The designer label is similar to others from the early 1960s, but no 1950’s labels have been found for comparison. Maria Carine opened in 1953, and manufactured authorized prêt-à-porter (ready to wear) for the haute couture (high fashion) designers. The fabrics were the same as those used in the couture versions and seams were hand-finished. In 1957 the company began exporting to the American market, which coincides with LaRoche’s opening. In 1967, Maria Carine was taken over by a rival company. (4) Given the timelines of the two companies, the ensemble dates to sometime between 1957 and 1967. The style and silhouette of the ensemble fits with late 1950s to very early 1960s haute couture design.
No comparable garments were found by LaRoche, in fact extant garments from his early years appear to be scarce. Patterns of LaRoche’s designs were licensed by Vogue Patterns by autumn of 1957. (5) Pattern illustrations between 1958 and 1960 have some similarities to the ensemble studied: bloused jackets, bows, the looser, rounded silhouette of the shoulders and arms, and the knee-length hem. His early patterns seemed to feature only fitted dresses, so a comparable shift pattern cannot be identified. The labels and the style of the design indicate that the ensemble is an authentic LaRoche design, not of haute couture manufacture, but from an authorized prêt-à-porter and very close to the original.
This ensemble straddles a period of tension between two culturally disparate eras, which of course was reflected in fashion. The conservative, consumeristic, and conformist 1950s had highly gendered clothing, with mature women as the ideal figure. Women’s fashions looked impractically backwards to previous historical eras, and a woman’s clothing was expected to reflect her husband’s success. Paris couture rose from the ashes of World War II and reigned supreme once more. A woman like Dr. Cusack, with not only a career, but a doctoral degree would have been an exception to this trend, although her work was within a socially acceptable field. Fashion in the 1960s, conversely, championed the underdeveloped adolescent figure, flipped to a trickle-up model, and blurred gender lines. The haute couture houses diversified with options like ready-to-wear in order to survive. (6)
The waistless “chemise” or “sack” style, the silhouette on which this ensemble is based, appeared in haute couture in 1957. Sears was offering mass-manufactured versions of this style as early as 1958. The de-emphasizing of the bust and waist through looser silhouettes at the time was seen as youthful. (7) Women’s Wear Daily’s coverage of LaRoche in the early years of his opening offers contemporary opinions for his early designs, as well as some insights from LaRoche himself.
LaRoche’s design philosophy was sensible, “wearable models but nothing sumptuous,” believing that haute couture shouldn’t be created in a vacuum. For LaRoche, texture, color, and silhouette were equally important. He strived for high craftsmanship without extravagant and expensive decoration that would be risky for business. Despite his market of a youthful consumer and his savvy licensing, he did not want any business relationships that would diminish the dignity of his work. (8)
Articles in the fashion press generally mirror LaRoche’s own views of his work. His early lines were described as young and forward-looking, colorful, wearable, and were recognized for their popularity on the American market. They were initially popular initially with the juniors market, then quickly shifted to women of various ages who were “young at heart.” One journalist pointed him out “for quality designs at non-fabulous prices.”
Initially his designs were viewed as avant-garde and similar to Givenchy. In an article about hemlines he was placed with Dior as being a more middle-of-the-road designer, not too extreme, but not out of date. Two years after his first collection the press pegged him as moving away from the avant garde. The public’s response to LaRoche’s first line was recorded by one journalist. They thought of them as “nice clothes,” “young and wearable,” and contrary to the aforementioned characterization of avant garde, “nothing extreme.” (9)
The ensemble studied is fairly consistent with many of the properties ascribed to LaRoche’s designs. The texture, color, and silhouette are equally balanced. It is made of high-quality materials and the construction is of a high standard. It doesn’t have extraneous or luxurious details such as embroidery or bejeweled trims and buttons. The dress is certainly youthful and forward-looking in its silhouette, shorter hemline, and lack of sleeves. Except for the impracticality of upkeep of an ivory-colored ensemble, it is certainly “wearable.”
