Sleek and Supple Jersey Dresses - 1973

The use of knit fabrics in clothing experienced a surge in popularity starting in the late 1960s. Couture designers preferred to work with knits in natural fibers, such as silk and rayon, but synthetic knits in polyester and nylon were also very popular with consumers. There's nothing quite like the fluid and graceful movement of a soft knit as it hugs your body. Here, some examples of supple, sultry, and slinky jersey knit evening dresses from 1973.

Yves St. Laurent rayon jersey

Bill Blass

Halston silk and rayon matte jersey

Morty Sussman for Mollie Parnis Boutique orlon jersey

Shannon Rogers for Jerry Silverman dacron jersey

Photos by Bob Richardson for Bazaar except #2 which is an ad from the same magazine.

Fashion in Film - Down With Love

Yesterday we got to talking about the movie, "Down With Love" over at the Couture Allure Facebook Fan Page. I was happy to be able to recommend the movie to a few people who said they hadn't seen it, and now I'm telling you. If you're a vintage fashion lover, you must see this film!!!!

Made in 2003, and starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor, "Down With Love" is a spoof on the Doris Day/Rock Hudson bedroom comedies of the early 1960s.


The costumes were done by Daniel Orlandi, whose most recent work includes 2009's "The Blind Side". He also did the costumes for "Frost/Nixon" in 2008, another film in which the fashion is outstanding.

While it may look like it, there is not a single piece of actual vintage clothing in the film. "We designed everything in the movie, right down to Ewan McGregor's shirts and Renee's gloves," says Orlandi. Even so, I think he got it just right, with enough fun and color to make the clothes completely noticeable.

How can you not love a movie where Renee wears a white turban....

.....or a red fringed go-go dress? Do yourself a favor. Rent or buy this movie and watch it this weekend for the first or fiftieth time.

Here's a fun video where you can see some of the clothes in action. It ends kind of abruptly, but I think you'll enjoy it.

Paris Couturier Simone Gray

Mme. Simone Gray wearing one of her creations, 1928.

The evening dress is of blue lamé with gold and silver flowers.

I came across this image in an old magazine recently, and I immediately fell in love with Simone Gray. Who was she? I needed to know. Unfortunately, there is very little information about her that survives today, but I have been able to glean little tidbits here and there for you.

Simone wears her design in black satin and point d'esprit lace
adorned with white jacinth flowers, 1928.

Simone Gray, born in 1903, was a Parisian couturier from 1928 to 1933. Her couture house was listed alongside other notables, such as Jeanne Lanvin, Louiseboulanger, Lucien Lelong, Jean Patou, and Worth. Her atelier was located at 11, rue de Christophe Colomb in Paris.

From 1928, Simone Gray's "Watteau" dress in black velvet, lined in pink satin with rhinestone trim.

Each year, Simone Gray would attend the Deux Lidos gala wearing one of her most beautiful designs of the season. This gala was organized by the French fashion magazine L'Officiel de la Couture and the Hotel Lido, and would feature fashion shows of the latest couture during the party. Women who attended the gala would vie to be the most beautifully dressed.

Three robes de style, 1929 by Simone Gray.

Simone was described as a young woman who had wonderful taste and a thorough knowledge of the difficult art of dressing women. She had a deep respect for the line of a garment and would not sacrifice the overall effect.

Mme. Simone Gray wears her design of embroidered
cotton lawn accented with green moire, 1930.

The last mention of Simone Gray's couture house is found in the summer of 1933, where she is listed alongside such up-and-coming couturiers as Chanel, Schiaparelli, and Vionnet. Unfortunately, I can find no other information about her, but don't her designs make her fascinating? If anyone ever finds a dress by Simone Gray, please contact me through my website!

Please note: Biographical information about Simone Gray is copyright of Couture Allure and may not be copied without permission.

Photos by d'Ora, Paris.

Big Hair - 1964

It's been awhile since I've given you big hair inspiration. Today, for your enjoyment, hairstyles from 1964 and 1965.





Which one is your favorite?

How to Find a Good Dry Cleaner for Your Vintage Garments

My post last week about dry cleaning garnered a lot of reaction and a lot of questions from both sellers and buyers. The most frequent question was, "How can I find a dry cleaner I can trust with my vintage clothing?" Here are some tips to help you in your search.

This cleaner has been around since 1934!

1. Avoid franchise cleaners at all cost! Anyone can buy a machine and say they are a dry cleaner. Look for a small family-owned business that has been around for a long time, preferably one that has cleaned the type of garments you want to give them when they weren't considered vintage, but new! Ask if there is an expert dry cleaning technician on staff who has training in stain removal. A fancy storefront isn't necessary, but the premises should be neat and clean. Be sure to choose a cleaner who does the work in-house instead of sending your clothes out to be cleaned somewhere else.

