Evening Gowns, 1973

My love affair with the 70s continues.  Today, evening gowns from 1973.  Which one makes your heart beat a bit faster?

Lew Prince for Aldrich silk floral

Gina Fratini

Jean Muir

Galitzine

John Bates for Jean Varon

Bill Gibb

Vintage Swimsuits and Beach Wear - 1963

Want to play guess the designer again? Who made this cotton terrycloth beach cover-up in 1963?

Answer later.

We've met Irene Galitzine before. Her design talent brought us palazzo pants in 1960. Here, she offers a wild and wacky beach set consisting of a white knitted orlon romper with a chartreuse green and white knit oversize collar. Wild, no? So, where's the wacky?

It's in this hand-knitted cover-up cape in the same chartreuse and white orlon. The collar of the romper pops out atop the cape. It's like wearing granny's afghan to the beach! Gotta love those Italian designers!

This is one of my favorite swimsuits I've ever shown you. We've also talked about Tom Brigance before. Here, he takes black and white plaid nylon and fashions it into a two piece suit with a belt. The top has a high neck at the front that dips lower in back. Brigance for Sinclair suit sold for $25.00 in 1963 (about $178.00 in today's dollar).

Jantzen pops black and white stripes over a black bottom in Helanca nylon. Sold for $20.00 in 1963 (about $143.00 in today's dollar).

Back to that terrycloth beach cover-up at the top of this post. Did you guess it? It's Emilio Pucci. In cotton...terrycloth. I've seen plenty of his work in silk jersey. I've seen his work in velveteen. But never in terrycloth. He made a cotton bikini to match. I love it.

More 1968 Italian Couture Fashion

From a 1968 issue of Vogue magazine comes this fashion spread sponsored by Fiat, featuring clothing from three Italian couturiers.

Two versions of a pop-art coatdress by Fabiani. Did you catch the two hands in the print in front of the pocket?

A navy blue belted coat over a white mini-dress by Maria Antonelli. You've got to love the newsboy cap.

A white coatdress by Irene Galitzine. Buttons are hidden in a double placket at the front.

Written content is copyright of Couture Allure. If you are reading this anywhere but on the Couture Allure Vintage Fashion Blog, it is via RSS feed.

Galitzine Palazzo Pajamas 1964

As mentioned yesterday, Galitzine is most famous for introducing palazzo pants in 1960, and here we see one of the earliest incarnations as shown in the October 1964 issue of Vogue magazine. Named "Palazzo Pyjamas" by Diana Vreeland, they were a relaxed but sophisticated evening look.

Princess Irene Galitzine was born in Russia, but her family fled to Rome during the Russian Revolution when she was only 1 year old. She studied art and design in Rome, and then turned to fashion. She worked for the Fontana sisters for three years as an apprentice. There are conflicting reports as to when she started her own house with dates ranging from 1946 - 1949.

Success came when Galitzine was given the pretigious "Filene's Young Talent" award in Boston in 1959, and her designs were introduced to America. She was voted "Designer of the Year" by the Italian press in 1962 and given the "Sunday Times International Fashion Award" in 1965.

Galitzine closed her house in the late 60's, but reopened 1970. Princess Galitzine died in October 2006. Her house is still in operation today.

Shown above are her palazzo pyjamas in black matelasse. "Softened folds at the neck continue under the short top tier, and flare to a tunic over wide pants. The back - bared to the waist. In America at Lord & Taylor." There is a wide black satin ribbon sash at the waist, tied in a big bow at the front. The model wears little jeweled evening slippers.

1964 Galitzine Suit

My, how things have changed in 3 years! Vogue magazine is showing Italian fashion - here a suit by Galitzine. We clearly see a movement towards a more youthful look. The model's pose is more casual, she wears boots, and look at that hair!

"Italian clothes are alive with ideas, with exuberance, and a beautiful sense of adventure. Imagination fires all. Living skirts with gores, godets. Broader shoulders, batwing tops. Important belts. Marvelous young dash." Clothes are becoming looser and more relaxed. Skirts are not as tight as a few seasons previous, and hem are becoming gradually shorter. Armholes and shoulders are not fit so tightly to the body.

There are changes evident in the magazine credits, too. No longer do we see the words "copied" or "adapted". While Italian garments were copied for the American market, no mention of the company who made the copies is given. Credit is given for the accessories, and the hair and make-up stylists.

"The suit, white-beige and all roundness - the collar, slightly broader shoulder, cuffs. The gaiters - a Galitzine idea for most of her suits - of Corfam, piped in white. Suit, in America at Lord & Taylor. Hat by Canessa. From the Elizabeth Arden Rome Salon: the coiffures by Imo; make-up by Pablo."

Galitzine, who is acknowledged as the designer who gave us the palazzo pant, shows a youthful boot, an idea which will become a fashion basic within a few years. And she does it in Corfam imitation leather, a brand new product which had just been invented by DuPont.

Get the look with this vintage 1960's glen plaid wool suit available in our EBay store. Click the picture to see the listing.



Now, back to that sable trimmed suit I posted on Saturday. Looks 50's or 60's, doesn't it? It's actually a current suit by Italian design house Brioni, from their Fall 2008 collection, but is clearly influenced by a Givenchy coat from 1963. For a better view of the Givenchy coat, take a look at the cover of L'Officiel October 1963 magazine, available from Paper Pursuits.