buy the vintage shoes. A la prochaine!

xx

Johnny Valencia

Pechuga Vintage

How It Starts

   I have a couple of lingering obsessions that sort of carousel in my mind. It’s the only way to describe it. I’ll be sitting peacefully (whatever that means) when a random thought will enter my mind. 

“Vivienne Westwood’s Boulle print. Find it.” 

   I’m a fervent believer that if you look for something hard enough you’ll eventually find it, right? But patience is really the name of the game. My obsession with Vivienne Westwood's Boulle Print began back in 2017. I was still working for Westwood and while the collection that was in store at the time had its standout pieces I wanted to see what else was out there.

The Phase Out

  At this point the English designer had phased out corsets in the shop, I remember one frantic memo that stated all corsets were to be taken off the sales floor and that no new single ones were going to be produced. That got me wondering, well if we're phasing these pieces out what else is out there that this company is no longer going to produce?

   In my quest I was able to locate a corset from Les Femmes SS96 and a shirt from AW90/91 Portrait. I recall opening up the two packages and the feeling was indescribable. I felt as if I'd traveled back in time. The fabric of the Portrait shirt was so rich and the Les Femmes corset actually did what it was supposed to do, it was boned and it was in the most precious champagne color I'd ever seen. Bitch. I was hooked. The Boulle print shirt actually fit me so I ran to the dressing room at work to try it on. When I came out I declared it was the single most beautiful piece of clothing that had ever graced my supple skin. My coworkers didn't understand why I was so enamored. I felt gorgeous. 

Wendy in VW AW90/91 for Pechuga shot & styled by Johnny Valencia 

   From that point on I would stay after work (we'd finish at 7 pm) combing the internet for listings (sometimes until 2 in the morning) seeing what other Vivienne Westwood pieces I could get my hands on. It was one morning that I found a Boulle print bomber. It was in the UK but there was only one catch. The price tag on it was almost one week and half's worth of pay. I thought, fuck. But then I thought, fuck it.

   Now my friends, these are two different types of "fucks". One is said in a defeatist, sort of downtrodden attitude. The other one is comparable only to the feeling of release, a resignation to the powers that be. 

I Needed My Fix

   So I bought the bomber (this would be considered the latter "fuck" in case there was any confusion) and now I had 3 rare Westwood pieces that held value only to me (or so I thought). I want to note that at this point in time I wasn't purchasing these pieces to resell. However, with the amount that I was spending I soon realized that if I wanted to keep on buying more I needed to unload some items. 

   Now with the bomber in tow it was the Boulle print corset that I was after. Naturally I found one. I believe it was from Westwood's Salon collection of SS92. It was a bright purple satin with gold foil. But I had ran into the most unresponsive seller.

Vivienne Westwood AW90/91 "Boulle" print Corset at Pechuga

Please Just Take My Money

   Unresponsive sellers are the bane of any collector's existence. There's nothing worse than finding a piece only to deal with a seller who reads messages days later or worse never reads their messages at all. Such was the case with this Boulle print corset. The seller never read her messages and by the time she decided to reply back it was only to tell me that the piece had sold elsewhere. Fuck. Remember the two types of "fucks" we just went over? Well this was the former "fuck" for sure. 

Wendy in VW AW95 for Pechuga shot & styled by Johnny Valencia

   What had I done to deserve this? Me. The innocent collector. 

   I should've known that this wasn't going to be the first or last time I'd experience a similar fate. Earlier this year I put an offer on the table for $8,000 for a pair of Vivienne Westwood, Super Elevated Ghillie shoes in patent pink leather (I'd been watching the shoes for 6 months) and the seller agreed but fell with a case of cold feet (no pun intended) and pleaded "emotional attachment" and chose to keep the shoes.

Vivienne Westwood AW90/91 corset & matching shawl

   I had no choice but to wish the seller a good day and go on about my business (literally). I actually cried that night, a fact that I am not embarrassed to admit. 

"Pull over. Pull over NOW!" 

   It was the 29th of March of this year, my assistant Yael and I were driving back from an errand late at night when it happened. 

   The Boulle print corset, in the same color as my bomber popped up on my phone screen. I shrieked. I needed counseling.

   I turned to Yael and said, "Yael they want $3,000 for it."

   Yael just said, "Oh, girl."

   "I have to have it. I have to have it. YAEL. Pull over, park the car." 

   Remember those shoes that I wanted to buy for $8,000? Well in the midst of trying to purchase those I was left with what I consider to be a fairly sizable spending budget. I can wing $3,000, right? I went ham. It was a revenge buying spree all in the name of business. 

   I waited two months to open the package that the Boulle corset had come in. I wanted the unboxing to be special. Plus I had found another piece to the puzzle: a shawl with the same Boulle motif. So now I had the bomber, the corset, and the shawl but it wasn't enough. I needed bottoms, something to really drive the look home. 

Vivienne Westwood Boulle print as seen in "Portrait" AW90/91

   But how do you simply "find" it? I get a lot of requests from clients asking me to source pieces for them but I don't know if clients know the extensive research that goes into locating an item and that's totally fine- after all it's my job, right? And then it happened again. 

   June 14th (just last month) aka the fateful day I found the leggings. However, these weren't just any leggings. They had everything I needed. They were the matte black that matched my corset and my bomber, they weren't as elaborate in print but they had the Boulle reference at the shins. Oh, and did I mention that the leggings were dead stock? They came with a whimsical postcard and in their original 90's packaging. Safe to say the transaction was complete even before I had pressed "Add to Cart". 

Done

Vivienne Westwood Boulle bomber, corset and leggings

   But are we? What does it mean to be "done" in this business? The pursuit is never ending. While I know that it's not possible to collect every single Boulle print piece on the market I find comfort in knowing that I was able to complete a set that I felt represented my love for Westwood's "Portrait" collection. 

   And onto the next obsession we go. 

Wendy in AW90/91 Portrait & reissue Court Pumps & reissue Adam motif trunks for Pechuga styled and shot by Johnny Valencia

Thank you for reading! 

Johnny Valencia

Owner

Pechuga Preface

   I want to first start by thanking the Roberto Cavalli archive for trusting me with this piece and by thanking Kris Fe for believing in Pechuga’s mission which is to teach and share fashion. Please note the views expressed in this article are solely my own.

On This Day in Fashion...

   I started yesterday’s Roberto Cavalli unveiling video with the question,  “what were you doing in 2002 ?”, for a reason. In 2002 I was 13 going on 14 escaping middle school in Los Angeles to go to high school on the West Side. Freshman year was going to start anew, I was going to get a girlfriend and everything was going to be great. 

