The more one collects, the more you realize that it really is all about the good stuff. If you read any book or article targeted toward the beginning collector you will read that you should, “Buy the best you can afford.” It’s true.
I do a lot of thinking about the pieces that really need to be represented in my collection. One such item is a glamorous black 1950s bathing suit. I actually had one – a Jantzen – but it just did not give off the sophisticated vibe I was after. I sold it.
So I was back at square one, with no black bathing suit of my dreams. Luckily, I have friends.
I have written about Style and Salvage before. Mel and Jeff are two of the most knowledgeable vintage sellers I know, and to have them in my own backyard is an incredible thing. They have sourcing secrets that go way beyond the local resources, and I’m always amazed at the incredible things they turn up.
On a visit a while back I knew I’d found my black 1950s bathing suit.
From 1956 through 1959 Jantzen made a line of bathing suits, some with matching cover-ups and skirts. French couturier Hubert de Givenchy designed suits for the line in 1957 and 1958.
For Jantzen and only for Jantzen, Givenchy, the free-spirited ringleader of creative art in the Paris couture, has designed a marvelous collection of avant-garde swim suits. This is one, “Antibes”, in fabulous new elasticized crepe, in inspirational modern art colors. $25
Twenty-five dollars was pretty pricey for a bathing suit in 1957. The inflation calculator puts it at almost $230 in 2019 dollars. That could be why these are so rarely seen today.
Sometimes good design means knowing when and when not to embellish. Givenchy knew this suit needed only a small bow to anchor the straps.
Thanks to Style and Salvage for the use of their photos, and especially for the exceptionally fine suit!
I can’t believe it has been so long since I shared a sewing project. That may be because I haven’t been sewing, except to make repairs and alterations. But a recent cold kept me at home and I needed a project to take my mind off the sniffles. I have had both the embroidered linen and the vintage 1940s rayon plaid for years, and my plan was vaguely for a coat, and I had looked at dozens of patterns trying to decide what design to make.
Having an urgent need for a project got me to settle on a pattern I already had – one that I’ve always wanted to make. I have written quite a bit about a series of four patterns that Givenchy designed for Audrey Hepburn to wear in the 1966 film, How to Steal a Million, so I’ll not go into detail about it here.
I had made McCall’s patterns from this era, and I have always been pleased with the quality of the instructions. This was the case with this pattern. The instructions were straight forward, and the coat went together very easily. I am short, so I shortened the length and the arms a bit. Other than that I made the pattern as drafted. The only thing I’d change is that I would made the pockets deeper. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be making them a bit deeper by adding to the bottom of the pockets.
The coat has some details that might frighten off less experienced sewers, but the instructions were so good that the pocket…
and the buttonholes were a cinch. I was concerned about the bound buttonholes because several of them were set into where there was embroidery, but that did not present a problem.
I put the lining in by hand, as I have had mixed result when trying to bag a lining by machine. It all fit together beautifully.
Once I got started on the machine, I could not stop. I just could not let the scraps of these lovely fabric languish in my scrap bag. So I did what anyone would do – I made a hat.
I had made this mid 1970s pattern before, and liked it. It was a quick and simple make. I do doubt that I’ll wear the hat with the coat. It seems to be a bit too matched.
I bought this fabric at a place that sells factory end runs. Even at a discount place, it was not cheap. Yes, it does wrinkle a bit, but I am loving wearing it, as it is just the right heaviness for early spring, and it is terrifically comfortable.
In fact, I wore it today, a touch of spring on a rather chilly mountain day.
I don’t write a lot about haute couture here at The Vintage Traveler. The careers of most of the 20th century greats are so well documented that there’s just not a lot I can add. But I just could not let the recent death of Hubert de Givenchy pass by without mentioning one of my favorite ever sewing pattern lines. In 1966 the movie, How to Steal a Million staring Audrey Hepburn and a wide cast of Givenchy creations, led to four of the suits Audrey wore in the movie being adapted into sewing patterns by McCall’s.
