Lady Beatrice was a mid-priced line of millinery sold through Eaton’s department stores, and possibly other venues. The line was created by K&G Hats Ltd., 55 York St., Toronto, ON. The company was operated by Philip Katz (president) and Harry Glassman (vice president), and was in operation from 1935 until at least 1965. The company went out of business sometime between 1966 and 1979, and was expunged in 1980.
Everywoman’s World magazine first appeared in 1914. Founded by Isidor Simonski of the Continental Publishing Company, Toronto. Although The Canadian Home Journal, founded in 1895, had a 50% female readership, Simonski realized there was no magazine in Canada that exclusively marketed to female consumers. Everywoman’s World was an instant hit and by 1921, the publication boasted the highest per issue circulation of any Canadian magazine to date, with 106,167 monthly readers.
The publication is an interesting mixture of fashion and household management, alongside articles with feminist interests, from reportage on various women’s organizations to what women can do to help win the Great War. The magazine favoured women writers, including Lucy Maude Montgomery. There are several issues available online here but despite its popularity, surviving examples of the actual magazines are rare. The last reference I can find for the publication dates from 1923, which must be the last year it was printed. Not sure how a publication can go from the highest circulation in Canada to defunct in two years! If the Continental Publishing Company in Toronto was associated in any way with an American publishing company of the same name, the U.S. company was dissolved in 1925, however, it is not clear if there was any association.
Carla Zampatti’s name probably doesn’t ring a bell unless you are from Australia where she is so well-known that she is being honoured with a state funeral in New South Wales.
Born in Italy in 1942, Carla Zampatti’s family immigrated to Australia in 1950. In 1965 Carla produced her first small fashion collection and in 1970, she founded her ready-to-wear boutique-style business Carla Zampatti Pty Ltd.
She became one of the first Australian designers to include swimwear in her collections, and over the years became an Australian fashion institution, dressing Australian celebrities including Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett. She passed away this week after a fall at the age of 78.
Jack Sverdlove founded La Marquise Handbag Co. in Montreal in 1946. Sverdlove had been born in Russia in 1907 and immigrated to Canada where he married his Montreal-born wife Gabrielle in 1947. Jack’s company specialized in making handbags from imported tapestry. In 1976, as tapestry and handbag styles fell from popularity in favour of leather shoulder bags, the company was forced to reorganize its debts. It is not known exactly when the company ceased production, however, the last AGM was held in 1981 and Jack died in 1987. The company was officially dissolved in 1993.
Eight years ago a picture of a brocade suit with a Givenchy label from the early 60s was posted on the Vintage Fashion Guild by Kelly-Anne. I was sure her suit couldn’t be a Givenchy because, although the brocade fabric was nice, the construction was standard factory work typical of the era. As well, the skirt had a Canadian union manufacturer’s tag.
At the time Kelly-Anne posted her pictures in 2013, there had been more than a few incidents of less-than-reputable online sellers removing designer labels from men’s ties and sewing them into dresses and suits. I myself was once duped into buying a suit with an added designer label. In my case, the dealer, who rarely dealt in vintage clothing, took the suit back without an argument, and she may have bought it that way herself. However, there were a few well-known sellers who were regularly making these alterations on purpose, concocting fake stories to accompany the label about how they got the garment from the original owner who had worn it for her going away outfit, or graduation ceremony, or bought it on her first trip to Paris… One dealer in Israel was notorious for this, but despite being regularly reported to Etsy she sold her fakes for years without repercussion.
After vociferously declaring that the Givenchy suit must be a fake, and suggesting Kelly-Anne confront the seller (who had a story about the original owner), the discussion petered out and the thread slowly slipped away into the backlog of Vintage Fashion Guild archived conversations. But then, three weeks ago, Modamuzesi, a collector from Lebanon who owned the same suit in a different colourway but with the same label, showed up with evidence that the suit was, in fact, a licensed copy of a Givenchy design.
He posted a snippet from the August 30, 1960 issue of Women’s Wear Daily, that noted Marvin Warsh, vice-president of the Toronto clothing manufacturing firm J.H. Warsh & Co. Ltd., signed a contract with Givenchy to reproduce clothes under Givenchy’s boutique label for the Canadian market. The line would become available that October through better stores across Canada and retail between $50 and $100 (the equivalent of $450 – $900 today).
