Antique & Vintage Dress Gallery
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SOLD

# 1766 - c. 1950's CLAIRE McCARDELL Clothes by Townley, Bettmann Fabric Striped Wool Jersey Knit Dress!  Museum Quality! I sold this dress 11 years ago, and I was STILL dreaming about it!  So I was so excited to see it again... like an old friend!!  I sell so few McCardell's (because there are so few fantastic ones still available)so I suppose we start with a quick Claire McCardell bio.  Only a few years out of school, Claire went to work at Townley with designer Richard Turk who died soon after which basically left her with the head designer position! (There's a quick way up the ladder!) Anyway, she stayed for a few years, went to Hattie Carnegie for two years and then back to Townley in 1940 to design under her own label. Ms. McCardell is credited with developing the blueprint for American sportswear...practical clothing, simple fabrics, clean purposeful shapes. Her innovations were the "popover" wraparound dress, soft empire dresses, bloomer-like playsuits, dirndl skirts, tube tops(eek!) and bareback summer dresses. She is considered to have been one of America's most influential designers. So... her dresses are becoming more and more prized.  You have to remember how highly structured the clothing was at the time to know how innovative this dress was for the time. Very soft, comfortable knitted "sweater" jersey designed into a wonderfully shaped dress. Her signature brass round hook and-eye closures at the front. A real gem of a dress in Excellent Condition/Near Mint... can't find anything wrong with it! Sort of reds and greens and blacks (look at the close-up photos for true fabric colors).  Measures: 36-38" bust, up to 29/30" waist, 49" long from shoulder to hem.  Approx. - SIZE 6/8

SOLD -  But on Display for Research/Study