Info on designer "A Jeanne Valentine French Original"?

[The Vintage Vendeuse]

Hello again,
From the same estate as the A&F buckskin breeches comes this pretty set. I can't find any info on this designer and few other examples of garments, though the ones I have found are also Made in Mexico (and, strangely, none really have ethnic styling). Has anyone heard of this designer? Would you say 50s or 60s on this set? Fabric feels like a mid-weight cotton, embroidery threads appear to possibly be silk. Zipper pull says BEST. The embellishment is all hand done, quite beautiful.
Thank you,
~Donna

 

[Pinkcoke]

Those covered buttons and the back button fastening say late 50s to early 60's to me. What is the skirt length?

 

[The Vintage Vendeuse]

Thank you, Melanie.

Woops! Editing to add: Skirt length is 25.5 inches.

 

[lkranieri]

Although I did not find a lot of information about Jeanne Valentine, I found a few things that lead me to some conclusions about her life. The first thing I found is a 1940 ship's passenger list that included passenger Jeanne Cecile Valentine, born in Paris, France ca. 1899-1900. Her occupation was listed as "Designer" and her last permanent address was given as Greenwich, CT.

Other than current auctions and sales of 1950's Jeanne Valentine dresses, the next thing I found was a 1959 article about "made-in-Mexico fashions," including a cotton dress, with vegetable appliques, by Jeanne Valentine.

The next reference to Valentine fashions was in an October 1963 blurb for a store that advertised that they sell, among other things, "Clothes by Jeanne Valentine."

A newspaper article from November 1963, just a month after the one above, referenced "Jeanne Valentine's papier mache factory in San Miguel."

Finally, a 1969 article about Jeanne Valentine in Mexico reported that she was "a pleasantly shrewd former Parisian whose age is difficult to guess." A hard-to-see photo of her in the article appears to show a woman around 70 years old, which is compatible with the birth date of the Jeanne Cecile Valentine in the passenger list. The article further reports that Valentine was "near the end of a lengthy process of becoming a Mexican citizen" and that she "opened a shop in San Miguel about ten years ago, training young area people in the exacting techniques of the ancient French craft" (of papier mache). It added that her "stream of delicately crafted, sophisticated papier-mache creations" were "found in the most elegant shops of New York, San Francisco, Dallas, Paris, and London."

My conclusion, then, is that the papier mache Jeanne Valentine was the same as the dress designer Jeanne Valentine. It appears that she did the dresses primarily in the 1950's, then shifted to the papier mache work in the 1960's. Much of the reason I fall back on is that there can't have been too many French Jeanne Valentines working in Mexico in that same 1950's-1960's period.

 

[The Vintage Vendeuse]

My goodness, you found way more than I did. And I never made the association with the paper mache person, though I did come across that reference. She sounds like she must have been an interesting lady. Thanks so much for your hard work!

 

[amandainvermont]

Once again, I bow with respect for Lynne's wonderful research techniques. I have friends with a home in San Miguel and they could find out even more if you wished. Wait a minute ... I was there in 1970. I bought a papier mache box and gave it to my godmother. But I can't remember the shop. All I have left from that trip are some lovely painted gourd containers.

 

[lkranieri]

I think these few additional items I found show the connection between papier mache Jeanne Valentine and dress designer Jeanne Valentine. The first (Castealaras) ad is from 1959 and is included just to show yet another Valentine business. The second blurb is a 1965 reference to the clothing she makes. The third image is from a 1971 book on touring Mexico and seems to tie the two businesses definitively. As you can see, the last image is from a 1973 Fodor's guide.

 

[Beth Callender]

I just rescued a paper mache cat from in front of our building. It was not in good shape so I repainted it with the thought of giving it to neighborhood children. Now I noticed that there's a small sticker on the bottom saying Jeanne Valentine S. A. - so I think that confirms that the dressmaker is the cat maker. Here are two photos of the cat as I found it and as it looks now. It was very 60's looking to me so gave him/her a mod look.