Dr. Cusack, the donor, would have been in her mid to late 30s, and on the cusp of becoming a dean when purchasing this ensemble. Her age and position of authority contrasts with the idea of LaRoche’s designs as youthful, but not with the themes of desiring high quality, wearable clothes. Women in the 1950s and 1960s were faced with the new problem of determining what was appropriate to wear in a business setting. In the early 1960s, Jacqueline Kennedy’s style of a shift dress worn with a matching short jacket became a standard workwear choice. (10) Dr. Cusack’s ensemble is reminiscent of a man’s suit, but the overall effect is feminine, thereby balancing her gender with the gravity of her station. Light colors are sometimes associated with a higher economic status because of the trouble and expense of upkeep. In the workplace, however, dark colors are generally considered more professional, so perhaps this suit was for church, holidays, and social functions.
To the modern eye, LaRoche’s ensemble, as well his other early designs, look much like those of other couturiers of the period. This makes sense, given how much contemporary press compared him to other designers, and his desire to have a successful business more than to be known as an artist. Monocolor, pared-down styles with large buttons and a skimming silhouette, have primarily been revisited in modern media through old movies and television shows. Most people would associate such an outfit with Audrey Hepburn, Mary Tyler Moore, or Jackie Kennedy, for its understated chic. These women have achieved style icon status.
Their status was renewed with my generation in the 2010s with the show Mad Men. Millennials were already familiar with retro style from watching classic movies with their grandparents and reruns on Nick at Nite and TVLand, as well satirical takes on midcentury media such as The Truman Show and Pleasantville. It took Mad Men, however, to spur mainstream fashion to a retro renaissance. Yet, with the rise of generation Z, a generation that loves Friends and considers 1990’s fashion as the new retro, one has to wonder if early 1960’s fashion will continue to be upheld as the epitome of chic in the future or be considered simply outdated. (11)
In opposition to generation Z’s love of normcore fashion, the opulence and progressiveness of the Roaring Twenties had already been predicted as a possible fashion influence for this decade. Some believe that history will repeat itself and post-pandemic life will take on the same flashiness in fashion to celebrate. The 1960s shift dress fashion was highly influenced by the 1920s, so it doesn’t seem unreasonable. On the other hand, many people have shifted away from cities to suburbia, and many women have dropped out of the workforce. Even if they return, perhaps a swing back to conservatism reminiscent of the 1950s or 1980s will occur in fashion. (12)
Footnotes
1) "Social Security Death Index," s.v. "Beverly Cusack" (1923-2075), Ancestry.com; “Dr. B. Cusack,” Obituaries, Providence Journal, July 1, 1975, 64; “Dr. Beverly Cusack,” Providence Journal, May 31, 1974, 13; “Cusack, Beverly (Downing),” Obituaries and Death Notices, Providence Journal, July 2, 1975, 59.
2) Charlotte Mankey Calasibetta, Fairchild’s Dictionary of Fashion, 2nd ed. (New York: Fairchild Books, 1998), 643.
3) BAK, “Hovland-Swanson,” The Department Store Museum (blog), September 2001, http://www.thedepartmentstoremuseum.org/2011/09/hovland-swanson-lincoln-nebraska.html.
4) Lizzie Bramlett, “Laroche, Guy,” Label Resource, The Vintage Fashion Guild, July 18, 2021, https://vintagefashionguild.org/label-resource/laroche-guy/; Vintagiality, “Maria Carine,” Label Resource, The Vintage Fashion Guild, September 27, 2010, https://vintagefashionguild.org/label-resource/carine-maria/.
5) “Fabrics at Retail: LaRoche, Patterson Styled Added by Vogue Patterns,” Fabrics at Retail, Women’s Wear Daily, October 14, 1957.
