Tag Archives: designers

Claire Shaeffer: Collector, Teacher, Writer

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Lynn

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

Meeting Madame Eta at FIT

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Lynn

I love archives. Show me a stack of old letters, clippings, and photographs and I get very excited—who knows what treasures might be there? When I discovered that the Hungarian-American designer Eta Hentz (aka Madame Eta) had a small archive … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s, 1940s | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Fan Mail for Jhane Barnes

Posted on August 28, 2015 by Lynn

Perhaps you have never heard of Jhane Barnes, born in 1954, but she is one of my very favorite designers. I hunt for her menswear on ebay, primary silk or cotton sweaters, and refashion them to fit me. So far … Continue reading →

Posted in 2000s, 2010s | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Singer Showcase, Issue 1

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Lynn

We all know that Singer makes sewing machines. But were you aware the company also ventured into the pattern business? I discovered this by chance (a favorite research method) when I came across the first issue of Singer Showcase from … Continue reading →

Posted in 1960s | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Sonia Delaunay—In Living Color

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Lynn

This summer I have been reading a lot about the Russian born French artist and textile designer Sonia Delaunay, mainly to console myself for missing a big exhibit of her work in London. Born in Ukraine in 1885, she was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, General | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Madame Eta’s New Fashions for the Adult Years, 1948

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Lynn

Vogue’s introduction of Mrs. Exeter, a fashion icon for the older set, was more than a gimmick to sell clothing to an older demographic. It marked a real shift in tone in the magazine, a declaration that the no longer … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s, 1940s | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Jo Copeland and her Daughter

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Lynn

What was it like to be a glamorous society woman in New York from the thirties to the fifties? Lois Gould’s memoir Mommy Dressing: A Love Story after a Fashion gives us a taste of that world. The book is … Continue reading →

Posted in 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Can We Talk About Bodies?

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Lynn

Since several fashion lines have chosen older women as their public face, the most recent being Joan Didion for Céline, some fashion writers have decided that it’s finally hip to be old. That’s why I appreciated yesterday’s New York Times … Continue reading →

Posted in 2010s | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Madame Willi Posey

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Lynn

Willi Posey Jones Morrison (1907-1981), mother of the author and artist Faith Ringgold, was a late starter in the fashion business. After raising two daughters and working for a children’s garment manufacturer, she decided to become a fashion designer in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, 1960s, 1970s | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

East Coast, West Coast

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Lynn

Long time Vogue editor Edna Woolman Chase didn’t like California designers. Here is the evidence I discovered in a March 1948 letter to her daughter, Ilka Chase. “I saw Bergdorf’s collection of Irene’s things and really dearie, I have concluded … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940s | Tagged , , | 3 Comments