French Henry a la Pensee Dress ~ Dating Help

  • Thread starter Thread starter 4BirdsVintage
  • Start date Start date
4

4BirdsVintage

Guest
I purchased this dress as well as a Robert Piguet together and am working on getting them ready for sale, but I am having a difficult time finding information on Pensee, as well as determining the age of the dress. I would appreciate any information you all could contribute regarding Pensee.

I've found a few Pensee pieces sold through Christie's, and have found his name mentioned in several books on couture, including Couture & Commerce, which cites him as a smaller couturier when compared to Dior, Chanel, Balmain...but otherwise I am coming up empty when it comes to details.​

The dress is a black silk with a lace overdress. The lace skirt fishtails in the back, while the black silk underdress is more straight with a back vent for walking. There is a metal zipper at the back, while the lace jacket is attached to the dress at the sides with hook and eye closures at the left shoulder.​


​
 
I don't know anything about the Paris side of the business or its origins, but according to a 1943 NY Times article, Henry a la Pensee first opened up shop in America in 1938 (on E 55th St) and specialized in accessories (scarves, bags, and jewelry) and hand knits until 1943, when it introduced "a couture collection of well-tailored suits and dresses". I found references to the company (in NY, anyway) into the mid 1950s.

Your lovely dress looks 50s to me.
 
Thank you for your help, cmpollack. I would love any links to those articles that you might have. I've been searching online, perusing articles, etc. for weeks and didn't come across that NY Times article. :) I did find advertisements for Henry a la Pensee in Paris from the 1910's and 1920's.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top