Antique & Vintage Dress Gallery
www.antiquedress.com

8 IMAGES:

#1766 - c. 1950's Classic Claire McCardell Designer Jersey Knit Dress! Do you know who Claire McCardell is? I'll give you the quickie bio... Only a few years out of school, she went to work at Townley with designer Richard Turk who soon after died and basically left her with the head designer position! (There's a quick way up the ladder!) Anyway, she stayed for a few years, went to Hattie Carnegie for two years and then in 1940 back to Townley to design under her own label. Ms. McCardell is credited with developing the blueprint for American sportswear...practical clothing, simple fabrics, clean purposeful shapes. Her innovations were the "popover" wraparound dress, soft empire dresses, bloomer-like playsuits, dirndl skirts, tube tops(eek!) and bareback summer dresses. She is considered to have been one of America's most influential designers. So... her dresses are becoming more and more prized. I frankly prefer fancy clothing (which were the antithesis of her designs), so I don't like many of her dresses that I've seen.. but then I spotted this little beauty! And, lo and behold, I see what all the fuss is about! You have to remember how highly structured the clothing was at the time to know how innovative this dress was for the time. Very soft, comfortable knitted "sweater" jersey designed into a wonderfully shaped dress. Nearly industrial hooks up the front. A real gem of a dress in Excellent Condition/Near Mint... can't find anything wrong with it! Sort of reds and greens and blacks (look at the close-up photos for true fabric colors).
SOLD - but on display in Museum Category for Research/Study

[Back]