1973 Donald Brooks Coat and 1966 Vintage Furs

File this under "Lightening Strikes Twice". On Friday, I told you how rare it is to find a vintage advertisement that matches an item I am selling. Later that day, I received an email from my colleague Anthony Argo over at Frockology.com with a picture of a Lord & Taylor ad from the March 1973 issue of Vogue magazine. It showed a Donald Brooks coat with a print of peas in pods cleverly called "The Pea Coat". The coat sold for $250 in 1973 (about $1200 in today's dollar).

Vogue Magazine, March 1973

Oh look! I have the same coat for sale at my website! This Donald Brooks coat is such fun and is sure to bring a smile to everyone on those rainy and gloomy days. Thank you for sending a photo of the ad, Anthony!

In other news, it snowed here in Boston last night. In case you are new to this blog, I want you to know that I hate snow. I hate cold. I hate winter. But I love Boston, so here I stay. Now, we've had early snow before, but October 18th snow? That's pushing it. It's all gone this morning, and the temps are headed back up today, but in honor of the coming winter winds, here are some vintage fur coats from 1966.

I've told you about Emeric Partos, Bergdorf Goodman's custom furrier before. This full length evening coat of Russian Crown sable is worn over gold lamé harem pajamas, both by Partos.

Also by Emeric Partos, an Empress chinchilla fur cape. Love the metallic boots!

Christian Dior combines Jasmine white Emba mink with Lutetia gunmetal grey Emba mink, tied with a mink sash at the waist.

Maximilian uses Emba mink in tourmaline for this gorgeous coat with horizontal pelts.

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Donald Brooks - Fashion Innovator

The following photos were taken in Tunis in 1967 and appeared as part of a several page advertisement introducing the Kodak Instamatic Camera. All fashions are by Donald Brooks.

Donald Brooks began his design career in the mid 1950's working for a junior sportswear line called Darbury. Darbury was a relatively inexpensive line, but Brooks made the clothing look great by using unexpected fabrics for his designs. In 1959, Brooks moved to Townley, where he replaced the late Claire McCardell, and was able to use more expensive fabrics to design elegant clothing for daytime and luxurious fashions for evening.

After winning two Coty awards, Brooks opened his own company in 1965. With his own label, Brooks' signature look started to appear. He loved to use bold patterns and striking color combinations. He continued to be a style innovator and won another Coty award in 1970.

Brooks closed his business in 1973, but he continued to design with various licensing agreements, including loungewear for Maidenform. By the 1980's, Brooks produced custom garments, which he sold privately from his town house on East Seventieth Street in New York.

Through the years Brooks also designed costumes for the theatre, film, and television industries, for which he was nominated for several awards.

Brooks was cited by the New York Times as one of “the three B’s of fashion” alongside Geoffrey Beene and Bill Blass. He was one of Jackie Kennedy’s favorite designers.

Couture Allure is pleased to offer this iconic graphic print coat by Donald Brooks from the late 1960's.

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1974 Donald Brooks Evening Pajamas

Donald Brooks began his design career in the mid 1950's working for a junior sportswear line called Darbury. Darbury was a relatively inexpensive line, but Brooks made the clothing look great by using unexpected fabrics for his designs. In 1959, Brooks moved to Townley, where he replaced the late Claire McCardell, and was able to use more expensive fabrics to design elegant clothing for daytime and luxurious fashions for evening.

After winning two Coty awards, Brooks opened his own company in 1965. With his own label, Brooks' signature look started to appear. He loved to use bold patterns and striking color combinations. He continued to be a style innovator and won another Coty award in 1970.

Brooks closed his business in 1973, but he continued to design with various licensing agreements, including loungewear for Maidenform. By the 1980's, Brooks produced custom garments, which he sold privately from his town house on East Seventieth Street in New York.

Through the years Brooks also designed costumes for the theatre, film, and television industries, for which he was nominated for several awards.

The evening pajama set shown above was pictured in the November 1974 issue of Harper's Bazaar, and is one of Donald Brooks' licensed designs for Maidenform. Consisting of a tunic and pants with some of the widest bell hems you'll ever see, this set was made from a tiger print jersey woven with metallic threads. The set retailed for $200 (about $875 today), and was sold at Altman's, Marshall Field, and I. Magnin.

The model wears a wide cuff bracelet and glitzy sandals.

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