Monica D. Murgia

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marcel vertes

Adele Simpson

October 18, 2012 / 1 Comment
With all this talk of Marcel Vertès  and Wesley Simpson, it only seems right to have a post about Adele Simpson.
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Adele Simpson advertisement.  Image courtesy of  myaesthetica.blogspot.com
Adele Simpson (1901 – 1995) was an American fashion designer and wife of textile manufacturer Wesley Simpson.  Before marrying Wesley, Adele (née  Smithline) grew up in New York City.  She studied design at the Pratt Institute during the early 1920s, and after graduating began working on Seventh Avenue for clothing manufacturer  Ben Gershel.  She continued working on Seventh Avenue after marrying Wesley Simpson in 1927.
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Adele Simpson with mannequin.  Image courtesy of OldMagazineArticles.com
It was during WWII that Adele made a name for herself designing clothing.  The war offered women the opportunity to be prominent in business and industry.  Coupled with war time restrictions and limited news from Paris, American fashion designers were free to invent new silhouettes.
Adele’s aim was desining clothing that was fuctional.  She did not design garments for dramatic entrances, but clothes to live and work in.  Adele’s interest in design was deeply personal.  Standing at less than 5 feet tall, she could never find clothing to fit her body.  She knew that other women encountered the same issues.  This made her pay close attention to the needs of her customers.  She explained in a 1945 article:
“There’s a personal slant to all designing and because I am a busy woman myself, I certainly am not going to spend hours getting all tricked out in an impractical costume for the sake of a dramatic enterance.  So for women like me, busy women, I make clothes that are easy to manage, suits that need no blouses, dresses that slip on easily, with fastenings where you can get at them, dresses that stay smart under stress, that you can walk in and more your arms in.”
Adele Simpson Dress
Adele’s popularity spanned from the 1940s through the 1970s.  She retired in 1985.  This practicality she stressed in the interview above was always present in her designs.  I recently found this ultra suede dress by Adele Simpson from the 1970s and noticed all of her trappings: a simple wrap design with hook and eye closures.  There were several eye fastenings, so that the dress could be adjusted depending on waist size.  The fastenings were easy to find and secure.
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Posted in: american fashion, Designers I love, fashion, fashion history, made in america, Shopping, Uncategorized, Vintage Tagged: Adele Simpson, American designers, American Fashion, american ready-to-wear, marcel vertes, Wesley Simpson, WWII, WWII fashion design

The Importance of Museums, Libraries, & Friends

October 16, 2012 / 2 Comments

Today’s post is filled with gratitude for three of my favorite things: friends, libraries, and museums.  I never tire of good company and things that stimulate the mind.  Thankfully, I never seem to be lacking any of these!  I’ve been writing a lot about collaboration between creative people in the 1940s recently: Marcel Vertès, Wesley Simpson, and John Little.  My dear friend Lizzie Bramlett collaborated with me for this post.  She read the aforementioned posts and sent me these images from the January 1946 edition of American Fabrics:

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January 1946 edition of  American Fabrics.  Image courtesy of Lizzie Bramlett.

American Fabrics was a trade magazine.  It focused on the  all of the interesting aspects of the American textile industry: artist collaborations, fashion designers, manufacturers, industrial uses of fabric, automobile interiors, and furniture.  It was an oversized periodical, sort of like W Magazine of today, and featured lavish artwork and real textile swatches.  I was first introduced to this magazine at the FIT library.  Seeing artwork paired with real textiles filled me with joy and excitement.  I literally couldn’t stop looking at the magazines.  I spent hours and hours paging through volumes of these precious magazines.  It was endlessly entertaining, and all for free!  (Libraries are really good sources for free entertainment.  You can rent movies, cds, and books with your card.  All you have to do is fill out a form and return the items on time.)

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January 1946 edition of  American Fabrics.  Image courtesy of Lizzie Bramlett.

The article that Lizzie sent me is about the same Marcel Vertès print in my pervious post that is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection.  Here is what the article says:

“I was bowled over when I saw what American fabric and dress designers did with museum objects as inspiration” . . . from an article by Cora Carlyle in Women’s Reporter

“One of the most exciting fashion events of 1945 was undoubtedly the descent of 22 famous designers on the Metropolitan Museum of Art in search of design inspiration.  When the finished fashions were show to the public, it was obvious that the designers had unearthed a pot of gold.  Combing the rooms and archives of the Museum, they had come away with sketch pads crowded to the edges with precious ideas.

Thus they glamorized fabric and fashion in the finest sense of the word, and on the highest level.  The demonstration contributed materially to the fashion industry . . . to the public . . . to the Museum.  It delineated the living qualities of Museum art in practical form.  It educated the public to an appreciation of art as it can be applied to everyday living.