2. Check with local vintage stores or dealers for a recommendation of a good dry cleaner that they use. If you live near a museum with a textile collection or a school with a fashion history course, try asking for a recommendation from someone on staff.

3. Once you've located a cleaner you want to try, check with the Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints about the dry cleaner. Also, check online review sites such as Yelp or Google for reviews from customers. Ask neighbors or friends who may have used the service.

4. Take a test garment to be cleaned. Choose a vintage garment that you haven't spent a lot of money on so you won't be out too much if it doesn't work out. Stick with something in wool or cotton, as these fibers are more forgiving, but choose something with a detail that will need attention. Don't choose a satin or taffeta garment for this first test. Evaluate the counter service. Tell the person this garment is vintage and ask if it can receive special care. Is the person at the counter knowledgeable? Even better, is it the owner? If not, did they ask for help from an on-staff expert or the owner? When you pick up the garment, check it thoroughly to be sure you are happy with the results. Does the garment hang correctly? Was the steaming/pressing done with care? Did any stains come out to your satisfaction?

5. If you're happy with the results, take a second test garment to be cleaned. This time, choose a fancier garment in satin or taffeta. Ask that it be steamed instead of pressed, as pressing can make impressions from the seams in these fabrics. The cleaner should be amenable to this request. If you are happy with the results, I think you've found a cleaner you can work with! If not, keep looking.

UPDATE DECEMBER 2012:  Due to new environmental laws, both at the federal and state levels, all dry cleaners in MA that operate in a building with shared residential or certain other business space will have to stop using Perchloroethylene (perc) by 2023.  These laws affected my favorite local dry cleaner, as their building is shared with both residential space and a pre-school.  They switched to one of the new environmentally safe cleaning systems earlier this year.  Sadly, I find that this new system does not work nearly as well in getting rid of stains and odors as the old perc cleaners do.  When searching for a dry cleaner, you will also want to ask what type of cleaning chemicals they use and keep in mind that the newer environmentally safe cleaners will not be as effective.

New at Couture Allure - Vintage Dresses and Scarves

New at Couture Allure this week are a few vintage dresses and some lovely vintage scarves. See more by clicking on the What's New link at the site!

1960s silk floral dress and coat set in a larger size.

1990s Norma Kamali black silk 50s style dress with slip, new with tags!

1960s apricot beaded evening gown with shoulder drape.

1960s blue pleated dress with bell sleeves.

1950s silky rayon scarf with huge red roses.

1950s silk scarf with print of Japanese netsuke.

Weekend Eye Candy - June Bride, 1955

I'll be featuring brides for Weekend Eye Candy in June, starting with this gorgeous wedding dress by Carven, 1955.

Photo by Jacques Decaux.

Meet Laura

Laura works at a local university and had to attend a dinner a couple of weeks ago. She purchased this vintage 1960s dress from Couture Allure to wear to the event.

She says she was "overwhelmed with compliments" all night long. It's easy to see why! Thanks for sharing your photo with us Laura. You look fabulous!

Why not consider vintage for your next party?

The Issue of Dry Cleaning

UPDATE DECEMBER 2012: Unfortunately, we have made the difficult decision to stop dry cleaning our garments. We now use in-house cleaning methods for most items sold at Couture Allure. Please read this important update to our dry cleaning policy.


I was speaking with a fellow vintage dealer recently and she asked me, "Why do you dry clean everything before you sell it?". My unspoken response was, "Why don't you?"

In the interest of full disclosure, back when I sold on eBay, I didn't dry clean vintage garments before selling them. But knowing what I do now, I wish I had. When I started my website, I began sending just about everything to my dry cleaner before selling. I am lucky enough to have a professional cleaner who knows how to work with vintage, and who takes great care with the garments I entrust to him. Even so, it amazes me how much hidden damage dry cleaning will bring to light, which is why I think you should only spend your hard earned dollars on a garment that has already been cleaned before you purchase it. Personally, I feel that if there is going to be a problem that gets exposed with dry cleaning, I want it to be my problem, not yours.

This 1950s silk dress is a great example. Early deodorants were not as effective as today's products, and antiperspirants did not come into common use until the 1960s. As a result, unless the original owner used dress shields or had her garment dry cleaned before storing, the fabric at the underarms of a vintage garment is sometimes fragile. The silk of this dress looked fine when I gave it to the dry cleaner, but it didn't stand up to gentle cleaning and came back looking like this. Damage from fabric that is weakened at the shoulders will also show up during dry cleaning.

