Betsey Johnson Meets the Spring Maid

A few weeks ago an Instagram friend, Carla, posted a photo of a Betsey Johnson dress that had a very familiar-looking print.  If you look carefully at the print above you’ll see young women, all of whom seem to be having a problem with their skirts flying up.

The print is, in fact, a redoing of the Springmaid girl, a topic I’ve written about quite a few times.  What started out as a risque ad campaign for Springs Mills fabrics and sheets was eventually made into a series of fabrics for the company.  Springs Mills not only decorated their corporate offices with the prints, they also had items made up for sale and they offered the fabrics to clothing manufacturers and home sewers.

So how did Betsey Johnson end up with a print that was designed for a bed sheet maker over sixty years ago?  I can’t possibly know for sure, but I have constructed a possible scenario.

A fabric “designer” is wandering through a flea market in search of inspiration.   The designer spots a sixty-year-old shirt made of the Springmaid fabric.  The designer buys the shirt and returns to her office where the Springmaid girls are cut apart and re-positioned, their clothes given a change of color, and then the new design is put on a black background.  The fabric is printed and someone from Betsey Johnson spots it at a wholesalers.  The fabric just screams “Betsey Johnson,” so it is bought and used to make dresses sometime in the 1990s.

Or I could be completely off base, and the fabric maker contacted Springs Mills and got permission to use their design.

Clothing design has no copyright protection in the US, but textile designs are protected.  Regardless, it is really quite common to see  vintage textiles reproduced in this way.  Tammis Keefe and Vested Gentress are two that I’ve written about in the past.  Like I said, it is possible that the maker of this fabric had permission to use the design.  That has been known to happen as in the case of fabric maker Michael Miller using Tammis Keefe designs.  Actually, Keefe has been dead many years and she left no heirs, but Michael Miller gave complete credit to Keefe, putting her signature on the fabrics.

So, no judgement, just an observation of one more thing that can be confusing, especially to newer buyers of vintage.  Yes, those Springmaid girls do look like they came from 1950, but the colors and label say otherwise.

Many thanks to Carla who graciously let me use her photos.

ADDITION:

It has occurred to me that there is a third possibility – that the fabric was actually made by Springmaid.  The company is still in business, and so it is possible.

AND MORE:

Ballyhoo Vintage has a hat lined in this fabric in the original colorway.

Between the Springmaid Sheets

The main reason I went to Columbia, SC to the South Carolina State Museum was to see an exhibition on a famous ad campaign of the late 1940s and early 1950s, and the clothes that the ads inspired.  I almost forgot about it, and I must thank April for reminding me.  I’ve written about this series of ads, conceived by the owner and president of Springs Mills, Colonel Elliott White Springs, so in order to best enjoy this post, I suggest you read it first.

Colonel Springs was a WWI flying ace and a real character.  It seems as though he didn’t really want to be in the textile business, but what can a man do when he inherits six or so mills?  In Springs’s case, he took over the mills, but in order to satisfy his creative urges he turned ad man as well.  His story is well documented in a book he wrote, Clothes Make the Man, which is a collection of his letters (some of them written to a fictional character, Joe Fisk) with some short stories and company history thrown in.  The book was sold through the ads; you sent him a dollar and he sent you a book.

The ads, which were first used in 1947, used sexual innuendo and double-entrendres along with paintings of girls showing their underwear.  At the time, they were terribly risque, but today would get not a second look.  The ads caused an avalanche of protest among other companies and the public.  There were days when Springs received over a thousand letters, mainly from women, complaining about the campaign.

Many of the letters were printed in the book, and the exhibition had lots of them scattered around to read.  It’s really interesting to read that women were actually complaining about ads that used a woman’s body to sell products.  Could it be that the 1950s housewife was really a feminist?

Colonel Springs operated on the idea that there was no such thing as bad publicity, and he was right.  The ads continued in various forms until he died in 1959.  The company was wildly successful, with the main weaving factory containing 8000 looms.

In 1948 Colonel Springs got the idea to make printed fabrics based on the girls in the ad campaign.  There were several different fabrics developed, and Springs had them made into all kinds of products.

