The Best Vintage on eBay? Versace, Versus, the Bags, and More

And Thanks It’s From eBay crafted a fabulous Versacified Shopping Edit.

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Nov 04, 2024

Me holding a vintage Versace shirt from Arcade Vintage at a Current Affair

You may have picked up that that I’m doing a project with the Italian House thanks to my relentless archival posts about the label on Instagram. However, I want to note that this Substack piece is my own and is not technically part of the project…I simply really love vintage Versace…and you should, too! I enlisted

Nora

of Thanks It’s From eBay to curate Versace, Versus, Istante and more items for this piece. Get ready for fabulous clothes, tchotchkes, ad campaigns, and more.

Can a bag be sexy? Yes. Leave it to Versace. In my hunt for the Italian brand on eBay this past month, I’ve been eyeing a vintage holster bag that straps across the body, fastening right at the waist like a hand gripping the dip. Oomph. There’s also this tangerine tubular masterpiece. And there are the clothes, too! I snapped up a Versace Jeans Couture mesh geometric top with a swooping neck that stretches from shoulder to shoulder. It’s the sort of low cut that if you bend over, your cleavage will pour out. Finally, a package containing a V-neck three-quarter-length sleeve top by Versus has arrived at my doorstep. The top boasts the same striking blue that you’d see in a 1-800-Sandals commercial. At first, the piece looks standard and sexless with its simple cut, but glance to its side, and there is a slit that skims up to the breast bone. I currently have my eye on a Gianni Versace silk dress with blotted thick color blocks of citrus yellow, pink, and orange, and print with pretty tulips and bouquets. The modest cut is fit for Mad Men’s uptight Betty Draper, but make no mistake: The thing will fit like a glove, lapping up every curve of the body.

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The internet is teaming with vintage Versace. Aside from those big-ticket pieces, like the spring 2000 tropical print pieces of JLo’s VMA dress and strappy, safety pin bondage garments from fall 1992—the Versace vintage I typically come across is relatively inexpensive, especially given the stellar quality. Not to mention there is a cornucopia of the House’s diffusion lines: Versus, Istante, Versace V2, Versace Sport, and Versace Jeans Couture. (You can shop those here!)

In the flesh, the craftsmanship is undeniable. This past weekend, I was at A Current Affair and traced my finger on every Versace piece I came across. When I saw Brandon Giordano of vintage hot spot James Veloria, he waxed poetic about a Versace V2 black wool duffel coat with silver buttons. I touched each toggle and noticed they were individually engraved with Versace logos. Of the other pieces, the quality is also delicious. Baby-soft silks. Saucy meshes. Butter-soft leather. No matter the line, there’s that violent Versace cut that slices the waist in half, evaporating the midsection. And let’s not forget the homeware. (That incredible Richard Avedon princess and the pea “Versace Home Signature” campaign). Or the perfumes. (Obsessed with the Donatella-fronted campaign for 1995’s “Blonde”!) Or the watches. (Peep this digital/analog collectible from Versus!) Everything is soaked in Medusa heads or Grecian borders. It’s neverending.

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And the looks are fun, too. Fun is the key word. Much of the vintage Versace isn’t precious and is instead made to be very much worn. Sweat in. Smoked in. These clothes are for a woman who not only unapologetically loves luxury but swaddles herself in it. Lives in it. Unforgivingly bitchy in those sturdy leather pants. Unabashedly forward with the hit-you-on-the-head prints. Sensual in an overt, flesh-forward, sexy way with the lopped-off skirts and suffocatingly tight fits. These pieces will last forever, too.

The excellent quality of the brand harkens back to the House’s beginnings. Gianni Versace was born in Italy’s south of Reggio Calabria. He was the son of a dressmaker and joined his mother’s atelier at 18. He entered the fashion industry in the early ‘70s as the designer for Callaghan, Genny, and later Complice. One of his earlier claims to fame was his penchant for creating a mean blouse. There’s a striking image of Patti Hansen snapped by Avedon in the July 1977 issue of Vogue. In all of her corn yellow blonde glory, the poster child of a midwestern cheerleader pouts with rouged cheeks and wears a romantic pale pink blouse by Gianni Versace, dubbed “the softener.” A loose ruffled collar cradles her neck, the mint green pussy bow hangs undone, and the blouse is very much open. And there it is: the All-American girl next door transformed into a fresh-faced Venus.