Born in Florence on May 1, 1940, Peretti began a career as a model after moving to Barcelona in 1964. In 1968 she went on to New York where she ended up in the social circles of Warhol and Halston.
In 1971 she began making jewellery for Giorgio di Sant’Angelo and Halston, who introduced her to Tiffany & Co. in 1974. Her most iconic pieces designed for Tiffany & Co. include the heart necklace pendant, and the bone cuff. As a child, Peretti would take bones as souvenirs from a 17th century ossuary, that her mother would make her return. “Things that are forbidden remain with you forever” she once said, explaining the bone cuff bracelet designed to emulate the wrist.
Silver was her favourite medium and she believed in making affordable jewellery that could be worn out on the street “Women can’t go around wearing $1 million.“ Peretti’s design aesthetic was pure modern minimalism ‘take away, take away’ was how she described her process to Vogue in 1986.
Peretti spent most of the last 35 years in Spain designing jewellery, establishing a vineyard, and running a charitable foundation focused on the environment, wildlife conservation, and fighting poverty. Elsa passed away March 19 at her home in Spain.
The 1970s prom dress owes its look to one designer – Jessica McClintock. In 1967 Eleanor Bailey and Carol Miller established Gunne Sax – a boutique line of junior wear in San Francisco. The name was an amalgamation of ‘Gunny Sack’ (a burlap bag), and ‘sex’. Despite early success for their line of mod-inspired dresses, the two partners had a falling out and in 1969 Carol Miller left and Bailey sold the business to 39 year old Jessica McClintock.
McClintock’s look was very different – but her hippy-inspired granny-gowns with laced bodices and flounced skirts that resembled a combination of Medieval maiden and saloon girl were an instant success. The dresses became a standard of 1970s proms and weddings. Hillary Clinton wore a Gunne Sax wedding dress when she married Bill Clinton in 1975.
As the romantically styled calico gypsy/prairie dresses fell from favour in the late 1970s, Jessica McClintock’s style became more mature, and her name became the new label for the company. McClintock worked until her retirement in 2013, building the brand to include perfumes, accessories, bedding, furniture, and lighting. The brand was licensed and remains active with her son Scott managing the label. McClintock died February 16, 2021.
The New York Times wrote a very nice obit with more info.
What is very clear to me with this year’s nominations is how unfair it is to judge a category like costuming. All five of the nominees are very different types of productions. It’s not even comparing apples to oranges – it’s judging an entire fruit basket.
Emma is as near to historically perfect as one could hope for in any film. Alexandra Byrne (Elizabeth, Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange) did a magnificent job of recreating Regency fashions, often based on extant examples of costumes from museum collections. Frankly, this is not my favourite Jane Austen novel (of which the best filmed version is Clueless IMHO…) I found this film forced and unfunny, however, the costuming was a feast for the eyes and worth the price of admission by itself. This is an excellent example of what a competent costumer can do when they are given the time to research and recreate period dress.
The costuming in Mank is good but not perfect. The costumer, Trish Summerville (Hunger Games, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) did a fantastic job of finding interesting sheens and textures for this black and white decade-spanning film with a large cast. However, there were historical errors, like a street scene set in 1929 or 30 (can’t remember which) where the fashions clearly dated from the late 1930s. I wonder why mistakes like this happen, surely the costumer knows what fashions look like in 1929, so why the egregious error? Perhaps it’s a last minute directorial change? Also, there are small anachronisms, like bulky-knit sweaters, which were not in fashion in 1940, chosen more for looks than authenticity.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a play turned into a film with less than a dozen speaking parts and almost no costume changes. A couple of brief street or crowd scenes were added to dilute the ‘stage play’ look, but it still feels like a play. Ann Roth (The English Patient, Cold Mountain, The Bird Cage, 9 to 5) has been in the business for fifty years and is a well known costumer, but the difficulty level is not high on this film. It’s not as comprehensively and flawlessly researched as Emma, nor does it have a large cast of characters over a broad range of time, like Mank. It is also not a creative fantasy film like our last two nominees.
Mulan, costumed by Bina Daigeler (The Zookeeper’s Wife, Volver, Mrs. America), is a costumer’s dream in terms of budget. The cast of thousands and budget of millions allowed her to create an historically-inspired fantasy-world largely from her imagination. The costuming for the Chinese legend is very loosely based on the Northern Wei period (5th century – around the same time the Roman empire was collapsing). There is a modern interpretation and many construction techniques used in creating the costumes which makes it impossible to compare it to the three historically-set films limited by the periods in which they were set.
