Antonio Castillo for Elizabeth Arden Coat

Castillo for Elizabeth Arden coat and suit pictured for Vogue magazine, Nov. 1, 1947

I am deeply indebted to Monica D. Murgia for her in-depth research about Antonio Castillo and the few short years he worked for Elizabeth Arden.  I highly recommend you read her blog post about the collaboration between Castillo and Arden to understand how special the coat I am going to show you today is.

Antonio Castillo worked for Elizabeth Arden from October, 1945 until 1950 when he left to join the House of Lanvin.  He produced couture garments for the clientele at the Arden salon exclusively until the Fall of 1949, when his first ready-to-wear collection was produced and sold wholesale to leading department stores like Neiman Marcus and I. Magnin.

Castillo for Elizabeth Arden 1947 couture coat at Couture Allure.

It is my pleasure to present this couture coat from Castillo for Elizabeth Arden from the Fall 1947 collection.  The coat is made from navy and black striped silk ottoman and features hand finishing and couture construction throughout.  While not perfect, this is a rare and very special example of American couture and is now available at Couture Allure.

Carmen Miranda's Platform Shoes

Larger-than-life movie star Carmen Miranda. was a mere 5 feet tall.  She was key in popularizing platform shoes in the 1940s and had an amazing collection which she wore both on and off stage.  She would have the hems of her costumes lengthened to the floor so she appeared taller on film.

Many of Carmen's original costumes and shoes can be seen today at the Carmen Miranda Museum in Rio de Janiero.  The museum's website is in Portuguese, but you can see lots of wonderful pictures of items in the collection there.



This is a wonderful montage of clips from many of Carmen's movies.  Watch closely and you'll see her platform shoes peeking out of several of them.

Gilbert Adrian Suits

Striped insets are expertly matched to form diamond patterns at the shoulders and sleeve cuffs.

Gilbert Adrian was Hollywood costume designer who gained great fame at MGM studios in the 1930s.  But as the war loomed and the film industry was forced to cut budgets, the designer became frustrated and left to form his own fashion house in 1941.  The business was an immediate success and Adrian designed some of the best clothing ever put out by an American designer.    In fact, his designs were so popular, they were copied line for line by many 7th Avenue manufacturers.  Adrian became so paranoid about others copying his designs (and who can blame him?), that he rarely allowed publicity shots or sketches of his clothes.  For his advertisements, he only used designs with extravagant and intricate details that would be nearly impossible to copy.  Some of those outrageous suits are shown here today.  These all date to the war years of the 1940s.  Which one is your favorite?

Shimmering beading and a teardrop cutout adorn this suit.

Outrageous pointed peplum.  Note the seam in the skirt that matches the line of the peplum.

The cutting and matching of the stripes here is an engineering marvel.

The precision required by a seamstress to match stripes like this is mind boggling.

A sweeping striped cape is made from the same fabric used for the sleeves on the suit.

In Your 1940s Easter Bonnet

Sunday is Easter, a day when traditionally a woman would unveil her new spring hat with much fanfare. It's going to be a week of few words as we look at hats through the years. Use your imagination and make up your own story about the women who wore these hats, or about yourself having the experience of wearing one of them. Share your story in the comments if you like. Today, the 1940s.

1940

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1947

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1949

Vintage Coats - 1940s

Today, I continue my series on coat styles through the decades with a look at the 1940's. As with other garments, coats saw a change in style due to the fabric restrictions of WWII. Hem lengths become shorter. It was not uncommon for women to continue to wear their coat from the 1930's by cutting off the bottom of the coat and hemming it to knee length. Military influences and strong shoulders abound during the war years.

From 1941, a wrap coat with wide lapels and big shoulders in Stroock's llama cloth.

From 1941, two plaid topcoats in lighter weight wools. You can see the fabric restrictions clearly in the coat on the right. There is less underlap of the front opening when buttoned. Both coats are by Eisenberg.

From 1943, you can see military influences in these styles. With no end in sight to the war, women bought classic cuts that would stay in fashion for years to come.

From 1943, a simple tailored coat by Brittany. As clothing wore out during the "Make Do and Mend" war years, women often started to wear men's coats that were available since their soldiers were away. This look started to become stylish, as you can see here. Fabric restrictions are met by keeping the cut simple with no extra fullness or decorations. The shoulder line is very strong.

After the war is over and fabric restrictions are lifted, coats begin to become fuller with more volume in the body and sleeves. Hemlines become longer again. Here, from 1949, a coat by Donnybrook with a swing cut in the back.

Also from 1949, a Swansdown coat in the new longer length with fullness at the back and wide, wide sleeves.