The Totam never expected to discover San Francisco-based jeweler Alix Blüh’s workshop and gallery, Modern Relics, tucked away on a sleepy residential street in the heart of the Richmond district, but after spending a recent afternoon hearing the stories behind her wares, we’re delighted that the secret is out.

Located in a former jewelry school, Modern Relics’ high-ceilinged, spare loft houses Blüh’s studio upstairs and the showroom below, partly camouflaged by a whimsical, curtained window display. It took the better part of a year to transform the space to reflect the artist’s exacting standards, with walls paneled in recycled fence timbers, stenciled floors, turn-of-the-century glass display cases, old-fashioned bare-bulb lighting and a vitrine constructed from a cast-iron sewing machine pedestal. The resulting effect is at once ornate and austere, a curio parlor of fanciful oddities balanced by the weathered utilitarianism of a schooner-captain’s quarters.

Alix Blüh, named for family friend Alexander Calder, was formally trained as a painter at the University of Massachusetts and at Oxford, where she developed her passion for collecting and dealing in antiques in London flea markets. Raised among avant-garde artists in rural New England, Blüh creates sublime pieces of wearable sculpture inspired by the forms found in nature and historical objects of remembrance.

Alix Blüh jewelry

Using a meticulous wax carving technique, Blüh’s pieces are hand-wrought in precious metals, with a signature rough hewn texture. Lacy, carved coral and honeycomb forms are studded with pinhead-sized jewels. The artist’s variants on the cross, anchor and heart- symbols of faith, hope and charity that many sailors and their wives wore in Victorian times- have a medieval touch to them, and figure prominently in her latest collection. Blüh hopes her jewelry will function as personal talismans for the wearer:

“I have always been so moved by the stories found in nature, in time worn objects, in mourning jewelry and religious reliquaries…I want to create heirloom pieces that are not about fad and fashion but art and timelessness.”

Blüh’s reverence for beautiful mementos with sentimental value extends to her own collection of daguerreotypes, tintypes, mirrors and books, found throughout Modern Relics. She has been quietly showcasing a mix of handpicked antiques, reproductions, her own jewelry, and the work of like-minded creatives in her tiny atelier for the past year or so.

Clockwise from top left: Suga necklace on antique handmirror, Swallow thorns, tooth and jackalope, Swallow painted glass with 22K gold backing, reproduction scrimshaws

We love that Blüh views Modern Relics as a platform for more than just her own work; Blüh feels such kinship to the work of Brooklyn-based artist Ria Charisse, whose Swallow line of cast-metal creatures, woodland letters, and paintings of whales on glass layered w/ 22K gold leaf, that over half the space has been given over to Charisse’s creations. Swallow’s pairs of bird feet and pewter tooth are Totam favorites. An additional case features the dainty jewelry of Blüh’s assistant, Soojo “Suga” Rocereto.

Modern Relics is located at 771 Cabrillo Avenue between 8th and 9th Avenues in San Francisco. Gallery hours are Thursday-Saturday 12-7pm. Contact (415) 422-0477 or relics@alixbluh.com

Alix Blüh will also be exhibiting jewelry at the NY International Gift Fair this August- look for her at the Jacob K. Javits Center, Booth 535.

(All photos by Aileen Tat except where noted)

Tags: accessories, Alix Bluh, antiques, artist, jewelry, Modern Relics, reliquaries, Ria Charisse, San Francisco, sculptor, Suga Rocereto, Swallow, Victorian.

Vintage clothes shopping can be extremely satisfying or exceptionally frustrating. The hopes of stumbling upon an ’80s Alaïa miniskirt or pristine Charles Jourdan heels from the ’70s at the local church thrift has become increasingly difficult. Enter curated vintage - where hard-to-find designers and amazing pieces are sourced and presented under one roof or website. Brick and mortar vintage stores can be a great introduction to finding designers that fit your body type and to also research and understand vintage sizing. Ebay is still the go-to source to find vintage online, however vintage e-boutiques have become more popular as well, allowing store owners to create an entire aesthetic that eBay cannot provide.

A couple of newcomers to the online vintage scene:

Vagabond NYC is like V magazine come to life. Slick studio fashion photography highlights special pieces each month in editorial spreads with a very downtown aesthetic. Vagabond’s goal is to find pieces that illustrate current trends while staying away from items that are too retro. There is a focus on very current designers (Alexander Wang, Marni, Balenciaga) while uncovering many forgotten designers of the near past (Kansai Yamamoto, Stephen Sprouse), many of whom have directly inspired the very current designers. The current drop-crotch pant craze is one such example - Vagabond has uncovered the originators of this trend, Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake, respectively.

With a more upscale bent, British site Atelier Mayer’s aesthetic is more glamorous day dresses, sparkling costume jewelry and one gorgeous Bob Mackie evening gown. Pieces are presented in a visually clean way with pop-up “style sheets” detailing the fabric, and editor’s notes discussing the fit and even the time period of the piece. Also, for a brief history of each period in fashion (from 1900-2000), visit the Decades in Fashion editorial section.

Tags: Alaia, Alexander Wang, Atelier Mayer, Balenciaga, Bob Mackie, British, Charles Jourdan, downtown, ebay, fashion photography, Kansai Yamamoto, Marni, online boutiques, Stephen Sprouse, thrift, V Magazine, Vagabond NYC, Vintage Fashion, Yohji Yamamoto.