The patterns rated three pages in McCall’s magazine, all with publicity stills of Audrey, rather than pictures of the patterns. In the McCall’s Home Catalog, however, there were sketches of the pattern designs. By comparing the two sets of images you can see that the patterns are very faithful to the original designs as worn in the movie. All four designs were either suits or coat and dress ensembles.
Over the years I’ve managed to find three of the four patterns. An interesting note is that neither Audrey Hepburn nor the movie were mentioned on the actual pattern envelopes. I find that a bit odd as the connection between the patterns and the movie were well publicized in the magazines.
This is the pattern that I do not own. I need this pattern in my life.
I’ve been telling myself for years to make this coat. Maybe now is the time.
I don’t even try to collect couture clothing, as my interests don’t really run in that direction. I have been known to pick up the rare (inexpensive) piece though when lucky enough to find it. In fact, one of the few pieces of couture I own is a Givenchy suit, which dates to 1967.
I’ve been needing a few basic skirts, so I went in search of fabric. At The House of Fabrics in Asheville I found a beautiful Donna Karan wool doublecloth, navy on one side and grey on the reverse. It was just the thing to made a reversible wrap skirt.
If you are not familiar with the term doublecloth, it is a type of fabric in which two different sides are woven with a few threads that hold the entire thing together. In my photo above you can see how if you pull the two fabrics apart, they are held together with some threads that are woven through both sides.
I did not have a pattern, but after looking through my collection of vintage patterns I knew I could easily adapt the Givenchy skirt into a wrap style. I merely cut an extra front piece and left the front open.
Constructing the skirt was the easy part; concealing the seams and edges not so much so. Actually, it was more time-consuming than hard, as I elected to do it all by hand. There is a technique of doing this on the machine. Ralph Rucci uses it, and it was illustrated in an old issue of Threads magazine. But I wanted more control, and I knew that perfecting the machine technique would take practice. Besides, I enjoy hand sewing.
Here you can see a close-up of a seam and the hem. I’ve considered going back and top-stitching, and may still do so.
I’ve bought these buttons new in 1978. I used them on a jacket that long ago went to the used clothing store, but I just could not let these buttons go. Because the skirt is reversible, I used clips to secure the buttons so that they can easily be removed to reverse to the other side.
On one front piece I did hand worked buttonholes, and on the other I made eyelet holes for the button shank.
I’ve already gotten a lot of wear from this skirt. It is a great layering piece, and is very comfortable, as it fits loosely around the waist and the fabric is quite soft.
Ann Bonfoey Taylor wearing a Balenciaga evening coat (1962–63) at a personal photo shoot in 1971. Photo by Toni Frissell/Courtesy of the Taylor family.
Several weeks ago I mentioned that there was to be an exhibition of clothes belonging to Ann Bonfoey Taylor at the Georgia Museum of Art. I’d planned on making the trip, and yesterday I made it down to Athens, GA to check it out. The collection belongs to the Phoenix Art Museum, which also organized the exhibition which first was shown there in 2011.
Having read the museum’s description of the exhibition, I knew that it included items from Charles James, Balenciaga, Givenchy, Madame Grès and Hermès. That sounds pretty nice, but it’s been my experience that many times exhibitors tend to highlight the most famous names in press releases. I was completely caught off guard when I walked into a room that contained not one, but fourteen Charles James ensembles.
Charles James (American, b. England, 1906–1978) Ball gown, 1949 Silk taffeta and duchess satin Photo by Ken Howie
There were James suits and coats and evening gowns and the stunning ball gown shown above. It’s is actually a dress and a jacket, and in the exhibition the two pieces are displayed separately with an explanation of how the two fit together. She also had special foundation garments from Charles James, and the La Sirine gown in black and in eggplant.
Astounding as that was, I entered the next room and was met by Ann Bonfoey Taylor’s sportswear. In this case, it was all pretty much from Hermès. Yes, this woman went hunting and skiing wearing Hermès.
