1920's label

crushvintage

crushvintage

Registered Guest
Hello!
We recently acquired this gorgeous 20's day dress. The back of the jacket has a label, we did some research on this name, and could not come up with much information.
We discovered that Balenciaga now resides at this same address, 336 Rue Saint Honore. We were hoping on some more information on this early designer/department store.

Thank you!
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I suspect you have stumbled onto this, too, but these are the only references I found to Lu Rolan. Most of my resources are for people in the US, but I checked my book on French dressmakers and there was no mention of her there. There was also no mention of her in a search of Ancestry's French collection.
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I just found some French resources I forgot I had, in which I found ads for Lu Rolan. They date from 1927 through 1940. Note that in 1928 she was still at the rue St Honore address, but by the 1932 ad she was at r(ue?) Castiglione, so your dress must be earlier than at least 1932.

Here are four of the ads in descending order.

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Oh Lynne....you are heaven sent!
We did google her name, but didn't find much unlike you!
This is perfect for dating this dress.
Much appreciated! ♥♥♥

Tina/Crush Vintage
 
Happy to help.

I do not speak French, but with the help of an online translator I gather the ads I posted are Mme. Rolan looking for a seamstress, or looking for a saleswoman (who speaks English), or just waving her hand to tell people she is there. What leaves me with one last question, though, is that your/Tina's label has "Lu. Rolan" (with a period after the "Lu"). Three of the ads above have that, too. Is Lu a shortened version of a familiar name? If so, what might that name be? It could help me find a bit more about Madame Rolan.
 
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I can help with translations :).
First ad:- just seems to be a short ad for the business.
Second: Searching for a saleswoman who has already customers (that I suppose she would then bring to this business).
Third: Searching for a good saleswoman who speaks English.
Fourth: Says that the collection is on sale - afternoon and evening dresses starting at 200 francs each.
No idea for what the Lu. could stand...
 
I think because it says "vendeuse couture", but in that sense it means a salesperson for couture (as in custom-sewn clothes - like haute coturure - but couture also basically means just sewing). I admit I use Google Translate occasionally at work, sometimes when I need to load just a small note on our system that will pop up when needed, it's easier sometime to run that through the translator and just correct it if needed, instead of sending it to our translators - especially when I use words whose French translation I'm not familiar with. But sometimes what I get out of it is just plain weird, even to me :hysterical:. Just goes to show the limits of computer technology versus the human brain I guess.
 
Thanks for the translation Karin!
I wonder it the dot on the label could be a graphic design item? It seems that it is right in between the two names, not next to the Lu which would indicate an abbreviation. But then the advertisement does have it next to the Lu, so it could be an abbreviation for Lulu, Lucille. Lucy, Ludmilla etc.....
 
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