Teal Traina Suit - 1966

Here's another good example of a fashion trying to bridge the gap between classic clients and the newer Mod looks for the younger generation in 1966.  Venerable old New England department store Jordan Marsh placed this full page ad in Harper's Bazaar.  The dinner suit by Teal Traina is made from a fabulous brocade with a large scale pattern and has a shorter skirt length to appeal to the younger woman.  The choice of the dark tights, gloves and helmet hat are trying to appeal to the Teal Traina and Jordan Marsh client of the past.  What you end up with is a muddled mess.  For this to work, the model should be wearing silver sparkle hosiery, no hat, no gloves and big hair.  It's too bad, as that suit is GORGEOUS!!!!!  Suit sold for $250 in 1966 (about $1836 in today's dollar.)

Photo from a full page ad for Jordan Marsh appearing in Harper's Bazaar, 1966.  No credit given.

Monte-Sano and Pruzan Suit, 1966

Monte-Sano and Pruzan was a high-end maker of tailored suits and coats based in New York.  For the Fall of 1966, they embrace the Mod era with a marvelous wool check enhanced with gold lurex threads for sparkle.  The knee-grazing length of the skirt would still appeal to the company's classic clients by being just mini enough, as would the appearance of the gloves in the photo.  Remember though, most women had abandoned wearing gloves by this time.  There is no notation of who made the shoes, but aren't they wonderful?

Photo by John Engstead for I. Magnin, appeared in Harper's Bazaaar,1966

Pauline Trigere Dress, 1966

What a perfect dress for those hot summer days!  Pauline Trigere designed this beauty in 1966.  Note the 3-dimensional flower petals at the hem.  Jeweled sandals by Bernardo.  Earrings by Sandor Goldberger.

Jeanne Lanvin, 1966

You know me.  I adore fabulous prints like this one and am always on the lookout for them.  This dress is by Jeanne Lanvin from the spring of 1966.  Look how the designer has not cut into the design of the textile at the underarms.  The dress has more of a caftan type shape.  With a print this large, one does have to be concerned with how it will look on the finished garment.  Lanvin's designers did a fine job with that, don't you think?

Wearing Vintage in 1966

This is Jane Ormsby Gore in 1966.  Jane is the daughter of Lord Harlech who was the British Ambassador to America in the early 60s.  In the days before hippies made dressing in antique, vintage and ethnic clothing popular, Jane was buying her wardrobe from antique shops and raiding her great-grandmother's closet.  Here, she wears a striped silk jacket by Paul Poiret that she found at the Portobello Road antiques market.  With it she is wearing her great-grandmother's Edwardian motoring hat, an Edwardian silk and lace handmade blouse found at the Marche aux Puces in Paris and an 18th century military belt.  Gore is considered a fashion leader of her generation, and she did it wearing vintage.  That makes me smile.

Photo by Traeger for British Vogue, January 1966.

Doris Raymond Wearing Sophie of Saks, 1966

Last week, Doris Raymond of The Way We Wore in Los Angeles wore this stunning gown and feather trimmed stole by Sophie of Saks to the premiere of her new reality show, "L.A. Frock Stars" on The Smithsonian Channel.

This morning, I was perusing the March 1, 1966 issue of Vogue magazine and look what I found!  Doris, here's your dress!  The caption says, "Feather print on a long halter dress of silk twill; a stole edged in marabou. All clean black and white.  From the ready-to-wear collection by Sophie, at Saks Fifth Avenue.  (Dear Vogue, that's ostrich, not marabou.  But I forgive you.)  House of Berland earrings.

I love it when this happens!  Don't forget to watch episode 2 of "L.A. Frock Stars - The Awards Season" tonight!

High Fashion Shoes - 1966

This image from 1966 made quite an impression on my Facebook fan page yesterday.  Everyone fell in love with these shoes!   What strikes me is how wearable and comfortable these shoes look.  There's not a 5" spike heel or a platform in site.  You could actually wear these shoes to a party and stand up all night!  From left to right the shoes are by Christian Dior, Charles Jourdan, Charles Jourdan, and Roger Vivier.  Would you wear them?

Vintage Party Dresses - 1966

The year? 1966. The look? Sparkle, shimmer and shine with sequins, beads, metallic fabrics or a combination of any or all. Or jazz it up with fur and feathers. The occasion? Party time!

John Bates dress in white devore silk velvet over pink taffeta lining with a white rabbit fur hem.

Anne Fogarty dress  with a flirty, flared hem and covered in silver paillette sequins.

Geoffrey Beene dress in white devore velvet trimmed in white ostrich feathers at cuff and hem.

Malcolm Starr dress in black lace covered in silver cording, beads and paillettes.

To wear over any or all of the dresses shown here, a pink and red metallic brocade evening coat trimmed in touches of mink.  This coat by Leslie Morris for Bergdorf Goodman was custom made to order only. 

Dress and Coat Sets of the 1960s

 The years 1966 and 67 were the height of popularity for these fabulous dress and matching coat sets.

Most consisted of a sleeveless shift dress worn under a coordinating coat.   If both pieces were not made entirely of the same fabric, then the dress usually had a bit of the coat fabric as part of the design.

 Mod patterns, horizontal stripes and plaids were quite popular, but tweeds and solid wools or silks were also used.

