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The Collection of André Leon Talley

Thu, Sep 21, 2023 10:00AM EDT
  • The Collection of André Leon Talley
Lot 195

Set of Twelve Charvet Cotton Shirts, Custom Made

Estimate: $600 - $800
Sold for

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $25
$200 $50
$500 $100
$3,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$30,000 $2,500
$100,000 $5,000

Label, and some monogrammed.

36 1/2 in. center back, some sizes may vary.

Note: And excerpt from Alexis Gregory, Paris Deluxe, Place Vendome, Rizzoli, 1997, pp 76 - 83. "Christophe Charvet (1806-1870) opened a "chemisier" on the Rue de Richelieu in Paris in 1838, at a time when shirtmakers visited their clients at home to take their measurements and sent back finished garments. This was a period when dandies were particularly exigent about their looks, and men wanted to stand out. He couldn't go from house to house with a carriage full of English linens and Italian silks. Charvet was to change much of that, particularly when his son Edouard, who joined the firm in 1868 became the exclusive supplier to the Price of Wales. Charvet moved to the Place Vendome shortly after the restoration of the Austerlitz column, when peace returned to the square after the declined of the Commune. They started at no. 25, moved away to Rue de Castiglione in 1920, finally returning to 28 Place Vendome in 1982, where their sumptuous shop is still one of the delights of Paris. 

A man entering Charvet, feels that he has entered the coddled atmosphere of care and refinement. The salesmen are perfectly dressed in elegant suits and Charvet ties, who variety, thickness, softness and originality are unique. And these seem to change totally from year to year, in the true tradition of haute couture. Shirts feel cooler on the body, collars become second skin, there suddenly seems to be nothing shameful or effeminate in choosing gossamer-like silk for shirts, seductive moiré pajamas for going to sleep, or a patterned dressing gown with tasseled belt for going to bed, two totally different activities. In a word, Charvet is chic and sexy while a London shirtmaker is elegant and stylish.

The owners, who keep their living clientele a deep secret, are not at all reticent about speaking of those who have gone to their maker in a Charvet shirt or perhaps even a silk Charvet shroud. Among these are Charles de Gaulle, Winston Churchill, many Rothschilds, Yul Brynner, Gary Cooper, and such French glitterati as Cocteau, Berlioz, Manet, Debussy and Sacha Guitry. That great figure of the Ritz and the Place Vendome, Coco Chanel, who was also a client: if Charvet fit her sense of quality and style, their creations must be sans pareil."

Condition

Generally, in good overall condition.

Not withstanding this report or any discussion concerning condition of a lot, all lots are offered and sold "as is" in accordance with our conditions of sale.

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The Collection of André Leon Talley