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Benedikt NY Jewelry – Part I

coudremode — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:00:14 +0000

Over 20 years ago I bought a Maltese cross brooch at the (late, great) Filene’s Basement store in Boston. It became a favorite and I wore it constantly and then one of the cabochons fell out and I was so crushed. One day on a whim I googled “Maltese cross” to see if something similar was available much to my surprise saw several images of a virtually identical brooch listed that was signed “Benedikt NY”! After some additional sleuthing it seems that Howard Benedikt made high-end costume jewelry from 1955 to 1973. His store was located at 389 5th Avenue in New York City and that is all I can find out about him. His pieces are considered collectible and are certainly as well made as vintage Hattie Carnegie pieces but are much less pricey. The brooch I bought in the 80’s was clearly a Benedikt knock-off and from time to time I see his designs copied by today’s high end costume jewelery brands such as Kenneth Jay Lane. I have three of these brooches, a white/grey crystal, a blue crystal and a topaz cabachon.

Benedikt jewelry is always marked “Benedikt N.Y. (c)” and one of his most elaborate pieces is the Maltese cross. It was most commonly made in red, blue or green with both a faceted crystal center or round cabochon center. Blue and green with crystal centers are by far the most common. I’ve seen red and green cabochon centers but the blue only once in my research and it turned up on Ebay in 2007. The center cabochons are colored glass and the oval cabs on the arms on the red and blue examples are colored glass or occasionally opaque pink glass or blue faux lapis (that’s what my blue one has.) This heavy brooch is 2 inches square and weighs one ounce. It’s constructed from three pieces of cast metal held together with a pin under the center stone/cabochon.

Benedikt Maltese cross brooches within each colorway are by no means identical. Sometimes the stones on the arms of the cross match the rest of the colors as in the green crystal example below. My personal preference is for clear crystals but I did make an exception when I bought the white cab cross; I think the subtle grey of the stones is actually really nice. The color of the metal is most often bright gold, only the topaz version seems to have that bronze finish.

Other variations that are rare but do come up include these, see the photos below:

White cabs with black stones on the arms and a black crystal center. There was a bidding war on Ebay for that one!
Turquoise cabs with amethyst stones. This stunner has been on Ruby Lane for a while and is by far the most expensive and unusual I’ve seen.
The red and green cab version was on Ebay in 2008 and I have not seen it again myself.

In addition to a pin back each piece has a hook at the top which allows the brooch to be worn as an enhancer to a necklace and this looks pretty fabulous! The opening is very small though so a bail is needed to attach it. In the photo I pinned the brooch to my dress form because the hook won’t fit over my 4mm Mikimoto pearl necklace. I’ve been looking for a 14k gold bail that works with the style of the brooch.

If you love this brooch and want one here is what l’ve learned in the two years I’ve been collecting Benedikt NY jewelry:

Condition: generally very good to excellent. These must have been expensive pieces of costume jewelery when they were new. I also think they may have been available ready-made and made-to-order, the latter might explain why there are so many interesting variations.
Most examples will not have stones in the tiny prongs circling the center cab/crystal. My white one has them but the other two don’t. I think they were made this way.
Condition issues to look for:

The stones surrounding the arms are occasionally missing so carefully scrutinize photos.
The baguette stones on the points are fogged about 50% of the time (visible on my blue one but the baguettes on the white one are clearer)
Sometimes the pin holding the three parts together has some play in it. This can be fine if it’s minor but if there is a lot of looseness the cabs may fall out because the middle layer holds them down in their prong setting. See the side view for info on how the components fit together.
The fleur-de-lis above the arm cabs should be straight. Notice on my blue brooch, on the left arm, one of them is bent. I also think that happened when it was made.

Prices: starting bids are $14.99 to $49.99 with the winning bid average in the $30 – $60 range on Ebay auctions depending on the time of year. On sites like Rubylane the prices are higher, in the $60 – $80 range. Rubylane is a antique dealer site and has the highest price I’ve seen so far which is for the $188 purple turquoise piece.
Availability: Still pretty good, Benedikt Maltese crosses come up maybe 10 – 12 times a year on Ebay.

I have other Benedikt NY pieces as well and I’ll do another blog post about those.

Mom’s Sweat Shop

coudremode — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 23:26:46 +0000

“Mom, can you make me a tank top from this to wear to FX next Friday night?”
“How do you want the back to look?”
“Can you make it a racerback?”
“Sure but I have to make the back in white knit because that silver sequin is left over from Siobahn’s costume and there is only enough for a front”
“That’s ok”

Add 1 Jalie 2805 (modified), one coverstich machine, one very pretty rayon knit remnant that Ann gave me and 2 hours later:

“Thanks Mom!”

