Who Was Hattie Carnegie?

Hattie Carnegie was one of the most successful American fashion designers whose career spanned the 1920’s to the 1950’s. Born Henrietta Kanengeiser she later changed her name while on a ship bound for New York. As the story goes, she asked someone on the ship the name of America’s wealthiest individual and so adopted the surname of Carnegie after Andrew Carnegie.

Carnegie began her career in fashion as a milliner. At age fifteen she found work trimming hats and five years later at the age of twenty she opened her first shop in New York called “Carnegie – Ladies Hatter”. Several years later she moved her store to the more fashionable Upper West Side of New York and began designing dresses. In 1914 she changed the name of her store to Hattie Carnegie, Inc. and by the 1920’s had become extremely popular with the fashion world. In 1923 she opened her famous Hattie Carnegie boutique at 42 East 49^th street. In her boutique she carried her “Hattie Carnegie Couture” collection and imported designs from Chanel, Vionnet and Dior. Her dress designs were very popular and were worn by influential women of the day such as Joan Crawford and the Duchess of Windsor. One of her proudest moments was when she received the Congressional Medal of Freedom designing the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) uniform. The design was adopted on New Year’s day 1951 and on 1 June received the medal. Because of its timeless appeal her uniform was in use up until 1968.

Hattie Carnegie is also noted for designing ready-to-wear clothing, hats, jewelry and perfume. The popularity of her jewelry has lasted throughout the decades and is much sought after. Her jewelry was designed to complement her clothing line. Her designs run the gamut from glamorous rhinestone bracelets to exotic Oriental pins, flowers, leaves, fruit and stylized animal pins. Hattie Carnegie jewelry can be marked as “Carnegie” or “Hattie Carnegie”. At times her initials “HC” are within a diamond, inside a semi-oval. Again, famous women of the day wore her jewelry such as Norma Shearer, Joan Fontaine, Joan Crawford and Tallulah Bankhead.

Hattie Carnegie died in 1956 but her fashion empire lasted into the 1970’s. Her designs have proven to have lasting appeal as her clothes and jewelry are still very popular among women of all ages.

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What Was Elsa Schiaparelli Best Known for?

Elsa Schiaparelli was a famous Italian designer who spent her career living and working in Paris. Her career ran from the 1920’s to 1954 and she was best known for her outrageous designs. She was heavily influenced by the Surrealist movement popular at the time.
Better known as ”Schiap” to her friends, Schiaparelli dominated the fashion scene between the two world wars. Her main rival at the time was Coco Chanel who tried to dismiss her as “that artist who makes clothes."

In 1927 Schiaparelli introduced a collection of Knitwear using a double layered stitch created by Armenian refugees. The following year she launched the “Pour le Sport” collection consisting of skiwear, linen dresses and bathing suits. It included the “Divided Skirt” which was the forerunner of shorts. She enjoyed using new fabrics and technologies and mixed unusual colors, shapes and textures. She experimented with acrylic, cellophane and a rayon jersey known as “Jersela”. She also worked with “Fildifer” – a rayon with metal threads. She created wrap around dresses 50 years before Diane Von Furstenburg. She also made use of colorful zippers and introduced the clinging and attractive bias-cut dress.
Schiaparelli wrote in her autobiography, “I have never been shy of appearing in public in the most fantastic and personal get-up”. This attitude served her well. Her relationship with the Dada and Surrealist movements brought her in contact with Salvador Dali who designed several items for her including a hat shaped like a giant lamb chop! Other more subdued items included a dress with a large lobster print and a hat shaped like a high heeled shoe.

Besides designing clothes, Schiaparelli introduced a perfume called “Shocking”, the bottle being in the shape of a women’s torso and which came in a dramatic pink colored box. The British called the color “Shocking Pink” and in America it was known as “Hot Pink”.
Schiaparelli’s couture house was located in Paris for many years. Due to various factors involving the postwar economy and skilled labor, she was forced to close her business in 1954 to avoid bankruptcy. She retired and never returned to fashion. She died in 1973 at the age of 83.

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Dear Lady Vintage,

What is the best way to care/store for my vintage clothing and fabric?

Properly caring for vintage clothing/fabric is very important if you wish to be able to use them for years to come. Here are some tips on storage, taken from Nan Jaeger on the Revival Fabrics blog.

Store Vintage Fabrics Correctly to Protect Your Investment

Location, location, location. So now you know. Location is very important. If you pick a poor location your investment is lost over time. Pick a good location and your investment remains safe.

• Make sure fabrics are dust free and clean before storing. Place nylons over a vacuum nozzle and
  gently vacuum dust fom fabric.
• Store fabrics at room temperature in a dark area such as a closet.
• Do not store vintage fabrics in damp basements or hot attics.
• 65 -70 degrees F is an ideal room temperature. Humidity should be about 82%.
• Roll fabric instead of folding, to prevent stressed fibers at creases.
• If fabrics are stored folded, periodically refold to prevent dust settling in the creases.
• Drape unbleached 100% cotton over fabric and hang on a padded hanger.
• Do not store fabrics against wood. Place unbleached muslin or acid tissue as a barrier between
  the fabric and wood to prevent spots from oil in the wood.
• Do not store fabric in tightly enclosed plastic boxes and bags. Fabric needs air circulation
  to prevent condensation and mold growth.
• Store vintage fabics in acid-free boxes with acid free tissue placed between fabrics.
• Use dried lavender instead of mothballs to repel insects naturally, without chemicals.

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Dear Lady Vintage,

Who was Lilli Ann?

To the astonishment of many, there was no individual named “Lilli Ann”. Lilli Ann was a clothing label whose popularity peaked in the 1940's - 1950's. Because of good quality materials and fashionable design, Lilli Ann dresses, coats and suits are still very sought after among vintage collectors.

