Mainbocher

Home > ... > Literature and the Arts > Fashion, Design, and Crafts > Fashion: Biographies > ...

Essential reading Compare
side-by-side The Oxford Companion to American Theatre The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

Mainbocher

Mainbocher (Main Rousseau Bocher), 1891-1976, American fashion designer, b. Chicago. He was known for his expensive, elegant evening clothes; cardigan sweaters with jeweled buttons; and high-waisted, long, and lacy or transparent ball gowns. He opened his Paris house of couture in 1929 and his New York house in 1939. He designed war uniforms for the WAVES and SPARS and made costume designs for stage productions. He introduced the strapless evening gown, and made the wedding dress for the Duchess of Windsor. His signature fashion designs included pearl chokers and short, white gloves.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-Mainboch" title="Facts and information about Mainbocher">Mainbocher</a>

Give this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"Mainbocher." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 24 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Mainbocher." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (December 24, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Mainboch.html

"Mainbocher." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Mainboch.html

Learn more about citation styles

Mainbocher

The Oxford Companion to American Theatre | 2004 | | Â© The Oxford Companion to American Theatre 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Mainbocher [né Main Rousseau Bocher] (1890–1976), costume designer. Celebrated Chicago‐born designer of high fashion, he studied not only art, but also voice and piano in leading world cultural centers before embarking on his theatrical career in Paris. Mainbocher almost never designed all the costumes for a show, merely those for its star, such as Mary Martin in One Touch of Venus and The Sound of Music, Ruth Gordon in Over 21, Tallulah Bankhead in Private Lives, Ethel Merman in Call Me Madam, Katharine Cornell in The Prescott Proposals, Rosalind Russell in Wonderful Town, and Lynn Fontanne in The Great Sebastians.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O149-Mainbocher" title="Facts and information about Mainbocher">Mainbocher</a>

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Mainbocher." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Oxford University Press. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 24 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Mainbocher." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Oxford University Press. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (December 24, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-Mainbocher.html

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Mainbocher." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved December 24, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-Mainbocher.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Museum accessions.(Phoenix Art Museum) Magazine article from: The Magazine Antiques; 3/1/2007
	Horst P. Horst: 60 Years and Still in Vogue. Magazine article from: USA Today (Magazine); 1/1/1998
	Outsiders looking in as window designs draw attention to building.(Construction & Design)(Silk Purse Interiors LLC)(Brief article) Magazine article from: Real Estate Weekly; 8/8/2007

Facts and information from other sites

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

	Collectors score with old bank Moving cast-iron figures re-create action of early football games; CURRENT PRICES Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices may vary. Cookbook: "Swift's Little Cook," Swift & Co., lift chef's hat to reveal recipes, 36 pages, 1900: $25. Fiesta fruit bowl: chartreuse, individual, 51 2 inches: $30. Advertising bookmark: No. 1 Penny Chocolate Candies, yellow with red trim, celluloid, circa 1890: $55. Depression glass tumbler: pink, Queen Mary pattern, footed, 5 inches: $60. Harold Lloyd doll: jointed, celluloid, flesh color, right hand holding white straw hat, Japan, 1920s, 4 inches: $75. Wiener Werkstatte figurine: dachshund, curled up and sleeping, white glaze, gray collar, circa 1910, 9 inches: $290. Disneyana: salt and pepper shakers, mushrooms from "Fantasia," Vernon Kiln, 1940s, 5 inches: $300. Cocktail dress: black lace over nude silk bodice, Mainbocher, Size 12, 1950s: $410. Case clock: Tall, eight-day, date and second hand, oak, Glasgow, Scotland, circa 1812, 81 inches: $2,200. Gustav Stickley writing desk: No. 720, oak, pigeonholes, two drawers, 1910, 30 inches: $2,760. Newspaper article from: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; 8/17/1997; ; 700+ words ; American football, which evolved from soccer and rugby, was developed on college campuses in the Northeast beginning in 1880. The first intercollegiate "football" game, between Rutgers and Princeton in 1869, actually had been a soccer match. Early games were violent and filled with excessive
	Unseen C.Z. (Scrapbook). Magazine article from: Harper's Bazaar; 2/1/2003; 700+ words ; ...Florida, and I was wearing my favorite Mainbocher dress with embroidered leaves over panels...incessantly. The beige-and-white paisley Mainbocher dress I am wearing is among the ones...death! The front of my pale yellow Mainbocher was ruined with makeup, and Main had...
	A look at fashion's exotic past. Magazine article from: WWD; 11/28/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...of designers including Paul Poiret, Mainbocher, the Callot Sisters, Xuly Bet's...same gallery, there is a black jersey Mainbocher gown with saris draped and pieced together...his aesthetic." Caption(s): A Mainbocher black jersey gown with sari-inspired...
	Book by Loveless Weaves Memories of Work in Taos Newspaper article from: Chicago Sun-Times; 12/20/1992; ; 700+ words ; ...offered their time and inspiration. MAINBOCHER SALUTE: On exhibit at the Chicago Historical...Uniformly Feminine: The Fashions of Mainbocher." Featured is a selection of women...designed by Chicago-born designer Mainbocher. View the exhibit through April 4 at...
	1930S FASHIONS INSPIRES EXHIBIT News Wire article from: United Press International; 11/29/2002; 700+ words ; ...as Elsa Schiaparelli, Madame Gres, Mainbocher, Gabrielle Coco Chanel, Madeleine...Warfield Simpson's 1937 wedding dress by Mainbocher, an American-born Paris designer...gowns in the Second Empire style by Mainbocher, Vionnet, and Charles James. Edward...
	What'S old is new, Lacroix shows fashion history. Magazine article from: WWD; 11/8/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...Lacroix devotes an entire case to the work of American couturier Mainbocher, one of the revelations of his research. While familiar...but with a sense of everyday glamour," he enthused about Mainbocher's simple T-shirt dresses paved in delicate beading and...
	Photos: artnet Launches April in Paris Photographs Sale Featuring Works by Brassai, Robert Doisneau, Andre Kertesz and Willy Ronis. PR Newswire; 4/24/2009; 700+ words ; ...by Horst P. Horst, Frank Horvat and Helmut Newton. The Mainbocher Corset, Paris, photographed by Horst P. Horst for Paris...1939, showcases the intricate design of American couturier Mainbocher (estimate: $20,000-$25,000). Givenchy Hat, 1958...
	OBITUARY: C.Z. GUEST, SOCIAL STAR AND STYLE ICON.(Obituary) Magazine article from: WWD; 11/10/2003; ; 700+ words ; ...became an icon of American style, inspiring designers from Mainbocher to Bill Blass, from Michael Kors to Ralph Lauren. "Laziness...quickly became a muse to them. One of her first favorites was Mainbocher -- "I like to wear very good suits and his fit so well...
	In profile: C. Z. Guest lives her life in the same way that she dresses: with equal parts style and simplicity, taste and determination.(Interview) Magazine article from: Town & Country; 5/1/2002; ; 700+ words ; ...Z.'s name was synonymous with that of another legend, Mainbocher, the fashion designer whose clothes she wore until he closed...I would go there, she would photograph me in one of my Mainbocher dresses, and I'd leave. When Mrs. Vreeland called to...
	Wardrobe of the week Newspaper article from: The Scotsman; 12/1/2001; ; 700+ words ; ...Angela: Shiseido moisturiser. Doreen: My vintage Chanel, Mainbocher and Schiaparelli jewellery. You've borrowed a black suit...7514 0063); thomas pink (0131 225 4264, 0141 248 9661); mainbocher at montresor (0131 220 6877) De-stress test The Pamper...