Doris Raymond
by Ali
Owner of The Way We Wore
An amazing curator of vintage fashions and accessories
“Fairy Godmother of Fashion Inspiration”
1. What lead to your obvious passion for vintage?
It started out as a necessity (an inexpensive way to dress myself in high school and college) that grew into a hobby (buying and selling part-time at the Marin City Flea Market in Northern California) that grew into a business. (Opened in San Francisco in 1981) It’s hard to believe I have been in the vintage clothing business for almost 30 years!!!
2. What is your treasured possession from all your buying excursions, estate auctions and travels around the world?
I think I would have to say the Sonia Delaunay cloche and scarf. It came to me in the most amazing way. About 16 years ago, a friend was curating a museum exhibition from start to finish to complete her degree. It was on the artist, Sonia Delaunay. I had not had any knowledge of who she was or her body of work. When I was visiting my family in NY, I wanted to show my support of this friend so I took the train to Purchase to see this exhibit. I was so taken by this artist that I bought several books about her. Six months later, I was in Asheville, NC visiting my family. I always stop by antique stores on any trip and I happened to go into one that had a good selection of vintage clothing and accessories. In that shop, I found a cloche and scarf that looked so much like Delaunay. I bought it and took it to Paris with me to research. It took 2 years, but I finally got a certificate of authenticity from Sonia’s grandson!!!! I treasure it for so many reasons; it’s beauty, the journey of finding it and of course, it’s value.
3. You’d had a long list of top designers come to you personally as a guide in their inspiration for new collections based on your vast archives of vintage clothing, ethnic costumes, design prototypes, as well as a significant reference section filled with 18th to 20th century accessories, fabrics, trims and swatches. Designers like John Galliano and Donatella Versace, to name a few. Who have been some of the designers you most enjoyed working with and what were they seeking? And with whom have you seen the translation/inspiration happen on the runway?
To answer the question, I feel like it’s impossible to single out any designer and the collaboration that goes on is information that I feel is private. For a “typical” design appointment a designer or design team contacts me typically a week to two weeks in advance to their arrival. I am given a list of inspirational buzzwords and/or silhouettes they are drawing their inspiration from and I am asked to pull inventory from my stock that fits in. So I could pull a collection together that may be inspired by Deauville in the 1930’s with attention to geometric prints and sleeve details. For accessories, it may be attention to hardware or vamp details. We have over 2,000,000 swatches and proto-types now so the references are vast.
4. You carry names like Valentino, Halston, Vivienne Westwood, James Galanos, Commes des Garcons, Emilio Pucci, Norman Norell, Yves St. Laurent, Mary Quant, Diane von Furstenburg, and Christian Dior to beaded dresses from the 20’s, small waisted dresses from the 50’s—the list seems endless. What designer and period of time do you connect with strongest personally?
I am most impressed with Paul Poiret and Madeleine Vionnet. Poiret was the first couturier to infuse inspiration from around the world into his designs and in a sense, was the father of the “bohemian chic” look. Vionnet was a true architect who chose to use fabric instead of steel. To look at how she uses the laws inherent to the construction of fabric and utilized the bias in ways that had never been done before. It added a whole new and exciting element to clothing design.
5. You recently held a vintage fashion project and online auction benefitting “Future Fashion” an Earth Pledge initiative. Dita Von Teese and Debi Mazar hosted the invitation-only event and you had contemporary designers like Jeremy Scott and Current/Elliot take vintage pieces and reinterpret them for today. The designs were then featured and auctioned on eBay. It was way to teach people how to take items they could recycle and turn them into one-of-a-kind pieces. What were the biggest surprises of the “new” designs from vintage pieces?
I would have to say there were several. Two of the designers turned dresses into leggings or harem pants!! That was truly inspirational and actually something that most people could do. One designer fused two dresses into one beautifully constructed evening dress- this was one of the more complicated transformations. One designer eliminated a turtleneck long-sleeve knit to create a strapless and make a choker necklace from the turtleneck!!! I could go on because they were all so imaginative and inspiring.
An amazing curator of vintage fashions and accessories
“Fairy Godmother of Fashion Inspiration”
1. What lead to your obvious passion for vintage?
It started out as a necessity (an inexpensive way to dress myself in high school and college) that grew into a hobby (buying and selling part-time at the Marin City Flea Market in Northern California) that grew into a business. (Opened in San Francisco in 1981) It’s hard to believe I have been in the vintage clothing business for almost 30 years!!!