Adolph Schuman began his dress wholesaling business in 1933 in San Francisco. He named his company “Lilli Ann” after his wife Lillian. He built 2 factory buildings on the corner of 16th and Harrison which were considered state-of-the-art and which were still in use well into the 1980's. By the 1940's sales exceeded 1 million dollars annually.

Following WW II Schuman opened a Lilli Ann show room in Paris. Schuman became active in promoting fashions between San Francisco and Paris and organized the “San Francisco to Paris Fashion Show”. The shows consisted of lavish runway productions conducted in both cities. These shows allowed Schuman to network with important Paris fashion designers such as Coco Channel and Cristobal Balenciaga. Balenciaga provided, anonymously, designs for the Lilli Ann line as a personal favor to Schuman.

Lilli Ann clothing were made from the best textiles imported from France and Italy. Initially “San Francisco” was on the Lilli Ann labels. When Schuman opened a showroom in Paris the labels then read “Lilli Ann - Paris - San Francisco”. Because Schuman placed very large orders from the Blin & Blin textile mill in France, their label will at times appear along with the Lilli Ann label.

The Lilli Ann company is best known for its suits and coats. Many of the designs for the suits were along the style of “Hollywood Glamour” and were known for being well tailored with hand finished seams. Fur and/or jewels would be included in the design of many of the suits and coats. The coats were frequently made in Paris of woven (“tisse”) wool and the label indicated it as such. Because of their glamorous style, Lilli Ann suits and dresses were ideal for special occasions such as cocktail parties and the theater.

The Lilli Ann company went in different directions in terms of designers and fashion lines throughout the “60's and ‘70's. After the death of Adolph Schuman in 1985 the Lilli Ann Company was run by his second wife Jo Schuman and son-in-law Daniel Benatar. The Company was eventually sold to an Asian conglomerate Jaran Inc.

Vintage clothing collectors will always appreciate the Lilli Ann label for its glamorous style, quality tailoring and fit. A vintage closet is not complete unless it has a “Lilli Ann”.

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Dear Lady Vintage,

What is Bakelite and when was it first used for jewelry?

Bakelite comes to us with a very interesting history. Because of its many colors and designs its beauty has reached across the decades to enthral and exite women of every walk of life. Bakelite jewelry has become highly collectible with many individuals amassing large collections only for show, while others not only collect but also wear their many unusual pieces.

Bakelite is the commonly used name given to jewelry made from resinous materials and named in honor of its inventor, Dr. Leo H. Baekeland, a Belgian chemist. After receiving a patent for his discovery Dr. Baekeland established the General Bakelite Company and from the 1920's forward jewelry was produced from this new material.

Bakelite was the first plastic type material invented in 1907. It was actually a synthetic resin or thermosetting plastic (formed from a combination of formaldehyde and carbolic acid) which meant that once heat and pressure were applied to mould the material into a particular shape, it could not be reversed. It would not burn or melt and made a great insulator. If fillers such as wood or fibers were added to the Bakelite the result was a material that was extremely strong. Industry used Bakelite for products such as insulators, electrical and auto parts. After Baekeland’s patent ran out, other companies introduced similar materials known as Catalin, Prystal, Marbelette and Durez. These materials are all generally referred to as Bakelite. The material known as Prystal would, over time, turn an amber color which collectors call "applejuice" Bakelite.

Jewelry made from Bakelite can be found in many different colors and combination of colors as seen in earrings, bangles, rings and brooches which are all very collectable. The most common colors were yellow, red, butterscotch, brown, green and white. When 2 different colors were combined the result was a marbleized effect. Many jewelry pieces such as bangles were either hand carved or lathe carved then polished with either a soft cloth or on a felt wheel. Sometimes the Bakelite would be carved from the inside so the design would show on the outside. This was known as "reversed carving". Other materials such as wood, metal, Lucite and rhinestones would be added to the Bakelite for additional enhancement. During the depression Bakelite jewelry was very affordable for many women and it remained very popular until 1942 when the war effort required the material for various uses on the battlefield.

Today, Bakelite remains highly collectable with prices for rare items going for up to several thousands of dollars. Many items though are still well in reach of the average collector and so can still be purchased, worn and enjoyed. Start your collection today with a bangle or brooch and you too will discover the same attraction for this beautiful material as those many women did, so many decades ago.

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Dear Lady Vintage,

Which designer names are popular when it comes to women's vintage swimwear and what are some characteristics of women's vintage swimwear?

Look for Cole, Jantzen, Catalina, Halston, Rose Marie Reid, Charles James and Speedo.

Women's swimwear took many fashion twists and turns throughout the years. New fabrics made swimwear lighter in weight when wet and allowed them to dry quicker. Prior to the 1930's many bathing suits were made of wool and were heavy when wet. During the 1950's new materials were introduced that were quick drying, waterproof and had minor shrinkage.

A style common in the 1940's and 1950's was the two-piece bare midriffed suit that offerred wide cut legs and a wide seat area. The skirted suits of the 1940's will have a high waist and upper thigh coverage. During the 1950's many of the strapless and halter top suits contained figure enhancing padded cups. The one-piece suit with its lower cut legs was ideal for women with hourglass figures.

As for colors, black and white was a very common color combo for vintage swimwear. In the 1940's, muted colors were popular and yellow and pastels were common during the 1950's. Leopard print was extremely popular in the 1950's and 1960's.

Choosing a bathing suit style is a personal preference. Whether it be a designer name or not, choose what you like and what flatters your figure. Your vintage choice will guarantee that you will be a poolside hit!

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