I’m just saying that it would have been nice to see more vintage evening gowns on
last night’s Oscar Red Carpet, don’t you think?
Available at TheFrock.com.
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A few Santa Monica Vintage Expos ago, Sandra Mendoza-Daly and I were browsing all the vintage goodies when we came across a dress on a mannequin that had a little handwritten sign below it. The sign said something like this:
Dress by Madame Gres. If anyone has any info on this designer, please see me.
Sandra and I looked at each other, then we looked at the dress and lo and behold it was truly an early Madame Gres. We informed the dealer about the treasure on her hands and listened in awe to her story of how the dress just walked into her shop one day with someone who wanted to sell some of a relative’s old clothes.
For someone like myself, who immerses herself in fashion history on a regular basis, it’s hard to believe that Madame Gres could go unnoticed, particularly by an experienced dealer. After all, some would argue that Madame Gres was the greatest couturier in history! But unlike other legends whose names live on with much greater fanfare, Madame Gres’ story was more one of riches to rags than rags to riches.
When she passed away in 1993 she was alone and destitute and her daughter kept her death a secret from the world for over a year. The truth was finally revealed by a reporter shortly after the full-scale retrospective of her work at the Met’s Costume Institute closed.
Christian Dior once said, “Each dress she makes is a masterpiece,” and today’s VPOD is no exception.
This vintage 1970s Madame Gres ensemble features a simple dress with a magnificent cape top.
It’s a noteworthy find for a vintage fashionista!
Available at Rare Vintage.
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Madame Gres was born Germaine Emilie Krebs in 1903 in Paris, France. And while the gowns she designed were outstanding examples of draping and often took over 300 hours to complete, you can appreciate them even more when you hear the story of her life:
After opening her own house under the name of Alix Barton in 1934, she eventually left the partnership and opened GRES, a new salon named after her Russian husband. Well, the cad abandoned her and her young daughter a few years later and never returned, making Gres an early example of a single working mom. And while she made dresses through the 70s for some of the world’s richest women, and received the Golden Thimble fashion award in 1976, her house went bankrupt in 1987 and Gres died in poverty in 1993.
These days, Madame Gres dresses are quite rare, therefore they tend to be collected rather than worn. But several recently came on the market when Rare Vintage owner Juliana Cairone was called by an appraiser to view some dresses that had been stored in a New Jersey basement.
Today’s VPOD features just one of the eight marvelous examples from this Madame Gres treasure trove. This rust colored dress is a fine example of the superior Gres draping and her use of kimono sleeves.
And it’s a true masterpiece for a vintage fashionista!
To read the full WSJ article and see all eight designs, click here.
To purchase, contact Rare Vintage.
(To receive the VPOD via email with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.)
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Technorati Tags: Fashion, Vintage Clothing, vintage, Madame Gres, Dress
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