Framed 16 x 18" photograph of Nancy North wearing a fur coat at La Coupole restaurant in Paris.
Framed 18 x 16" photograph of model Nancy North rehearsing onstage for the Grande Divertissements à Versailles.
Framed black and white photograph of models Nancy North and Pat Cleveland singing at Maxims with a live band in the background.
Framed black and white photograph of model Alva Chinn rehearsing on stage for the Grande Divertissements à Versailles with one breast exposed.
Framed black and white photograph of model Karen Bjornson at the Grande Divertissements à Versailles.
Volume 3 contains mostly coverage from 1941 and 1942 but also includes miscellaneous articles from 1943, 1947 and 1955. In addition to clippings about his biannual collections and 1942 designs for the Waves, it includes articles on clothing he designed for Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor; his appointment as head designer for Twentieth-Century Fox Studios in September 1942; and Spanish coverage from publications out of Buenos Aires. Folders contain a contents list; press lists; an article from the Boston Post, September 8, 1947; an article from Harper's Bazaar, November 1941; an article from Collier's, November 22, 1941; original photographs released from the U.S. Navy that show the different styles of women's uniforms; 4 loose Parade magazine pages; a miscellaneous article about the Waves; an article from Woman's H ome Companion, January 1955; color pictures of Mainbocher gowns modeled by socialites.
Volume 4 covers the designer's bi-annual collections from the fall of 1942 through the spring of 1945. During this time, he created his "changeabout basic dress," "glamour belts," and bejeweled cardigans. The press continuously reiterated Mainbocher's belief that a woman need only a simple black dress sans ornament and various accessories to make that one dress do the work of a dozen. The volume includes a Harper's Bazaar article from November 1941 about Mrs. John C. Wilson (Natalie Paley), "the 9-to-5 muse at Mainbocher," as well as a copy of the May 1944 cover that features a Mainbocher white straw hat with two white roses on the brim worn with his silk patterned dress and jacket. Folders include a typed list of the contents in the scrapbook, press lists, a loose page from Harper's Bazaar November 1943 and a card that credits Mainbocher for dressing singer Libby Holman in "Early American Blues."
Volume 6 contains coverage of Mainbocher's Fall/Winter 1945 and Spring/Summer 1946 collections. His fall collection was the first since the Americans won the war. It featured embroidery placed on bodices, draperies, peplums and belts. Black was the basic color. Short, double-breasted flannel jackets looked deceptively simple on the outside but were lined in ermine or seal skin. His jeweled necklines that he had introduced three years earlier prevailed. The spring collection had a "young and contemporary" look with emphasis on the slim line. He used less black. Yellow was the dominant color. The volume includes an article from LIFE entitled "Mainbocher is 'Cheapest' Dressmaker," published May 20, 1946. Folders contain a contents page; an original copy of Magazine Madeleine from November 1946; and an International News photograph of Mainbocher and Mrs. John C. Wilson, in which she wears the same dress she models in the May 1946 edition of Vogue.
Volume 14 has articles all about Mainbocher's designs for the women marines. In August 1952 he debuted a wardrobe of six different ensembles. It was the first time in history women marines had their own dress blues (the counterpart of the blue uniform made famous by male marines). Included in this volume is an original invitation for the premiere presentation of the women's uniforms on August 28, 1952 and ten large original black-and-white photographs of marines modeling the uniforms. Folders contain a typed contents page and a five-page press release from the United States Marine Corps that provides detailed descriptions of the different looks in the wardrobe. The final page 43 has a typed original letter about the Passavant pinning ceremony. This leaf was probably intended to be in volume 12.
Volume 15 includes coverage of Mainbocher's four biannual collections from Fall 1951 to Spring 1953. In the Fall 1951 collection he presented front-fullness in skirts and used both wool and lace for evening. For Spring 1952 he stressed beauty above trends and turned out gingham checked cotton in jewel-necked sleeveless sheaths. Fall 1952 was about classic simplicity, with his suits receiving much editorial coverage. In Spring 1953 the neckline was the point of interest of the collection that received the most press. This volume also includes coverage of society women such as Mrs. Winston Guest and Mrs. Edward F. Hutton wearing Mainbocher's latest fashions; coverage of his designs for school uniforms for Westover School in Middlebury, CT; miscellaneous articles on Mary Martin, some of which also appear in other scrapbooks; coverage of his designs for U.S. Lady Ambassador Mrs. Fleur Cowles's wardrobe for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth; and numerous articles with photographs of the wedding dress he designed for Sara Delano Roosevelt, FDR's grandaughter. Folders include a typed contents page; Two loose pages from December 1951 Vogue; and two loose magazine pages dated December 1951 from an article about Fifty-Seventh Street, in which Mainbocher is mentioned.
