Clara's Custom Made Clothes

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Sometimes the serendipity of what I do is amazing. This morning I was flipping through a 1939 issue of Town and Country magazine and I found this half page ad for Clara's Custom Made Clothes at Eighteen East 53rd Street in New York. The address is right off of Madison Avenue and you know this was an expensive store for society's elite. Especially if the store could afford a half page ad in the front third of the pages of Town and Country.

But what's the big deal? What's so serendipitous?

Just last week, I listed a Nina Ricci dress dated 1971 that was sold by Clara's at 18 E. 53rd St. Yep, same store, same high quality garments, same elite customers. And that, my friends, is serendipity. I love what I do.

1971 Nina Ricci silk dress available at Couture Allure.

Weekend Eye Candy - Blondell Furs, 1939

A major winter storm is headed our way and we're expecting 18-20" of snow in the next 36 hours. Maybe this 1939 white fox fur cape by Blondell Furs would keep me warm.

Weekend Eye Candy - Elsa Schiaparelli, 1939

Leopard skin booties designed by Elsa Schiaparelli for her Fall 1939-40 season. The pair shown here were part of the designer's personal wardrobe and one of her favorite pairs of shoes. They were shown in the exhibit "Shocking! The Art and Fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2003.

Photo from the book that accompanied the exhibit.