   It was around this time that Christina Aguilera released “Dirrty” and everyone lost their shit. So this is what had been hiding in that genie’s bottle this whole time? Wow. Who knew? However, I still think I was slightly more oblivious than others. I grew up in an extremely conservative household. I wasn’t allowed to watch or listen to music from the time that I was about 10 to 14 years old. How did I even know about Christina Aguilera? I had a portable radio player and I would sneakily listen to my “ungodly” music on it.  When my mom would ask me what I was listening to I’d tell her they were church hymns. Now fast forward to the first year of high school. 

To Our Lady Xtina We Pray

The Dirrty Years

   Two thousand two was the year my world exploded with pop culture and I was a sponge that soaked it all up. However, there was one event that stood out from the rest, the music video to Christina Aguilera’s “Dirrty” featuring Redman, I was blown away, the song was epic, the imagery-  I didn’t even know people were allowed to dance like that. I swore I was in love with Xtina, she was going to be the girl that I would tell others I had a crush on and everyone would believe me then that I was straight. 

Haaay girlfriend!

   Come to find out I was really just extremely gay and mistook loving  Xtina to actually wanting to look like her, particularly at that time whe she introduced us to her alter ego. The “Dirrty” music video, which was directed by David LaChappelle and released on September 30, 2002, had it all: assless chaps, gyrating shower orgies, and….Redman? There was no in between you either loved the video or you hated it. Fans were shocked, Time called the video a gathering at an “intergalactic hooker convention” and Entertainment Weekly called Aguilera “desperate and shrill".

   Transforming into  Xtina really changed the course of Aguilera’s musical career. The impact trickled down, however. Amidst the backlash that the video received, the American artist would scoff and point out that she was the one in control in the music video and that critics weren’t comfortable when the male gaze was flipped. A bare-naked girl in a music video with a voice? The world wasn’t ready for it but Aguilera didn’t care. 

   But while the singer was taking control of her own image, empowering herself and other women at the same time, I just sat in the corner and thought, “Damn. I think I’m gay.” There was no denying the influence that Xtina had on culture at the time, she proved to have vocal range to be taken seriously as a singer but it was her smashing the image of the sweet girl-next-door that took everyone aback. 

   Now I’m not saying that Xtina’s “Dirrty” music video made me gay (lol) but it did open up my eyes to a world I didn’t know existed or was acceptable (do you see where I’m going here?). Being told your whole life you have to act or look a certain way is tiring. On that level I related to the alter ego that Aguilera had created. But what if it wasn’t an alter ego? What if that was her way of breaking free? As a closeted gay kid I felt the need to do the same. I needed to embrace my inner Xtina. 

This outfit alone was a cry for help

VH1 Best of 2002 Awards

   It was the month of December when the VH1 Best of 2002 Awards celebrated the year’s wildest moments in entertainment. It was an anything goes event and Aguilera was set to perform but not before she showed up in that red Roberto Cavalli number. Xtina shocked people yet again. The ice blond hair on top of the jet back extensions, the tan, and the whittled waist (could she breathe?). She deserved an award for that dress alone. 

Xtina, VH1 Best of 2002, Dec. 4, 2002

   The dress was part of the Roberto Cavalli Spring / Summer 2003 collection that had debuted about a week and a half before the release of the “Dirrty” music video. It was seen on the runway on Danish beauty, Louise Pedersen. The piece which is made of red leather panels, cinches at the back with mile long laces, and has a Victorian-like busk in the center went perfectly with Aguilera’s new image, she may as well have worn it in the music video. Cavalli would later declare Aguilera his muse and in 2007 he designed all 10 costumes for the singer's  “Back to Basics” tour. 

   “You’re gonna die when you see this.” 

   Kris is full of surprises, she’ll come to me with the most fascinating requests and that's when we bond over our love for fashion and art history. When she told me she had styled Madison Beer in the archival dress that Aguilera wore in 2002 I flipped. To my knowledge the dress hadn’t been worn since then. Beer would go on to perform in the same Cavalli dress Xtina wore to a Vevo LIFT performance in December 2020. Iconic all around.

Madison Beer in Roberto Cavalli, Vevo LIFT, SS03 styled by Kris Fe; Dec. 2020

   About two weeks ago I invited Kris to my studio. While we were discussing our upcoming projects this red Cavalli dress came up in conversation (casually). I asked her where the piece was exactly and she told me. I flipped out again. 

“You mean to tell me this masterpiece lives in the same city that I do?!”

   It was at that time that I popped the question. 

“Kris, do you think that the Cavalli archives would let me study and document the dress?” 

   To my surprise the request was approved. Four days later and the dress was hanging in my studio and the wheels in my mind were spinning.     

I could stare at this angle all day

   The dress looked like it could have been painted onto the form. It has a hand-painted tattoo motif (a trend that the 2000’s did not shy away from), it exudes femininity with the lace up detailing in the back, but it looks almost surgical like with the interlacing panels (that look like bandages) and its imposing metal busk in the center. 

Undoing and redoing the laces took about half an hour

    The series of events that led this dress to land in our studio were most definitely random but it made sense that we’d be the ones handling such a rare piece. It was that realization that prompted me to ask the team where they were in 2002. For someone who's obsessed with vintage I rarely like talking about the past, especially when it's too personal, but this was a rare instance wherein I sought insight from my team. My tailor told me he had just arrived to the United States at the age of 15, my assistant told me he had just turned two. Two different generations of queer Latino men in the same room with two vastly different experiences coming together in 2021 for the love of Cavalli, Xtina, and corsets.

   We then proceeded to blast “Dirrty” in the office. 

Legend

   It does not get any gayer than that. 

   Toodles

Thank you for reading and until next time!

Johnny Valencia 

Owner

A Year in the Making

   Monday night as I lay down to sleep I told myself tomorrow was going to be a better day. Something didn’t feel right, however. Was it really going to be a better day? I had to say it out loud. So I said it out loud in Spanish. Mañana será un día mejor. I found that more comforting.

   Being the owner of Pechuga has been tough. I expected the work. I didn’t expect the paperwork, however. Nor did I expect the legal doings and the amount of people that were going to be involved in making this business not only successful but profitable. Oh, right, and a pandemic. I don’t think anyone was expecting that this year. After all wasn’t 2020 supposed to be the year of clarity? But I digress.

