Adele Simpson and Her Fashions (Collier's, 1945)
Although "Ashlee" and "OJ" Simpson get more impressions on the internet than the designer Adele Simpson (1904 - 1995), it must be remembered that she was a prominent player in American fashion for many decades who was awarded both a Coty Award (1949) as well as a Neiman Marcus Award (1946) and her creations were highly sought after by the crowned heads of both Europe and Hollywood. She first came into the public eye during the 1940s, when the war in Europe knocked the couturiers of Paris right out of fashion's orbit and the American clothing industry had to rely upon domestic talent if they were to survive. The attached 1945 article by Aimee Larkin is titled, "The Great American Dress".Click here to read about wartime fabric rationing in the 1940s.
| Paris Is Back! (Collier's, 1946)
A 1946 fashion article which enthusiastically announced the return of a smiling, giggling Paris - now that the feldgrau clique has finally vacated the Faubourg St. Honorè. Having no foresight as to the fashion-earthquake that will commence in one year with the appearance of Christian Dior's "New Look", the journalist puts all her credibility in one basket by declaring that all eyes are on the French fashion designer Madame Marcelle Dormoy. Much ink is spilled concerning the bleakness that clouded fashionable Paris during the occupation and the difficulty all fashion houses experienced in 1946 securing suitable fabric for their creations (at black-market prices).
The writer recovered some of her street-cred anticipating the meteoric career return of the well-loved French film actress Edwige Feuillère (1907 – 1998), who is personified herein as the epitome of French Glamour returned.
| Down With Christian Dior and His New Look! (Script, 1947)
This West-coast fashion critic believed that the fashions of Christian Dior stood firmly in opposition to the optimistic, Twentieth Century casual elegance of Claire McCardell (1905 – 1958) and Adrian (1903 – 1959), preferring instead to spin"the feminine figure in the unconventional manner, trying to make her look good where she ain't. He seeks the ballet dancer illusion - natural, rounded shoulders, too weak to support a struggling world...Her waist is pinched in an exaggerated indentation, the better to emphasize her padded hips...There are butterfly sleeves, box pockets, belled jackets, and barreled skirts, suggesting something like a Gibson girl, or whatever grandmother should have worn." *Watch A Film Clip About Cristian Dior*
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