Designer - Lillie Rubin

I was in Thrift Town the other day when I found a really fun black velvet evening gown with one big poofy white shoulder and a designer label that read "Lillie Rubin." (You'll have to wait to see the dress, but needless to say it will be making its way onto the AHV site soon).

I didn't know anything about Lillie Rubin, but I know I really loved the dress, so I did a little research when I got home, since often if you like one designer's piece, you might like more of them, and it is always good to have another way to search for clothing online.

It turns out that Lillie Rubin was founded in 1946 in Florida, and was THE place to go in the 50's and 60's if you needed a party dress or an evening gown. The stores sold expensive, high-end, special occasion apparel and accessories (which meant lots of sequined, formal evening gowns, tailored pantsuits and gaudy faux jewels).

In 1998, the brand was aquired by Cache, but in 2006 they turned all Lillie Rubin stores into "Cache Luxe" stores. Lillie Rubin had a good 60 year run, though. For vintage shoppers, that means Lillie Rubin styles are going to be all across the board, since the designs span so many decades. I am a fan of some of the 50s and 60s dresses I have seen, and especially am loving the fun bright 80s florals and creative 80s formalwear out there.

A quick search on ebay and etsy brought up some other Lillie Rubin gems:








This little floral number has about four hours left on eBay right now, and is just screaming "someone invite me to a BBQ pool party."


Rawr.