   I woke up Tuesday from a DM from Steven La Fuente, Ashley Graham’s stylist, with a link and little heart emojis. The link was to Graham’s “7 Days, 7 Looks Feature” in Vogue, one of my pieces was in it. Tuesday did turn out to be a better day, indeed.

   Any time Pechuga is mentioned anywhere I count it as a blessing (I got called a snake the other day by an anonymous user in the DM’s and even that was a blessing, it means they were thinking of me, I mean they took the time to write the message right?). But any time I’m mentioned in Vogue I’m always surprised. Pechuga, in Vogue? However, this time it wasn’t just any piece that was highlighted in Vogue and it wasn’t just on any person.

   This was a piece a year and a half in the making.

In the Beginning There Was Rosé

   July 2019, 2 bottles of rosé deep (fine maybe three, but who was counting), Jesse (the corset maker behind my Vivienne Westwood corset restorations one and two) was in his studio blasting Saweetie and working on our second project. I was taking pictures of fabrics, labels, I had just approved a $600 DHL customs and fees charge (heads up paying your bills drunk is the best way to go, it’s akin to falling flat on your face after a night of drinking and not feeling a single thing) for another Vivienne Westwood corset.

   This Vivienne Westwood AW90/91 “Portrait” corset needed customs clearance (she would later sell for $12,000, by the way). That’s when I had another idea. The corset trend was in full throttle, Pechuga was spearheading the busty movement forward with rare Westwood corsets that at this point were locked up in museums all over the world but now suddenly found themselves in my hands (in Koreatown out of all places).

   “Why don’t we make our own corset…?” I asked Jesse.

   “Sure.” He said rather bluntly.

   I continued, “…Because, see, I found this dress.”

Pechuga's White Whale

   When I used to work for Vivienne Westwood there was a piece in the shop that I remember being completely enamored by. It was this red lurex corset with the most ostentatious bejeweled appliqués in peridot hues. It was from Vivienne’s SS13 Gold Label show, if I remember correctly it was around $2-3,000.

   The corset was purchased by the daughter of a 70’s rock legend and I have never been able to find the corset ever again. In my weekly quest to locate the red number seen above, I stumbled upon a diamond in the rough.

   Those appliqués! I knew this dress had to be from the same season as that red corset from the shop, I went ahead and purchased the dress and that’s when the wheels started turning. Now you may be wondering why this took a year and half to make? Well because with as much that piles on a daily (mind you, Jesse himself as a full time job) there needed to be a reason to push the project forward, after all I was going to be funding this all by myself (in the back, Shangela’s infamous Drag Race “Sugar Daddy” speech plays softly). 

The Call

   Finally in September of 2020 I got a call, a client needed a corset made for a project she was working on. There were two requests, the corset needed to be a size US 16 and preferably with sleeves. That’s when I called Jesse and we hit the ground running.

Let's Get to It

   I wanted to use as much fabric from the dress as possible, purchasing the dress was a risky investment already. Ruining it by cutting it up was going to break my heart. However, Jesse said this was feasible, he would take the bottom part of the dress and use it as the side and back panels. As soon as we got the measurements from  my client, Jesse started to make the muslin.

   After a couple of days the body of the piece was starting to take shape. Jesse had boned the stomacher and the back. The appliqués had all been rearranged to flatter the shape of the corset better and now it was time to make the sleeves. For the sleeves I asked Jesse to send me some reference images. From the images he sent over I chose the sleeves from a 1770 stays. 

   I particularly loved this 18th century piece because of the soft ribbons at the shoulders. Plus this meant options with our new corset. The wearer can choose to take the sleeves off simply by untying the silk chiffon ribbons. I love having options when I wear certain pieces. My clients should have options as well. 

   Jesse was successful in using most of the fabric for the side and back panels. However we did need to make two more runs to Downtown LA to purchase more fabric, for the sleeves and for the ribbons, and lastly for the zipper closure. I wanted the zipper closure to be sturdy but I also wanted it to look expensive and dainty, I went with a metal teardrop ("Metal Teardrop" is also the name of my new metal rock band, we only wear Westwood, look us up).  

An Emotional Rollercoaster

   From start to finish making this piece was no easy task. There was a pandemic that we had to tip-toe around, fabric stores were operating at irregular hours, zipper shops were essential businesses but somehow trimmings weren't. Throughout the whole process, however, I had my client's expectations in mind and making her happy was really the end goal here. 

   The corset was a success, the client was happy, I crossed off another task on my never-ending bucket list of things I wanted to achieve for Pechuga: design an upcycled piece for the shop. 

                  
 This is what the original SS13 dress looked liked

...and this was the final result

7 Days, 7 Looks with Vogue

   In mid-November I received another DM, it was a pull request for Vogue's newest series, "7 Days, 7 Looks". Ashley Graham was going to be the model featured and they needed looks sized US 14. I always get a bit nervous pitching pieces to clients. My thoughts sometimes betray me. What if they hate my options? Or worse yet, what if I send over options and they tell me that it wasn't what they expected it?

   The Pechuga corset needed some mending, some of the metal boning was sticking out. I was a bit embarrassed to send over a piece with that slight imperfection. But as they say, time waits for no one and when Vogue and Ashley Graham want something uh, you better send. 

   The end result was nothing short of fabulous. Thanks again, Steven, for letting me be a part of this, Ashely for looking stunning, Jesse for bringing my vision to life. Hope you enjoyed the post, fellow reader!

   Until next time. 

xx

Johnny

Pechuga Corset Restoration 101 from Mangy to Marvelous

On the Off Chance:

   Last year in April (when the world’s mood was decidedly calmer and Corona was still just a beer) I got a DM one evening. It was a colleague in the business and she had a very interesting question. 

   I was in Paris at the time, on a buying trip for Pechuga, and I remember I had had a bit too much wine that night. I didn’t see the name of the person who had DM’ed all I saw was a mangled corset.

   “Oh, that looks fake.”

   As a rule of thumb when I come across something that doesn’t sit right- I immediately have to brush it off as a fake. It’s hard to authenticate an item when you’re presented with only pictures. Feeling something, studying the make, the stitching on garments, or the plating and weight (if it’s a jewelry piece, for example) will never take the place of an image. Especially if the image is that of mangled corset on the floor.

Pechuga the Autodidact

   I learn everyday. As I work and source pieces I’m simultaneously doing research. Just because I haven’t seen something before doesn’t mean it didn’t exist or that it wasn’t made, does the authentication of something become harder when the edition is 1/1? Sure. But this is why research is so important.

