In 1932, the film Letty Lynton was premiered, and with it, one of the most iconic dresses in screen history. Joan Crawford was costumed by the legendary fashion designer Gilbert Adrian, in a dress full of frills and ruffles, and those sleeves. Ms. Crawford, blessed with naturally broad shoulders, was blessed by Mr. Adrian to be dressed in suits and gowns with even broader shoulders, in order to make her waist look proportionally smaller. And what a look that was!
Adrian turned fashion on its access with his broad-shouldered look, and was a genius at fashion marketing, thinking six months forward in fashion so that his gowns didn’t look dated in the time it took to film the movie and get it to market. Depending upon who you believe, there were millions of this style of dress marketed in the months and years following this one showing up on the silver screen. It was a major movie moment. This, of course, is subject to media hype, as it would seem that we’d see some in vintage fashion now.
So when I came across this 1978 pattern, Letty is the first person I thought of. It’s not a dress, though. It’s a wrap top and tiered skirt, but those sleeves have Gilbert Adrian written all over them. I wonder if that’s what the designer had in mind when it was created?
Of course, it could be that the designer was thinking of flamenco, especially given the girl with the maraca on the left, but either way, it’s a cute look that would look great either together or separate.
The Vintage Fashion Librarian 