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I. Magnin's Miss Stella

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Stella Hanania was born in Lebanon and was taught to sew in the Parisian convent where she went to school.  After moving to New York, she went to work in the custom salon at Bergdorf Goodman where she worked with Bernard Newman.  When Newman moved to Beverly Hills to design for Hollywood movie stars, Stella came along as his assistant.  She chose to stay in California and went to work for I. Magnin in 1947.

A Miss Stella creation, 1965.  A sequined jacket with real coral beads
floats over a white silk shantung skirt.
Miss Stella, as she chose to be called, was head of I. Magnin's custom couture salon in Los Angeles for 30 years.  All of the garments she created for her custom clients were designed specifically for that client and were made completely by hand.

The Custom Salon on the second floor of I. Magnin, Los Angeles.
This was Miss Stella's domain.
Twice a year, Stella would travel to Paris for the couture showings.  She purchased selections from the couture houses and received permission to copy them in America and also used what she saw for inspiration for her own designs.

Beaded evening helmet by Miss Stella, 1965.
Stella did not like ready-to-wear clothing, calling it "plastic."  She met individually with each client and understood their needs and body shapes, then designed their wardrobes encompassing their personal taste and style.  Miss Stella retired in 1977 and at that time was the last custom couture designer in a US department store.  She died in her sleep in 1987.


Shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue, 1960

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In photos from the late Fall of 1960, we can see what a different experience shopping was compared to the crammed sales floors of today.  Look!  A place to sit!  Individual service from one of many sales assistants!  Place your order and have it delivered to your home!

Evening gowns galore! 

A gentleman shops for a hat for a lady friend.  Note how the hats are stored in deep drawers.

Space to move with large mirrors and generous lighting while trying on clothes.

And if you had the money, you could shop in the custom salon with even more individualized service.

Finally, in the custom couture salon, you could purchase an exclusive design from Sophie Gimbel (she's on the right.)

Those were the days!

All photos by Peter Stackpole for Life Magazine, 1960.

Faces of the Paris Couturiers, Part 1

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You know their names, but what about their faces?  In day 1 of a 3 part series, here are the faces of the French Couture from 1950.

Christian Dior

Jacques Fath

Jean Desses

Pierre Balmain

Robert Piquet
Nina Ricci

Marie-Louise Carven
All photos by George Saad for L'art et la Mode

Faces of the Paris Couturiers, Part 2

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You know their names, but what about their faces? In day 2 of a 3 part series, here are the faces of the French Couture from 1950.

Mme. Gres

Jacques Griffe

Marcel Rochas

Molyneux

Jean Patou

Marie-Blanche de Polignac, daughter of Jeanne Lanvin

Marie-Louise Bruyere
All photos by George Saad for L'art et la Mode

Faces of the Paris Couturiers, Part 3

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You know their names, but what about their faces? In day 3 of a 3 part series, here are the faces of the French Couture from 1950.

Jacques Heim

Germaine Lecomte

Marcelle Dormoy

Jeanne Lafaurie

Raphael

Charles Montaigne

jen
Lucille Manguin

All photos by George Saad for L'art et la Mode

New at Couture Allure - Vintage Coats and Capes

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New this week at Couture Allure are several incredible vintage coats from this year's collection.  If you're looking for a vintage cape, I have a couple of those as well.  Oh, and a 1950s ballgown for a bit of variety.  Be sure to check our What's New page to see all the latest additions to the site!

Castillo for Elizabeth Arden couture silk coat

1940s faux leopard fur jacket

1960s Mod orange wool coat with mink cuffs

1960s Jimmy Hourihan wool plaid cape

1960s Kimberly wool knit dress with matching cape

1950s strapless full skirt evening gown


Antonio Castillo for Elizabeth Arden Coat

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Castillo for Elizabeth Arden coat and suit pictured for Vogue magazine, Nov. 1, 1947

I am deeply indebted to Monica D. Murgia for her in-depth research about Antonio Castillo and the few short years he worked for Elizabeth Arden.  I highly recommend you read her blog post about the collaboration between Castillo and Arden to understand how special the coat I am going to show you today is.