6) Daniel Delis Hill, American Menswear: From the Civil War to the Twenty-First Century (Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press, 2011), 210-12, 236-237, 285; Valerie Mendes and Amy de la Haye, Fashion Since 1900 (London: Thames & Hudson, Ltd. Hill, 2012), 158-60.
7) François Baudot, Fashion: The 20th Century (New York: Universe, 2006), 158; Joy Shih, Fashionable Clothing from the Sears Catalogs: Late 1950s (Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 1997), 27; Aileen Ribeiro, Dress and Morality (London: Batsford, 1986), 168; Jessica Daves, “Paris Collections,” Vogue, March 1958, 106.
8) “New House Concentrates on Low, Belted Straight Line,” Women’s Wear Daily, February 4, 1957, 4; A.D. Galloway, “Young Spirit in New Couturier’s First Show,” Women’s Wear Daily, February 26, 1957, 1; M.D. de la Prade, “Paris Says Normal, Supple Waist: Big Sleeves, Giant Pockets, Scooped Up Bateau Cited: Paris Fashions,” Women’s Wear Daily, January 19, 1959, 32; Bernadine Taub, “'A Couturier Should Concentrate On the Couture Business': Non-Conflicting Products,” Women’s Wear Daily, April 6, 1959, 5.
9) Galloway, “Young Spirit”; “Trade Praises Dior’s Cuts, Lanvin’s Evening Clothes,” Women’s Wear Daily, August 8, 1957, 4; M.D.L., "Today...In Paris," Women’s Wear Daily, February 7, 1957, 2; Paris Bureau, “Paris...Late News,” Women’s Wear Daily, July 10, 1957, 40; John B. Fairchild, “Balenciaga, Givenchy Cited As Tops in Creative Fashion,” Women’s Wear Daily, August 2, 1957, 1; Taub, “A Couturier,” 5; “Back From Paris, Trade Praises Dior's Chemises,” Women’s Wear Daily, August 6, 1957, 4; John B. Fairchild, “Personalities of Paris Couture,” Women’s Wear Daily, January 9, 1959, 23; D.L.W., “---’nice clothes’,” Women’s Wear Daily, March 6, 1957, 2, 63.
10) Jennifer Paff Ogle and Mary Lynn Damhorst, “Dress for Success in the Popular Press,” in Appearance and Power, eds. Kim K.P. Johnson and Sharron J. Lennon (Oxford: Bloomsbury Academic, 1999), Berg Fashion Library, http://dx.doi.org.uri.idm.oclc.org/10.2752/9781847887221/AANDPOWER0008; Shari Sims, “Work and the Wardrobe: Women,” in Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, ed. Phyllis G. Tortora (Oxford: Bloomsbury Academic, 2010), Berg Fashion Library, http://dx.doi.org.uri.idm.oclc.org/10.5040/9781847888525.EDch031915.
11) Nancy Liu, “Friends: Why Generation Z LOVES the ’90s Sitcom,” CBR, March 8, 2020, https://www.cbr.com/friends-generation-z-loves-90s-sitcom/.
12) Pandora Amoratis, “The New Roaring '20s! Top Fashion Designers Reveal the Style Trends We Have to Look Forward to Post Pandemic,” Daily Mail, January 20, 2021, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9161073/Top-fashion-designers-reveal-new-Roaring-20s-fashion-trends. html; Greta Jelen, “What a Return of The Roaring ‘20s Would Mean For Fashion,” L’Officiel, January 1, 2015; Jacob Gallagher and Rory Satran, “Fashion: No More Sweatpants: What We’ll Wear Post-Pandemic,” Wall Street Journal, May 22, 2020, https://www.wsj.com/articles/no-more-sweatpants-what-well-wear-post-pandemic-11590166062; Megan Cerullo, “Nearly 3 Million U.S. Women Have Dropped Out of the Labor Force in the Past Year,” CBS News, February 5, 2021, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-crisis-3-million-women-labor-force/; Avery Hartmans, “Millennials and Gen Z are fleeing cities and buying up homes in the suburbs amid the coronavirus pandemic,” Insider, November 20, 2020, https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-gen-z-leaving-cities-for-suburbs-amid-pandemic-2020-11.