Volume 18 includes coverage of three of Mainbocher's biannual collections. For Fall 1954 he emphasized a lower waistline and a longer/slimmer silhouette. The Spring 1955 collection was marked by jackets, the absence of black, navy blue suits and silhouettes that had the lowered waistline as well as the natural one. For Fall 1955 the collection was all about simplicity and the ensemble costructed from balanced proportions. Articles continuously reiterate that his clothes were never revolutionary. Throughout his career he made style changes but Main's deviations were never radical, which would often frustrate many fashion journalists who were looking for a "newsworthy" element to their stories. Folders include a typed contents page and a large color program from the Fete de Versailles, October 28, 1954. Also in this volume are articles from German newspapers; style tips from Mainbocher that reflect his "points on dressing beautifully;" a couple of color spreads in Woman's Home Companion in which Mainbocher's stage designs for Mary Martin are featured; and miscellaneous newspaper photographs of his designs for wealthy socialites like Mrs. Winston F.C. Guest. Becky L. noted that there's material on page 46 from the Dallas Times Herald noted as being from the New York Times Herald.
Volume 19 includes coverage of Mainbocher's Spring 1956 and Fall 1956 collections, as well as miscellaneous coverage of his designs for socialites like Mrs. William S. Paley (Barbara "Babe" Cushing Mortimer Paley). For spring, the designer did not embrace one particular silhouette, but rather included several different ones, hoping one would make a woman look her best. The collection had lots of colors and printed fabrics, especially florals. Suits and dresses were paired with an elbow-length stole, often made of the same fabric as the suit blouse. For fall he featured a wide range of evening gowns, including some with trains and others with the Turkish or harem hem. This volume includes articles in German; coverage of Paley's tie for first place of the world's best-dressed women; and several articles in which the Duchess of Windsor calls Mainbocher "the most important fashion influence in her life." Folders include a typed contents page; Five large black and white photographs of women (perhaps models in the salon) wearing what are presumably Mainbocher dresses; and a two-page article entitled "Women of Two Wars" in which some of Mainbocher's designs for uniforms are depicted.
Volume 23
Volume 27
Volume 28
Volume 29
Volume 34
Back view of cropped figure in short swing coat and coolie hat; Black and white: charcoal; Signed
Senza titoloSeated figure hugging knees in plaid beach ensemble; Black and white: charcoal, wash and pastel; Signed
Senza titolo"Revillon." Cropped figure in short fur jacket; Black and white: charcoal; Signed; Client Revillon furs
Senza titoloDiptych of two faceless figures in full-skirted dresses; Color: brush and gouache; Signed
Senza titoloMale figure in hunting coat with rifle; Black and white: graphite; Signed
Senza titoloDiptych of one figure in long plaid skirt and one figure in skirt and tunic (separated); Black and white: charcoal and wash; Signed; Client Lord & Taylor
Senza titoloFive heads in fur hats by Miss Alice; Signed; Client Lord & Taylor
Senza titoloThree figures in coats with matching mufflers; Black and white: brush and wash; Signed; Client Lord & Taylor
Senza titoloOne male and seven female figures in casual clothes; Black and white: charcoal, wash and pastel; Signed
Senza titoloTwo figures in lounging bras; Black and white: brush and wash; Signed; Client Lord & Taylor
Senza titoloFigure in print sheath with marabou trim; Black and white: marker and wash; Signed
Senza titoloFigure in smoking jacket and full skirt with greyhound; Black and white: graphite and wash; Signed
Senza titoloBack view of leaping figure in sleeveless dress; Color: pastel; Signed
Senza titoloFigure in big orange cardigan and slim coat; Color: pastel; Signed
Senza titoloFigure in black evening dress, long gloves and mob cap; Black and white: oil crayon; Signed
Senza titoloFigure in resort pants and top seated on garden urn; Black and white: marker, charcoal and wash; Signed
Senza titoloSeated figure in blue dotted dress, purple sash; Signed
Senza titoloTwo male figures in hats, one with topcoat; Black and white: charcoal and wash; Signed
Senza titoloPortrait of woman in ethnic embroidered blouse; Black and white: graphite; Signed
Three figures in panels in print day dresses; Black and white: brush and wash; Signed; Client Lord & Taylor
Senza titoloCropped figure in veiled hat holding lipstick; Color: brush, watercolor and gouache; Signed "Vogue" "To Mrs. Taylor evening Paris." Signed lower left; Client Vogue Cover Sketch
Senza titoloFigure in pantsuit holding hat; Black and white: marker and wash; Signed center right; Client Anglo Fabrics
Senza titoloTwo girls in velvet dresses at Shakespeare Theater; Color: watercolor and gouache; Client Joseph Love Collection
Senza titoloFigure in black cocktail sheath with overskirt and rosette at waist; Black and white: charcoal; Client Bonwit Teller
Senza titoloSeated figure in shirtwaist dress with dotted scarf; Black and white: brush and wash
Senza titoloFigure in white dotted gown, pink sash; Color: marker and watercolor; Signed lower left
Composite matting of sketches of runway models in couture designs. A: Ferre, 1988, 7 1/4 x 5", Signed upper left; B: Ferre, 1988, 7 1/4 x 5", Signed upper right; C: Lagerfeld, undated, 8 x 11 1/4", Signed lower right; D: Lagerfeld, undated; Signed lower right
Senza titoloMale in tuxedo shirt and cummerbund; Black and white: brush and wash; Client Lord & Taylor
Senza titoloThree males walking and talking, one holding hat; Black and white: brush and wash; Signed lower right; Client Lord & Taylor
Senza titolo