John Rawlings

A blizzard like the one that has hit the northeast today is the perfect weather to channel thoughts of poolside cocktails and flirty swimsuits. Photographers Slim Aarons and John Rawlings captured the bathing Bettinas of the 1950’s and ’60s, lounging grandly in figure-hugging maillots, halter and bandeau bikinis, with a only a book and a great hat to finish the look.

Here we have found their modern counterparts:

Slim Aarons c. Getty Images / Retro Skirted One-Piece available at Victoria’s Secret

Slim Aarons c. Getty Images / Grand Haven Bandeau and Bottoms available at Anthropologie

Slim Aarons c. Getty Images / Lomellina Halter Top and Bottoms available at J. Crew

Slim Aarons c. Getty Images / Retro One-Piece available at Victoria’s Secret

Tags: bikini, blizzard, cocktails, John Rawlings, maillot, poolside, retro, Slim Aarons.

Carolina Herrera and Marni sunglasses on the spring 2009 runways / Images via style.com

Half-frame sunglasses are making a huge comeback for spring. We’ve seen them in two varieties with either a thin bottom rim (on the spring 2009 Carolina Herrera runway) or a completely exposed glass bottom (at Marni’s spring show). Personally we love the graphic silhouette either way. With their classic retro feel, the glasses have the same glamorous effect as a thick swipe of eyeliner on the top lid.

Rayban Clubmaster Sunglasses available at Net-a-Porter / Vintage Revue Sunglasses available at Eyeglasses

Linda Farrow Luxe Gold-Plated Sunglasses available at Net-a-Porter / Linda Farrow Gold Rimmed Sunglasses also available at Net-a-Porter

Tags: Carolina Herrera, eyewear, half frame sunglasses, Marni, retro, Runway, Spring, sunglasses, vintage.

Tonight, join jewelry and accessories designer Ryan Matthew and bespoke tailors Jake Mueser and Amber Doyle for the opening night of their new venture, Against Nature, a men’s specialty shop located within the walls of Elsa, a cocktail bar in the East Village named for and inspired by fashion icon Elsa Schiaparelli.

8pm, 217 East 3rd Street.

(Elsa image courtesy Oliver Haslegrave via Gothamist, jewelry image Ryan Matthew via Thrillist.)

Tags: accessories, Against Nature, Amber Doyle, bar, East Village, Elsa, Jake Mueser, jewelry, men's, Ryan Matthew, Schiaparelli, tailor.

Today’s New York Times Sunday Styles section featured a full page advertisement for Barney’s announcing:

“Balenciaga.Edition -

Masterpieces from the Balenciaga Archives. Limited Exclusive Offering by Order only.”

Surely this is going to cause fashion pandemonium as the carefully chosen words used are: “Balenciaga,” “Archives,” “Limited,” and “Exclusive.” If your heart is beating faster already, read on. For obsessive vintage designer-philes, Balenciaga is high up there on the list. If these pieces are from the archives of the 1950s and 60s when Cristóbal Balenciaga reined supreme, expect a world of difference from the Balenciaga that Nicolas Ghesquière has introduced to the modern fashion world, but expect nothing less than perfection. Balenciaga was revered by many as ‘the master’ and was known for his sculptural exact cuts; he was a perfectionist and would reset sleeves often after a client was already wearing the piece or after the item was shown in a collection. He was also one of the first to introduce the silhouettes that still influence so many designers today: the cocoon jacket, the balloon skirt, and the sack dress. Cristóbal left the house of Balenciaga in 1968.

Irving Penn photographed his wife, model Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn in this layered feather Balenciaga dress in 1950.

and this tiered sleeve cape

A sleeve detail

Although these stellar pieces are probably not a part of Barney’s offering, there may be similar cuts or silhouettes to behold.

Other amazing vintage Balenciaga pieces:

Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Barney’s Balenciaga Archive is by appointment only, Thurs, Nov. 13th & Fri, Nov. 14th at the New York location (212-826-8900 x2152.) Chicago, Dallas, Beverly Hills and San Francisco locations follow.

Tags: Balenciaga, Barneys, Irving Penn, Nicolas Ghesquière, vintage.

Remember your favorite babydoll dress - not the ones of recent years with their Alice in Wonderland pinafore sweetness, but the one from 7th grade, circa 1992 - the rayon version with a sunflower pattern that borderlined on floral schizophrenic? Well hopefully you’ve hung on to it. Yes, the 90s are back. The fashion: the Doc Martens, the flannel, the Baja jacket(!) are all somehow fresh again.

Where to get the look:

Opening Ceremony’s Spring 2009 Lookbook channels Fly Girls and Downtown Julie Brown (Refinery29)

Flannel everything (Urban Outfitters)

The babydoll dress that you should never have tossed (eBay)

and where to wear it all to?

The 1992 Party of course.

Tags: 1990s, 90210, babydoll dress, Doc Martens, flannel, Fly Girls, Opening Ceremony, The 1992 Party.

Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby returns to New York’s Film Forum starting this Friday, Oct. 31st in celebration of the film’s 40th anniversary. Absolutely one of the most stylish horror films ever, Mia Farrow’s 1960s babydoll dresses suspensefully concealed something quite sinister. As the gamine star was being impregnated by the devil, she still managed to stay ahead of trend, cropping her bob into a pixie and stating bluntly, “It’s Vidal Sassoon.”

Tags: Film Forum, Mia Farrow, Roman Polanski, Rosemary's Baby.