   Two months went by after I was presented with the image of the corset above- in my mind it was still a bad fake. I was going through some pictures one night in June doing research for Vivienne Westwood menswear and I stumbled upon an image of this : a Vivienne Westwood men’s suit from Spring / Summer 1991, “Cut N’ Slash” from the 2016 “Reigning Men” exhibit at the LACMA. (Side note I helped source a pair of shoes for this exhibit).

   And then I went down a rabbit hole of printed floral appliqué until I found as many references of this printed floral colorway on anything Vivienne Westwood related. That’s when I found this:  another coat from VW "Cut N’ Slash" SS91. 

Men's Coat from "Cut N' Slash" SS91, Vivienne Westwood

   But another image of a men’s coat wasn’t enough - I needed to know if the floral printed appliqué was ever represented on womenswear. When lo and behold! The image that I had been waiting for.

Photo Montage of Vivienne Westwood  SS91 "Cut N' Slash" Show

   I work backwards a lot when I’m doing research and I didn’t study fashion design or art history (I studied economics and foreign languages in college) so a lot of what I encounter is really brand new to me (not to mention the fact that I was still in elementary school when all these shows came out). Through different sources I was able to narrow down the piece I was presented to Westwood’s “Cut N’ Slash” collection. Granted it’s not rocket science what I do for a living but it does take a level of skill (and maybe more obsession) to go through endless amounts of images, videos, and books.

The Frankencorset

   After doing a fair amount of research one night at around 9:00 pm I shot my shot. 

   The seller and I affectionally called this piece a “Frankencorset” because my initial thought (based on the photos) was that the stomacher (the front of the corset) had the fabric sewn on from another garment and stitched onto a plain satin corset (it only took 2 months to prove myself wrong). To my surprise when I DM’ed the seller asking if the piece was still available she said it was still with her (no one wanted to buy a mangled corset, go figure). When I saw the corset in person I audibly gasped. It was misshapen, the side panels were torn and stained, the straps had signs of fraying, and there was boning coming out from the bottom.

Putting in the Work

   I’ve worked on another Vivienne Westwood corset prior to this one. I believe the last one I restored was from “On Liberty” AW95, a gorgeous white lace piece that my corset maker, Jesse, and I totally reworked and restored. This SS91 piece was going to be another challenge so I got on the phone again with Jesse and we started scheming. Here’s what went down.

Risky Business

Bubble baths...but make it fashion

  There’s always a risk when you’re handling a piece, especially one that’s almost 30 years old. Dealing with stains is a bitch (for lack of a better word). Dealing with 30 year old stains? Now that’s a bitch and a half. My main concern with the corset I was handling was the stomacher- fortunately for me the stomacher didn’t have any major stains, the side panels and the back were the real issues but something told me that there was hope. The floral design was printed on silk and embroidered onto silk satin, I figured that if there was any color bleeding then it would’ve happened during the course of 30 years, right? So what could possibly go wrong from here? I delicately hand washed the piece and it gets ruined further? You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

A mess

   To my surprise the majority of stains were lifted. I used a liquid detergent diluted in cold water and let the piece air dry flat on a white towel turning it every hour. Now that the piece was as clean as it could’ve possibly been I noticed the side paneling and the stomacher took on a different luster. This piece used to be gorgeous! Seeing it sort of come back to life compelled me to continue with the project (yeah not gonna lie I almost gave up) and then we really got down to business.

Putting in the Work

The Fabric Shopping

 Silk satin vs. silk chiffon

   Jesse and I made a date to go to Downtown LA and source materials for our project. In the sourcing process we took into consideration several factors. What size did we want this to be? I looked at my sales though and based on that 4/6 US (Italian 40/42) was the best selling size for me in Vivienne Westwood corsets. So we went with that. Fabric composition was then chosen, in order to conform to the body we needed something with stretch but that was going to also retain its shape, we went with silk stretch satin. Color. Did we want to pull a wild card and pick a color that matched the floral print embroidery? Or did we want to stay true to the color of the original piece? I’m a purist. So we went with a champagne color, I wanted this SS91 piece to remain as true to its form as possible. She was getting a face lift after 30 years fitting that it was all being done in Los Angeles.

No these are not the same color

    We then visited another shop to pick the exact same color thread to match the same color fabric we had just chosen and then we bought the boning. As for the zipper in the back we decided to keep the original (hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it).

2 yards of champagne, silk stretch satin, por favor 

   I’m a perfectionist (surprise) but I also let those around me (the experts) take control. Someone once told me: would you take your computer to a mechanic to get it fixed? Obviously not and now I apply that simple logic to everything I do. So I listened to Jesse and the sales assistant at the fabric store and together we all made the best judgment for the piece at hand. I’m still a business and ultimately it was going to be my job to sell this piece. However, there is a degree of creative freedom that I needed to hand over to Jesse and trust that he will do his best to make my vision come to life.

 This is me having a vision…

 The Panels and Pattern

   In college I took a sewing lab class which consisted of me in the dungeon of my university’s costume department. I don’t know why we had a costuming department (it was called "The Enchanted Cellar") in an agricultural college (I went to UC Davis) but there I was 3 hours a week thinking I was going to be the next Valentino Garavani. Jesse, my corset maker, on the other hand knows all the technical sewing and pattern making procedures. This is what he went to school for.

   I love watching Jesse work. He’s so patient and knowledgeable and seeing him makes me proud to know him. He’s Salvadoran like me and being around him feels like family. He has funny quips that he says when he’s not working but takes on a very serious demeanor when I ask him to explain to me what he’s working on next. With this SS91 piece he first started off by taking off the side panels with a seam ripper.

Corset's Anatomy

Boning & More

   Now that we had the fabric and all the corset accoutrements Jesse sketched out the patterns and then started the preliminary steps in putting the SS91 piece back together again.

Let the boning begin

   We had to rebone the back panels, stitch the side panels to the stomacher, rebone the stomacher, then hand-sew pieces that needed to be sewn, and then put the zipper back in place. Seeing as how I don’t know how to do any of those things I decided to pop open a bottle of chilled rosé and pour a glass for Jesse and myself and then let Jesse take the wheel. I saw a lot of steaming, I heard a lot machine sewing sounds, and then the occasional “ouch”. 

A Discovery

   As Jesse was taking the SS91 corset apart I noticed two very odd things. The corset had the label sewn inside of the strap, every single garment I’ve come across has always had a label sewn on the outside. A tiny square piece of fabric with a name is sometimes all you need to start a hunt. In this instance I always wondered why the label was hidden on this garment.

