The Star of the show at the Golden Age of Couture Exhibition and now residing at home in the Museum of Fashion in Bath, England, Miss Virginia Lachasse is one fascinating doll.
A turning point in fashion was the launch of Christian Dior’s New Look in Paris in 1947, which London couturier John Cavanagh described as ‘a total glorification of the female form’. Dior, who was not one for understatement, called this period the ‘Golden Age’.
At around this time other Paris couture houses like Balenciaga, Balmain and Fath created the Théâtre de la Mode, a touring exhibition of nearly two hundred dolls in sets, designed by artists such as Christian Bérard and Jean Cocteau.
Both of these initiatives proved vital to kick-start the French couture houses into business after suffering the privations of Nazi occupation during World War II. In fact the production of couture was essential to the economy of both France and Britain at this time.
But much less well-known is the role that Miss Virginia Lachasse played in boosting the British fashion industry during the post-war period. The Théâtre de la Mode dolls served as ambassadors for French couture in their world-wide tour. Miss Lachasse, with her equally exquisite miniaturization of fashionable dress, showed London’s skills.
Miss Lachasse wears a top coat by Lachasse in Rankine Hamilton ‘Dream Touch’ tweed. The doll is surrounded by her bespoke wardrobe designed to show the typical outfits worn by a couture client of the day. Every item in Miss Lachasse’s trousseau is finely crafted. From the deep bucket bag; the bugle-beaded hat; the tailored cocktail coat; to the fine lawn handkerchieves. The mannequin was the proud owner of a beautifully finished grey leather handbag, the perfect place for Virginia Lachasse to stash her Dunhill scent together with multi-colored cocktail cigarettes and holder.
Miss Lachasse was styled as a mannequin in miniature, based on the leading model at the House of Lachasse in London, Miss Virginia Woodford. The 19-year-old Miss Woodford was much photographed at the time and would have been widely recognized through the pages of fashion journals. Here’s a link to a photograph of the Misses Woodford and (her mini-me) Lachasse, a charming shot of them both having coffee, and this is Virginia Harvey (née Woodford) now.
The original idea for the figurine was to raise money for the Greater London Fund for the Blind and to enhance the prestige of the Lachasse couture house in Mayfair. The doll is made of plaster and wood, and has a painted wax head. She was sculpted by Dunton in the mid-1950s using a plaster cast especially created in the likeness of Virginia Woodford.
Miss Lachasse wears a periwinkle blue formal evening gown in silk satin by Jacqmar (left). Designed by Lachasse (established 1928) in London. No expense was spared and no tiny detail overlooked in fashioning this exqusite range of outfits for the miniature mannequin. Her ballgown (right) is a masterpiece of the couturier’s art.
The doll’s wardrobe was designed by Owen of Lachasse and it represents the clothes a typical couture client would possess. It includes lingerie, accessories and jewelry, made specially by exclusive London companies such as Asprey. It includes what is thought to be the smallest pair of nylon stockings ever made.
No luxury of the time was overlooked in furnishing this haute-couture doll. She wore the meticulously boned foundation garments necessary for that fashionable hour-glass shape, and even had her own miniature mink coat as well as a selection of nylons for every occasion.
Other manufacturers of luxury goods supplied scaled-down versions of their products for Miss Lachasse to showcase. Amongst them were Warners who made the exquisite suede gloves, Aristoc for the tiny stockings, Dunhill for fragrance and cocktail cigarettes, and Yardley for perfume; Asprey also produced a meticulously-crafted handbag to grace Miss Lachasse’s arm. Steiner provided her wig. This link shows a nostalgic shot of the mannequin with some of her extensive wardrobe.
After Virginia Lachasse’s acclaimed tour around towns and cities in Britain in the 1950s, she disappeared from the public eye, and ‘rested’ until the House of Lachasse closed down in 2006. At that time, Peter Lewis Crown the owner of Lachasse, donated her and her entire wardrobe to the Fashion Museum in Bath, England.
In a collaborative partnership between museums, Miss Lachasse was carefully conserved, photographed and researched by staff at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum and she then formed one of the highlights of their Golden Age of Couture exhibition. Miss Lachasse has been on a world tour to accompany the exhibition. But by the time you read this she will have safely returned home to the Fashion Museum, where she permanently resides and is part of the main collection.
On your next trip to England, it’s definitely worth making a detour to rural Somerset to visit the delightful Georgian town of Bath, to see the wonderful architecture and explore the Fashion Museum – www.fashionmuseum.co.uk. The above images are reproduced here by kind permission of Maggie Bone, Bath Museums Publicity Officer.
Here’s a British Pathé newsreel from 1954, showing Virginia Lachasse being dressed and meeting Virginia Woodford.
How to achieve the look
If you love the style of Virginia Lachasse but you’re downcast because the mannequin is a museum-piece, fear not! With the right doll and some careful fashion choices, here’s how to bring the rarified world of Miss Lachasse right into your very own home.
Undoubtedly beautiful and well-accessorized as she is, Miss Lachasse is ultimately a frustrating doll. Very much a museum piece, you can look but you can’t touch!
To address this problem, the D.A.E. Originals guys, Brian Schafer and David Escobedo, came to the rescue. D.A.E.’s glamorous Miniquin, Vivian, has the right attitude and period style to carry off Miss Lachasse’s haute grandeur. David and Brian very kindly agreed to recreate a Lachasse-style wardrobe for today, using their own wonderfully detailed outfits and accessories – aiming firmly for that late-40s elegance.
Smoking Flame Vivian, the 1940’s Miniquin stands surrounded by her terrific trouseau. Clockwise from top right; finely-pleated cocktail gown in Schiaparelli pink; elegantly-cut grey suit, the finest tailoring with red accents; vintage accessories from the D.A.E. Originals collection; charming chartreuse silk suit to cut a dash; a change of underwear; and the faux fur opera cape. The outfits are all from upcoming collections, contact www.daeoriginals.com for more details.
But the best part is – you don’t have to make the pilgrimage to Bath, England. Here’s something you can try with your own dolls at home – using David and Brian’s work as inspiration.
If you’re not lucky enough to own Vivian, there are other dolls to choose from, but aim for that mid-century fashion model look.
Left to right: The basic Joan Crawford doll, In Make-up, by Robert Tonner, wears a lustrous aquamarine charmeuse slip with delicate lace trim; Ready for Wardrobe doll wears A Woman for All Seasons halter neck dot dress with sweetheart neckline, designed by Jim Howard for Madra Lord; Classic Portrait dressed doll in evening gown with full chiffon bodice and sleek, fitted skirt paired with a matching black vest with sophisticated contrast lapels; October Symphony, a vintage D.A.E. Dolls classic confection of brocade teamed with an explosion of orange and fuschia; and for elegant daywear Miss Crawford has chosen Jason Wu’s Ladies Who Launch outfit for Miss Gene Marshall.
For instant off-the-shelf Miss Lachasse style… look no further than Miss Joan Crawford herself. This Tonner beauty captures the essence of the 1940s perfectly, either with her own period ensembles, or by raiding the closets of some of her chums, as we’ve shown here. With many thanks to Shauna Perry at the Tonner Doll Company.
This is an edited version of a feature that appeared in the May/June 2009 issue of Haute Doll Magazine.