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Adele Simpson

1903-1995
* Was born in New York, USA, in 1903
* she was the fifth daughter born to Latvian immigrants
* She studied at the Pratt Institute of Design, in Brooklyn, NewYork.
* She was married to Herbert Sondheim.
* In her 20's, she was reputedly one of the highest paid designers in America.
* In 1927, she was appointed head designer at Ben Gershel's, aready-to-wear company
* She moved to Mary Lee Fashions, where she designed under her own name.
* she bought out this business in 1944, changing the name to Adele Simpson Inc.
* Simpsonreceived many citations for her fashion designs, including the 1947 Coty Award.
* She produced a very limited amount of costume jewelry in the 1940s and 1950s to coordinate with her clothing designs.* Simpson designed practical clothes, outfits which could be worn in layers and discarded to reveal evening wear under day wear.
* Her blouse and suit, dress and jacket or coat and suitensembles were extremely popular, especially with the wives of US politicians.
* She was the first American designer to treat cotton as a serious fashion fabric
* In the 1950's, she produced a cottonChemise Dress with belts attached,
* The dresses which Adele Simpson made are still treasured and snapped up when they appear on vintage sale.
* Simpson continued to design into her 70s beforeshe retired in 1985.
* Her daughter, Joan Raines, and her son-in-law, Richard Raines, maintained the business prior to selling out to Barron Peters in 1991.
* She died in Greenwich, Ct. USAin 1995, at the age of 92.

Signature Looks




Significance
A leader in the postwar fashion boom, Adele Simpson was known for taking French couture an American ready-to-wearinterpretation, an important player in the postwar fashion movement
Color coordinated dresses and jackets and chic coats were some of her more popular pieces. Prior to becoming a designer, Simpson was a child...