 The high neckline or collar of the dress was usually visible under the coat.

 You can even find these sets in metallic fabrics for evening wear.

Right now at Couture Allure, we have three of these 1960s sets available, all in wool and all completely wonderful.  The great thing about these sets is the versatility they offer.  Wear the coat as outerwear over jeans or anything in your closet.  Wear the dress on its own or with a coordinating sweater or jacket.  Or wear the two as a set.  Which one is your favorite?

John Carr Doughty Trompe L'oeil Knitwear

UK knitwear designer John Carr Doughty made a brief sensation in 1966 with his knitted men's sweaters and women's sweater dresses that fooled the eye with trompe l'oeil patterns knitted right in.  The designs shown here were made in pure wool and were commissioned by the International Wool Secretariat for the Designers Convention. 

Carr wasn't a clothing designer, per se.  Instead, he worked behind the scenes figuring out how to translate his ideas for knit designs into a manufacturing technique.  Those ideas were then presented as samples to UK knitwear manufacturers for their use in making garments.  He also designed and patented several knitting machines for various uses.

Carr Doughty was the genius behind the intarsia designs in Pringle cashmere sweaters starting in 1952.  What's intarsia?  That is a knitting technique in which a pattern is knitted into a design with separate pieces of colored yarn instead of carrying the unused strands of color across on the back of the knit.

Carr Doughty is said to have made a Mondrian inspired knitwear design 2 years before Yves St. Laurent translated the artist's work into dresses in 1965.  One of his favorite Pringle instarsia designs was based on a painting by Klee. But after the brief media frenzy about his trompe l'oeil looks in 1966, John Carr Doughty disappeared back behind the scenes in the knitwear industry.  He did consulting work for UK knitwear manufacturers until at least the late 1970s.

Woolmark Company images from the collection of the London College of Fashion.

Weekend Eye Candy - Larry Aldrich, 1967

One more dress from 1966.  Here you have op art in all its glory.  Larry Aldrich designed this black and white wool twill dress.  Sold in 1966 for $160 (about $1,124 in today's dollar.)  Hat by Halston, made to order at Bergdorf Goodman.

Fun With Eye Makeup - 1966

 Did you notice Megan's eye makeup during the party scene on Mad Men last week?  This look was very high fashion at the time and she wore it with confidence.  You know every woman in the room was jealous.  Why not try this look yourself?  Here are more examples for your inspiration, all from 1966.

Marisa Berenson

Marisa Berenson

Barbra Streisand

Come on, you can do it!

Graphics, 1966

 With Megan's orange outfit making such an impression this week on Mad Men, I thought you might like to see more graphic prints and patterns from the runways of 1966.  Enjoy!

Yves St. Laurent.  He used this same fabric to make a suit as well.

John Kloss

Jacques Esterel

Pierre Cardin

Charles Cooper

Which is your favorite?

Weekend Eye Candy - Mme Gres, 1966

Photo by Dominique Laporte for L'Officiel

Mme. Gres presented this daring bare midriff gown for Spring 1966 in a wonderful and wild printed silk.  Those triangular cut-outs are strategically placed to show off the curve at your waistline.  Love the dress, but the addition of the yellow drape is an unfortunate choice, in my opinion.  I think the dress would stand perfectly on it's own.

Silver Swimsuits - 1966

I've shown you before how popular silver was in 1966.  Here, this shimmering color even goes to the beach.

Photo by Henry Clarke for US Vogue.

Silver maillot by Silvia de Gay for Robert Sloan made of metal coated Dupont nylon.  Suit sold for $35 in 1966 (about $245 in today's dollar.) 

Photo by Bert Stern for US Vogue.

Cole of California silver swimsuit with a cowl neckline.  The cutaway sides and back are filled with nude fishnet.  Made of Dupont nylon and mylar.  This beauty also came in gold. 

Weekend Eye Candy - Guy Laroche, 1966

Guy Laroche brings op art to evening wear with the use of black and white sequins.  Notice how he accents the waist with the use of the size of the diamonds and how the pattern swirls from there.  I'm pretty sure I would faint if I found this dress today.

Friday Fur - Emeric Partos, 1966

It's our old friend Emeric Partos again!  From 1966, Partos uses Emperor Chinchilla to fashion a cape, matching skirt, coiled tall hat and mittens.  Just what every girl needs when wandering through a field of snow.

Silver Shines for Evening - 1966

Silver was the choice for evening wear in 1966.  Not gold, not copper, not bronze, but silver, silver everywhere.  Accessories were silver too: shoes, evening bags, stockings and jewelry.  Makeup glinted with silver in lipsticks and eye shadows.  Shimmering, shiny silver was everywhere.

Anne Fogarty

Lynn Stuart mylar blend jeans and shirt with Golo booties.

Norman Norell

Galanos caftan with beaded sleeve cuffs

Teal Traina silver ribbons on sheer organza

Pat Sandler

Joan Arkin

Would you wear any of these looks today?  Which would you choose?

Psychedelic Florals, 1966

When taking requests for this week's blog posts, Sarah asked for some psychedelic florals.  Here you go, Sarah!  These are all from 1966 and early 1967.  Which is your favorite?

Emilio Pucci

Bill Blass for Maurice Rentner

Pauline Trigere

Bill Blass for Maurice Rentner

Emilio Pucci