Labels

Best & Company was founded by Albert Best in 1879. There was a main store in Manhattan and branches in cites throughout the east. Their children’s shop, the Lilliputian Bazaar, was the place to buy children’s clothes.

As early as the 1920s, Best & Co. was offering clothing that was designed with the needs of real women in mind. They took the clothing of a famous woman like Amelia Earhart and produced it for their customers. In 1938 they made a dress called the Nada Frock, but its designer, Claire McCardell called it the Monastic dress. It was her first huge success, and Best sold many of them.

Best & Co. is also known for giving both Vera Maxwell and Carolyn Schnurer their starts in the business. The company closed in 1971, but in 1997, the label was revived by Susan Hilfiger. There was a store in Greenwich, Connecticut, and a boutique with Bergdorf Goodman in New York, selling only children’s clothing. In June, 2009, the Best & Co. store closed as the company filed for Chapter 7 liquidation.

Written by worthapeek and listitcafe

Bestform was a lingerie company, started in 1924. They made lingerie under their own label, and in the 1970s and later they produced Christian Dior and Oscar de la Renta lingerie, and they also held the Lilly of France label.

Bestform was acquired by VF Corporation in 1998.

Written by The Vintage Fashion Guild

Betty Barclay was not an actual person, but was just a name made up for this mid-priced line of ready-to-wear dresses. The company was owned by the Jonathan Logan company, one of the largest clothing manufacturers in the USA. In 1955 German textile maker Max Berk acquired the German license to make Betty Barclay dresses for the European market. In 1972 the company was bought by the German branch, and it is still in operation today.

Written by fuzzylizzie

Contrary to the implications of the statement in a 1938 ad for Betty Hartford dresses that said, “A new group of dresses by that clever young designer, Betty Hartford,” Betty Hartford was a fictional character. The surname was allegedly derived from the Hartford, CT town in which the company was headquartered. That company was owned by Ralph Kolodney who was born in Russia in 1888. By 1917 his occupation was reported to be “Shirt Waist Manufacturer.”

Trademark filing information for Betty Hartford clothing notes the first use of that name was in 1937, although it may have been used before that official date. Ads for Betty Hartford dresses in newspaper databases beginning around 1938 advertised their rayon, cotton, and silk dresses.

A 1941 article noted Kolodney & Myers, Inc. was a manufacturing division of R. Kolodney & Co., Inc., makers of Betty Hartford dresses and by 1955 Sanford Dress Co. was manufacturing the dresses.

To meet the demand from new post-war mothers-to-be, by 1947 Kolodney introduced Betty Hartford maternity dresses. By 1960 a new label design filing noted the Betty Hartford line comprised dresses, coats, slacks, shorts, and suits. Newspaper ads and articles commented on the notable features of those Betty Hartford items: Beautifully tailored dresses, embodying details of more expensive styles, but selling at budget prices, available in a variety of seasonal fabrics, and styles always in line with the latest fashion trends.

A significant, late-1950s disagreement with the IRS disrupted the lives of Ralph Kolodney (president of the company) and his son Robert (executive VP), but they were eventually able to recover and the company apparently thrived until 1973, at which time a Going Out of Business ad appeared in the newspaper and in 1979 Ralph Kolodney died at the age of 91.

Betty Rose Suits and Coats was a company in Kansas City. The label was trademarked in 1926 by the Stern-Slegman Company.

Written by heavensent-hellbent vintage

House of Bianchi was a famous name in bridal and formal wear that started back in 1949 in Boston and Medford, Massachusetts, by the family of its namesake. Its designs were sold by bridal shops nationwide until 2001, when it suddenly closed its doors without fulfilling its commitments to orders being processed at the time. The sudden collapse of the venerable company has been blamed on a change in management and on financial difficulties.

Written by doubleseahorse

Biba started life in late 1963 as a mail order company advertising ready-to-sew garments designed by Barbara Hulanicki, although the enterprise did not have the name Biba at that point. The garments were advertised in British daily newspapers such as the Daily Mirror. Hulanicki’s big break came when Daily Mirror’s fashion editor Felicity Green asked Hulanicki to design a garment for a feature on young designers in May 1964. Not having a name for their new enterprise Hulanicki and her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon decided upon the name Biba, the shortened version of her sister’s name Biruta. Hulanicki designed a pink gingham dress and no less than 4,000 orders were received. Eventually 17,000 of the dresses were sold.

As the postal business grew they opened their first Biba boutique in September 1964 in Abingdon Road, London where they stayed until they moved to larger premises on Kensington Church Street in March 1966. They briefly opened a Biba boutique, the only one outside London, in Brighton in February 1966 and closed it by the end of the year.

In April 1968 the first of the Biba mail order catalogues was launched. There were six altogether, the last one published in the late summer of 1969. The famous Biba celtic label and ‘fat’ Biba lettering was designed by John McConnell in 1968. They introduced it into the clothes and it became the first Biba garment label. On September 15th 1969 Biba moved to much larger premises on Kensington High Street and widened their range of goods to include men’s clothes, a wider range of children’s clothes and household goods. They also brought out their first range of footwear at this time and were reportedly selling up to 75,000 pairs of the famous Biba skinny boots per month.