   Side note: When I read Vivienne Westwood’s autobiography I remembered that around 1994/95 Westwood moved her manufacturing to Italy (there was a blip in time where some pieces were even made in China!) The label inside of the Vivienne Westwood SS91 piece we had said “Made in England”, this coincided with the time period and collection I narrowed it down to.

Omg what is that (as said in Cardi's voice)

   Then as we really started taking the piece apart I noticed another thing. Tape! Masking tape on the ends of some of the boning. The piece must have been made in a hurry or it may have been made as a representation only. Was this a sample that I had in my hands? Again I referred back to Westwood’s autobiography and I remember reading that Westwood didn’t have much money in the early 90’s (she actually went bankrupt around this time) and pieces were being assembled backstage before hitting the runway. Could this have been one of those pieces? Could Westwood have touched this piece herself? Who knows. I build a story around every piece in my head with every piece I get and this SS91 piece seemed to be extra special.

 The Final Product

   No Pechuga restoration would be complete without finally going through the master himself, Johnny the tailor. The piece that I had waited off on buying and had done research on, the same piece that had been stripped down to its bare blocks, was almost, almost done. 

Pre-pandemic, non socially distance sussing

   There was just one last part that needed to be fixed that Jesse didn't feel comfortable in mending, there was a fraying that needed to be taken care of one one of the straps and Johnny was the guy to do it. Once this was done it was time to document the piece. 

Jesse took the SS91 piece from this :

 To this:

    After three buying trips, two evenings of research, 48 hours of actual labor, and one visit to the tailor she was done! I photographed the piece, I allowed it to go out for one pull (it wasn't worn), and sold it a collector for $2,100 USD. Given that I had to pay to acquire the piece, purchase all the materials to restore it, pay Jesse for his labor, and finally pay Johnny I thought that this amount was a reasonable price to ask. 

   Ultimately I was very proud of the results, the finalized VW SS91 corset proves wonderful things can be achieved with the right team, trust, and a positive outlook. Moreover, there's nothing that compares to the feeling of seeing something you've envisioned come to life. 

   Until next time, mes amis.  

Johnny Valencia

Owner

Pechuga Does Paris

I remember buying my tickets to Paris in August of 2018. I had just quit my full time job (backstory: I used to work for Vivienne Westwood here in Los Angeles) to focus on Pechuga. I was on the floor of my studio, almost in tears from frustration, setting up my new printer  (orders were coming in and the lack of printer suddenly became very apparent).

Exasperated and very overwhelmed (I had just quit my job and I couldn’t even figure out how to properly install an inkjet printer that, in hindsight, my little nine year old cousin could’ve done for me) I did what any responsible millennial would do and purchased a round trip ticket to Paris for a month. I immediately printed out a photo of the Eiffel Tower (with my newly installed printed) and pinned it on one of my boards. I would be leaving April 1st, 2019. 

But why did I choose France for my first buying destination? Allow me to elaborate…

Isn't She Lovely *Plays in the Background*

The Two Boards

I have two boards in my studio. One is a white board where I write my daily tasks and daily affirmations, the other is a cork board where I put photos of my long term goals and yearly reminders. On my white board hung the photo of the Eiffel Tower I had just printed out (see above). I stared at this picture for the next seven months to come. It was basically a reminder to get up off my butt and work. Even when I didn’t want to. And boy did it do the trick.

On my cork board I had this photo pinned:

 A Mood and a Vibe

It was a happy woman in a bikini with a man taking a photo of her. I cut this image out back in January of 2018 at my friend Nike’s “mood board” party. I know nothing about the image (trust me I tried researching it just now) but I made this scenario in my head that this woman in a bikini was in the South of France somewhere, living her best life. I figured that if I saw this image every other month it would soon come true, right? I could be that woman in the South of France, chilling, smoking a cigarette and getting my photo taken. By the way the gold, sun pin seen here is from Christian Lacroix (a Paris find). 

“Fuck This I’m Going to Paris”

I speak French fluently, I’ve been studying the language since I was a kid and studied all sorts of fun things in France back in 2008 for a year at Sciences Po. Paris. When I graduated college and finally ended up working for Vivienne Westwood as a Wholesale Account Exec. I begged the company to send me to Milan for the MAN show. When the Gold Label shows came around I begged the company again to send me to Paris. I also speak Italian fluently (to major in I.R. I had to take another foreign language and Italian sounded spunky so I was like, why not) so I figured I could take wholesale orders down in both Paris and Milan seamlessly. 

“No!”, that was always the response I’d get from my boss, Isaac, at the time. He told me I was better suited to work in LA (a backhanded compliment if I ever heard one). Only once was I sent out of Los Angeles- to New York- to set up the newest Vivienne Westwood NY boutique. A trip that was supposed to be over in a week turned into a month. My boss, Isaac, forgot to book my ticket back to Los Angeles that time- you can imagine my surprise when I tried to check in at JFK (looking back on it I had a very funny relationship with Westwood corporate).

"NO! You're staying in LA!"

Anyway, this trip to France was monumental for me. It was my big “fuck you” moment to my LA bosses at Westwood. If Vivienne would never send me out to Paris then fuck it, I was going to send myself. With my own business. The mission? To buy all the cute vintage Vivienne (and Versace) in sight.

Some months later after my decision to go to Paris, Viktor & Rolf showcased their SS19 couture collection (in Paris, where else) and one of the dresses really spoke to me. 

It was like the universe was trying to tell me something, or whateva'

The Trip

Alright. If you’ve read this far, wow, thanks for reading my rant- hopefully it gave y’all some insight as to why I decided to book it to France for a month. I didn't stay in Paris for the whole month, however. From Paris I took off to London, then back to Paris, then off to Marseille with a day trip to Aix-en-Provence, only to return to Paris for Los Angeles. I got into heaps of trouble in each city but for the sake of the business we’re gonna keep it PG-13 on the blog.

La Tour de Pechuga

The List

Of course the list everyone has been waiting for. In the IG stories the one question that kept on popping up was, “Hey Pechuga, where are you shopping?” Et voilà ! So I went ahead and compiled a list for you beautiful people.

I’ve divided the list like so:  

1. Dépôt Ventes (consignment shops)

• Dépot Vente Luxe
• Cœur de Luxe
• Scarlett Vintage
• Vintage 77

1. The shops in Les Puces de Saint-Ouen ( Saint-Ouen Flea Market)

• Les Merveilles de Babellou
• de Laurentis Paris
• Chez Sarah

1. And online / IG (based in Paris)

• Nina Gabbana Vintage
• Vintage Star-Paris
• Byronesque

The Dépôt Ventes

So the dépôt ventes in Paris are essentially consignment stores on crack. There are the really niche, higher end ones that will have brands alphabetized from Alaïa to Zandra Rhodes, some that only specialize in certain brands (think floor to ceiling Chanel), and a few charming ones that I’ve been visiting since 2008.

