Clare Potter - American Sportswear Designer

 Clare Potter, shown above, was one of America's leading fashion designers of the 1930s and 40s.  She is perhaps best known for her sportswear and her inventive use of color combinations.

1939

 Potter was born in New Jersey in 1903.  She studied costume design at the Pratt Institute, but left before graduating to work for Edward L. Mayer, a wholesale dress manufacturer in New York.  She worked for Mayer from about 1926-29.

1945

 In 1930, Potter went to work for Charles E. Nudelman, Inc., a maker of affordable ready-to-wear garments.  It was here that she was given name recognition, using the elided name Clarepotter in advertisements and the press.  She was one of the first American designers to achieve name recognition.

1948

 Potter received the Lord & Taylor Award for distinguished designing in 1937, a Neiman Marcus Award in 1939, and a Coty Award in 1946.

1949

 Potter wore the kind of clothes she made, simple and unfussy sportswear with no trimmings or decoration aside from their distinctive color combinations.  Even her evening wear was derived from sportswear, often made as separates.  She was the first to introduce an evening sweater as a layering option.

1951

 In 1948, Potter formed her own company, Timbertop, in partnership with magazine editor Martha Stout.  The company name came from the turkey farm that Potter owned with her husband in W. Nyack, NY.  By the 1950s, Potter was the sole owner of her own label Clare Potter.  She worked from a converted horse barn on her farm.  She would go to New York City twice a year to show her new line and between times, store buyers would travel out to the farm to place orders.

1951

Clare Potter continued designing into the early 60s.  She and her husband retired to a new Japanese style home in Fort Ann, New York.  She lived there until her death in January, 1999.

Please note: This biography about Clare Potter is copyright of Couture Allure and may not be copied without permission.

Read more...

7 Important American Designers, 1954

So often we read about American fashion designers from the 1950s, and we love to drool over the clothes they made, but we have no idea what the designers themselves looked like. I stumbled across this photo which was part of an ad for Chrysler cars in 1954. The ad headline states, "7 top fashion designers find Chrysler Corporation's 1955 cars a stimulating new concept of good design."

Click on the picture to enlarge and you'll see the faces behind the clothes.

From left to right: Tim Brigance, Anne Fogarty, Clare Potter, Lily Daché, Nettie Rosenstein, Pauline Trigere, and Claire McCardell.

Read more...

Clare Potter or Tom Brigance?

1949 - A model poses for photographer Louise Dahl-Wolfe at the caves along the western beaches of Nassau in the Bahamas. The colors of her blouse and shorts are a perfect counterpoint to the colors of the surrounding natural splendor. The pieces are by Charles Nudelman, a wholesale manufacturer of women's sportswear. But who designed them?

Clare Potter was the well known designer for Nudelman starting in 1930. Potter won many awards and was best known for her brilliant use of color. She preferred to make her clothing distinct with color and line, rather than with added decoration. Potter was famous for her pants, which were always perfectly cut and tailored. In doing my research, the last mention I find for Clare Potter of Charles Nudelman is in October of 1948. By July of 1949, Potter was working at Timbertop and designed their line for the fall of that year.

Tom Brigance was another well known designer of American sportswear. He worked in London for Jaeger before coming to New York in 1939 as the in-house designer for Lord & Taylor. He was noted for his use of soft draping, unusual fabrics, and interesting prints. He was absent from the design world from 1942 - 47 while he served in the war. Upon his return, he once again designed for Lord & Taylor, until he announced his resignation in March of 1949 to join Charles Nudelman. He didn't stay long, however, as by 1951, Brigance was the exclusive designer at Frank Gallant.

Was the outfit shown in this photo designed by Potter or Brigance? By looking at the combination of colors and the cut of the shorts, I have to guess that this is Clare Potter's design, but mention of her name as the designer in the magazine spread is noticeably absent. Before this, her name was always used in association with Charles Nudelman, as she had greater recognition. One has to wonder what happened. Was Potter unhappy after 18 years with Nudelman? Was Nudelman dissatisfied with sales? What did he give Brigance to steal him from Lord & Taylor? Why did Brigance leave Nudelman after such a short time? Good questions all, but ones we'll probably never have the answers to.

Shown above, a dove grey rayon crepe blouse cut open to the waist is worn with sand color cuffed shorts of Moygashel linen by Charles Nudelman, available at Saks Fifth Avenue in 1949 for $50 (about $459 in today's dollar).

Read more...