Category Archives: 1990

Kay Thompson : A Pioneer in Pants

Unless you love the Eloise books or frequently watch the 1957 film Funny Face you might not know the name Kay Thompson (1909-1998).  She was a well known entertainer from the thirties on, with a long list of achievements: singer, … Continue reading

Posted in 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1990 | Tagged | 5 Comments

Bad Hair Day? Try a Turban

One of John Tiffany’s jobs as Eleanor Lambert’s assistant was to bring turbans with him in the car when he picked her up from the hairdresser’s. She got her hair done many times a week, but apparently wasn’t always pleased … Continue reading

Posted in 1990 | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Carmen Dell’Orefice—“The Quintessential Vogue Woman”

With all the fuss in the press recently about older models in the fashion world, you would think this issue was only invented in the new millennium. However, product lines aimed at the older set have long tried to find … Continue reading

Posted in 1990 | Tagged | 3 Comments

The Vogue Woman Collection

At various points in its long history, the Vogue Pattern Company turned its attention to its older customers. However, it was only in the 1993s that it launched a pattern line designed specifically to address aging figures—the Vogue Woman Collection. … Continue reading

Posted in 1990 | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Donna Karan in the Black

I’ve never bought anything by American designer Donna Karan—her clothes are far above my price range.  But after reading her new autobiography, My Journey, I think I might have been influenced by her approach to clothing. In the late eighties, … Continue reading

Posted in 1980s, 1990, 2000s, 2010s | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Koko Beall—A Life in Fashion Design

When I wrote about a favorite Vogue Pattern designer Koko Beall in 2014, I didn’t know whether or not she was still alive. Through the magic of the internet, her daughter Victoria Beall found my post. She sent the happy … Continue reading

Posted in 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990, 2000s, 2010s | Tagged , | 10 Comments

Claire Shaeffer: Collector, Teacher, Writer

Claire Shaeffer and her husband Charlie are collectors. When you enter their spacious Palm Springs home, their many passions are everywhere on display. The walls are filled bits and pieces they have collected through the years. When you look more … Continue reading

Posted in 1970s, 1980s, 1990, 2000s, 2010s, General | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

The Stretch & Sew Empire

Ann Person of Stretch & Sew was a brilliant business woman. Her franchises were a self-contained sewing empire, offering patterns, fabric, notions, and classes. On the women’s pages of local newspapers, she gained notoriety as a hugely successful entrepreneur. One … Continue reading

Posted in 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990, 2000s, General | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Ann Person of Stretch & Sew

Every avocation has its celebrities, and Ann Person, the founder of Stretch & Sew, was a star in the world of home sewing in the seventies and eighties. As knit clothing hit the market in a big way, she devised … Continue reading

Posted in 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990 | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Searching for Koko Beall

Some of my very favorite sewing patterns are by Koko Beall from the Very Easy Vogue series. Recently I came across a short feature about her in an 1981 issue of Vogue Pattern Book that peaked my curiosity. Here’s what … Continue reading

Posted in 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990 | Tagged , | 5 Comments