YSL outlet online store

1stDibs, a Web site that upended the antiques and interior design world by gathering top dealers' offerings for sale online, is betting that the time for a vintage haute couture and designer fashion category on the site is now.

The site's offerings range from accessories such as a tweed crown from her autumn-winter 1987 collection to museum-quality gowns by Vionnet and Chanel. In between are everyday wearables, such as a short Yves Saint Laurent jacket from the 1970s that needs only the skinniest of pants and the tallest of Louboutins to look au courant.

The site, which spans fashion from the 1920s to recent collections, went live on July 1. Collectors and those who have shopped their closets until the clearance sale racks are bare responded immediately.

"We've had calls and e-mails from all over the country and the world," says , owner of Torso Vintages on San Francisco's Union Square. "We're dealing with people who really love clothes."

For those frugal shoppers who have turned to vintage as a way to purchase well-made clothing in their personal styles, the well-organized site lets them find what they want. "This is very specific," says Hadeed. "You don't waste people's time."

Of course, browsing is half the fun, clicking through a mohair cocktail dress to sunglasses to a gold leather jacket to a matte black porosus crocodile Herm??s handbag.

1stDibs founder turned to the world of museum costume collections when he tapped vintage couture expert and curator to oversee the fashion site. She selected the initial set of dealers, among them San Francisco's Haute, , Lynn Ban, , the Paper Bag Princess, Post Script, Rare Vintage, Resurrection and Vintage Luxury. Watson also included , dealers who specialize in estate and vintage jewelry, as well as Createurs de Luxe, a source for Herm??s handbags.

Another dealer Watson selected is , who started her vintage career in San Francisco and now owns the Way We Wore in Los Angeles. Online, she's offering items she kept off the shop floor or set aside because of their delicacy or rarity for special customers such as designers, collectors and museums.

"Vintage . isn't just about pop memorabilia or a plaid shirt or circle skirt from middle America," says Watson. "There are actually works of art out there."