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Versace’s fame skyrocketed during the boom of Italian designers in the “Milan Phenomenon” era of the late ‘70s, which brought designers from Florence and Rome to Milan. (Krizia’s Aldo Pinto once referred to Milan as: “the only city where people work.”) Names included were Giorgio Armani, Walter Albini, Missoni, and, yes, Versace. In 1978, Versace launched his own company with the help of his sister Donatella and older brother Santo.

Beautiful Helmut Newton image of Versace from 1979

There are unforgettable Versace design moments during Gianni’s reign, like the controversial fall 1992 bondage collection titled “Miss S&M”. Fashion critic Suzy Menkes wasn’t a fan. “I don’t want women to be sex objects or any of that. But, after all, women have a right to choose,” Menkes commented after the show. A season before, there was the Barocco collection from fall 1991 when Gianni riffed on baroque design, rendering those Grecian acanthus leaves in gold. The design has now become a House code. (Further down, look at Cindy Crawford bundled in a blazing Barocco coat!) The 1995 “Medusa” collection was filled with viscously whittled skirt suits with a prim First Lady spin. The collection also introduced the Medusa logo, now synonymous with the House. (Legend has it that Donatella and Gianni played among the Greek ruins of Calabria, where he first saw the image of the snaked-tressed Gorgon.) Personal favorite: The art-inspired collection of spring 1997, in which Gianni used hearts and flowers artists from Philip Taaffe and Jim Dine (coined “Dines hearts) on his girlish mesh pieces.

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In 1997, Versace was tragically murdered outside of his mansion in Miami. Donatella immediately—and courageously—took over the House. She designed the spring 1998 collection despite murmurings that she’d cancel it. She was the natural successor. After all, Gianni had long referred to Donatella as his muse, and how could she not be? That charmingly thick Calabrian accent! The blindingly blonde hair that has become her Samson shield. When there is an interview where she “opens up,” there is usually a mention of a “chop.” (As for color, Rachel Tashjian notes in a Harper’s Bazaar article from 2023, Versace’s hair stylist uses a “Clairol 7th Stage Creme Hair Lightener, with one sachet of activator with oxygen at 30 volumes”. Versace has come a long way. When I interviewed Ms. Versace last August for Highsnobiety, she told me that Gianni dyed it using peroxide at age 11). Undoubtedly, the designer continued the family’s legacy, launching the House in the megawatt sphere of celebdom while pumping designs with her high-octane look—and personality.

Donatella’s “Blonde” perfume campaign from 1995!

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2001 Black and Red Turtleneck Tank
Painted Versace Jeans
Orange and Red Medusa Medallion Flats
Sequin Tank Top

There are standout Donatella design moments. The navel-diving Lopez VMA dress from spring 2000 prompted the creation of Google Image Search. The internet-breaking spring 2018 revival show with the supermodels, yet again, stomping to George Michael’s “Freedom! 90.” That epic spring 2004 collection where Donatella included pop art images of herself on the runway pieces. Bold! And in addition to design, there are the relationships. The Lady Gaga song “Donatella” and the pop star’s campaign moment. The longtime Madonna friendship. Michelle Obama even wore one of her gowns for the December 2016 issue of Vogue. The front row dotted with celebrities. The award shows and galas filled with meticulously created eveningwear.

In interviews, she will say how it was a harrowing experience to take the helm of Versace after her brother’s death and notes there may have been mistakes, though, at the fall 2000 show, she tells Videofashion: “I’m very excited about this collection. The past three seasons, I start to develop my own style,” she says. “I believe this woman tonight on the runway.”

Marie from Nina Gabbana Vintage giving me the lowdown on a great Donatella piece at A Current Affair

However, let’s not forget that even before Gianni’s death, Donatella was already the designer of Istante and Versus. And those Versus pieces should be catnip to any vintage head. A bit more soft, a bit more daywear—and I try to snap them up when I see one that prompts me to dream big. Note: The spring 2025 Versace collection took references from the spring 1997 Versus show: A breezy silk slip skirt styled with a matching off-the-shoulder copper blouse. Yum.

The Barocco collection from fall 1991! Look at Cindy!

Now, those original Versus pieces are still floating around the internet. Nora, of the Substack Thanks It’s From eBay, curated a thoughtful, entertaining edit of all the Versace and its fab diffusion lines. When I contacted her, Nora said she bought a Versus top on eBay for $36. Incredible. We also talked at length about the Versace teacups. A must for every home!

Sure, I’m in no way a Calabrian princess. My hair is not bleach blonde. I don’t smoke cigarettes. And there is no mortgage-sized diamond on my hand. But hell, in vintage Versace—and all of its glorious diffusion lines—I certainly feel like I am one. Now, pass me the mesh—and the peroxide.