Leonard-Paris wool knit dress

[haapi]

Hi there-
This is my first time on this forum and the site looks awesome!
My question: I found a mint condition wool knit dress made of Leonard-Paris fabric. I have no reason to believe that the fabric is a fake because the printing, colors and quality are all very good. I am also based in Paris, so it's not a surprising find. What stumps me, though, is inside the dress there is a label, not from Leonard, but from "kalifa". And the instructions are marked in German and English (not French.) I have not found any information of Leonard supplying fabric to third-party manufacturers, but I may have looked in the wrong place. I am not a vintage professional, so any input would be very welcome!

 

[retro ruth]

Hi and welcome to the VFG!

I think we'll probably need to see pictures to be able to offer much help.

 

[haapi]

Hi there--
What an excellent store name!
Here are the pix. Also, there's a zip down the back that is hand sewn (not sure if I can add a pic as I keep getting a message that my file is too large). It looks like it was a replacement zipper (the stitch is not very pro looking.) Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[retro ruth]

Thanks! You will need to reduce your pics to under 1mb to upload them, or you can host them elsewhere and link to them.
Here's some instructions: http://forums.vintagefashionguild.org/threads/how-to-post-a-photo.42320/

 

[The Vintage Merchant]

Welcome, Haapi!

we have instructions for how to post a photo in our Information Center: Welcome to the Forums:

http://forums.vintagefashionguild.org/threads/how-to-post-a-photo.42320/

 

[haapi]

Whoops! Looks like none of the pix made it. Here is another try, this time as snapshots.

 

[thespectrum]

I don't see any Leonard signatures on the fabric?

 

[The Vintage Merchant]

if not on the fabric itself, on the seam allowances, possibly???

 

[haapi]

Sorry about that! I thought that screenshots were low-res. The others (showing the signature) are obviously over 1M. Bear with me and I will post them per your instructions.

 

[haapi]

This should work--here are 2 signatures, but there are several sprinkled over the pattern.

 

[thespectrum]

Thanks, those are excellent close-ups.

 

[The Vintage Merchant]

wow, Haapi, that looks fabulous!!! ~ i would LOVE to see a front view, if you have one?

btw, they made/sold yard goods, as well, so it doesn't surprise me if they provided fabric directly to other manufacturers.

 

[thespectrum]

Yes, Leonard was originally a textiles firm.

 

[haapi]

AHA! I was wondering about that Mary...but I couldn't find any information about this on the internet.
And MS: here is the front view. It is a lovely, lovely dress and in mint condition.
So, is this still considered a Leonard garment? A Kalifa garment? How is this considered in the marketplace?

 

[The Vintage Merchant]

It's as you say: a Leonard print dress manufactured by Kalifa (of Germany).

it is gorgeous! congratulations !

 

[thespectrum]

Here is the specific page in our Label Resource for Leonard:
http://vintagefashionguild.org/label-resource/leonard/

For future reference, our LR is usually a pretty good place to start your research

 

[haapi]

Thanks so much!
Wonderful site