In April 1970 Biba launched a range of cosmetics and the ‘fat’ Biba lettering was slimmed down for printing on small items, though the celtic logo remained the same. This new look logo was then printed onto garment labels and the woven label and the ‘fat’ Biba lettering was gradually phased out. They also introduced different colour labels around this time, notably pale yellow and cream coloured labels into their lingerie and nightwear.

In February 1971 a Biba department opened in Bergdorf Goodman’s department store in New York. In September 1973 Biba made its final move into the ‘Derry & Thoms’ building on Kensington High Street where it remained until its closure in September 1975. In this store they introduced a different Biba logo for each department as well as retaining the original celtic logo. It is in this store Biba became the first ever lifestyle label producing own name brand food, leather goods and furniture amongst its vast range.

Biberman Make was the firm started in 1898 in Philadelphia by brothers Joseph and Lewis Biberman. They first made wrappers and then shirtwaists. Starting in fall 1919, the label was known as “L’Aiglon”. By this time they were also making dresses. In 1920, they built the Biberman Building, a factory, at 15th and Mt. Vernon Streets in Philadelphia, a mile north of city hall. They stayed at this address until they went out of business around 1968 (the last year they were listed in the telephone directory).

At one time Biberman employed over 400 workers at the factory, with an additional 500 at two mid-Pennsylvania branches in Northumberland and Sunbury, where at their height they produced 1,400 dresses a day.

Thanks to Sheryl Jablow for providing information.

See also: L’Aiglon

Written by fuzzylizzie

Dorothee Bis is a French ready-to-wear line. It got its start in 1958 when Elie Jacobson opened a boutique, Dorothee. In 1962 Jacobson and wife Jacqueline opened Dorothee Bis, which was geared toward a young market, much in the line of the way London designers were beginning to take notice of the youth market.

Today, Dorothee Bis is still in operation, with boutiques located throughout France.

Written by fuzzylizzie

Roy H. Bjorkman, Inc. was an exclusive women’s Minneapolis specialty shop founded by Roy Hampus Bjorkman in 1923-24. Born in Lincoln,Nebraska in 1893, Bjorkman moved to Minneapolis where his ladies store became a high end enterprise carrying dresses, coats, suits furs , millinery, shoes, etc. at 931 Nicollette Ave. For example, in a 1930 ad, he offered Phillip Mangone coats suits starting at $75. He sourced designs from Paris and New York and offered fur services as well as fine fashions in Bjorkman’s Le Petit Salon. Bjorkman retired in 1976, but the business was still operating in 1984 at the time of his death.

Written by Hollis Jenkins-Evans

Mary Black was a London designer who started her business sometime in the 1930s. She emigrated to the U.S. in 1940-41, probably because of the war.

In July of 1941, Mary Black of London leased showroom and salon space on W. 47th St. in New York City. In addition to welcoming exclusive clients at her salon, Mary Black dresses were also sold at fine specialty shops and high end department stores like Bergdorf Goodman and I. Magnin.

In 1947, her dresses sold for $80 – $400 (about $812 – $4,060 in today’s dollar.) In late 1951, Mary Black of London moved her business to the 10th floor of 18 East 50th St. in New York City. She maintained a personal apartment there as well.

On July 29, 1954, Mary was wed to Nichlas Baciu in a civil ceremony. She continued in business until at least the early 1960s.

As a designer, Black preferred simple lines without an excess of decoration. She felt that women preferred to adorn their dresses with their own jewelry and so would avoid the use of buttons, rhinestones etc. She would often use simple bows or flowers, but always made them removable. She did not like belts and would only offer a belt if a store or customer insisted. She felt a belt ruined the lines of a dress.

Stanley Blacker began designing and marketing his sportcoats in 1960. He began stitching his name into the labels of the jacket and advertising them nationally himself. By doing so, he was one of the pioneers of the trend for designer names. His clothes were sold by major department stores such as Jacobson’s and Dayton’s.

Today, the Stanley Blacker products are produced under license, making conservative apparel, eyewear, and accessories for both men and women.

Written by vintagegent.com

Blanes was a very middle-range British company, active in the 1950s and 1960s – making good quality day and evening wear.

Written by emmapeelpants

Bill Blass (1922-2002) began sketching glamorous fashions in the mode of those he was seeing out of 1930s Hollywood as a boy in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He went to New York in 1940 to attend Parsons School of Design, and then worked at David Crystal as a sketcher.

After the war, and after a brief stint at Anne Klein, Blass ended up working as an assistant to Anna Miller. (Most sources give the year as 1946, but Blass gives the date as 1949 in his autobiography.) He also hired Missy Weston, a girl with social connections, to be his model. Through her he attended parties, meeting the people he hoped to dress. In time, he became a part of this social scene, giving him great insight to the way sophisticated New York women needed to dress.

