Recently I had the pleasure of purchasing items from the estate of an exquisite lady who once resided in NYC and had worked in the garment district as a seamstress from the late 1920s on into the 1940s. Each piece her granddaughter displayed was Designer Fifth Avenue but one piece in particular struck my fancy~
1940s Silk Faille Russeks Swing Coat
I fell in love with the shirred/ ruched epaulet styled shoulders which are also lightly padded (think Joan Crawford) & the ribbed silk faille exterior and richly lined in silk charmeuse. This Swing coat also dubbed a "Running" coat circa 1941-1944 for say a good coat to grab when running out of the house late to work. Lightweight & dressy ideal for Autumn.
I fell in love with the shirred/ ruched epaulet styled shoulders which are also lightly padded (think Joan Crawford) & the ribbed silk faille exterior and richly lined in silk charmeuse. This Swing coat also dubbed a "Running" coat circa 1941-1944 for say a good coat to grab when running out of the house late to work. Lightweight & dressy ideal for Autumn.
Early Russeks 390 36th St. & 5th Avenue
Russeks was founded in the early 1900's as a fur store in New York City. During, the early 1920s the store evolved into a department store on fashionable Fifth Avenue still specializing in furs and featuring women's high end clothing.
Gorham Building/Old Russeks Today
Specializing in Womens clothing & fine furs
Russeks slogan was: "An Institution of Paris Fashions"
1941 Rayon Dresses Ad
1953 Suzy Perette Advertisement for Russeks
1957 Norwegian Blue Fox Ad
Russeks has a celebrity connection: The owners were the grandparents of photographer Diane Arbus and her brother, poet Howard Nemerov.
Diane Arbus an American Photographer & Writer, famous for her black & white photography capturing & portraying mankinds odditities & the unusual.
Diane Arbus an American Photographer & Writer, famous for her black & white photography capturing & portraying mankinds odditities & the unusual.
In 2006, Nicole Kidman depicts the biographical life story of Diane Arbus in FUR
Sadly, Russeks is just a faded memory for some & so we are left with grand visions, dreams & thankfully fine vintage apparel~