So let’s go to the museums more often . . . let’s encourage our designers to closer rapport between art and industry . . . let’s have art IN industry . .  . to the mutual benefit of both.  Over $780,000,000 worth of design ideas are waiting to be tapped.  Let’s profit by the world’s great art in museums.“

(I couldn’t agree more!!!!!!!!!!)

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January 1946 edition of  American Fabrics.  Image courtesy of Lizzie Bramlett.


Vertès was inspired by the Flemish Angel painting above, which he turned into a textile print  for Wesley Simpson, used by Hattie Carnegie for a dress.

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Marcel  Vertès textile design for  for Wesley Simpson, 1944.  Used for dress design by Hattie Carnegie.  Image courtesy of  The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

 All of these amazing things are at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  This museum lists a suggested donation, but you can contribute as little or as much as you want.  I always give something – as much as I can afford – because I want it’s doors to stay open as long as possible.
Like the American Fabrics article suggests, we can profit from the resources around us.  Libraries, museums, the internet, good friends, mentors – they are all sources of inspiration.  The key is to recognize these resources, apply them to everyday life – and show your support!

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Posted in: american fashion, art, artists, artists i love, fashion, Fashion as art, fashion history, fashion influenced by art, Great Museums, Inspiration, made in america, paintings, textiles, Vintage Tagged: 1940s american fashion, 1940s american textiles, American Fabrics Magazine, collaboration, fashion influenced by art, hattie carnegie, Inspiration, libraries, marcel vertes, metropolitan museum of art, museums, textiles, Wesley Simpson

Marcel Vertès

October 12, 2012 / 5 Comments

The only limits we have are the ones we place on ourselves.  This is something I am continually reminded  of.  My fascination with fashion history only leads me to discover more and more incredible people that realized their full potential.  One of those people is  Marcel Vertès.

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Marcel  Vertès illustration for Elsa Schiaparelli’s perfume, Shocking.  Illustration completed c. 1937.  Image courtesy of McCormick Interiors.
Marcel Vertès (1895 – 1961) was a Hungarian-born artist, fashion illustrator, costume designer, and textile designer.  He was most prolific from 1933 to 1952, during which he divided his time between New York and Paris.
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 Marcel  Vertès illustration of a Lilly Dachè hat, 1943.  Image courtesy of HPrints.

 

Vertès was a real renaissance man.  His creativity seems boundless to me – he created sets for theater, illustrated for major fashion magazines, painted, and even ventured into the fashion world.  He illustrated advertisements throughout his career, most notably for Elsa Schiaparelli.  He also worked for major magazines, like Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue.  (Illustration was so prevalent during the 1940s because of rationing of supplies needed for photography.  Illustrations continued to be popular in the 1950s.  I really recommend looking at the work of Rene Gruau if you enjoy fashion illustrations!)

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Marcel  Vertès illustration for The Ballet Theatre Souvenir Program, c. 1943.  Image courtesy of Meteorology.

In 1952,  Vertès won two Academy Awards for his work on the film Moulin Rogue.  This film was set in late 19th century Paris, and followed the career of artist Henri Toulouse-Lautrec.  Toulouse-Lautrec explored the nightlife in Paris, including the burlesque clubs.  His Academy Awards were for Best Artistic Direction and Best Costume Design.
Later, in 1956,  Vertès designed the costumes and props for the Ringling Brothers’ Circus.  The costumes were wildly sexy.  Critics said that  Vertès had turned a family event into a “night time circus”.  I’ll let you be the judge . . .

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Costume design by  Marcel  Vertès for the John Ringling North circus, c. 1956.  Image courtesy of Showbiz David.

Prior to all this erotica,  Vertès had designed textiles for Wesley Simpson. Last week, I wrote a little bit about the collaboration between textile designers and artist.  These collaborations were not only beautiful and interesting, but they stimulated the Postwar economy.  The Metropoltian Museum of Art has several examples of  Vertès’ textile designs:

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Marcel  Vertès textile design for  for Wesley Simpson, 1944.  Used for dress design by Adele Simpson. Image courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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Marcel  Vertès textile design for  for Wesley Simpson, 1944.  Used for dress design by Hattie Carnegie.  Image courtesy of  The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

 

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Marcel  Vertès textile design for  for Wesley Simpson, 1944.  Used for dress design by Adele Simpson. Image courtesy of  The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Seeing that one person could do all of this inspires me beyond words.  And I hope it inspires you!

 

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Posted in: american fashion, art, artists, artists i love, creativity, Designers I love, fashion, Fashion as art, fashion history, fashion influenced by art, Inspiration, made in america, textiles, Uncategorized, Vintage Tagged: 1940s americana, 1940s fashion, Adele Simpson, costume design, Elsa Schiaparelli, fashion illustration, hattie carnegie, marcel vertes, Moulin Rouge, textile design, Wesley Simpson

John Little & Wesley Simpson Textiles

October 4, 2012 / 4 Comments
Two days ago, I received an email from a reader.  Laura had recently purchased this original textile design by John Little.  (I’ve written several posts on Little, one on his abstract art, the other on his textile designs)  When I first saw Little’s abstract paintings, I felt a connection to his work.  I couldn’t place exactly what it was.

