Montgomery, Marjorie

Marjorie Montgomery (Gray) was one of the well-known California designers of the 1920s-1960s. She started in 1926, designing pretty and stylish dresses from cotton. In the beginning she knew so little about the manufacturing business that she bought her fabrics and notions at retail. But soon she discovered that she could be buying her materials wholesale. She went into business full time, opening a shop under her own name.

In 1940, due to a poor business decision, Montgomery lost her shop and the right to market garments under her own name. She then started a new label which she called “Marjorie’s Things.” About this time she came up with a concept that was perfectly suited for the increasingly-casual dress of American women. She designed a playsuit that could be adapted with other pieces to form a dress for shopping and even an ensemble for evening.

Montgomery belonged to an elite group of seven other California designers: the Affiliated Fashionists of California, which also included Louella Ballerino and Addie Masters. From the beginning, her dresses and casual play clothes typified the casual California lifestyle. Montgomery designed through the 1960s.

Written by fuzzylizzie

from a 1950s dress

Courtesy of Ranch Queen Vintage

from an early 1960s dress

Courtesy of wyomingvintage