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To ring in what vintage store James Veloria hopes will be the sauciest summer yet, the beloved shop is hosting a buzzy sale of archival Stella McCartney-era Chloé. “This is our sexiest collection yet,” says Brandon Veloria Giordano, who FaceTimes me from JV headquarters, late to a dentist appointment and wearing an off-the-shoulder spring 1999 Chloé top. “People are losing it.” This sale comes on the heels of other iconic curations by founders Veloria and Colin James Weber, like Tom Ford-era Gucci, Vivienne Westwood, Todd Oldham, and Jean Paul Gaultier. In other words, expect to see a crowd forming around 12:00pm at the store’s Chinatown location this coming Sunday (and at 1:00pm, a potential site crash at jamesveloria.com for those looking for unsold goods.)
While James Veloria’s other sales have been thoroughly successful, with rabid fashion fanatics lining up their doors at every drop, the Stella-era Chloé moment hits a nerve. The designer’s tenure at the French house is not as ubiquitously worshipped as Jean Paul Gaultier or Tom Ford’s helm at Gucci, but still has a ferocious fandom. Perhaps the appeal goes back to its history: McCartney, a hot young thing and fresh graduate from Central Saint Martins, took the helm of Chloé in 1997 at only 25. (She had big shoes to fill, too. Her predecessor was Karl Lagerfeld). McCartney’s time at Chloé was monumental but short–only four years. However, it reflected a woman in her mid-20s and all of those flirty, raunchy clothes that come with that moment in life.
Sourcing those clothes proved to be a challenge. “It was hard because she was there for such a short amount of time,” says Giordino. But they rose to the occasion. “Every sexy person we met we were like, ‘What do you have and what will you sell?’” says Giordino. It took the duo over a year to compile 100 pieces of clothing, as well as shoes and bags. They found those impossible-to-find hummingbird print baseball shirts from spring 1999, the freaky “69” top–and the shirt that goes over it–seen on the fall 2000 runway, the zodiac shirts from that same collection, the beloved pineapple tops from spring 2001, and the Betty and Chloé varsity patch pieces–one of which Bella Hadid wore late last year–from fall 2001.
While McCartney’s time at Chloé is focused on fun (embodied in these graphic shirts and saucy pants), she proved she had a stellar technical edge. Look to those fall 1998 epic trousers with a cut-out and a criss-cross of rhinestones at the hip, the same ones that McCartney wore to the Met Gala alongside Liv Tyler with DIY tanks that read “Rock Royalty” (fall 1998).
Bags and shoes are sleeper hits, too—though they’re hard to find. McCartney is a staunch vegan, which is most likely why there are so few bags created during her reign, as most were crafted from animal skins. To add to accessories, Giordino and Weber sourced pieces from Phoebe Philo’s moment at Chloé, who immediately succeeded McCartney in 2001. The hit bag on Giordino’s mind is not the Chloé Paddington (“too clunky with the padlock!”) but the Chloé Silverado, the more structured cousin of the Paddington that boasts a rock ‘n roll edge thanks to its fantastical variation in materials, often exotic skins. (James Veloria has two in silver and gold python up for grabs). “I’m trying to make the Silverado happen!” quips Giordano. In addition, there are some killer Y2K-era bedazzled sunglasses and some kicky shin-high boots.
The sale, in a way, encapsulates the freaky-chic, laissez-faire feel of the store, which has become more of a community spot rather than a place to just shop. “We were like this is the most James Veloria collection. It has a sense of humor but it is incredibly sexy,” says Giordano. (They tapped some of the JV-diehards and vintage heads to model, like stylist Yohana Lebasi and Serena Morris of @shes__underrated, who were videotaped by longtime friend Dani Aphrodite.) Plus, if there was ever a time to wear Stella-era Chloé, it is now. “It’s the right stuff, the right time,” says Giordano. “I feel like everyone wants to feel fucking hot right now.”
The sale will be held at James Veloria on Sunday, May 15 at 12pm. 1pm on jamesveloria.com
Address: 75 East Broadway New York, New York. Second floor.