The $$$ will denote the price with three dollar signs denoting the highest price.

My friend Ian, @ian_archives, took me around one weekend to some of his favorite spots. Here’s where we went: 

Dépot Vente Luxe $$$

14 Rue de la Tour, 75016 Paris, France

This shop is divided into two different boutiques, the womenswear (which is the biggest) and the men’s which is conveniently located across the street. The women’s shop comprises of 2 huge street level sections and 2 massive sections underground. You walk in and you don’t even know where to begin, which can be incredibly overwhelming so I suggest you come here with time. Lots of time.

The racks are all alphabetized and there’s an abundance of pretty much anything under the sun. One rack, for example, had Jean’s by Jean Paul Gaultier, Gaultier Femme, Gaultier Maille, Gaultier Soleil, and more Gaultier to make your head spin. There was also a lot of Karl Lagerfeld. Chanel by Karl, Chloé by Karl, Fendi by Karl - Karl by Karl!

There is a salesperson in each section and they were very friendly. The basement level section was just madness. Some pieces did have signs that said, “Ask For Assistance”, but these were the sable fur coats at 17-20,000€. Girl, did they mean financial assistance? 

Ian and I then decided to visit the men’s store across the street. Here you had to be buzzed in. The layout of the shop was a little peculiar, like a short, narrow hallway with a glass room that took up most of the shop’s space. The room is secured with another door that is locked, where the watches and jewelry are housed. There was a basement level, too, with a winding narrow stairway. Again, come here with lots of time to spare.  

Coeur de Luxe $$$

21, rue de l’Annonciation, 75016 Paris, France

Go here for Chanel bags, jewelry, and RTW. You’ll find contemporary Chanel, 90’s and 2000’s Chanel, and pieces from Gabrielle Chanel's atelier. I’m not even kidding. I remember there was a proper vintage yellow bouclé jacket that served as the inspo. for all the brightly colored cropped, tweed jackets of Chanel SS1995 and when I tell you that I died. 

 Linda Evangelista, Chanel SS95

And when I came back to life I looked to my left and there hanging off the wall was a FULL après ski Chanel suit. The full look. Jacket and all. I considered purchasing the set then and there. But then I was like, OK chill. Be sensible and think of the LA market and where you are. Lugging a full ski suit from CDG to LAX was just not the most ideal of situations. But hey- if you have enough space go for it.

I have to say the best part of Cœur de Luxe was the set up. You can tell that shopkeeper, Alexandra Leleu, really takes her time in curating the right pieces and maintains the space as shoppable as possible. Clutter is far too common in this business and there's a fine line between eclectic and messy. 

Scarlett Vintage $$

5 Rue de la Renaissance, 75008 Paris, France

Next and final stop with Ian. Scarlett Vintage. Ian, my vintage shopping guide, told me about this very eccentric woman who owned Scarlett. Now, I don’t remember if Scarlett was the shopkeepers name but when we finally arrived at the boutique's storefront the first thing that jumped out at me was a pair of Galliano gazette print jeans. I knew I had to go in!

Only problem: CLOSED. PLEASE CALL +33….

This is the thing with the smaller shops in Paris. The smaller the shop the more erratic and unpredictable the hours are going to be. Scarlett was closed just ‘cause (*shrugs*) and on the front door was a cell number to call directly. So I did just that. I asked the raspy voice that answered if the boutique was going to be open tomorrow. She said yes. So Ian and I decided to come back.

Insanity. The woman that received us had this ginormous sea-shell covered (I don’t even know what to call it) desk (?) near her register. For some reason that’s what stuck out to me the most upon entering. But what was inside the shelves of this Little Mermaid prop was the best part. YSL and more YSL. YSL from the 80’s, YSL by Tom Ford, and Chanel. CRAMMED and twisted in this perfectly chaotic luster.

YSL by Tom Ford Mombasa Belt

This lady knew her stuff and I was very impressed at the selection of items she had. There was just a lot to look at so your eyes jumped from one corner to another making it a bit difficult to focus on what treasure may have been right in front of you. 

Vintage 77 $$

77 rue de Ménilmontant, 75020 Paris, France

My heart! So a little bit about this shop. When I lived in Paris back in 2008 I would walk up and down the Rue de Ménilmontant (my apartment was ALL the way up the hill) and I would pass by this store on a daily. One day I noticed this gorgeous blue Lanvin scarf with a print of Louis XIV in the window and I thought to myself, “I need to find a reason to own this”. Back in 2008 I was studying Political Science and Diplomacy. I didn't need Lanvin. 

What I thought I looked liked in Paris

But that didn’t stop me. My friend’s birthday was coming up in July of that same year, I recall, and I thought- well, what better gift to give to a French girl than a giant Lanvin square? With the Sun King on it? And I purchased it for my friend Margaux. 

Anyway, every time I go to Paris I make it a point to go to Vintage 77. The shopkeeper  (oh gosh, I feel terrible for not knowing her name) has YSL by Tom Ford, Issey Miyake, Comme des Garçons, Léonard (France's answer to Pucci).  And the prices are just TOO good to not walk out with anything. Go, go! But again look at the schedule before going, the space isn’t that big but it’s very welcoming and warm.

Les Puces de Saint-Ouen ( Saint-Ouen Flea Market)

142 Rue des Rosiers, 93400 Saint-Ouen, France

Going to the Saint-Oeun flea market is a whole experience, I kid you not. The market is divided into 15 different sections and each section has a list of vendors that each specialize in different goods. The section that you'll want to go to is the Marché Paul Bert Serpette. Here you'll find vintage/antique clothing and mid-modern century/antiques for the home. 

One of the fist shops I ran into was a Chanel Gripoix boutique. I honestly wanted to cry. And I had literally just stepped foot in the market. I thought: only in Paris can this even be a thing. Floor to ceiling Gripoix. Are you kidding me? Life changing. 

Christy Turlington, Chanel AW1991

To help me navigate the market I had Tanis, the owner of Vintage Star Paris, guide me through the merchant stalls. 

