Eleanor Green arrived in the United States from her native Hungary in 1937, shortly after graduating from high school. She worked for a California garment manufacturer briefly before launching her own design business while she was still in her late teens. By the early 1940s she was offering a popular line of semi-formal cocktail dresses under the Eleanor Green label. Throughout her 30-year career, Green made good quality dresses at affordable prices. She believed in using beautiful fabrics combined with minimal ornamentation to create well-tailored classic styles. By 1959 her San-Francisco based factory was producing 80,000 dresses a year.
Green retired sometime after 1967, but in 1970 she opened a retail store in San Francisco called Eleanor Green’s Dresscotheque. The shop had a unique business model. In addition to offering ready-made clothing designed by Green, the store also sold patterns and fabrics based on her creations. Customers could purchase these and then sew the garments themselves in-store, with the help of skilled seamstresses who staffed the shop.
Green hoped to expand the business into a large retail chain. The original store relocated to Palo Alto and a second location was opened in San Rafael. However, in 1974 Eleanor Green passed away at the age of 64 and it appears that her stores closed in late 1973 or early 1974.
Written by Jennifer Binns of Hollie Point Vintage
from a 1940s suit
Courtesy of Katherine Burke of Marvelous Mod
from a 1950s dress
Courtesy of hollie point vintage
