Label Love: Gunne Sax

December 29, 2012, 5:00 am

Gunne Sax was a small dress manufacturing company in San Francisco in 1969 when Jessica McClintock invested in the company and became the designer. The company became known for their nostalgic “granny dresses” and soon the look expanded into prairie dresses and Victorian and Edwardian inspired designs in the 1970s and into the early 1980s. – via Vintage Fashion Guild Label Resource

vintage 70s gunne sax gunnies calico floral flannel skirt m by vintspiration

Gunne Sax jacket // Vintage 1970s Gunne Sax // Calico jacket by classybroadvintage

vintage GUNNE SAX dark green velvet dress S M by secretlake

Early 80s GUNNE SAX / Navy Calico Velvet & Crochet Midi Dress, xs-s by luckyvintageseattle

Filed under: Label Love Tagged: Gunne Sax

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Label Love: Etienne Aigner

February 13, 2013, 5:00 am

≫ Next: Label Love: Laura Ashley

≪ Previous: Label Love: Gunne Sax

Etsians have had a thing for vintage Etienne Aigner for awhile. It’s no wonder with the quality leather goods and great style. From shoes, bags and clothing Aigner covers it all with that sharp little A monogram.

Etienne Aigner (1904-2000) was an Hungarian maker of handbags and other leather goods He worked in France, producing leather goods for companies such as Dior, but came to the United States in 1949. He worked out of his apartment, producing belts in what became his trademark dark red color. He opened a showroom in 1959. – courtesy of the Vintage Fashion Guild Label Resource

vintage 70s etienne aigner oxblood leather trim raincoat trench by vintspiration

vintage oxblood braided leather etienne aigner shoes 8 by vintspiration

70s vintage Etienne Aigner Distressed Burgundy Leather Purse by SkinnyandBernie

Vintage 70′s Etienne Aigner 7N Summer sling back wedges by TwoHauteChics

Filed under: Label Love Tagged: Etienne Aigner

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Label Love: Laura Ashley

March 20, 2013, 5:00 am

≫ Next: Lovely Lilly

≪ Previous: Label Love: Etienne Aigner

As the snow falls here in Upstate New York, I am really longing for Spring to just get here already! Laura Ashley designed florals and prints just always make me think of early Spring in an English Garden. And I really wish I was in one right now, sipping some Earl Grey and dreaming of Mr. Darcy. Swoon.

Laura Ashley label

vintage laura ashley cotton spring floral skirt m by vintspiration

Laura Mountney Ashley (1925-1985) and husband Bernard Ashley started Ashley-Mountney Ltd in 1953 as a small screenprinting business that they ran from their home. They produced scarves and fabric kitchenwares such as placemats and towels. At first the business was located in London, then Kent, UK, but in 1961 they moved it to Carno, Wales, UK. By this time they were also making aprons and gardening smocks under the Laura Ashley name.

After the move to Wales, the company was able to expand, moving from the house to a larger building, with better printing machinery brought in. The first true Laura Ashley dresses were made in 1966. These dresses had a rural, old fashioned feel, and were right in step with the craze for nostalgia in dressing that came with the end of the 1960s. The dresses were made from the textiles printed by the company, and the designs were often modern interpretations of antique prints.

By 1970s, there was a string of Laura Ashley stores across the UK and the Continent, and the first store was opened in the US in San Francisco is 1974. By the 1990s there were 100s of stores worldwide.

Laura Ashley died in 1985, the result of an accident. By that time the company’s designs had come to be more in line with mainstream fashion, and they were producing a full line of women’s clothing. Still, floral dresses were a hallmark of the “Laura Ashley Look.” – Written by Lizzie Bramlett, fuzzylizzie.com via Vintage Fashion Guild Label Resource

Strapless Floral Short Ruffle Cotton Party Dress / 80s Party Dress / Sweetheart Neckline Dress via aiseirigh

Vintage 80s Laura Ashley Floral Halter Wrap Dress Pin Up Style via TheRubyOlive

Fabulous 1980s Laura Ashley, Strapless Black Cotton & Floral Ballgown-Party Dress via SecondHandRoseWorc

Laura Ashley Vintage 1980s Fuchsia Pink Striped Sleeveless Cotton Jumper Large via ShuuShuubyLulu

Filed under: Label Love Tagged: Laura Ashley

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Lovely Lilly

April 8, 2013, 1:49 pm

≫ Next: Label Love: Carlette

≪ Previous: Label Love: Laura Ashley

Designer Lilly Pulitzer passed away yesterday at the age of 81.

Lilly Pulitzer was one of those labels that early on in my vintage hunting career was one of those top labels you knew were a real score when you snagged one. Lilly’s fun prints and great preppy vibes were always a hit on the online action circuit. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve picked up a vintage Lilly in a thrift shop so it goes to show that the masses were totally picking up on the labels value.

Lilly Pulitzer, the fashion designer known for her tropical print dresses, in Palm Beach, Fla., circa 1955.

Reading Lilly’s New York Times obituary, there’s one line that just crushed my soul as a vintage lover – “Although Ms. Pulitzer occasionally consulted with the company in recent years, once she retired, she threw out most of her archives and went on with her life, quite privately, in Palm Beach.” Ahhhh, that’s heartbreaking.

