Normally, I don’t shop on YOOX. Most of the time, I find the selection overwhelming to sift through, and they seem to save their best stuff for their overseas sites, which do not ship to the US (for SHAME, YOOX). However, yesterday morning, I received the below notice to preview their new semi-annual sample sale with markdowns of up to 90% off:
It’s unclear to me if this was an ASW exclusive offer…regardless, anybody can click HERE and shop away…and whether or not YOOX uses the word “new” to describe this sample sale specifically, or if the site is introducing a sample sale concept every half year or so… Life-altering thoughts aside, I decided to click and browse…I won’t lie, there’s quite a lot to sift through, and I’m assuming with promises of up to 90% off, the merchandise represents the dregs of the dregs that YOOX is trying to unload.
I was pleasantly surprised however, to find this Balenciaga men’s button-down shirt, which I ended up picking up:
images off of YOOX.com
The pinstriping, contrast cuffs and collar, plus the pleated detail on the front were what initially caught my eye. And at $155 USD I felt the price was verging on a steal for Balenciaga. I can’t wait for this piece to arrive…my only hope is that I chose the right size…reading around, people tend to dramatically size up when it comes to Balenciaga menswear…at least that’s what I’ve seen with sweaters and coats…I hope the same holds true with the label’s button-downs…
To me, this shirt stands on its own…as in, I’d wear it regardless of what year it is as it’s not a dated look to me… But I was still curious if I could locate the actual collection this shirt may have been a part of. The white stripes over the pale blue, along w/ the white cuffs and collar are very American, Ralph Lauren, wear-to-work to me…so that was one clue…at the same time, the pleated detailing along with the black cloth-covered buttons lifted the prep-based look to a more formal sensibility…clue number 2. Now which of the previous Balenciaga collections sourced from Americana-inspired looks but then gave each look a more European appeal through cut and embellishment (piped-edge blazers, college-styled sweaters with embroidered letters on the front, army-navy surplus store coats with added fur collars for flair…)? “Could it be?” I thought to myself.
image from men.style.com
It didn’t take long to resurface images of my favorite Balenciaga mens collection — the Fall Winter 2007-2008 collection. The shirt above has the same cuffs, collar, and black buttons…I wish I could find a closeup image to determine if the shirt is striped or a solid color…and most importantly, I wish there were additional pics without the waistcoat buttoned over the front. Regardless…I think I’m pretty convinced it’s the same shirt.
What do you think? Prove me wrong if you can, I’d really like to know…send me any additional images you might know of, I’ve scoured the internet all I can for now…
Taylor Fuchs for D&G
all images from 
Hotdish & Bars 