Les Merveilles de Babellou $$$

18 Rue Paul Bert, 93400 Saint-Ouen, France

First stop was Les Merveilles de Babellou. There was this really kitchsy sort of red carpet outside the store, with velvet rope barriers. Everyone that walked in there had to come in through the red carpet. It was cute. I was a vintage VIP. 

I wasn't fully prepared for what was inside this small, unassuming boutique, however. To my right a mannequin wearing Yves Saint Laurent from the Russian Collection of 1976, above this mannequin a shelf lined with quilted Chanel lambskin belts. Next to the belts a vitrine of rare bijoux, from Dior. And it was just one thing after another. Paco Rabanne, a full Versace outfit that I'm more than sure was at the MET, Balenciaga, Moschino from Franco's time. There's no music playing in the shop so all you could hear was one audible gasp after another (all coming from me). 

Yves Saint Laurent, AW76

Les Merveilles de Babellou was just this kind of place. It was as if someone had seen into my dreams and produced it and had put all the fashion pieces I could've ever conceived and just brought them into one place for me to look at. The fact that this was accessible was what got to me. It was like I was shopping a museum.  

Oh and as if that weren't enough the boutique is divided into two spaces. You leave one shop, walk a bit further up and step into another space full of Gucci, Givenchy, & Guy Laroche (the O.G's). 

The store has a schedule from Friday-Monday and is open by appointment on week days. Be sure to check their website as things are always subject to change. 

de Laurentis Paris $$

96 Rue des Rosiers, 93400 Saint-Ouen, France

Tanis then took me to visit Maxime, the lovely shop owner of de Laurentis. Maxime introduce himself and we started talking fashion, how the market was evolving, and where to vintage shop if I ever found myself in Marseille (Maxime hails from this seaside town). Our conversation was cut short, however, because my eye caught this brightly colored Versace skirt in the corner (talk about short attention span). I knew the color combination instantly but neither Maxime nor I could pinpoint the direct color inspiration, was it Commedia dell'Arte? Or was it Pop Art? It's the kind of thing that can keep you up at night. 

Maxime was later able to confirm that the skirt was from SS91, Pop Art collection

From de Laurentis I purchased some Marc Jacobs, Dior, and McQueen. But what the shop really specializes is is in rare Margiela, Dior Homme by Hedi Slimane, Comme des Garçons, and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac.  Maxime's space is also very well organized (not sure if you guys have caught wind that I'm a stickler for organization) and he himself has a great outgoing personality. It's like shopping with a friend. You're more than sure to walk out with something and the prices for the items are amazing. 

Dior Homme AW03 by Hedi Slimane, Luster Jacket 

de Laurentis is open Friday 10 am - 1 pm, Sat-Sun 10 am - 6 pm, and Monday 11 am - 4 pm. However, be sure to reach out to Maxime (I've linked his contact info.) as times are subject to change. 

Chez Sarah $$$

18 rue Jules-Vallès, 93400 Saint-Ouen, France

Final stop with Tanis: Chez Sarah aka the Mecca of all vintage fashion in France.

Chez Sarah is one of the older establishments of vintage fashion, it's owned by Sarah Rozenbaum (Sarah's dad started the business). The shop is big, it stretches the length of 3/4's of a city block, back in 2014 Sarah opened another boutique (across the one she already has) just as long, but with more of a focus on men's fashion. 

Here you'll find clothing from the late 1800's to the 1970's, some 90's pieces here and there (rare) and if you're lucky maybe a 2000's piece amidst the whole lot. All the RTW and Couture items are in cataloged in alphabetical order. If you ask the information on something there will be someone to come over with a giant binder and tell you the year, the fabric composition, and the price. 

Baby, they mean business. Of course I went in with a Pechuga mentality (ie. shopping habits). And to be honest, I wasn't disappointed. It's a blessing and a curse to always be able to find something cute anywhere you go. 

My "cute" finds? A Paco Rabanne vintage chainmail dress from the 60's and bitch! (OK sorry, expletive, cover your eyes) a Jean-Charles de Castelbajac teddy coat. I honestly hate being cursed with good taste. 

Paco Rabanne, 1966

 Teddy Coat from Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, AW88

The teddy coat wasn't as severe as the one here (the one that Sarah had had less teddy bears on it) but for 800€? Not a bad deal. 

I highly suggest going to the Marché de Saint-Ouen just to absorb the art alone, some of the shop owners are lovely. I had a conversation about Victorian fashion with one vendor that went on for more than half an hour. Alright! Now to the last section of this list. 

My Instagram Shopping Addiction

The shops above (with the exception of de Laurentis) are all really old school. Only a few have really caught on to the use of social media (the lady from Vintage 77 loves Facebook [bless] but FB isn't really the go-to platform nowadays). So if you can't go to Paris allow me to introduce to you Instagram shops based there. I'll highlight my three favorite ones (I met the people behind the shops in person and I have to say they are some of the loveliest people I met during my stay). 

Nina Gabbana Vintage $$

Online and by appointment only

Marie is the queen behind Nina Gabbana Vintage, supplying us with daily Gaultier serves, and Prada mid-90's treasures, and a daily dose of fashion herstory. Marie and I started talking when I was in LA and we made it a point to meet up in Paris. Our first rendez-vous took us to the Jardin de Tuileries, where we spoke about everything under the sun. My penchant for Vivienne Werstwood, Marie's love for Franco Moschino, her avocado allergy (I mean everything).

I didn't expect that Marie and I would meet up at least two to three times every week and start talking daily. Our tastes in fashion and our love for history and vintage in pop culture was what really made it so easy to talk to her. Highlights from Nina Gabbana Vintage include tribal print pieces from Jean Paul Gautlier, a Dolce & Gabbana mesh crystal tank top (as seen on JLo from "Jenny from the Block" video) and a Moschino hand spray painted jacket. 

The Nina Gabbana girl

You can contact Marie via DM's or visit her site to see her items. This is NG's instagram @ninagabbanavintage.

Vintage Star-Paris $$

Online and by appointment only 

Behind Vintage Star-Paris is Tanis- you may remember her as the oracle of the Marché de Saint-Ouen. Like Marie, Tanis and I started talking to each other before I was set to leave to Paris. She sounded like a lovely person, and like me, I gathered she was more of an anonymous voice behind her shop showcasing more the clothes, snippets of Paris, and new arrivals than herself. 

Tanis' taste in fashion is also very similar to mine, highlights from Vintage Star-Paris include rare pieces from Jean Paul Gaultier AW97/98, a corseted hip belt from Plein Sud, and an 1980's Ungaro black skirt suit, in black crushed velvet.

