lace

Manuela Moollan's ahilya scarves take their name from an 18th century Indian queen, Ahilya Bai Holkar, who was graced with the title of goddess and called "The Philosopher Queen" for her benevolent rule and municipal gifts. Moollan's scarves, however, are products of Kasmir -- which is to say, they're cashmere.

But not just any scarves and not just any cashmere. To paraphrase the deliciously delivered education Vesper gave to Bond: "There are scarves, and there are scarves. ahilya is the latter." The throats and underbellies of Kashmiri goats are combed for threads that are twelve to fourteen micrometers thick, the standard of the most exemplary woven wools and cashmere. It would take seven of those fibers to equal the thickness of a human hair. The fibers are then hand spun, hand woven, and hand dyed. There are no mechanical processes in their creation -- you know, kind of like the way the finest things have been made since before the days of Sanskrit.

ahilya offers five collections, from the for-kids Tumble line of blankets and smaller scarves (kids love goats, you know), to the diamond weave Touch, to the diaphanous Ethereal. For the ornate, look no further than Lace, which pairs a Chantilly or Calais trim to the woven body of the scarf. And for the ultimate, there's the obviously-named Ultimate collection if you think leafed gold or silver thread will help keep you warmer, or at least better looking. When you're ready to wear a scarf, you can find ahilya online starting at about €215 ($318 U.S.).

As the fashion world eagerly awaits New York Fashion Week in a matter of days, the clothes we're seeing now in stores and tempting ad campaigns are focused on rich fabric and unique detailing -- in many cases, hand-crafted lace made by Parisian artisans or breathable lace from Japan. The goal goes beyond creating one-of-a-kind pieces: designers are hoping to make it impossible for mass brands like H&M or TopShop to copy their work when the materials themselves are out of reach. Designers made use of age-old, labor-intensive techniques to distinguish themselves from the knockoffs, many of which appear on shelves before the originals are even produced.

And shoppers are responding to the shift, favoring an investment in iconic brands that are easily recognizable (think Prada florals, Dries van Noten marbelized prints) instead of the cookie cutter clothes glutting the market. Because as fun as the cheap thrills are, there's nothing so demoralizing to a fashionista as walking down the street and seeing a bratty thirteen year old wearing the identical hippie tunic from Forevs 21.

Letters of Marque, the luxe, vintage-inspired lingerie line launched by beautiful actress-turned-designer Stacey Dash last year, will finally be available for purchase online beginning July 4. Dash, a onetime Playboy model who's currently appearing on NBC's reality series Celebrity Circus, based her sexy debut collection on an exquisitely-crafted 150-year-old piece of Victorian lace lingerie which she'd worn herself for over a decade on, ahem, special occasions. "To me, the most important place to feel luxurious is in your home being intimate with the one you love," Dash tells Luxist. Her pieces are woven with the same rare French and English Leavers lace that was used in the piece that inspired them. The line's name has a historical antecedent as well; Dash discovered that one of her ancestors was a Dutch privateer with a letter of marque officially authorizing him to capture booty. Check out www.lettersofmarque.com on or after the 4th to snag some for yourself.

A bit of frippery for your wrist, this Lace watch by Van Der Bauwede has a delightfully feminine look. The stainless steel watch is set with a row of 78 brilliant-cut diamonds (0.53 carats) on the case. The dial has a lace work motif with Gothic numerals set with diamonds and the crown is set with a briolette-cut diamond.  The watch has a quartz movement and a sapphire crystal. The embroidered strap closes with lingerie hook. It's pretty but I think it would be far more appealing if the numbers on the dial were vertical instead of horizontal.