BACK TO YOU, BETSEY!

Is "new vintage" an oxymoron? Not if you're Betsey Johnson.

It's the classic vintage dilemma:  You need the dress you saw in Ciao Manhattan, but there's one left, it's on eBay, its 1965 fabric is wearing thin, and it's a size two.  Actually, more like negative two.  Did we mention it's like, two thousand dollars?

Opening Ceremony knows how you feel, and they've paired with Betsey Johnson to do something about it.  Starting in August, you can buy Betsey's old designs, but slightly tweaked and sewn fresh for the modern girl (that would be you).

Called Betsey Johnson Archive, the collection features Betsey's old designs from the '60s, '70s. and '80s, updated and recreated by Umberto Leon and Carol Lim, the founders of OC.

The clothes highlight Betsey's contributions to American fashion history, from her initial mod period with Twiggy and Edie Sedgwick to the punk dresses and jeans created for Patti Smith and the Ramones.  And while August may be a long time to wait, it's only five months - and forty years of fashion getting ready for a new debut.
--FARAN KRENTCIL

Bonus:  Betsey talks to NYLON TV about her design career!



This story was published on March 19, 2009.