Old Man Winter! Where art thou?

All out of doors looked darkly in at him
Through the thin frost, almost in separate stars,
That gathers on the pane in empty rooms.
- Robert Frost ( An Old Man's Winter Night )

Good day vintage fashion lovers! My title is making reference to the tremendously fabulous weather we have been experiencing here in Fargo, ND. 

'The project' marches forward. I scored a fantastic lot of vintage designer hats last month. I have listed almost the entire collection for sale on my Etsy shop and will be posting pictures of these gorgeous pieces off-and-on this month. I had to do a bit of research on these beauties, so I have learned quite a lot in the process. Two of the hats are from the millinery legend Mr. John. One of which still has the original price tag on it. It originally retailed for $79.95 in the 1950's! Can you imagine? that was a hefty sum in those days! I have created a digital photo album on my Facebook page exclusively for vintage designer pieces and have include a brief overview of the designers and their careers. You can take a peek here:

Vintage Designer Photo Album

Today I shall just give a brief account of a Hattie Carnegie. I have a rare 1930s-40s black lace mourning veil from her ready to wear line for sale now at HighHatCouture. The pictures are below:

Hattie was from a large poor Jewish family. Her beginnings were very humble and she experienced a major set-back when she tried to open up her first shop. The man who she thought was going to be her partner ended up cleaning out her savings and taking off with everything she had purchased to open up her shop. She worked at Macy's department store for several years and also modeled for them. Macy's was impressed with her and helped her receive training in millinery. She eventually opened up her first millinery shop 1909 in New York. She is credited with raising hemlines above the knee in the 1920s. Her personal life was complicated and she married three times. Her career in fashion continued to progress despite her difficulties. She had a column in Harpers Bazaar for ten years. I. Magnin & Co., a high-end department store, purchased the rights to sell her ready to wear line and she become quite wealthy as a result. Interestingly most of the designer hats I bought as a lot have come from the I. Magnin & Co. Boutique. In 1931 Lucile Ball worked for Hattie Carnegie as a 'chesterfield girl'. Hattie continue's to grow in prominence and wealth despite the economic depression. A long and impressive list of noted designers who passed through the Carnegie organization. These include Claire McCardell, Jean Louis, Gus Tassell, James Galanos, Travis Banton, Pauline de Rothschild and Pauline Trigere. Some of her designs are on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Hollywood actresses favored her label. She was a true entrepreneur and a champion of women's rights. Born in 1880 and died in 1956. Her designs were noted for their elegance and as wearable high-fashion. 

Thanks to the website http://hattie-carnegie.info/ for keeping this amazing designers memory alive and well for all of us vintage lovers! 

That's all for today my friends. I hope you found this information interesting. Have a great November!

Stay classy,

Kary J.