Chances are, I was a pirate in a past life. I have an incessant desire to travel the world, and love searching for treasure. The perfect treasure hunt is finding vintage clothing. Most of the time, I search alone. But when venturing into uncharted territory, it is useful to team with other vintage enthusiasts. One of my favorite treasure hunters is Lizzie Bramlett. We found some serious gems while scouring Atlanta. I’m also never disappointed by my travels with Ashley McAleavy of Remedy.
Ashley took me to a secret vintage paradise this week. While it required some serious digging, I came across an interesting dress. The construction and design of a navy wool tea-length beauty caught my eye. I thought it looked decidedly modern. Confused, I unzipped it to search for a label. I nearly passed out with excitement as I saw this:
Pauline Trigère (1908-2002)
was born in Paris and became an iconic fashion designer in Post War America. Her mother was a dressmaker and her father a tailor who had made military uniforms for Russian aristocrats. Trigère learned quickly from her parents, and designed her first dress as a teenager. She never sketched her designes, but worked by draping right on the mannequin.
The wool jersey dress I found is a prime example of Trigère mastery of design. While jersey can be clingy and unstructured, the geometric details and top stitching give this dress shape.
Trigère was completely self-financed. Her only help was from her brother Robert, who assisted in getting her first collection off the ground by traveling America with the samples via Greyhound bus. She was also fiercely loyal to America, saying:
”People always say to me, ‘Aren’t you French?’ and I say, ‘No, I am American,’ ” she said. ”I found in this country everything I wanted. This country made me Pauline Trigère.”
The only time I’ve ever come across one of Trigère’s garments has been in a museum collection. They are difficult to find. It was so great to be able to examine the garment. You can see how the lining was hand finished. Look at that stitching!
GHTime Code(s): nc
You are one of my favorite treasure hunters as well!
I adore the dress, and it looks like it was made for you. Can you get over the quality of it?
The place Ashley took me to barely had a mirror, let alone a dressing room. So the fit was a total surprise once I had it back at home. It was a stellar find, and I seriously started jumping up and down when I found it. I promise to take you to this amazing place whenever you make it up for a visit. I found a few other fantastic things, but this was the best!
The best? I’d say!
i truly enjoy reading your words….and now I know about Tigere; I will keep my eyes open for her when I am treasuring hunting ;)
Yay! She is awesome! When I come back to Cali, we can shop together :)
looking forward to it :)
What a lucky find! The dress looks marvelous on you. The inner construction photo you show is one of the reasons I love vintage clothing. I wish I could do a better job of teaching the difference in quality between vintage dresses and the garbage sold in stores today.
Oh, but I think you really do! I love your website!! Aside from having some of the most amazing treasures, you really take the time write wonderful articles, photograph the garments in detail, and include detailed descriptions. People may come to Couture Allure to shop, but they definitely leave with fantastic information. I’ve been a fan for a long time, and I’m so honored to hear from you :)
[...] marketplace. She consistently identified young emerging talent, like Norman Norell in the 1920s, Pauline Trigère in the 1930s, and Claire McCardell in the 1940s. Carnegie was amassing a fashion empire that was [...]
Amazing find Monica! I’m jealous.
It’s such a beautiful dress have you thought of copying it. I’m taking the online class by Kenneth King on how to copy ready to wear. If I lived in Los Angeles, I’d offer to copy it for you.
Hi Dorothy!
No, I’d never considered it…although what a great idea. The dress is amazing. It reminded me of some of the clothing Victoria Beckham produces for her dress label. Have you seen those? She has a talented design team and good eye to direct them
[...] Utah Tailoring Mills Back in August, I was lucky enough to find a navy wool tea-length dress by Pauline Trigère. I loved the sense of geometry present in the design. Angular panels were stitched together, [...]