Antonio Castillo worked for Elizabeth Arden from October, 1945 until 1950 when he left to join the House of Lanvin.  He produced couture garments for the clientele at the Arden salon exclusively until the Fall of 1949, when his first ready-to-wear collection was produced and sold wholesale to leading department stores like Neiman Marcus and I. Magnin.

Castillo for Elizabeth Arden 1947 couture coat at Couture Allure.

It is my pleasure to present this couture coat from Castillo for Elizabeth Arden from the Fall 1947 collection.  The coat is made from navy and black striped silk ottoman and features hand finishing and couture construction throughout.  While not perfect, this is a rare and very special example of American couture and is now available at Couture Allure.


The Most Incredible Gloves!

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I stumbled upon this photo on Pinterest the other day and I had to share it with you.  The only caption was "Dior, 1952."  It's a lovely strapless dress, supposedly by Dior, but what I want you to notice is the gloves!  They extend into a stole-like strap that goes over the shoulders and around the neck.  I've never seen anything like them before and would love to know who made them.  If you have seen this photo before and know the source, could you let me know? 

My other question......how do you put these gloves on? 


Two Coats 37 Years Apart

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 The moment I saw this.....

....it reminded me of this.  Do you see the similarity?  Or am I just crazy? 

First photo:  Coat by Gianfranco Ferre, 1987
Second photo:  Coat by Balenciaga, 1950

Madam Satan, 1930

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Kay Johnson as Madame Satan
Imagine a masquerade party aboard a zeppelin.  That's the setting for the 1930 film, "Madame Satan," a pre-code extravaganza directed by Cecil B. DeMille.  If you want to get some fun ideas for your Halloween costume, watch this clip from the film and don't miss the presentations of various party goers beginning around minute 7!


Madam Satan Cecil B. DeMilleby NilbogLAND

Weekend Eye Candy - Lucien Lelong

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To me, this coat is timeless.  It is just as fashionable today as it was in 1939.  Look how perfectly the plaid is matched on the diagonal at the front opening.  Black and white check wool worn over a red dress.  The belt, bag and hat are all in the same red.  Lucien Lelong, Fall 1939.

New at Couture Allure - 1960s Pierre Cardin and Boho Jewelry

Dior Gloves Mystery Solved

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Last week I showed you this image of the most incredible gloves and could not find a reference or verification of who made them and when (the photo was captioned Dior 1952 on Pinterest.) A huge thank you goes out to commenter Marshall Stacks for the help in providing the information I was looking for.

Image courtesy of Met Museum
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a pair of these gloves in it's collection.  They were made for Dior by Parisian glove maker Lionel LeGrand.  The museum dates these to 1949.  And the mystery is solved!  The gloves attach together at the back of the neck with tiny buttons so you can get them on and off.  Thank you Marshall!  I knew it would be nearly impossible to put these on if they were one piece!

Pre-Halloween Sale at Couture Allure!

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Through tomorrow only!  Take an extra 40% off all Sale Items at Couture Allure.  Enter coupon code "extra40" at check out and the discount will be deducted automatically.  Discount does not apply to regularly priced items, shipping or previous purchases.  Ends Thursday, October 11.

Yves St. Laurent Suits from his First Collection Spring 1962

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In the spring of 1962, Yves St. Laurent showed his first couture collection under his own label.  His designs were an immediate success and one of the most famous couture houses in history was on it's way to influencing fashion the world over for years to come.  Here are some of the lady-like suits St. Laurent showed in that first collection.  Note his use of contrast fabrics for separate little blouses and other details. 

Vibrant red wool suit accented with a navy blue blouse in mohair voile and a double row of gold buttons.

Beige and brown wool tweed suit with a beige wool blouse that buttons asymmetrically and has a big detachable black silk bow.  Wide brimmed hat to match in the same tweed.

The same tweed suit without the jacket, showing the details of the blouse.