Click

No photos were allowed in the exhibition, but I did stand outside and take a few shots of the clothes.   One thing that really impressed me was how the Springs family kept everything.  After reading about so many companies who threw all their historical records away, it was a treat to find one that seemed to have an idea of its cultural and historical importance.  All the items on display are from the Springs Close Family Archive.

All the pictures on the walls are the original artwork for the ads.  The second one, the girl with her skirt flying up, was the first ad in the campaign.

The first garment is a sports set of a crop top and a skirt and is made from the original print.  It still has the Cole of California tags attached.  The other two outfits, the little girl’s and the woman’s, are from a print called Persian.  The woman’s dress was by designer Carolyn Schurner.  Note the matching handbag.

This is a a view of Persian from the Spring 1951 issue of American Fabrics.

In the case in the background, you can see a cape.  I thought it was a ladies cape, but they had an ad in which Colonel Springs himself was wearing it.  In later years he assumed a fake persona, Martin McMartin St. Martin,  for some of the ads, and this is the cape he wore in the ads.  The shirt is from a print I’d never seen, and it looks like a Hawaiian shirt with sailboats and a bathing beauty, with the Springs name thrown in.

The plaid coat, which is lined in the Persian print, belonged to Colonel Springs.  His chair in his office was upholstered in the same plaid.  The other jacket is made from the Persian print.

This short video tells more about Colonel Springs and his famous campaign.

Today, we have come to accept the fact that sex sells.  The scandalous Springs ads seem quaint to us.  But there is another side to some of the ads, one that did not cause a bit of a stir at the time.  If you watched the video, you saw an ad featuring an Indian man in a hammock made from a sheet with a beautiful Indian stepping out of the hammock.  The caption reads, “A buck well spent on a Springmaid Sheet.”

The ad was criticized highly for its sexual overtones, but nowhere in the correspondence of Colonel Springs did anyone seem to notice that it was racist.  Today that ad could never be used, not because it insinuates the man and woman were having sex, but because it refers to the man as a buck.  Several years later there were other ads that referred to Black men as bucks as well.  We may have not made progress in the portrayal of women, but it is good to know progress is being made in matters of race.

Several years ago my mother-in-law, who would have been 89 at the time, recalled this ad, and how she and her sister-in-law were snickering at it.  Their mother-in-law wanted to know what was so funny, so they sheepishly showed her the ad.  She read it, and with a very confused look declared that there was nothing at all funny about Indians taking a nap.

Protect Yourself – Springmaid

I actually wrote and posted this piece six years ago, back when I had about ten readers and five of those were members of my family.  So I hope the ten of you won’t mind a summer rerun with updated images and a few changes to the text.

This is the middle of Southern textile country.  I live about 30 miles from where Beacon made their famous blankets and robes, 60 miles from the Swirl wrap dress factory, and 100 miles from Springs Mills, which produced mainly fabrics and sheets.  All around me were hundreds of small textile and clothing manufacturers that blanketed the South before they all up and moved to Mexico, Korea or China.

But this is all about Springmaid.  For some time I’ve had a little book called Clothes Make the Man written by Elliott White Springs, who was the president of  Springmaid in the 1930s through 50s.  It’s actually a collection of his letters, many of which discuss a famous ad campaign that Springmaid launched in 1947.  The ads featured pin-ups and risque wording in the ads.  So I was very pleasantly surprised when I turned up a length of  fabric that Springmaid developed as a result of the popular ads..

The pin-up ads actually got their start with an in-house beauty contest, Miss Springmaid, in 1947. The winners were taken to New York where they were sketched by leading illustrators, with the sketches to be used in advertising. By early 1948, Colonel Springs (a real colonel!), had remembered a cover of Esquire magazine which had three ice skaters warming themselves before a performance. Springmaid acquired the rights to that picture to use in advertising a fire-proofed fabric they had developed during the war.

It wasn’t so much the picture that caused all the fuss – it was the ad copy. Written by Colonel Springs, there were phrases such as “the false bottom and bust bucket business” and “be protected by the Springmaid label on the bottom of your trademark.”

