Bergdorf Goodman Ads

Fashion writers have such an enviable talent. They can make a dress desirable with the choice of a few words. Ads for Bergdorf Goodman showcased this talent at its best. While Bergdorf's ads often featured fashion photography, I think their ads with beautifully drawn illustrations spark the imagination in a better way. Can't you just see and feel what these garments are like based on the verbal imagery?

September 1965 - "Fur Doubles the Dash of this new suit shaping, echoing the close-fitting cut of the trim jacket as well as the deep-tobacco color of the crisp gabardine. Under the jacket lies a neatly curved, sleeveless over-blouse and a front-gathered skirt that slopes gently into walking ease. By Marquise in yarn-dyed tobacco brown worsted wool gabardine edged with brown-dyed deep-curling Afghanistan lamb." $395 (about $2717 in today's dollar).

September 1965 - "Wool - Afloat Under Fur...Watch it skimming along the boulevards this Fall with a graceful awareness of figure and a bouyant ripple of hemline. Its special drama: a great, wide fur boa whipped into a dashing bow and flung over the shoulder. The deeply sculptured grey wool from Italy comes with a boa of natural grey Afghanistan lamb; also in navy with black-dyed nutria boa." Dress alone, $275 (about $1892 in today's dollar). Dress with fur boa, $735 (about $5055 in today's dollar).

February 1964 - "The Capelet Costume...full-of-flair and elegant bravado. Watch this shape-in-the-news sweep South and into Spring'64, a beautiful balance of crisply-controlled width and eased slenderness. Adele Simpson flings the breezy little silk-lined cape over a dress of matching rayon Fibranne, its waistline lashed with a sliver of leather. Navy with vivid green lining and belt, sea green with turquoise, gold nugget with black or black with gold nugget." $160 (about $1100 in today's dollar).

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Gigliola Curiel

I enjoy reading old fashion magazines. I learn so much by doing so. Yesterday, I was leafing through a 1968 Vogue, and came across this ad for Bergdorf Goodman. Our own Gigliola Curiel of Milan veils a willowy silk print dress with a shoulder-closed coat of twin-printed silk organza. Who??? Gigliola Curiel? Who??????? Seeing this ad sent me on a quest to learn more about this designer.

In 1948, the Centro Italiano della Moda, or Italian Fashion Center, was formed in Milan. Several local dressmakers, including Gigliola Curiel, whose businesses had survived the restrictions of WWII, joined forces to form a national fashion fair that would facilitate the Italian fashion industry. In the early 1950s, the Centro Italiano worked to promote Italian fashion in the US with elaborate fashion shows staged in Milan for department store buyers who had just finished viewing the Paris couture shows.

In 1955, Bergdorf Goodman signed an exclusive contract with Gigliola Curiel to produce ready-to-wear fashion for the store. She did so until her death in 1969. The dress shown above would have been from one of her last collections for Bergdorf's.

I went searching for dresses by Curiel online, and there is not much available. Here are a couple that I found.

1957 Evening Gown in the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum.

My friend Jamie, of Jamiexmas, recently sold this 1950's cocktail dress by Curiel. He has graciously agreed to let me share these photos with you.
So there you have it - my serendipitous journey on a lazy Sunday afternoon from magazine ad to learning about a designer from the past that I had never heard of. I am now on the search for a Curiel dress for my own collection. I love my job.

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Pleats Three Ways from 1955

Pleats. There's something about the way they swish and sway when you walk that makes them so alluring. Here are pleats done three ways from 1955.

A tailored suit with a box pleated skirt from Bergdorf Goodman. Made in navy or grey worsted flannel, there's nothing severe about this whirlaway style. Sold for $195 in 1955, the same suit would cost about $1600 today. Love the short matching gloves with the bracelets stacked on top and the super slim umbrella makes an elegant accessory.

Knife pleats are narrow at the top and gradually widen to the hem to add fullness to the skirt in this dress by Junior Sophisticates. The belt keeps things in check at the waist.

A dramatic peignoir set by Vanity Fair offers a robe with a grand sweep of sheer pleats falling from the shoulder. In nylon tricot and French lace, the set was available in white or pastel colors. In 1955, the gown sold for $29.95 and the robe for $59.95 - that equals $244 and $489 in today's dollar!

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1961 Leslie Morris for Bergdorf Goodman Coat

Leslie Morris was hired by Bergdorf Goodman in 1931 and worked in their custom design department well into the 1960's. She traveled to Paris every year for the couture collections. She was considered in the top rung of American designers in the 1930's, 40's, and 50's on par with Sophie of Saks, Mr. Leone of Bendel's, and Wilson Folmar of Jay-Thorpe. I can find no evidence that Morris' name was ever put on the labels sewn into the garments, although it appeared prominently in advertisements for Bergdorf's.

This ad for Bergdorf's is from the September 15, 1961 issue of Vogue magazine. "Leslie Morris designed this flare-shaped city coat in rich black wool. Exclusive in our Made-to-Order Collection on the Second Floor." Well-to-do customers would go in to the store and have garments made specifically for them and to their measurements - the equivalent of couture. Note the 3/4 sleeves worn with long gloves and the large alligator bag, as well as the high bubble hat.
Get the look with this 1960's coat in Forstmann wool with genuine mink fur collar and cuffs, now available in our EBay store. Click the picture to see the listing.

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