References
Amoratis, Pandora. “The New Roaring '20s! Top Fashion Designers Reveal the Style Trends We Have to Look Forward to Post Pandemic.” Daily Mail, January 20, 2021. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9161073/Top-fashion-designers-reveal-new-R oaring-20s-fashion-trends.html.
“Back From Paris, Trade Praises Dior's Chemises.” Women’s Wear Daily, August 6, 1957.
BAK. “Hovland-Swanson.” The Department Store Museum (blog), September 2001. http://www.thedepartmentstoremuseum.org/2011/09/hovland-swanson-lincoln-nebraska. html.
Baudot, François. Fashion: The 20th Century. New York: Universe, 2006.
Bramlett, Lizzie. “Laroche, Guy.” Label Resource. The Vintage Fashion Guild, July 18, 2021. https://vintagefashionguild.org/label-resource/laroche-guy/.
Calasibetta, Charlotte Mankey. Fairchild’s Dictionary of Fashion. 2nd edition. New York: Fairchild Books, 1998.
Cerullo, Megan. “Nearly 3 Million U.S. Women Have Dropped Out of the Labor Force in the Past Year.” CBS News, February 5, 2021. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-crisis-3-million-women-labor-force/.
“Cusack, Beverly (Downing).” Obituaries and Death Notices. Providence Journal ( Providence, RI), July 2, 1975.
Daves, Jessica. “Paris Collections.” Vogue, March 1958.
de la Prade, M.D. “Paris Says Normal, Supple Waist: Big Sleeves, Giant Pockets, Scooped Up
Bateau Cited: Paris Fashions.” Women’s Wear Daily, January 19, 1959.
D.L.W. “---’nice clothes’.” Women’s Wear Daily, March 6, 1957.
“Dr. B. Cusack.” Obituaries. Providence Journal (Providence, RI), July 1, 1975.
“Dr. Beverly Cusack.” Providence Journal (Providence, RI), May 31, 1974.
“Fabrics at Retail: LaRoche, Patterson Styled Added by Vogue Patterns.” Women’s Wear Daily, October 14, 1957.
Fairchild, John B. “Balenciaga, Givenchy Cited As Tops in Creative Fashion.” Women’s Wear Daily, August 2, 1957.
Fairchild, John B. “Personalities of Paris Couture.” Women’s Wear Daily, January 9, 1959.
Fleming, E. McClung. 1974. "Artifact Study: A Proposed Model." Winterthur Portfolio 9: 153-173.
Gallagher, Jacob and Rory Satran. “Fashion: No More Sweatpants: What We’ll Wear Post-Pandemic.” Wall Street Journal, May 22, 2020. https://www.wsj.com/articles/no-more-sweatpants-what-well-wear-post-pandemic-11590 166062.
Galloway, A.D. “Young Spirit in New Couturier’s First Show.” Women’s Wear Daily. February 26, 1957.
Hartmans, Avery. “Millennials and Gen Z are Fleeing Cities and Buying Up Homes in the Suburbs Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic.” Insider, November 20, 2020. https://www.businessinsider.com/millennials-gen-z-leaving-cities-for-suburbs-amid-pand emic-2020-11.
Hill, Daniel Delis. American Menswear: From the Civil War to the Twenty-First Century. Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press, 2011.
Liu, Nancy. “Friends: Why Generation Z LOVES the ’90s Sitcom.” CBR, March 8, 2020. https://www.cbr.com/friends-generation-z-loves-90s-sitcom/.
M.D.L. "Today...In Paris." Women’s Wear Daily, February 7, 1957.
Mendes, Valerie and Amy de la Haye. Fashion Since 1900. London: Thames & Hudson, Ltd. Hill, 2012.