Within a few months the furor died down somewhat and the company began to notice copycat ads from other companies. In a September 1, 1948 memo, Col. Springs instructed the ad department to make a montage of the Springmaid girls. It was to be used first for the jacket of the latest edition of Clothes Make the Man, and later to be printed on cloth. According to Colonel Springs, “It will make a terrific bathing suit or beach jacket.”

There were later prints made also, including one called Holiday, which had smaller girls and no stripes, and Harem, which had an Oriental flair. There is also a mention of a Persian print, but it could possibly be the same as Harem.

In June of 1951, the company built a new railroad terminal for  their 28 mile railroad which connected the two main factories in Chester and Lancaster, SC. They got Gypsy Rose Lee to do the official unveiling. Special men’s sports shirts and billed caps were made from the harem print, just for the occasion.

And just a few months later, Springmaid announced that they had contracted with various clothing makers to do a line of women’s sportswear using the prints. Inspired by Gussie Moran, the famous panty-baring tennis star, the company released one of the prints as tennis and swim panties. They were made by Cole of California.  At least one dress and a swimsuit were designed by sportswear designer Carolyn Schnurer using the Harem print.

In 1951, a new Springs Mills office complex was built in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Much of the furniture was fashioned from old mill parts, and the furniture was upholstered in the Springmaid Girl prints.

Like it or loathe it, Colonel Springs was definitely doing something right.  His company has weathered the horrible times in the US textile industry, and is still producing textiles in Fort Mill, SC.  And I’m used to having to really dig for any information concerning most older manufacturing companies, but this was almost too easy, with the book and all.  I’m also happy to report that there is an excellent record of the history of Springs Mills, as the company donated many of their papers to the textile archives at Duke University.

I found this fabric in Charlotte, NC, about ten miles from the Springs Mills factory.  It is the very same print that was used to upholster the company furniture in 1951.

American Fabrics

Despite the forecast high of 100*F on Friday, I decided to make the drive to one of my favorite flea markets.  Yes, it was hot, and yes, I was miserable at times, but all in all, it was a great trip.

First, I found some 1940s and early 50s American Fabrics magazines.  I’ve loved this vintage magazine for years, and had quite a few issues, but I’m always on the prowl for more.  They come up on eBay pretty often, but they are big and bulky, and the postage is always expensive, as are the magazines themselves.  So I was delighted to find a stack of them at the flea Market on Friday.

Check out the Dali cover!

I spent the day yesterday recovering from the heat, enjoying the American Fabrics. And I got a bit of a surprise when I looked through the last one.  The issue is on paisleys, and one of the prints featured was the Springmaid Persian print that I posted here a couple of weeks ago.

And this ad:

The ad doesn’t say that the dress is by Schnurer, but I’m betting that it is.  And check out her shoes!  Even they are made from the Persian fabric.

“Experts call it one of the finest examples of American printed fabric.  You’ll call it a dream date – and so will your beaux.  Springmaid’s new Persian print features all the bevy of Springmaid beauties in glowing color,  Watch for it in dresses, sportswear, beachwear, blouses, skirts, men;s sport shirts, shorts and pajamas at the finer stores soon.” American Fabrics, Spring 1951

Carolyn Schnurer for SpringMaid

One of my favorite things about having my website and journal is that I get interesting email from people with like interests.  Last week, I got a fantastic one from Lisa of Deja Vu Antiques.  She had seen my article on the SpringMaid Pin-up fabric, and wrote to say she had a swimsuit from what she thought was the Harem or Persian fabric.  Not only that, but the suit was from designer Carolyn Schnurer, one of the sportswear greats from the 1940s and 50s.

Close Ups of the fabric:

What an interesting print.  The pin-ups aren’t as “in your face” as they are in the originals, and I can imagine that the original wearer got more than one double-take as the print suddenly dawned on the person admiring her suit.  This print has a really interesting history, so if you haven’t read the article, you might find it to be fun.

You can still find the fabric from time to time.  I ran across some of the original at a flea market several years ago, and I’ve seen it surface on eBay.  And there was a full line of sportswear produced by Cole of California.

