I think of two things when I see the initials 'KL', the first and foremost is my mother's home city of Kuala Lumpur which I was lucky enough to visit six years ago, and creative designer Karl Lagerfeld. The cameo necklace above adorned in pearls and inscribed motifs is a vintage piece by Karl Lagerfeld, with a simplistic black face and strung on a pearl necklace. There is another part of the pendant, a dangling gold disc which again has KL inscribed on it. Not only does the creative genius' initials appear on necklaces but it's also embroidered on some bags and other necklaces if you are lucky enough to find them. Luckily, I have done all the 'hard work' for you and sourced these images from Claire Inc's sold archive to introduce to you just some of the vintage pieces Karl Lagerfeld has designed and whose team has crafted over the years. I love vintage pieces, when I'm shopping at the prestigious department stores in Australia in the city with my mother I simply think how age affects the price of items and second-hand pieces become more accessible to the public.
Another piece fromthe vintage world of Karl Lagerfeld is this rather large pearl which rotates like a globe on this gold necklace. Outside the frame on which the pearl rotates is the word Lagerfeld written, the long chain of the necklace allows you to wear it two different ways, double up or loose. There's also the signature Karl Lagerfeld fan on the end of the chain, one of his more favourable motifs incorporated into his designs. I like the large purple pearl, it really makes this piece unique and different and like a piece of costume jewellery. You would hope that at the price of $315 from Claire Inc that the pearl would have been real, and the gold of the necklace as well. Even if it was gold plating and/or the pearl was faux it's still a lovely piece to be taken on its merit as a piece of a bygone era of the vintage world. Karl Lagerfeld are known for being over sized and chunky- this piece is classically Karl all over.
Isn't this vintage Karl Lagerfeld bag magnificent? I've only seen a few of these bags available online and every time they come up someone snatches them up quick sticks. They're quite popular and easily recognisable as a Karl Lagerfeld design with the large embroidered initials on the side of this suede bucket bag. I like the texture to it and the sort of faded shades of black, as well as the border around KL and the drawstring of the bag. It'd be nice to have something like this but they do go for a pretty penny and buying a new handbag doesn't come without decisions and a lot of thought. At the moment I really need to invest in something with versatility, probably black with just the right size and something I can sling over my body. You can imagine Karl Lagerfeld bags having that sort of used and feeling comfortable when hugged against your body.
Close up photographs of this vintage Karl Lagerfeld bag reveal his fan motif incorporated into the design, at the top of the border around KL which appears to be in leather against the suede of the bag. When wearing suede accessories and clothes, remember to avoid rain at the cost of losing the colour and shape of the material. I learnt this the hard way when wearing black suede shoes and waiting in the rain for a bus in front of school. If you did happen to own a vintage bag made by such a prestigious name: the head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel, you would hope you would be careful with such a precious item! There's a leaf motif that makes the border of the bag as well as tassels on the end of the drawstring as well. You don't really tend to think about these things but there's a lot of meticulous detail involved in designing as well as making bags.
The vintage pieces from creative genius Karl Lagerfeld are made from only the highest quality of materials, take for example this lovely brooch in the shape of a wax seal like you would find on a letter. It reminds me of Harry Potter when he first finds his letter accepting him into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. On the wax seal shaped brooch, there's more of a coin face appearance with a two dimensional man in profile as well as the words 'Karl Lagerfeld Paris' and his much favoured fan motif. On the back are his initials further authenticating the piece as his design. I like the way they modeled it on a rust coloured blazer- it really showed off the craftsmanship of the brooch and just how smooth the surface of the brooch was.
Another vintage Karl Lagerfeld bag! This one too has the same bucket bottom shape with a drawstring as the previous one but there's a thicker strap made in leather as well as leather trimming around the ruffled edges, to the bottom of the bag and the drawstring is also in thin strips of the cowhide.The black suede of this bag is in better shape compared to its previously listed counterpart and I like the gold stitched Karl Lagerfeld
I like the angle behind this photographic shot- you can see the minimal wear to the leather and the good nick to the bag. Even though Claire Inc is selling a lot of vintage pieces- due to the prestige behind the fashion houses and labels that it stocks there's usually minimal wear to their items. At I guess I would say they've only been worn a few times for special occasions and never used day-in day-out in someones routine. That just sweetens the deal and makes the price tags on these vintage beauties seem even better with the minimal wear and rare designs of the pieces. It'd be well worth your penny-pinching and saving to be able to afford something like a bag like this- there's even small studs placed strategically at the bottom for the bag to stand up. Now that's clever thinking, and I how the bag stand studs match the gold stitching of the Karl Lagerfeld symbol on the drawstring. Drawstring bags are perfect for those of use who worry about things spilling out of our bags as well as security. Usually if I still feel worried about things spilling out of a bag, I chuck a soft jumper at the top and let it act as a barrier. You could easily do that for a bag like this as well, or if your pressed for space, a light scarf would do the same job just as well.
Gold plated jewellery that's thick and has a lot of character with the letters KL? Karl Lagerfeld's signature characteristics to his vintage jewellery. This necklace would certainly be enough to weigh you down with all those chains, not to mention the clasps. For this photo shoot, the clasps have been chosen as the centre piece of the necklace and to show off the thick piece of jewellery. This is what I really like and admire about the vintage Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel pieces, they're so bold and the gold plating has minimal wear as well. At the moment I'm hunting a vintage Chanel choker myself with a lion motif. That's the top of the wish list for Christmas but it's going to take a lot of time scouring eBay to finally get it. Unless Claire Inc manages to produce one for me. Until then I'll be happy watching other pieces getting sold and sent to the archive records.