2. What is your treasured possession from all your buying excursions, estate auctions and travels around the world?
I think I would have to say the Sonia Delaunay cloche and scarf. It came to me in the most amazing way. About 16 years ago, a friend was curating a museum exhibition from start to finish to complete her degree. It was on the artist, Sonia Delaunay. I had not had any knowledge of who she was or her body of work. When I was visiting my family in NY, I wanted to show my support of this friend so I took the train to Purchase to see this exhibit. I was so taken by this artist that I bought several books about her. Six months later, I was in Asheville, NC visiting my family. I always stop by antique stores on any trip and I happened to go into one that had a good selection of vintage clothing and accessories. In that shop, I found a cloche and scarf that looked so much like Delaunay. I bought it and took it to Paris with me to research. It took 2 years, but I finally got a certificate of authenticity from Sonia’s grandson!!!! I treasure it for so many reasons; it’s beauty, the journey of finding it and of course, it’s value.
3. You’d had a long list of top designers come to you personally as a guide in their inspiration for new collections based on your vast archives of vintage clothing, ethnic costumes, design prototypes, as well as a significant reference section filled with 18th to 20th century accessories, fabrics, trims and swatches. Designers like John Galliano and Donatella Versace, to name a few. Who have been some of the designers you most enjoyed working with and what were they seeking? And with whom have you seen the translation/inspiration happen on the runway?
To answer the question, I feel like it’s impossible to single out any designer and the collaboration that goes on is information that I feel is private. For a “typical” design appointment a designer or design team contacts me typically a week to two weeks in advance to their arrival. I am given a list of inspirational buzzwords and/or silhouettes they are drawing their inspiration from and I am asked to pull inventory from my stock that fits in. So I could pull a collection together that may be inspired by Deauville in the 1930’s with attention to geometric prints and sleeve details. For accessories, it may be attention to hardware or vamp details. We have over 2,000,000 swatches and proto-types now so the references are vast.
4. You carry names like Valentino, Halston, Vivienne Westwood, James Galanos, Commes des Garcons, Emilio Pucci, Norman Norell, Yves St. Laurent, Mary Quant, Diane von Furstenburg, and Christian Dior to beaded dresses from the 20’s, small waisted dresses from the 50’s—the list seems endless. What designer and period of time do you connect with strongest personally?
I am most impressed with Paul Poiret and Madeleine Vionnet. Poiret was the first couturier to infuse inspiration from around the world into his designs and in a sense, was the father of the “bohemian chic” look. Vionnet was a true architect who chose to use fabric instead of steel. To look at how she uses the laws inherent to the construction of fabric and utilized the bias in ways that had never been done before. It added a whole new and exciting element to clothing design.
5. You recently held a vintage fashion project and online auction benefitting “Future Fashion” an Earth Pledge initiative. Dita Von Teese and Debi Mazar hosted the invitation-only event and you had contemporary designers like Jeremy Scott and Current/Elliot take vintage pieces and reinterpret them for today. The designs were then featured and auctioned on eBay. It was way to teach people how to take items they could recycle and turn them into one-of-a-kind pieces. What were the biggest surprises of the “new” designs from vintage pieces?
I would have to say there were several. Two of the designers turned dresses into leggings or harem pants!! That was truly inspirational and actually something that most people could do. One designer fused two dresses into one beautifully constructed evening dress- this was one of the more complicated transformations. One designer eliminated a turtleneck long-sleeve knit to create a strapless and make a choker necklace from the turtleneck!!! I could go on because they were all so imaginative and inspiring.
Debi Mazar & Dita Von Teese Alison Deyette & Designer Lloyd Klein
6. Celebs adore you for red carpet events and photo shoots like Sienna Miller, Angelina Jolie, Jessica Alba, Chloe Sevigny, Renee Zellweger, Scarlett Johansson, Dita von Teese, and Gwen Stefani—do you have a favorite look from the runway or a photo shoot?
Not really. Each garment and photo shoot is unique and an appropriate statement for that moment in time. I do have to say that Arianne Phillips consistently blows me away with what she pulls together and how she mixes and matches.
7. Whose closet would you like to peek inside?
Nancy Cunard, Sonia Delaunay and Iris Apfel
6. Celebs adore you for red carpet events and photo shoots like Sienna Miller, Angelina Jolie, Jessica Alba, Chloe Sevigny, Renee Zellweger, Scarlett Johansson, Dita von Teese, and Gwen Stefani—do you have a favorite look from the runway or a photo shoot?
Not really. Each garment and photo shoot is unique and an appropriate statement for that moment in time. I do have to say that Arianne Phillips consistently blows me away with what she pulls together and how she mixes and matches.