Finally we have Pinocchio. Massimo Cantini Parrini was the costumer, and despite him having won many awards for his work in Europe, I have never heard of him nor seen any of the films he costumed. I also can’t judge this film because I have not seen it, nor will I as I can’t find it on any of my online services. I also can’t find enough stills online to get a good idea of the film’s costuming. However, looking at stills from other films he has done, like Tale of Tales, his work is amazing. Let’s face it though, this film is the long shot. The nomination will bring attention to his work and maybe some offers to do some Hollywood blockbusters, but ultimately, awards are popularity contests and he isn’t well known right now.
So, we have a costumer with a lot of awards from his home country but not well known in Hollywood; a seasoned professional of a small film with a highly trending topic (black history); a fantasy with stupid amounts of money thrown at it by a mega corporation (Disney) with probably an even bigger advertising budget to promote it; a black and white period film with artistically effective but flawed historical costuming; and a beautifully researched period-perfect but boring film. Frankly, it could go to anyone. I would pick Emma but don’t hold your breath – I suspect Mulan or Ma Rainey have better chances.
I feel like all I have been doing this past year, when not working, is streaming films and TV programs, so I thought for sure this year I would know all the candidates for the 23rd annual Costume Designer Guild Awards, and yet there are still many on this list I have to watch. That said, if you haven’t seen Emma, the costuming is SUPERB. Here is the complete list of the nominees for the 23rd annual Costume Designers Guild Awards (winners will be announced April 15):
Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film
Dolittle
Jenny Beavan
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Michael Wilkinson
Mulan
Bina Daigeler
Pinocchio
Massimo Cantini Parrini
Wonder Woman 1984
Lindy Hemming
Excellence in Contemporary Film
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
Trayce Gigi Field
Birds of Prey
Erin Benach
Da 5 Bloods
Donna Berwick
Promising Young Woman
Nancy Steiner
The Prom
Lou Eyrich
Excellence in Period Film
Emma
Alexandra Byrne
Judas and the Black Messiah
Charlese Antoinette Jones
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Ann Roth
Mank
Trish Summerville
One Night in Miami
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck
Excellence in Sci-Fi/Fantasy Television
The Mandalorian: “Chapter 13: The Jedi”
Shawna Trpcic
Snowpiercer: “Access is Power”
Cynthia Summers
Star Trek: Picard: “Absolute Candor”
Christine Bieselin Clark
Westworld: “Parce Domine”
Shay Cunliffe
What We Do in the Shadows: “Nouveau Théâtre des Vampires”
Amanda Neale
Excellence in Contemporary Television
Emily in Paris: “Faux Amis”
Patricia Field & Marylin Fitoussi
Euphoria: “Part 1: Rue – Trouble Don’t Last Always”
Heidi Bivens
I May Destroy You: “Social Media is a Great Way to Connect”
Lynsey Moore
Schitt’s Creek: “Happy Ending”
Debra Hanson
Unorthodox: “Part 2”
Justine Seymour
Excellence in Period Television
Bridgerton: “Diamond of the First Water”
Ellen Mirojnick & John W. Glaser III
The Crown: “Terra Nullius”
Amy Roberts
Lovecraft Country: “I Am.”
Dayna Pink
Mrs. America: “Shirley”
Bina Daigeler
The Queen’s Gambit: “End Game”
Gabriele Binder
Excellence in Variety, Reality-Competition, Live Television
Dancing with the Stars: “Villains Night”
Daniela Gschwendtner & Steven Norman Lee
Hamilton
Paul Tazewell
The Masked Dancer: “Premiere – Everybody Mask Now!”
Gabrielle Letamendi & Candice Rainwater
The Masked Singer: “The Semi Finals – The Super Six”
Marina Toybina
Saturday Night Live: “John Mulaney/The Strokes”
Tom Broecker & Eric Justian
Excellence in Short Form Design
Apple: Shot on iPhone by Damien Chazelle – Vertical Cinema “The Stunt Double” short film
April Napier
The Killers: “Caution” music video
Samantha Kuester
Selena Gomez: “Boyfriend” music video
Dawn Ritz & Kenn Law
Tim Burton Themed Halloween Party short film
Dawn Ritz
The Weeknd: “Blinding Lights” music video
Ami Goodheart