Be wary of a wool garment that hasn't been cleaned. When moths chew on wool, they leave behind a residue that will often hold the fabric together until it is cleaned away. This dress had one tiny moth nip at the shoulder when I sent it off to be cleaned. It came back with a lot more holes, including this cluster at the front waist that was invisible when I purchased the dress.

This 1960s cotton dress was vivid black and white when I sent it to the cleaners. Unfortunately, the fabric was not colorfast and the black faded to gray with lots of white specks when cleaned.

None of these issues was readily apparent before the garments were cleaned. And can you imagine how disappointed you, as a customer, would be if your dress had come back from your dry cleaner damaged like that, before you even had a chance to wear it?

Dry cleaning will expose weakened thread, which means the seams will need to be resewn. There are some odors, from moth balls, cedar closets, or cigarette smoke, that are so deeply embedded into the fibers, dry cleaning will not help. These odors may need an ozone treatment before a garment is suitable to sell. And if you have allergies, you should be wary of an uncleaned garment which harbors decades of dust, as well as other nasty stuff you don't want to know about.

Freshly dry cleaned garments waiting to be listed at Couture Allure.

Many sellers claim that they have "dry cleaned" a garment at home before selling it to you. This probably means they have sprayed the garment with Febreze, which just puts a layer of scent on top of the dirt, or they have put the garment through a Dryel cycle in their clothes dryer, which has just baked the years of dust and dirt into the fabric. Neither of these methods brings you a clean garment. Learn to read between the lines before buying. And don't trust that old standby, "Has spots that will come out with cleaning." Really? I can tell you with certainty that yellowed underarm stains, lipstick smears, and scattered brown spots called "foxing" will not come out of fine fabrics that need to be dry cleaned. Also be wary of a seller who claims they wash everything before selling. Hand or machine washing will ruin fabrics like taffeta, satin, and rayon crepe that must be professionally cleaned.

Freshly dry cleaned garments waiting to be listed at Couture Allure

If you're shopping at a vintage website, and the seller does not state that their garments have been dry cleaned before being offered for sale, email the site owner and ask if that dress you love has been cleaned, and if so, how. If the site owner tells you it has not, consider whether you want to take a chance. And ask if the site owner will stand behind their product if the garment comes back from your dry cleaner damaged.


Think about it. Why would anyone spend $300 on a dress that still has traces of someone else's white deodorant at the underarms? Ewwwwwww.

Thank You!

Wow! I'm feeling pretty special this morning, and it's all because of you. You know that moment when Miss America is chosen from the finalists and crowned? That's how I feel today.

Did you ever imagine how it must feel to be the princess riding at the top of the float in a parade? That's how I feel today.

Have you ever dreamed of how it must feel to wear a sparkling jeweled tiara and scepter? That's how I feel today.

Why? Because Couture Allure has been chosen by you as one of the Top 10 Vintage Sites in Lulu's People's Choice Award for the second year in a row! I am deeply honored to be included in such an elite list of fabulous vintage sites and I am most humbly grateful to each and every one of you who took the time to vote for me in this year's contest. Thank you!

Not only that, but for the third year running, Couture Allure has been chosen as one of Lulu's Top 10 Vintage Websites! Lulu, I am privileged to be included, and so proud to have been chosen. Thank you!

Revlon and the Romance of Color

Charles Revson, founder of Revlon Cosmetics, was a genius at marketing. He understood that the way to sell more cosmetics was to entice women with romance, allure, and a touch of class. Revson was the one who came up with the idea of introducing new colors in lipsticks and nail polishes twice a year, to co-ordinate with fashion trends. Where before, a woman would buy one lipstick and use it until it was gone, now she had to have a wardrobe of lipstick colors to match different outfits and occasions.

The real genius, however, was the introduction of alluring names. Red wasn't red - it was "Fire and Ice" or "Fatal Apple".


Pink wasn't just pink - it was "Pink Lightening" or "Acapulco Pink".

Here is a television commercial for Revlon's newest color for 1960, "Berry Bon Bon". Even though the ad is in black and white, can't you just "see" the rich red/pink shade? And don't you want to own it? By the way, "Berry Bon Bon" was one of Revlon's best selling colors, and was in the line for years and years. It has been discontinued, but you can still find this now rare color online at a couple of places.



And if you must have a sparkling "theatre ensemble" like the one shown from Bergdorf Goodman at 55 seconds in, may I suggest this evening coat and gown set at my website? It's not perfect, but is a steal of a deal at just $75.

1960s beaded evening ensemble.