A postwar fashion leader, Adele Simpson took inspiration from French couture and gave it an American ready to wear interpretation.
Her fashions were popular for more than three decades with Hollywood stars Claudette Colbert, Audrey Meadows, and Elizabeth Taylor as well as America's first ladies Pat Nixon, Maimie Eisenhower, Barbara Bush, and Lady Bird Johnson favoring her designs.
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Adele Simpson Ad 1957
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Born Adele Smithline, Mrs. Simpson married Wesley Simpson in 1927. She completed her design studies at Pratt Institute at the age of 27 and first began working for Ben Girshel, an important Seventh Avenue manufacturer.
A few years later, she went to work for Mary Lee. She bought the company in 1949 and renamed it Adele Simpson, Inc.
Traveling frequently to Paris, she adapted the latest French designs into reasonably priced classic fashions for upscale department stores such as Bonwit Teller, Saks Fifth Avenue, and B. Altman.
Describing her typical customer, Simpson states, "She's busy with her charity work if she doesn't have a job. She doesn't take hours to get dressed. She has no maid to take care of her wardrobe and she travels a lot."
Adele Simpson was a recipient of a Neiman-Marcus Award and a Coty American Fashion Critics Winnie Award. She continued to work into her 70's with her daughter and son-in-law running the business after her retirement.
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Adele Simpson Design for Colorado Carnations Promotion
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Adele Simpson January 1956 Vogue
Photographer Leombruno Bodi
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Jean Patchett in Adele Simpson 1952
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Adele Simpson for Enka Rayons |
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Adele Simpson Cloche Capes |
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Adele Simpson April 1953 Vogue |
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Adele Simpson Design Worn by Lady Bird Johnson |
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Adele Simpson Design for Pat Nixon |
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Pat Nixon in Adele Simpson Gown |
1 comment:
I love the classic look of this era.
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