7. Whose closet would you like to peek inside?
Nancy Cunard, Sonia Delaunay and Iris Apfel
Clothing featured in various magazines
The Shop on La Brea in Los Angeles, CA
The world's leading fashion and accessory designers share one priceless trade secret -
Doris Raymond. For almost two decades, this vintage fashion specialist has been available to insiders by private appointment only, quietly providing superb clothing, accessories and inspiration originally from her warehouse in San Francisco until recently
when she opened the doors to The Way We Wore in Los Angeles.
Raymond feels that Los Angeles, with its’ spirited designers, eclectic styles and
Hollywood glamour, is the center of the universe for fashion and style trends. Her
boutique on La Brea Avenue has served to feed L.A.'s fashion appetite including
numerous celebrities, stylists and costume designers. The boutique features treasures spanning the entire 20th century and includes racks of rare European couture pieces including Chanel, Vionnet, Fortuny a piece by the artist Sonia Delaunay. American designers Geoffrey Beene, Bonnie Cashin, Claire McCardell, Norman Norell, Rudi
Gernreich and Pauline Trigere are just a few of the labels among this vast and important collection. Over the years, her inventory has been exhibited throughout international museums with a Poiret recently exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
In the 1970’s, Raymond started buying vintage clothing as an alternative to the contemporary clothes. She became smitten with the handwork and patina that the older clothes offered and also loved the concept of recycling. In 1981 Doris turned this passion into a Bay Area business, opening the nationally renowned The Way We Wore vintage clothing boutique. In 1992, Raymond decided to close the boutique to focus on movie costuming and private sales. The Way We Wore evolved into a 6,000 square foot warehouse with over 100,000 pieces of vintage clothing, textiles, and accessories. Much of the collection has been rented to major motion picture studios and clothing designers.
Recent movies outfitted by Raymond include “The Curious Story of Benjamin Buttons”
(Cate Blanchett), “The Changeling” (Angelina Jolie), “Charlie Wilson’s War”, “The
Lovely Bones”, and “Oceans 12” among others.
Notable Achievements
•Former Board Member of the Textile Arts Council of the M.H. de Young Museum,
San Francisco, CA
•Member Costume Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
•Member of the Costume Society of America
•Member of Fashion Group International
•Voted “Best of LA” Los Angeles Magazine Best Vintage Store 2006
•”Fashion Retailer of the Year” Nominee LA Fashion Awards 2007
Doris Raymond. For almost two decades, this vintage fashion specialist has been available to insiders by private appointment only, quietly providing superb clothing, accessories and inspiration originally from her warehouse in San Francisco until recently
when she opened the doors to The Way We Wore in Los Angeles.
Raymond feels that Los Angeles, with its’ spirited designers, eclectic styles and
Hollywood glamour, is the center of the universe for fashion and style trends. Her
boutique on La Brea Avenue has served to feed L.A.'s fashion appetite including
numerous celebrities, stylists and costume designers. The boutique features treasures spanning the entire 20th century and includes racks of rare European couture pieces including Chanel, Vionnet, Fortuny a piece by the artist Sonia Delaunay. American designers Geoffrey Beene, Bonnie Cashin, Claire McCardell, Norman Norell, Rudi
Gernreich and Pauline Trigere are just a few of the labels among this vast and important collection. Over the years, her inventory has been exhibited throughout international museums with a Poiret recently exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
In the 1970’s, Raymond started buying vintage clothing as an alternative to the contemporary clothes. She became smitten with the handwork and patina that the older clothes offered and also loved the concept of recycling. In 1981 Doris turned this passion into a Bay Area business, opening the nationally renowned The Way We Wore vintage clothing boutique. In 1992, Raymond decided to close the boutique to focus on movie costuming and private sales. The Way We Wore evolved into a 6,000 square foot warehouse with over 100,000 pieces of vintage clothing, textiles, and accessories. Much of the collection has been rented to major motion picture studios and clothing designers.
Recent movies outfitted by Raymond include “The Curious Story of Benjamin Buttons”
(Cate Blanchett), “The Changeling” (Angelina Jolie), “Charlie Wilson’s War”, “The
Lovely Bones”, and “Oceans 12” among others.
Notable Achievements
•Former Board Member of the Textile Arts Council of the M.H. de Young Museum,
San Francisco, CA
•Member Costume Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
•Member of the Costume Society of America
•Member of Fashion Group International
•Voted “Best of LA” Los Angeles Magazine Best Vintage Store 2006
•”Fashion Retailer of the Year” Nominee LA Fashion Awards 2007
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