Throughout the 1950s, Blass worked at Anna Miller, developing the glamorous style for which he would be best known. In 1959, Anna Miller merged with the company her brother had founded, Maurice Rentner, and Blass became the designer. His name was put on the label in 1960. In 1962 Blass became the vice-president of that company. Blass bought the company in 1967, and in 1970 the name was changed to Bill Blass, Ltd.

By this time Blass was a major US designer, and he was in big demand at NYC parties. He was also expanding his business, first with a lower-priced line, Blassport, in 1972, followed by dozens of licenses.

Blass continued to dress women in glamorous styles, even in the unglamorous early 70s. In 1975 he even brought back the cocktail dress, which had all but disappeared from the fashion scene. In the 80s, he became one of First Lady Nancy Reagan’s favorites, and in keeping with the times, designed luxurious clothes from ornate fabrics using bright colors. As times changed, so did Bill Blass, but he produced clothes full of glamour and luxury to the end of his career, designing for the women he understood so well. After suffering a stroke in 1999, he sold Bill Blass, Ltd., and retired from designing. He died in 2002.

Bleeker Street was a Jonathan Logan division, originally formed to target a younger audience.

Written by The Vintage Fashion Guild

See Also: Jonathan Logan

Fred A. Block was a Chicago based clothing manufacturer, starting probably in the 1920s. During the 1940s the company was also manufacturing costume jewelry to go with the clothing line.

In the early 1960s, the Fred A. Block company acquired the Marquette Shop, and in 1961 the name of the store was changed to Fred A. Block. The store sold both Block Originals and other makers’ clothing. This store was advertised as a discounter. It is not known when Fred A. Block went out of business.

Written by fuzzylizzie

Founded by Joseph B. and Lyman Bloomingdale in 1861 as a Manhattan dry goods store, Bloomingdale’s Hoopskirt and Ladies’ Notions Shop metamorphosed into Bloomingdale’s department store and finally an extensive luxury chain. First located on the East Side, they moved to 59th Street and Lexington Avenue in 1886, which was an isolated location at that time. As New York City expanded around them, the business flourished. The Art Deco era flagship store and headquarters remains at 59th and Lex. In 1930, Bloomingdale’s merged with Federated Department Stores. According to Caroline Rennolds Milbank in New York Fashion The Evolution of American Style, as of 1931, French models copied in the exact fabrics could be found in the Third Floor Green Room. Models were from Molyneaux, Patou, Lyonlene, and Chanel.

After World War II, Bloomingdale’s featured the Bloomingdale’s Collection in 1947 with designs from Adele Simpson, Claire McCardell and Pauline Trigere. In 1949 the first branch store opened in Flushing Meadows. In the 1960s and 1970s, Bloomingdale’s carried deigns from or had boutiques for Halston, Norma Kamali, Calvin Klein, Perry Ellis, Ralph Lauren, and Yves St. Laurent, among others.

Plaza II was a house line for Bloomingdale’s in the 1970s and 1980s. The Second Floor of Bloomie’s at Lexington and 59th St had Plaza 2 Departments for Sportswear, Dresses, Coats, Suedes & Leathers, Shoes, Handbags and Juniors. Ads found for this line to date range from 1977 – 1987.

Today, as part of Macy’s, Bloomingdales has 54 locations open in the US, with 20 of those outlet stores.

Written by Hollis Jenkins-Evans

Anthony Blotta (1888-1971) started his fashion house in 1919. Trained as a tailor, he became known for his work in wool, especially his suits and coats, and even in evening wear. He worked within the silhouettes of current fashion, but often with a softer edge. Blotta remained in business into the 1960s.

Written by fuzzylizzie

Bob Evans The Aristocrat of Uniforms. The company, based in Baltimore, was in business from 1924 through the early 1960s. They produced uniform dresses, aprons and caps for women. Their uniforms were marketed for use by nurses, doctors assistants, maids, waitresses and beauticians.

Written by vivianbelle1955

Bobbie Brooks was founded in 1939 by Maurice Saltzman and Max Reiter in Cleveland, Ohio. Originally called Ritmore Sportswear, Inc., the company was bought by Saltzman in 1953 and became Bobbie Brooks, Inc. (Note: The name Bobbie Brooks was used even before the name of the company was changed, possibly as early as 1941.) In 1959, it became the first woman’s garment-making company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. During the 1960s, Bobbie Brooks was one of the five largest garment manufacturers in the US, with fifteen factories producing 18,000,000 garments a year.

Bobbie Brooks used an organized plan of choosing which garments to manufacture. This plan utilized a consumer board made up of 600 of their targeted consumers – junior-sized teens and young women. The company is now owned by Garan, and as of 2010, was carried in Dollar General stores.

Written by fuzzylizzie

See vintage Bobbie Brooks from VFG members on Etsy (paid link)