 

Then, I read his biography and discovered he had been a textile designer during the Great Depression and throughout his career as a painter.  There is a vast difference between Little’s abstract paintings and textile designs.  His textiles are more representational (i.e. they depict recognizable objects, figures, or have some sort of pattern).  Laura’s purchase is a great example of this.  Entitled “Personalities“, it seems like a chess set came to life, with each of the game pieces expressing a part of their character.

 

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Personalities by John Little.  Image courtesy of Laura Richardson.

 

All of Little’s textile designs that I’ve seen are gouache on paper.  So, what does that mean?  Gouache is a paint that is similar to watercolor, but is heavier and more opaque.  It tends to dry in a slightly different value that when it is wet.  So since the color can change, painting with gouache is usually done in one sitting.  (If you tried to resume painting after gouache has dried, it can be difficult to match the color.  You may think you have mixed a perfect match, only to find that the fresh paint will dry as a different value.)

 

In terms of art market value, works on paper are “worth” much less than oil paintings.  This is because paper is extremely fragile.  Paper tends to deteriorate rapidly over time, especially if the paper is exposed to an acidic environment or one that has a great variation in humidity.  Think about old magazines and newspapers that have been stored carelessly in an attic or basement.  They become fragile and damage easily.  Oil paintings tend to be more durable.  (Oil paint never really dries.  This type of paint dries in layers.  So even when the surface dries to the touch, the layers underneath are still wet.  It takes over 20 years for the oil to fully solidify!)

 

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Personalities by John Little.  Image courtesy of Laura Richardson.

 

This is just an explanation of determining market value, and not the significance of the work.  To me, Little’s textile designs are more interesting than his oil paintings.  There were lots of abstract painters during the Post War period, doing similar things.  And yes, there were a lot of artists crossing over to textile designs after World War II.

 

But somehow, the textile designs communicate more about the artist.  As much as I like Little’s oil paintings, them seem to echo the abstract expressionist movement than reveal something about Little’s “personality”.   Laura’s textile design shows so much about Little: he was creative; he had an active imagination; he could create stories out of common objects; and he had an interesting use of color, shape, and pattern.  You might not get these ideas from his painting “Tropic of Cancer”

 

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Tropic of Cancer by John Little.  Image courtesy of AskArt.com

 

Of course, my curiosity got the best of me!  I looked around a bit more, and found some more examples of John Little’s textile designs.  They are currently being sold by the Gordon Harrison Gallery.

 

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Textile Design by John Little.  Image courtesy of Gordon Harrison Gallery.

 

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Textile Design by John Little.  Image courtesy of Gordon Harrison Gallery.

And if the textile excitement hadn’t been enough, I was contacted by another one of my readers, Linda, after writing about my own scarf by Wesley Simpson.  My scarf is called “Downtown” and has a repeat of a furniture store and apartment building.

 

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Downtown by Wesley Simpson.

 

John Little and Wesley Simpson had a lot in common.  During the Great Depression, Simpson established his own business as a textile converter.  This means that designs were produced in-house or via freelance artists, and then the actual printing was contracted to outside factories.  Simpson was the chief stylist of his company, which came to be known as Wesley Simpson Custom Fabrics, Inc.  The company operated from 1932 to 1950.  (John Little started a wallpaper and textile printing company during the Great Depression.  He ran the John Little Studios: Fabric and Wallpaper Design until 1950, and later collaborated with Greeff, an English textile company.)

 

Linda had owned these Wesley Simpson scarves for years, but was never able to find any information on him or his company.  She reached out to me and showed me her BEAUTIFUL scarves, designed for Simpson by Marcel Vertes :

 

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Images courtesy of Linda Chapple.
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Image courtesy of Linda Chapple.

 

I’ll be writing a follow-up post this week about Marcel Vertes.  He was just too important not to dedicate an entire post in his honor.  Stay tuned!
A special thanks to Laura Richardson and Linda Chapple for reading and sharing their fantastic collections!
Linda also sells vintage online:
Etsy: Funky Grandma
eBay: Funky Grandma
Ruby Lane: Eclectic Grandma

 

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Posted in: american fashion, art, artists, artists i love, entrepreneurship, fashion, Fashion as art, fashion history, fashion influenced by art, made in america, paintings, textiles, Vintage Tagged: abstract expressionism, American art, american textiles, John Little, john little textiles, made in america, marcel vertes, painting, paintings, postwar america, scarf, scarves, textile history, textiles, Wesley Simpson, wesley simpson textiles

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