“New House Concentrates on Low, Belted Straight Line,” Women’s Wear Daily, February 4, 1957.
Ogle, Jennifer Paff and Mary Lynn Damhorst. “Dress for Success in the Popular Press.” In Appearance and Power, edited by Kim K.P. Johnson and Sharron J. Lennon. Oxford: Bloomsbury Academic, 1999. Berg Fashion Library. http://dx.doi.org.uri.idm.oclc.org/10.2752/9781847887221/AANDPOWER0008.
Paris Bureau. “Paris...Late News.” Women’s Wear Daily, July 10, 1957.
Ribeiro, Aileen. Dress and Morality. London: Batsford, 1986.
Shih, Joy. Fashionable Clothing from the Sears Catalogs: Late 1950s. Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 1997.
Sims, Shari. “Work and the Wardrobe: Women.” In Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, edited by Phyllis G. Tortora. Oxford: Bloomsbury Academic, 2010. Berg Fashion Library,http://dx.doi.org.uri.idm.oclc.org/10.5040/9781847888525.EDch031915.
“Social Security Death Index.” s.v. “Beverly Cusack” (1923-2075). Ancestry.com. Accessed March 11, 2021.
Taub, Bernadine. “'A Couturier Should Concentrate On the Couture Business': Non-Conflicting Products.” Women’s Wear Daily, April 6, 1959.
“Trade Praises Dior’s Cuts, Lanvin’s Evening Clothes.” Women’s Wear Daily, August 8, 1957.
Vintagiality. “Maria Carine.” Label Resource. The Vintage Fashion Guild, September 27, 2010. https://vintagefashionguild.org/label-resource/carine-maria/.
]]>This sweater vest is royal blue and features a narrow cable down the short center front. The vest is cropped to end at the natural waist. It has a fairly high and wide square neck opening. The tag at the back of the neck identifies the designer as Perry Ellis, that it is hand-knitted, and that it is a size P. The tag in the side seams states that it is Style 5044, is 100% cotton, and is dry clean only.
The sweater vest is undoubtedly an authentic Perry Ellis piece. In 1978, for his first collection under his own name, Ellis used American-made, hand-knit sweaters and in 1979 he debuted his signature single-cable sweater. (1) There were three Perry Ellis lines for three different price levels: Collection, which was designer/couture, Portfolio, which was a lower-priced mass market version of Collection, and Perry Ellis America. Perry Ellis America was a mass market collaboration with Levi Strauss & Company, but set at designer prices. (2) This label appears to be from the Collection line.
During his lifetime, Ellis’s design style was described as inventive and unique, young and modern but also sophisticated, whimsical, playful of proportion, and wholly American. He was even compared to the legendary Claire McCardell. Within the context of its origins, the sweater vest studied embodies these traits with its cropped length and single-cable. A traditional sweater would feature all-over cabling. The single-cable is the perfect example of Ellis’s modus operandi: slight subversion of classic dress. At the time the single-cable was “a minimalist touch that somehow made a sweater look cool, modern, and equally good on women and men.” (3)
There was a philosophical depth to his choice of hand knits over machine knits. Ellis felt that there was an authenticity to more natural yarns and localized production. Furthermore, he believed that “There is a lot of love in a hand-knit sweater that a machine can’t fake.” This in turn mirrored his personal philosophies, “Fashion is low on my list of priorities-first comes love, then family and friends,” and “I don’t make fashion; I make clothes.” The remembrances by his friends and colleagues of his generous spirit and caring nature consistently emphasize that he cared deeply for everyone with whom he interacted, and that he did not allow his work in fashion to alter his ethics and standards. When fans who could not afford his sweaters requested patterns, Ellis gladly complied, licensing patterns with Woman’s Day and Vogue. He then went a step further and licensed with Burren International to create kits of his sweaters for home knitters, complete with beautiful wooden needles and a Perry Ellis label. He knew they would not be significantly profitable, rather it was meant as a gesture of goodwill to his fans, and so they did not water down or alter the designs in the kits from those he showed on the runway. (4)
