M is for McCardell

    Claire McCardell was born in Frederick, Maryland in 1905.
    She attended Hood College in Frederick for two years before she headed off to Parsons in New York.
    While at Parsons she studied fashion illustration and spent her second year at Parsons Paris location.
    She finished her degree back in New York.
    After graduating from Parsons she had various different jobs including working for a short time for Robert Turk.
    Robert Turk's business proved to be unsuccessful and he and McCardell went to work at Townley Frocks.
    Shortly after their move to Townley Frocks Turk died in an accident and McCardell took over his design position working for the company for seven years.
    She went and worked for Hattie Carnegie for a short time before returning to Townley Frocks.
    When she returned to the company she began designing under her own label.
    She designed clothing that was practical yet stylish utilizing fabrics such as cotton, denim and jersey in her simple designs.
    In 1955 she used fabric printed with artwork from Chagall, Dufy, Leger, Miro and Picasso to make casual resort clothing (see the dress below).
    McCardell died in 1958 from cancer.
    *The photograph pictured above is from the website fashionencyclopedia.com

This dress is made out of cotton and features a fantastic abstract art print by Fernand Leger.
Measurements are 32-33" Chest, 22" Waist and Full Hips.
You can purchase this dress for $2,100- over at VintageTrends.com

1940's black cotton dress.
This dress features a large bow at the neck and a pleated skirt.
Measurements are 36" Chest and up to 28" Waist
You can purchase this dress for $585- over at the Antique & Vintage Dress Gallery

1950's brown cotton dress with fruit print..
This dress features a pretty neckline.
Measurements are 35-36" Chest, 27" Waist and 37" Hips
The Current bid is $100- and there are 3 days left on the sale over at Capricorn Vintage on eBay.