A white wool suit accented with a gray and white printed silk fabric 
for the belt, the blouse and the hat band.

Wool houndstooth suit with a collarless jacket.  The bronze silk blouse shows at the collar and at the hip.  Shown with a matching houndstooth "cowboy" hat.



Weekend Eye Candy - Yves St. Laurent, 1962

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Another piece from Yves St. Laurent's first couture collection under his own label.  This white silk evening gown has a lace bodice and train.

New at Couture Allure - Vintage Furs and Designer Dresses

Frost Bros Advertises American Haute Couture, 1956

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Frost Bros. was the place to shop in San Antonio, Texas.  It was a very exclusive and old world store for people with old world money.  Frost Bros. carried only the best of the best and made the prices at Neiman's look like Woolworth's.  With those prices, though, you got personalized service and you could purchase fashion from Paris and Italy, as well as the best of American designers. 

In a full 1 1/2 page spread in a San Antonio newspaper in 1956, Frost Bros. advertised the latest fashion from the best of American designers.  Titled "American Haute Couture," the ad featured a pinstriped suit by Irene Lentz. Of course, the high end garments by American designers that Frost's offered were not haute couture in its literal sense, meaning they were not made by hand for one specific customer.  In using the term, though, Frost's is attempting to elevate American fashion to the heights it deserved for its clientele, essentially saying, "You don't have to go to Paris to be in fashion."

Today, I want to share with you the copy from this ad, as the writing is superb and communicates the romance and allure of high end fashion.  Bravo to the unsung writer who penned this copy, beginning with a quote from Irene Lentz.

"To each generation is given a few high-antenna creative people.  They live in the rarified reaches where beauty begins.  A choice few of these find fashion as their medium.  In the olden days, these great artists of fashion were believed to be only in Paris.  Today, a rich vein of them is found in America.  They constitute one of the land's richest natural resources, bringing beauty to our clothes, our behavior, our manners.  They contribute sharp drama as well as gentleness to our way of life, and their works comprise a sector of our contemporary culture."  We apply these words spoken by a fashion philosopher of California, designer Irene, whose highly American design you see in two dimensions [above] and in three dimensions on our Third Floor, to all great American designers.  Making our bow to the tradition of Paris, we honor the designers of young America with the French term, "Haute Couture", so as to offer them, in old world grandeur, the ribbon of honor, the star, the crown and the triple plume of sovereignty and achievement!   With pride, we invite you to see American Haute Couture at Frost's alone in San Antonio.

Doesn't that make you want to shop at Frost Bros?

Frost Bros. Award Winning Advertising

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Frost Bros ad for Traina-Norell dress, 1955.
Yesterday, I showed you a Frost Bros. ad for an Irene Lentz suit that hailed "American Haute Couture."  Frost's did a series of these ads with the tag line "In Fashion In Texas" in the mid-1950s featuring fashion from the top tier of American designers.  These ads were featured in the local San Antonio newspaper as well as in full page spreads in Vogue magazine.

Frost Bros. ad for an Edith Small suit, 1955

Frost Bros. ad for a Patullo-Jo Copeland dress from Vogue magazine, 1957
In early 1956, Frost Bros. won several awards for their advertising, including the Gold Award for Outstanding Color Advertising from the National Retail Dry Goods Assn. and the Seklemian Grand Award for Outstanding Retail Advertisements from Retail Advertising Week.  Frost Bros. had their own advertising staff who worked hand in hand with Express Publishing Co. to produce the ads. 

Please note: 7 out of the 8 advertising staff members who were singled out for praise by Frost Bros. President Gilbert Lang in 1956 are women.  That makes me smile.

Meet Jennifer!

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Meet the lovely Jennifer.  Last weekend, she attended the Open House New York event held at the TWA Flight Center at JFK airport.  What a perfect spot to wear this 1960s Mod era dress she purchased at Couture Allure!  I really love it worn with the black jacket.  Jennifer, you look fabulous and I can't think of a better person to do this dress justice.  Thank you for sharing your photo with us!

1960s Mod era wool dress from Couture Allure


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