Attempts to contact the donor have so far been unsuccessful, so unfortunately her perspective was not able to be included in this analysis. One can, however, speculate on her relationship to the piece. Katherine Persky is a strategic planning consultant who lives in New York City and has worked with fashion and cosmetics companies. She attended Princeton from 1975 to 1979 and received a B.A. in Classics. Possibly she was one of the Princeton cheerleaders who graced Ellis’s first runway show in 1978, or perhaps she knew one of them and was introduced to Ellis’s work that way. Regardless of how she came to find the world of Perry Ellis, given the quantity of his work that she invested in and has subsequently donated to institutions, (The Rhode Island School of Design and the Met Costume Institute being two) it is assumed that she loved his styles. Demographically, she was the ideal Perry Ellis customer. Ellis garnered a cult-like following early on, which expanded to include women of all ages, despite his reputation for youthful designs. He claimed to design for women who didn’t spend much time thinking about fashion, but who still wanted to look good while feeling comfortable. By designing collections that built on each other, he supported as well as encouraged his customers to mix pieces to express their individual style. Perhaps most importantly, his clothes did not objectify women or overshadow them. (5) In wearing his clothes, Persky probably felt confident, comfortable, young, and individualistic, but still respectably dressed for an intelligent career woman.
Ellis used American-made, hand-knit sweaters in his first collection in 1978, and this became an important distinguisher of his work because no one else was doing this at that time. In fact, he initially relied on the proprietor of a yarn store and her network of local knitters to produce them because the fashion industry lacked the infrastructure he required. Given that the label does not specify where it was made (others say China or British Crown Colony of Hong Kong), it is very likely that this was one of those early sweaters. Besides being credited with reviving the hand knitting industry in the United States of America, he also was credited with reviving an interest in hand knitting as a hobby. This ties the sweater vest to issues around current efforts to re-shore and localize apparel production again (not to mention yet another hand knitting revival), which is considered an important part of sustainability. Even Ellis was eventually forced to succumb to the capitalist economy, switching to larger production shops and offshore manufacturing. (6) Companies today can take his story as inspiration that change will not be easy, but hopefully well worth the effort.
Sadly, Ellis’s legacy is bound up in the legacy of the AIDS epidemic. The disease took him away in 1986, after only a decade of designing. Without Perry Ellis, his design philosophy, and his commitment to quality as a backdrop to the sweater vest, this humble garment falls flat to the contemporary audiences. After his death, his brand became exclusively mass market, losing its vibrancy, nuance, and cultural significance. When he is remembered, it is more for his influence on menswear, although in popular knowledge his legacy has been almost completely eclipsed by another icon of preppy design, Ralph Lauren. (7) If Ellis had lived, we can only guess at how he might have continued to change and inspire American fashion.
The author’s own experience in getting to know the brand exemplifies some of the issues of Ellis’s legacy. Her introduction to Perry Ellis around 2006 was dull, shapeless men’s basics sold inexpensively at TJ Maxx, including a pathetic version of his signature single-cable sweater. Ellis’s sweaters were now machine-made of synthetic fibers which formed thin, cheap fabrics and packed into the general racks, where they were often marked down to ridiculously low prices. These types of sweater vests were worn at the time by unfashionable, male grade school teachers. As a costume designer, the author often relied on such sweaters for dressing characters like stodgy fathers or nerds on a tight budget. The single cable was no longer a statement of modern whimsy and youth. The author had assumed it was simply a cheap way for the company to make a slightly different sweater without the expense of full cabling.