 Jean Paul Gaultier AW97/98

 You can contact Tanis via DM, her instagram is @vintagestarparis. 

Byronesque $$$

Online or by appointment only. 

Byronesque has two home offices, one in New York (headed by Gill) and another one in Paris. When Gill caught wind that I was going to be in Paris for a month she set up a meeting with her business partner Justin. 

My first meeting with Justin over pints in the Marais had us talking about Claude Montana, the punk days in London, and the social evolution of Paris. 

Claude Montana tights and dress, reissue via Byronesque

Byronesque's approach to fashion is subversive, it's dark (black is the color du jour, every jour), there's a seriousness to what Gill and Justin do (they were responsible for releasing re-issues of Montana's most iconic designs from the '80's), and they take client requests to a whole new level. 

The Byronesque app allows you to create a profile and send in requests for anything your mind could think of. Their sprawling network of dealers all over the world will try to source it for you (I should know, I'm one of the dealers). The shop currently has an all Balenciaga by Nicholas Ghesquière sale. Their tag line? "Pray for your size". 

Balenciaga by Ghesquière AW03, Look 22

You can reach them via DM their instagram is @byronesquevintage. 

La Fin

Karl Lagerfeld shot by Helmut Newton, 1976, Paris, France

Well this concludes this list. Thank you so much for reading! Yes, I know it was long but I was there for a month (consider this the abridged version). I had a ton of fun writing this I hope you have fun reading it. If you're the shop-owner and want me to add (or change something) feel free to reach out to me and I'll amend any info. 

Most importantly, I hope this helps you, dear reader, navigate a portion of Paris. I wish I had this list prior to going but hey, I was fortunate enough to meet some lovely people abroad that took me around. Which leads me to my next and final point. 

When going into someone's shop, and this isn't just for the boutiques in Paris, say, "Hello", flash a smile, you'd be surprised at how one simple greeting or a grin can change the mood. It's not only polite but it's also respectful. Same goes with DM'ing someone on Instagram. There are people behind these accounts. Start off the message with a, "Hello how are you?"- or a "Hope this finds you well". It sets a tone for your conversation with the owners instead of, "How much?" or "Price?". Which may come off as rude or a bit robotic and distant and this may cause them to not want to engage. Just Pechuga's two cents. 

Next

Expect a short list of my finds in the South of France very, very soon. 

Again, enjoy reading and leave a comment! Any questions feel free to reach out. And happy hunting!

Johnny Valencia

Pechuga Vintage

   Not too long ago I posted a photo of Louis Vuitton monogrammed boot on my Instagram stories (I post new arrivals, inspiration, and my obsession du jour there - it allows me to openly interact with y'all and I want to believe that it sort of gives insight to the method to Pechuga's madness). I was surprised to see how much attention the LV boot garnered with questions pouring in asking me where to buy and why I had also tagged Vivienne Westwood. Many, as I found out, weren't aware of the Vivienne Westwood for Louis Vuitton collaboration. And here is where things got interesting. By the way I don't think the boot was ever sent to production. Sorry to break it to y'all. 

The elusive boot

   The year was 1996. Pokémon had just been introduced to the world, Bill Clinton had just gotten re-elected, and the Louis Vuitton monogrammed canvas was turning a cool 100 years old. To commemorate the centennial, Louis Vuitton commissioned seven leading designers of the time to create a unique item and interpret the monogram.

The designers and their creations: 

   Azzedine Alaia - Leo Alma bag

   Manolo Blahnik - Oval travel trunk 

   Romeo Gigli - Cylindrical shoulder bag (for the life of me I could not find the ad)   

   Helmut Lang - Record trunk 

   Isaac Mizrahi  - Transparent plastic shopping bag

   Sybilla - Bag pack with umbrella

   Vivienne Westwood - Bum bag

   The pieces all ranged from 450-26,000 Francs (around $650 - $4,500 in 1996) with the Gigli, Alaïa, Mizrahi, Sybilla pieces produced in larger quantities and the Lang, Blahnik, and Westwood pieces produced in limited issues. The Westwood "Faux cul" (fake ass in English) bag was made in a quantity of 100 (Westwood herself confirmed it in a 1996 interview). 

Pechuga is the mannequin 

   To launch the release of these items Louis Vuitton had parties all over the world in all the major cities: Paris, Rome, London, Madrid, New York, and Hong Kong. There was even a themed event where two giant bananas clad in the Vivienne Westwood Louis Vuitton bum bags danced along with models dressed as Josephine Baker. 

The bags the bananas are wearing are next on my list 

   I have a list of clients that in turn have a list of items they're looking for. I go through these lists every so often to see what items I come across and for whom. Being the Westwood fanatic that I am I thought to myself, "Hmm, now wouldn't it be great if I could find this bag? Now wouldn't it be great to have an excuse to buy it?"  Hours of e-mails, some phone calls, a meltdown with my assistant, and a credit card charge later: EUREKA! The coveted bum bag was mine. All mine. Out of 100 issues I was able to get the 66th one. The 66th! Sorry. Still freaking out over it. 

Nadja Auermann (left), Vivienne Westwood, SS1996 "Les femmes"; Model wearing "Les femmes" jacket and hat with LV bum bag shot by Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin

   I texted the first name on my LV x VW Bum Bag list. A client that recently impressed me with her Vivienne Westwood, "Pagan V" Spring Summer 1990 cow print, chiffon ensemble (you either get it or you don't). The exchange I had with her went something like this: 

"Hey girl. I found the VW x LV bum bag."

"Yes. Need. Done." 

"Cool. Kthnx. Yay. Bye."

   If you guys read the Dazed article on Pechuga last month you may have realized I talk like a surfer guy on the phone...well I text like a valley girl. There's no in between and I don't know how to quite feel about that (I blame growing up in Los Angeles). 

  Now on with the bag! It arrived yesterday. And I can not even begin to describe the NERVES. Was it going to be in the condition I was told it was going to be in? Was I going to have to make angry phone calls? Was my hunt going to be worth it?  Was I going to cry?

   Well the hunt was worth it. I tried on the bag. Beautiful. I put it on my mannequin. Stunning. I hopped in a car with my precious cargo and off into the sunset I rode to deliver it to its final destination. 

Vivienne Westwood wearing the LV bum bag and boots, shot by Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin

   If you have any special requests please be sure to write them in the comment section below, DM me on Instagram (@pechuga_vintage), or shoot me an e-mail: pechuga_vintage@gmail.com. I will try to respond within 24 hours. 

Thank you for reading and until next time! 

Johnny Valencia

Owner