Assistance appreciated... Germaine LeComte Scarf

bycinbyhand

bycinbyhand

VFG Member
Hi there and happy Monday! I've got a new project trying to learn more about this scarf. Here's what I know...

Germaine LeComte
Scarf
Silk
Late 40s
She was a fashion designer... gorgeous stuff along the lines of Dior... movie costumer
M. de Cartier is not a signature by the way but a French phrase, correct? For Must have or something like that?

And I am a little stuck finding comps for any of her stuff on the market. Any help is appreciated!
 

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Midge said:
How pretty! I would interpret the M. as either a short for a first name - or it can also be short for "Monsieur"... maybe the illustrator?
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I believe it's M for Must as in "must have" not the illustrator. The illustrator is definitely Germaine LeComte. If you find her illustrations from the 40s and 50s, you see this is her style.

Does anyone know about her? Please and thanks!
 
poppysvintageclothing said:
I just read your last post as I finished typing my reply which was

Could the M de Cartier possibly stand for the Cartier perfume called Must de Cartier?

I wonder if that isn't it, a special gift that was given with the perfume.
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Yes. I wonder that too. Except the scarf has all the feel and construction of a 50s silk scarf and the perfume was first launched in 1981. I thought, hoped, someone here would have experience with this designer. It really is baffling.
 
Interesting. I had a bit of trouble finding any fashion illustrations which she drew. Can you post one or two here so we can see to compare? I have seen her clothing often in French magazines of the late 1940s but they are always illustrated by any one of number of artists, not her. I am not sure she did the illustration. But then, why would her name be on the scarf if she did not do the design, right?
 
Is it possible that the scarf was a design of an artist named Cartier, and each of the 3 gowns is based on one of the costumes which she designed for a film? Each gown is a different time period, looks like mid 1500s to 1600s, then 18th century, then a Southern Belle of the 1860s. Just a guess. So the scarf is a tribute to her film costumes, drawn by this Cartier person.

If you have examples of sketches which she drew, that would be helpful.

Also, are you sure it says "M de Cartier"? Can you show a close up of the signature?
 
Rue_de_la_Paix said:
Interesting. I had a bit of trouble finding any fashion illustrations which she drew. Can you post one or two here so we can see to compare? I have seen her clothing often in French magazines of the late 1940s but they are always illustrated by any one of number of artists, not her. I am not sure she did the illustration. But then, why would her name be on the scarf if she did not do the design, right?
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Here are illustrations.

http://fr.hprints.com/mode/couturiers/Germaine-Lecomte/
 
poppysvintageclothing said:
I just read your last post as I finished typing my reply which was

Could the M de Cartier possibly stand for the Cartier perfume called Must de Cartier?

I wonder if that isn't it, a special gift that was given with the perfume.
Click to expand...
I am not sure. If THAT is the case, the scarf would be 1981 but the scarf is, I feel, clearly 1950s in its materials and construction.
 
Rue_de_la_Paix said:
Is it possible that the scarf was a design of an artist named Cartier, and each of the 3 gowns is based on one of the costumes which she designed for a film? Each gown is a different time period, looks like mid 1500s to 1600s, then 18th century, then a Southern Belle of the 1860s. Just a guess. So the scarf is a tribute to her film costumes, drawn by this Cartier person.

If you have examples of sketches which she drew, that would be helpful.

Also, are you sure it says "M de Cartier"? Can you show a close up of the signature?
Click to expand...
Here are the signatures which I believe are hand painted. It *could* be _____ de Costier... but I researched that early on and found a car engineer from the 30s.

Thanks for your help!
scarf1.jpg
scarf2.jpg
 
Cin stated: "The illustrator is definitely Germaine LeComte. If you find her illustrations from the 40s and 50s, you see this is her style."

Cin,

Yes, I have seen many of those illustrations in that link in some of the old magazines, on that site and many other sites. However, many are drawn by well known fashion illustrators and artists, and I am not seeing anything she drew herself or that is being attributed to her as the artist. To ask again, what would be helpful is if you can show us her drawing style, since you do mention it is evident in the scarf. How did you determine that? If we had an example of her artwork to compare that would help to solve the mystery. Plus I am really curious now to see them!

The other signature looks different than M de Cartier.
 
That's what I meant... Germaine LeComte was the designer, she had the scarf made for her boutique or whatever, but this illustration was done by an artist for her - whose signature we're trying to decipher. To me, the name looks more like Costier than Cartier.
 
Lynee,

I do see a strong resemblance in the style. And that does look more like an H (as Nicole pointed out) than an M.

Lecomte opened her boutiques in 1947, and she represented Haute Coutre at the 1947 Cannes film Festival. Perhaps this scarf somehow ties in to that. It seems either a tribute to 300 years of fashion or perhaps her film costumes.
 
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