Now far out of their original context, even many of Ellis’s original designer pieces no longer feel understated, just underwhelming or perhaps odd. While it is unlikely that the brand itself will be fully restored, fashion heritage institutions can help educate the general public about Perry Ellis’s legacy. His designs were classic, well-made and long-lasting, and therefore quite sustainable. The silhouettes and colors he often used are even experiencing something of a renaissance, so perhaps the time is ripe for a new generation to appreciate his designs. If nothing else, the memories of Ellis as a shining exception to the otherwise cold, catty, and capitalist business of fashion deserve to be upheld as an ideal for all to transform the industry.
Footnotes
1) Jeffrey Banks, Erica Lennard, and Doria de la Chapelle, Perry Ellis: An American Original (New York: Rizzoli, 2013), 123, 155, 167.
2) Banks, Lennard, and de la Chapelle, Perry Ellis, 69-70.
3) Banks, Lennard, and de la Chapelle, Perry Ellis, 23-4, 42-5, 80, 114, 123-4.
4) Banks, Lennard, and de la Chapelle, Perry Ellis, Frontispiece, 94-96, 123-125; David Lipke, “Perry Ellis’ Rise to Stardo,” DNR, January 31, 2005, as cited in Banks, Lennard, and de la Chapelle, Perry Ellis, 123; Tuite, Seven Sisters Style, 115-116.
5) Katherine Persky, “Katherine Persky,” LinkedIn, accessed April 25, 2021, https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinepersky/; Banks, Lennard, and de la Chapelle, Perry Ellis, 32, 44, 56 155; Tuite, Seven Sisters Style, 111-113.
6) Banks, Lennard, and de la Chapelle, Perry Ellis, 123-5; Tuite, Seven Sisters Style, 115-116; Emma Cosgrove, “Why Reshoring the Textile Supply Chain is Easier Said than Done,” Supply Chain Dive, July 13, 2020, https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/reshoring-textile-supply-chains/580928/.
7) Banks, Lennard, and de la Chapelle, Perry Ellis, 282-3; Bee-Shyuan Chang, “Perry Ellis Still Has Something to Say,” New York Times, April 11, 2012, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/fashion/a-designers-legacy-lives-on-in-mens-wear.html?_r=0.
References
Banks, Jeffrey, Erica Lennard, and Doria de la Chapelle. Perry Ellis: An American Original. New York: Rizzoli, 2013.
Chang, Bee-Shyuan. “Perry Ellis Still Has Something to Say.” New York Times, April 11, 2012. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/fashion/a-designers-legacy-lives-on-in-mens-wear. html?_r=0.
Cosgrove, Emma. “Why Reshoring the Textile Supply Chain is Easier Said than Done.” Supply Chain Dive. July 13, 2020. https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/reshoring-textile-supply-chains/580928/.
“Ensemble spring/summer 1982.” The Met. Accessed April 17, 2021.https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/95192.
Fleming, E. McClung. 1974. "Artifact Study: A Proposed Model." Winterthur Portfolio 9: 153-173.
grittscloset. “Vintage 80s 90s Perry Ellis Wool Cardigan Hand Knit.” Ebay. Accessed April 17, 2021, https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-80s-90s-Perry-Ellis-Wool-Cardigan-Hand-Knit-/2650 69026146?hash=item3db7585b62%3Ag%3ANc0AAOSwK8dgOZ9N&nma=true&si=194VXbV4JVx5F4FWRbHeDfEfhQk%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid =p2047675.l2557.
“Perry Ellis, sweater, 1983.” RISD. Accessed April 17, 2021, https://risdmuseum.org/art-design/collection/sweater-2000116?return=%2Fart-design%2 Fcollection%3Fsearch_api_fulltext%3Dperry%2Bellis.
Persky, Katherine. “Katherine Persky.” LinkedIn. Accessed April 25, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinepersky/.
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spring77575. “Vintage Perry Ellis Women's Sweater Vest, Silk/ Cotton Small Hand Knit 70's.” Ebay. Accessed April 17, 2021. https://www.ebay.com/itm/114319671890?hash=item1a9dfbc252:g:ml8AAOSw2VpfGm DM.
