Eve Stillman (1906-2003) was a highly influential lingerie designer and company owner.
A leader in the intimate wear industry for more than 50 years, Stillman was known as much for her larger-than-life personality as for her understated and elegant nightgowns and robes worn by Hollywood luminaries such as Joan Crawford, Debbie Reynolds, Gene Tierney, Ida Lupino and Barbara Stanwyck.
Stillman was born in Upper Manhattan and attended Hunter College. She entered the design field in 1949, when the struggling company known as Gracette Lingerie was owned by her late husband, Harry. Eve was instrumental in turning the business around, changing the name to Eve Stillman in the process.
She set her sights on designing high-end sleepwear and lingerie for exclusive stores like Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue, achieving her goal when ready-to-wear designer Anne Fogarty used Stillman’s horsehair crinolines underneath wide skirts.
In 1981, Stillman received a Femmy award from the Intimate Apparel Industry, a trade group for lingerie makers, and remained influential in the intimate wear industry until she retired in 1989.
Written by Ranch Queen Vintage
from a 1960s nightgown
Courtesy of Ranch Queen Vintage
from a 1980s bed jacket
Courtesy of Ranch Queen Vintage