Cristóbal Balenciaga (Spanish 1895–1972) Evening dress and coat, 1962–63 Abraham silk Photo by Ken Howie
In the 1960s, Taylor turned to Balenciaga and Givenchy. The gown and coat above was used as the introduction to the exhibition, and it is a real beauty. But it was only one of thirteen Balenciaga ensembles in the show, and there were another twelve by Givenchy. Mrs. Taylor was a serious couture shopper!
Hubert de Givenchy (French, b. 1927) Cocktail coat and dress, 1960s Silk Photo by Ken Howie
Most of the daywear was in dark colors – greys and black and dark blue. But her evening wardrobe was colorful and bright. With the exception of wool plaids from Hermès, there was a complete lack of patterned fabrics. This woman knew what she liked and what looked good on her and she stuck with these things throughout her life.
Ann Bonfoey was born in 1910 to the family that manufactured Putnam Dyes. She married early, at eighteen, and moved to Vermont where she took up the latest sports craze, snow skiing. She discovered that she was quite good at it, and earned a spot on the 1940 Olympic team. Unfortunately, WWII happened and the Olympics were never held. After the US became involved in the war, Ann signed up as a flight instructor and she spent the war years training US Army air cadets. By this time she was divorced from her first husband and needed to work to support her two children. When the war ended, she turned to skiing and fashion in order to make a living.
She came up with the idea to make ski clothing, which her friend Diana Vreeland was able to get featured in the pages of Harper’s Bazaar. She ran a shop in Stowe, Vermont, and the New York store Lord and Taylor carried her line, Ann Cooke. The line was short-lived, as she remarried in 1946 and soon moved with her new husband, Moose Taylor, first to Texas, and then to Colorado.
Ann Bonfoey Taylor skiing. Photo by Toni Frissell/Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photos Division, Toni Frissell Collection.
This new husband had the means for Ann to have her clothing custom made by the best in the business. She continued to pursue skiing, and she had incredible costumes made to her specifications. At one point she went for a military look, and collected vintage and antique military hats and bags to go with her bright red jackets, which were decorated with brass military buttons. In 1965 photographer Toni Frissell shot photos of Taylor for Life magazine and the pictures ran in an article titled “An Inventive Skier’s Worldly Wardrobe.” Over the next decade, she became known as one of the most stylish women in the world. Interesting, because all this fashion attention came after she had reached the age of 55.
Note cards, available at the Georgia Museum of Art
The last grouping of clothes in the exhibition were by Madame Grès and were from the 1960s and 70s. To me one of the big surprises of the show were the Grès day dresses (seen in left note card). For someone so associated with draping and evening gowns, she sure knew how to put together a lovely dress for day.
The two coats on the right are by Charles James, early 1950s.
As I entered the exhibition area I was given the card above which contains a listing of terms that non-fashion people might not be familiar with. I thought it was a nice touch. Click it if you want to read the list.
I was disappointed to see that photos were not allowed, but I soon forgot to care, and I realized that not being able to use the camera forced me to focus on and remember the details of the garments. Most museums that do not allow photos are very gracious about letting writers have access to press photos, and the Georgia Museum of Art even has them available for download right on the website.
I loved how the clothing was arranged. The mannequins were placed so that the visitors can get really close to look at the fabrics and the details. Many are situated so that both the front and the back can be seen. There were actual photos of Mrs. Taylor wearing the garments that were on display. In short, it was a very effective, entertaining show.
There were quite a few visitors, but the space was large, and the exhibition was spread over six galleries. I loved watching the other visitors. One group was a pre-teen girl, her mother and grandmother. They were having the best time, the grandmother explaining the fashions of the 1960s to the little girl.
If you are going to be anywhere near Athens, Georgia before September 16th, you must see this incredible show. The video below was shot at the Phoenix Museum of Art in 2011, but the show is pretty much the same. Note all the Hermès sportswear behind the news reporter and the curator, Dennita Sewell.
All photographs are courtesy of the Georgia Museum of Art. Do not post to other sites, please, including pinterest and tumblr.
