Jack Bryan was a popular Los Angeles based dress manufacturer from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. Initially teaming up in business with his then wife, Elliette Ellis for the Miss Elliette brand, when their marriage ended in the late 1960s, Jack started his own eponymous company. Miss Elliette designer Richard “Dick” DuPuis and his team came with him, carving out a niche in cocktail, special occasion and Mother of the Bride fashions of flowing polyester chiffon.
In 1975, Bryan made national news when he was arrested for offering a $500 bribe to a U.S. Customs officer to allow him to secretly bring dresses in from Mexico. He was convicted in 1976 and sentenced to one year in prison, but was allowed to remain free on appeal. The judge reduced Bryan’s sentence to time served. Reports noted that he was out of prison just in time to attend a Paris fashion show.
Written by Ranch Queen Vintage