Tuite, Rebecca C. Seven Sisters Style. New York: Rizzoli, 2014.
Borrelli-Persson, Laird. Golden Lady: Zandra Rhodes Celebrates 50 Years in Fashion. Vogue. September 25, 2019. https://www.vogue.com/article/zandra-rhodes-50-years-of-fabulous-anniversary-exhibition-in-london.
Fogg, Marnie. Zandra Rhodes. Love to Know. December, 2013. https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/fashion-clothing-industry/fashion-designers/zandra-rhodes.
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Heavy beading and embroidery decorate the bodice of the dress, with chain stitching in various colors, small springs arranged into flower shapes, and beading in various shapes, including circles, half circles, tulips, and dashes. The decorations were made separately and sewn onto the dress as a large, completed piece; basting stitches are visible on the inside skirt along the bottom of the waistline decoration. McFadden studied sociology and anthropology at Columbia University for a time and was also well-traveled, and this shows in her designs. This particular dress, along with the more obvious Grecian look of the pleats, seems to have a Middle Eastern influence, with its bright colors and various shapes and symbols. McFadden reused many elements in her designs because she was unconcerned with trends, unlike most other designers. What was important to her was creating wearable art and showcasing the different cultures, both contemporary and ancient, that inspired her designs.
The dress is well constructed, but on close inspection it lacks some couture-level sewing. There is a hand picked zipper, but the basting stitches remain along the majority of its length. There appear to be basting stitches left in a few other places, such as along the top of the skirt where the waistline decoration is attached. There are also dotted line marks for two darts on either side of the inner lining however there is no evidence of darts being sewn there. The quality of the craftsmanship suggests that it may have been a prototype or that “couture” in the United States means something different than in Europe. Couture for this dress may mean “custom made.” The garment has been made smaller, also suggesting that Mrs. Annenberg owned and wore the garment for a number of years.
The original owner of the dress, Mrs. Janet Annenberg Hooker lived a lavish lifestyle, with homes in Manhattan, Palm Beach, and Newport; the Newport home was never lived in, as she purchased the home in 1992 and soon after her health began to decline. Married three times to wealthy men, and with a fortune of her own, she made a great deal of charitable donations, most notably to the Smithsonian. It is likely that Mrs. Hooker was in the spotlight throughout her life and would certainly want to look the part. A Mary McFadden gown was sure to make someone stand out, with its unique pleating, bright colors, and bright decorations. Mrs. Hooker seemed to never compromise on style; a photo of her in another Mary McFadden gown is dated to 1988, when Mrs. Hooker would have been eighty-four. This dress would have allowed Mrs. Hooker to indulge in the dramatic styles of the seventies and eighties, while the short sleeves and more modest neckline would have provided the coverage that older women tend to prefer.
The dress shows how inspiration can span decades and even centuries. Both Fortuny and McFadden were likely inspired by the pleats commonly found in ancient Greece, and despite the clear similarities between Fortuny’s pleats and McFadden’s, she has denied taking direct inspiration from his collections alone. It is more likely that they both looked back in time over other cultures and found inspiration in the same Greek statues.
There is also a timelessness in McFadden’s gowns, with the pleats spanning decades of her designs and her tendency to have a simple skirt paired with a more lavish bodice. These dresses will never go out of style, only simply become vintage. They are not so stuck in the trends and traditions of the time they were made that they cannot be easily translated to a new era; even if elements were to go out of style, the elegance of the gown would remain and it would be coveted, as it is now, as a beautiful vintage garment. Nothing truly remains out of style and that is proven by the pleats that spanned millennia.
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There is also a detachable belt, almost a cummerbund, meant to cover up the waistline decoration for a slightly more subdued style, with pleats running in the horizontal direction. The belt is 35 1⁄2” long from bottom corner to bottom corner. It is 4” wide from top to bottom corner at the end, but throughout the length of the belt, it spans between 4 1⁄4” to 4 1⁄2”.
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