Vintage 80′s Dress, LILLY PULITZER Novelty Print Mini Dress by luvofvintage

1970s Floral Maxi Skirt / Lilly Pulitzer Inspired by DollyMaeVintage

Vintage LIZA by LILLY PULITZER Wrap Skirt by GreenandGroovy

Vintage Lilly Pulitzer Dress / 1960s Ruffled Sundress Pale Yellow Pink Peach Sherbet by zestvintage

Filed under: Designers Tagged: Lilly Pulitzer

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Label Love: Carlette

April 9, 2013, 5:00 am

≫ Next: Label Love: All That Jazz

≪ Previous: Lovely Lilly

Carlette label

When I found this super cute vintage dress, I immediately had to start looking up the label. Most of the time I don’t come up with much on these general kind of name labels. There’s so many of them and most have long lost the history of their origins. Every so often I’ll read a blog post out there that unearths some great grandchild of the legacy of a lable and I always find it fascinating. Check out my friend Lizzie’s blog The Vintage Traveler if you’re fond of historical stories about vintage. Especially her interview with Vera Neumann’s nephew and Enid Collin’s son. Both excellent reads!

Sadly, I don’t have the killer detective skills of Lizzie, but I do love vintage labels and researching them a little for my own curiosity. This time around I took a gander around for Carlette. Turns out Emmanuelle Khanh was one of the lines contributing designers. I’ve had another Khanh piece in my possession some years ago. That one was for Youthquake and included her name on the label, so we know it was her design.

Emmanuelle Khanh

Emmanuelle Khanh was born in Paris in 1937 and started in the fashion industry as a model for Balenciaga and Givenchy in the 50′s. She started designing ready-to-wear in the 60′s and collaborated with another ex-Balenciaga model, Christiane Bailly, to design their own groundbreaking Emmachristie collection in 1962. And Missoni in 1965 when she met Rosita on a trip to New York.

Sometime in the 60s she also did work for Youthquake, Cacharel, Krizia and our own little Carlette! I bet she even designed one or more of these great examples.

vintage 60s mod mad men blue linen and lace dress m by vintspiration

1960′s Carlette “Mary Jane” Knit Vintage Wedding Dress

CARLETTE // Rayon Linen Dress // Drop Waist // Large Plaid by lindaowen

vintage 1960s to 1970s dress / carlette yellow drop waist mod shift horizontal layers pleated skirt by SHESABETTIE

Filed under: Designers, Label Love Tagged: Carlette, Emmanuelle Khanh

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Label Love: All That Jazz

June 20, 2013, 5:00 am

≫ Next: Label Love: Bobbie Brooks

≪ Previous: Label Love: Carlette

All That Jazz was a label out of California started in 1981 specializing in clothing such as dresses and jumpsuits. Today, All That Jazz items are one of the better labels with style that still comes off as it originally intended – cute and flirty!

All That Jazz California label circa 1981

vintage black and white polka dots mini sailor dress s m by vintspiration

Vintage 1980s ALL THAT JAZZ bustier floral dress. by thetailorsstories

Vintage Wrap Dress withTropical Floral Print Latin-Style Flamenco / Salsa Maxi Dress Floor-Length by All That Jazz by nikylee

Liquid Silver Vintage 1980s Metallic Silver Sleeveless Party Dress by gracevintage

Filed under: Label Love Tagged: 80s, All That Jazz

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Label Love: Bobbie Brooks

August 7, 2013, 5:00 am

≫ Next: Label Love: Dale of Norway

≪ Previous: Label Love: All That Jazz

This morning on the way to work I heard Jack and Diane by John “Cougar” Mellencamp (side note, I’m so disappointed he doesn’t rock the “Cougar” anymore!). And for some reason I finally really heard the lyrics:

Jacky say “Hey Diane lets run off
Behind a shady tree”
Dribble off those Bobbie Brooks slacks
Let me do what I please.

I thought, HEY! I know that label! Turns out Bobbie Brooks isn’t really a person, just one of those ladies names that some company decided would make a good clothing wear label.

Bobbie Brooks label via Vintspiration

BOBBIE BROOKS, INC., was established in 1939 by Maurice Saltzman and Max Reiter as Ritmore Sportswear, Inc. in Cleveland, OH. Beginning with a $3,000 investment, they built the company into a multi-million dollar operation within the next 15 years. In 1953, Saltzman bought out Reiter’s share in the company for $1 million and the firm became Bobbie Brooks, Inc. Bobbie Brooks produced and sold stylish clothes for teenage and junior-miss girls, coordinating the styling, colors, and fabrics. Eventually, the company expanded its line to include apparel for women 25-44, and added production divisions in other cities during the 1960s.

The company filed for bankruptcy in Jan. 1982 and in 1986, Bobbie Brooks announced that it would stop making its junior and misses lines, in order to focus on clothing for women. It is now owned by Garan, and as of 2010, was carried in Dollar General stores. – via The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History and the Vintage Fashion Guild Label Resource

Vintage 60s dress// HUGE bow// Bobbie Brooks by hakther

Vintage 70s BOBBIE BROOKS Butterscotch Plaid Dress – Wool – Office Fashion by ParkwaterPrincess

1950s Pink Cotton Dress/ Dirty Dancing Dress by petalpinkvintage

SALE Mod wool shorts . orange navy plaid . twiggy size . Bobbie Brooks . preppy. xs teen by BeAtSaNdBoHoS

Filed under: Label Love Tagged: Bobbie Brooks

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Label Love: Dale of Norway

October 10, 2013, 5:00 am

≪ Previous: Label Love: Bobbie Brooks

Dale of Norway have been making woolen products since 1879. Their classic cozy sweaters have been copied endlessly, but they’re the original Norwegian wool sweater. Over the years they’ve wafted in and out of style but in my humble opinion have always been a staple of classic like Pendleton.

Their products are made by hand and they’ve been the official supplier of sweaters for the Norwegian ski team and the winter Olympics since 1956. In fact, each Olympic season a special sweater is made and are considered collectible.