Lisa also shared this great Schnurer dress with me, modeled by the lovely Ms. Sara Rott.  Schnurer and her business partner husband were great travelers, and she was obviously influenced by what she saw in other cultures.

So now, with all the other writing I’ve got planned, I *have* to fit in a new article on Carolyn Schnurer.  If anyone has any sources they would like to share, I’d love to know about them!

All photos copyright Deja Vu Antiques

SpringMaid by Springs Mills

Sometimes it’s tough living here in the mountains of North Carolina.  I look at several vintage related chat boards including VFG and Fedora Lounge, and I’m always seeing great vintage finds that I know I’ll probably never find around here.  My UK friends and their John Bates and Ossie Clarks and Horrockses cottons (though I did find an Alice Pollock for Quorum blouse in a local Goodwill some years back.); my California friends and their Peggy Hunt dresses  and Adrian suits;  my New York friends with all the imported goodies that have gone through NYC department stores over the past century.

But on the other hand, this is the middle of Southern textile country.  I live about 30 miles from where Beacon made their famous blankets and robes, 60 miles from the Swirl wrap dress factory, and 100 miles from Spring Mills, which produced mainly fabrics and sheets.  Not to mention all the hundreds of small textile and clothing manufacturers that blanketed the South before they all up and moved to Mexico, Korea or China.

But this is all about Springmaid.  For some time I’ve had a little book called Clothes Make the Man written by Elliott White Springs, who was the president of  Springmaid in the 1930s through 50s.  It’s actually a collection of his letters, many of which discuss a famous ad campaign that Springmaid launched in 1947.  The ads featured pin-ups and risque wording in the ads.  So I was very pleasantly surprised when I turned up a length of this important fabric!

The pin-up ads actually got their start with an in-house beauty contest – Miss Springmaid, in 1947. The winners were taken to New York where they were sketched by leading illustrators, and the sketches were to be used in advertising. By early 1948, Colonel Springs (a real colonel!), had remembered a cover of Esquire magazine which had 3 ice skaters warming themselves before a performance. Springmaid acquired rights to that picture to use in advertising a fire-proofed fabric they had developed during the war.

It wasn’t so much the picture that caused all the fuss – it was the ad copy. Written by Colonel Springs, there were phrases such as “the false bottom and bust bucket business” and “be protected by the Springmaid label on the bottom of your trademark.”

By September, the company was noticing copy-cat ads, and the furor died down somewhat. In a September 1, 1948 memo, Col. Springs instructed the ad department to make a montage of the Springmaid girls. It was to be used first for the jacket of the latest edition of Clothes Make the Man, and later to be printed on cloth. According to Colonel Springs, “It will make a terrific bathing suit or beach jacket.”

There were later prints made also, including one called Holiday, which had smaller girls and no stripes, and Harem, which had an Oriental flair. There is also a mention of a Persian print, but it could possibly be the same as Harem.

In June of 1951, the company built a new railroad terminal for  their 28 mile railroad which connected the two main factories in Chester and Lancaster, SC. They got Gypsy Rose Lee to do the official unveiling. Special men’s sports shirts and billed caps were made from the harem print, just for the occasion.

And just a few months later, Springmaid announced that they had contracted with various clothing makers to do a line of women’s sportswear using the prints. And inspired by Gussie Moran, famous panty-baring tennis star, the company released one of the prints as tennis and swim panties. They were made by Cole of California.  At least one dress was designed by Carolyn Schnurer using the Harem print.

In 1951, a new Springs Mills office complex was built in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Much of the furniture was fashioned from old mill parts, and the furniture was upholstered in the Springmaid Girl prints!

Colonel Springs was definitely doing something right.  His company has weathered the horrible times in the US textile industry, and is still producing textiles in Fort Mill, SC.  And I’m used to having to really dig for any information concerning most older manufacturing companies, but this was almost too easy, with the book and all.  I’m also happy to report that there is an excellent record of the history of Springs Mills, with many of their papers in the
archives at Duke University.