Jo Copeland Suit - 1943

After being in a box for the last 6 months, I finally unearthed my scanner and I have all my vintage fashion magazines out of storage.  Yay!

How I wish this image were in color, but Harper's Bazaar and all magazines were judicious with full color pages at this time, especially during the war years.  This fabulous suit is by Jo Copeland for Patullo.  The jacket is a blue, white and yellow check, the skirt is navy blue and the blouse is yellow rayon crepe. I really like that buckle at the waist.

The model?  None other than Lauren Bacall.

Photo by George Hoyningen-Huene for Harper's Bazaar, 1943.

Dressing for Spring, 1943

What is it with me and polka-dots lately? This dress in Mallinson's Miami rayon fabric was made from Simplicity pattern 4536, Spring 1943 . The big white buttons mimic the polka-dot print on a beautiful shade of green that is perfect for spring and summer. I like the use of black gloves here. They balance the black hat. White gloves would have been too prissy, don't you think? The photo was taken by George Hoyningen-Huene in the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.

1940 Evening Gown

I received three issues of vintage Vogue magazine in the mail on Friday and haven't had a chance to look at them yet (crazy weekend!). This morning I opened the cover of the April 15, 1940 issue, and this image on page 1 stopped me cold.

The ad is for a 1940 evening gown sold by Bergdorf Goodman. White crepe with lyre shaped embroidery at the bust and hip in silver and crystals. Incredibly gorgeous, isn't it? By the way, did you think huge shoulder pads were an invention of the 1980's? Think again!

This photograph was taken by George Hoyningen-Huene. Born in St. Petersberg in 1900, he fled the Russian Revolution, moving to London and then Paris. By 1925, he had become the chief fashion photographer for French Vogue. In 1935, he moved to New York, where he worked almost exclusively for Harper's Bazaar.

Even though it looks simple and spare, the composition of this photo is very detailed with the overall image divided vertically in thirds. Hoyningen-Huene mimics the lyre embroidery with the use of an ornate antique lyre that the model leans on at the left. The background is split, and the image of the model is overlaid on a closeup of the lyre in the center. The right third of the image is blank.


You probably will recognize some of the more famous of Hoyningen-Huene's photos shown at the Staley Wise Gallery website, including this image Divers, from 1930.