It seems like forever that I’ve been trying to complete a set of four particular McCall’s patterns. These were four designs that Givenchy designed for Audrey Hepburn to wear in How to Steal a Million. Thanks to blog reader, Petite Main, I now have 3 of the four. Her sharp eyes spotted the pattern above on the Vintage Pattern Wiki. If you love patterns you really ought to check out the Wiki. I need to remember to add ones I have for sale that are not already pictured.
Ironically, the pattern was offered for sale by my friend Lisa at Miss Helenes and the Vintage Fashion Library! Lisa has a huge selection of patterns at both sites, and I have it on good authority that she’ll soon be adding some spectacular designs from the 50s!
But back to the Givenchy. I first blogged about this two years ago. Since then Birgit of Stitches and Loops has helped me locate two of these, although I was badly outbid on eBay on 8340. I really didn’t think there would be much interest in the pattern.
Why? Because McCall’s did such a poor job of marketing these. There is no way to tell from the pattern envelope that these four designs were actually designed for Ms. Hepburn. There is no mention of the movie. And frankly, the illustrations are just not very exciting. I mean, here is this pattern made up in that great check, modeled by Audrey:
photo from McCall’s, 1966
Or maybe it’s just the hat that makes the difference…
So how did I find the movie connection? From one of life’s happy accidents! I happened upon a July 1966 McCall’s magazine and bought it because of the pictures of Audrey. When I really got to looking at the photos, it occurred to me that I had one of the patterns. That set me on a quest for the others.
So, just one more. Maybe I’ll actually make one of them!
My absolute favorite outfit from that film was the cocktail dress/half-veil/cigarette holder ensemble she donned to make herself look the role of femme fatale for a meeting with O’Toole. No, it’s not a great movie but it’s great fun.
Oh, what a difference Audrey makes! I really thought that it was a rather meh pattern when I was listing it, but 60s coats are pretty popular styles. Who’da thunk it was Givenchy? I’m tickled!
Wednesday, April 1st 2009 @ 9:07 PM
Posted by Lizzie:
I watched this movie again this morning just to see the 4 outfits featured. The tattersal check coat is the very last ensemble in the film, and oddly enough, Hepburn is not wearing the matching hat.Shay, I love that too. It is great how they glittered up her eyelids so they could be seen better beneath the veil.
This month’s American Vogue has a beautiful article on couture. Hamish Bowles goes behind the scenes at several of the top couture houses to see how the workrooms operate. What’s really special about the article is that is does not focus so much on the designer as it does on the relationship between the designer and his staff. And it all comes from the perspective of the directors and dressmakers.
In the workrooms there are two types of workrooms; the flou, or dressmaking, and the tailleur, or tailoring. Different sewers work in the two types, as it takes different skills to work with chiffon than it does tweed. Each workroom has a premiere, who is the head of that room.
There are basic skills needed for all couture work, but each house has different techiniques that set its work apart from the others. And each couturier works differently with his staff. Lagerfeld produces highly detailed sketches that are easy for his workrooms to translate into fabric. Lacroix produces less detailed sketches and invites the input of his staff.
The article is illustrated with photos of some of the staff for the houses. Especially interesting are the little pockets, or pochettes the sewers wear around their necks. The pouches are filled with their tools and around their necks are tape measures, and many have pincushion bracelets.
I don’t collect couture, as a general rule. It’s usually out of my price range, and frankly, not many couture clients come from the wilds of Western North Carolina. But I do have a few pieces; the Givenchy suit pictured here, a Chanel dress and coat ensemble, and a Jacques Griffe little black dress. I’ve been meaning to put together an article explaining what makes couture special, and the detail photos below will be a part of that future article.
The amount of handwork in this suit is amazing. It is practically all sewn by hand except for the actual seams.
The zipper is set in using a cross-stitch, which cannot be seen on the outside of the skirt.
It all matches up… perfectly.
The fabric is thick. Buttons are sewn on with a shank.
The wool is inner-lined in silk, and all the seams are finished by hand.
The Vintage Traveler 