[DosViolines]

Quote:

Main Rousseau Bocher (1891-1976) was born in Chicago and studied at the University of Chicago and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. After serving in WWI, he became a fashion illustrator at Harper’s Bazaar and then the editor of French Vogue. In homage to the designers Louiseboulanger and Augustabernard, whom he greatly admired, he changed his name to the French-sounding Mainbocher in 1929 when he became the first American to open his own couture house in Paris. He achieved immediate success, especially among fashionable Americans such as Wallis Simpson, who wore a Mainbocher dress when she married the Duke of Windsor. Mainbocher’s style was classic, even somewhat conservative, but always elegant and extremely expensive. “He not only made a woman look like a lady, but as if her mother had been a lady too,” declared fashion editor Sally Kirkland. Mainbocher’s clothes were characterized by luxurious materials and fine workmanship, and were exquisitely finished both inside and out. He loathed Schiaparelli’s flamboyance, but greatly admired Vionnet, whose craftsmanship influenced his designs. In addition to the evening dress shown here, which Mrs. A. Watson Armour III wore to Chicago’s Assembly Ball. Chic Chicago features two of his impeccably tailored suits. It was said that a suit and blouse of his “cost as much as a half year’s tuition and board at Harvard.” Mainbocher himself summed up his philosophy by saying: “Suitability is half the secret of being well-dressed.” Mainbocher, evening dress, c.1938, France, gift of Mrs. A. Watson Armour III, photograph by Irving Solero

fitnyc

[LUXXX]

I wonder why this name died out...in every biography I read of stylish women from this time period they are devoted to Mainbocher.

[SomethingElse]

Mainbocher.com links directly to vionnet.com. Perhaps the name Mainbocher is owned by the same entity as Vionnet, but they are not doing anything with Mainbocher these days?

[SomethingElse]

From time.com 25 September 1963

Quote:

The Main Line "I am the Rolls-Royce of the fashion trade," says Manhattan's Mainbocher, and it is a simple statement of fact. At 72, the short, round little man with the synthetic name can boast that his clothes are the most carefully made, the slowest to change, and among the most expensive in the world. If the upper-class look characterizes the lines of both Mainbocher and Balenciaga, "Main's" clothes look like older money. Mainbocher is also the great loner. He disregards the feverish pitch of the Paris houses and shows his collections at his own dignified pace (his butler serves ice water instead of champagne). Last week two audiences—one of society women and one of fashion pros, both as carefully hand-picked as the members of a royal wedding—were admitted to the off-white salon on Fifth Avenue, sat reverently on couches and little blue chairs to watch six mannequins parade in 150 designs while the aging master explained them in a well-modulated whisper. The news was not dramatic—longer waistlines and shorter coats, more form-fitting shapes, and buttons all over. But sweeping innovations and fancy pace-setting are never the point. A Mainbocher is a Mainbocher, and the woman who wears it expects to go on wearing it for years. Which is almost necessary at those prices—the average price of a mere suit is $1,000. Mainbocher is the master of the throwaway: a little tweed jacket that suddenly turns out to be lined with sable, a simple something buttoned up to the neck that unbuttons—if you just happen to feel like it—to reveal a splash of Schlumberger or Verdura in emeralds and diamonds. He was making the sleeveless sheath long before Jackie Kennedy made it a cliché. The One & Only. Mainbocher's name is usually pronounced even by himself as if it were French (Main-beau-chez), but he is as American as blue jeans. He was named Main Rousseau Bocher (pronounced Bosher) when he was born 72 years ago on the West Side of Chicago. His mother wanted him to be a painter, his father wanted him to be a violinist, he wanted to be an opera singer. He had to change his plans when, just as he was about to go onstage for his debut in Paris, he lost his voice. Unable to sing a note for three years, he became editor of the French edition of Vogue, and was so successful in the fashion world that in 1930 he opened his own salon. Mainbocher came to New York in 1939, where he profited by the wartime blackout of France as the fashion center of the world. Today he is America's sole exemplar of the big-name custom-only couturier. Unlike such top U.S. designers as Norman Norell and James Galanos, he does not distribute his models through department stores; anyone who wants to buy a Mainbocher has to come to the Fifth Avenue salon. The Appointment. And it is by no means as simple as that, either. Unless she comes with an introduction from an established client, the would-be customer is confronted by a formidable lady with a foreign accent who takes her name and informs her that she will be sent an invitation to view the collection — a stall that gives the office staff a chance to check her social background and financial status. When she arrives for her appointed showing, there are seldom more than two other customers in the salon. Mainbocher dresses some of the most glamorous properties on Broadway, as well as some of the most sedulously anonymous rich. His skill with color, plain lines and expert engineering takes especially kindly to the middle-aged figure. Many women who wear his clothes as never see him, but such favored clients as "Babs" Paley and "Ceezee" Guest can sometimes prevail on him to discuss their wardrobes over lunch at Le Pavillion or the Colony. "I think I've been a reassuring influence in fashion," he says. "I don't want my clothes to make a woman look desperate for attention; I do want them to add to her chic and not make her look smarty smart."

[LUXXX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SomethingElse Mainbocher.com links directly to vionnet.com. Perhaps the name Mainbocher is owned by the same entity as Vionnet, but they are not doing anything with Mainbocher these days?

That's interesting...I read a about a year ago that Vionnet was supposed to be resurrected by Sophia Koksalaki...or however you say that last name. I think she is London-based.

They should try to bring Mainbocher back...someone like Nicholas G. at Balenciaga could do it...

[SomethingElse]

Quote:

Wedding Ensemble, 1937. Silk, leather, straw, coq feathers. Mainbocher, known for his sense of decorum, created a garment impeccably suited to the occasion. If his design seems conservative, as compared to the modern experiments of others in the 1930s, it was because he sought an unerring gentility. He held decoration to a minimum, favoring refined feminine forms (petal-shaped collar, shirring, small embroideries). Even the gloves were specifically designed to accommodate the wedding ring. While a defect in the stability of the dye has caused the dress to lose its "Windsor blue," it retains the willful seemliness of a marriage in world view.

metmuseum.org

[SomethingElse]

Oops... detail of the wedding ensemble above.



metmuseum.org

[LUXXX]

The Duchess of Windsor wore that.

[Gloria01]

[DosViolines]

Left: Mainbocher, evening dress, multicolor silk, 1937, USA-France

Quote:

The fabric used for this dress was inspired by the colorful floral patterns of Indian printed cottons. To preserve the rhythm of the print, Mainbocher used intricate seaming and appliqués to match the floral pattern wherever possible. The hem flounce produces a vibrant flourish of color when the wearer moves.

fitnyc.edu

[Marvystone]

Mainbocher dress, 1936
horstphorst

[Spiral1532]

Some information on the Mainbocher corset:

The corset that shaped Mainbocher's last Parisian collection was immortalized in 1939 by one of Horst's most famous photographs. The corset itself, listed in Town and Country as one of the big events of 1939, caused a furor in France. Mainbocher's corseted waist, defined bosom and back draping was an abrupt shift in silhouette and introduced the Victorian motifs that were to pervade the forties.




facebook/jon van gilder

[Spiral1532]

1939




operagloves.com

[Spiral1532]

Evening dress, 1939
Ivory silk chiffon embroidered with white and silver sequin butterflies and ivory silk taffeta.




metmuseum.org

[Spiral1532]

^Why did I post that pic if it had already been posted?
I must've had a brain lapse that day.

1941



style.cctv.com