You’re welcome Sweetie.

Namaste

coudremode — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 08:46:09 +0000

The Dalai Lama, Facebook status update , September 11, 2011 at 4:58am

Today, as we mark the tenth anniversary of the September 11th 2001 attacks on New York and Washington DC, let us remember all the innocent lives lost and ponder the continuing impact of that tragic day. September 11th reminds us of the horror we human beings can unleash on ourselves when we allow our human intelligence and powerful technology to be overtaken by hatred.

We need to learn from our painful memories of September 11th and become more aware of the destructive consequences that arise when we give in to feelings of hatred. This tragedy in particular has reinforced my belief that fostering a spirit of peaceful co-existence and mutual understanding among the world’s peoples and faith traditions is an urgent matter of importance to us all. We must therefore make every effort to ensure that our various faith traditions contribute to build a more caring, peaceful world.

The Dalai Lama

September 9, 2011

Originally published in the Washington Post on September 10, 2011.

Book Review: “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty”

coudremode — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 18:10:19 +0000

“I never conform to any sort of fashion ideal. My ideal was to always show reality, even though I started at Savile Row and ended up a Givenchy in Paris, to depict the times I live in”

- Alexander McQueen, Harper’s Bazaar, September 2008

VOSS collection, spring/summer 2001

The death of Alexander McQueen in February 2010 at age 40 rocked the fashion world and elevated his too-brief 15 year career to mythic status. Savage Beauty is the book published in conjunction with the 2011 Metropolitan Museum of Art’s retrospective of his work and it’s a fine addition to a sewers library as a visual chronicle of the most unique couturier ever to work commercially in the modern fashion industry.

This book is all about his work, don‘t expect much insight into Lee Alexander McQueen as a person. Unlike Andy Warhol or Yves St. Laurent, both of whom had very public artistic careers that spanned decades, McQueen was clearly an artist who spoke through his work and for the most part eschewed the glitz of the fashion industry. The book recounts that instead of hanging around after his shows to speak with the media and press the flesh more often he would duck into a car and speed off, leaving his work to speak for itself. There is some biographical content but no new information or analysis of his tragic suicide other than to note that he ended his life just 9 days after his mother died from cancer. Like most fashion books the preface is several pages of bloviating fashion writing and the most interesting content is at the end, where Sarah Burton, who took over as creative director after his death, offers fascinating insights into the creative process behind his work.

And his work speaks volumes.

Carved elm wood. No 13. collection, spring/summer 1999

Aimee Mullins ensemble

“Art is a man’s name” is a quote from Andy Warhol. Those 5 words, so simple, dismissive, ironic and astute, pretty much sums up our modern world were Art with a capital “A” has no real influence or meaning in the lives of most people. After Western fine art freed itself once and for all from the constraints of the church and cultural censorship by the end of the 20^th century it had all been said, done and put out there and really for those of us alive today what is left of Art with a capital “A” that is transcendent and yet accessible? Well we still have fashion and fortunately someone like McQueen to show us what can be produced from the convergence of history, culture, painting, sculpture, performance, couture, technology and metaphor. Add to that mix a good dose of mystery and a willingness to embrace taboo like Diane Arbus or Robert Mapplethorpe and the end result is the most potent, provocative, frightening and beautiful fashion of the recent past. And just like Arbus and Mapplethorpe he was one of those rare and brave artists who had no persona in his work: what you saw was really him and he put it out there for the world to see without apology.

Savage Beauty does a good job of explaining the more obvious and easy to understand aspects of McQueen’s work and the book’s large format and numerous full length photos enable a reader (and especially a sewer) to linger over his astonishing technical skill in not only couture dressmaking but also bespoke tailoring. His facility with color and texture is amazing; there are gowns made from the shells of razor clams and mussels, gowns with animal skulls, horns and taxidermy birds rising from the shoulders. There are close ups of digitally printed fabrics that are milled in such a way that the pattern pieces must have been printed at the same time as the motifs and then the garment was hand draped before being sewn. In these same prints the motifs continue flawlessly from woven fabric still with its selvage fringe (I’m guessing) to a knit mesh with no interruption in the motifs. He worked in every conceivable type of fabric and material with equal skill whether it was wool, silk, lace, metal, leather, rubber, wood, hair, fur or boning. He also used just about every embellishment technique known to man, everything from beading to historical types of embroidery such as Stumpwork, used on the piece that is my absolute favorite in the book, a jacket made from grey and pink silk Birdseye. Stumpwork is three dimensional embroidery done with padding and wire; notice how the bird’s wings stand away from the surface. The Amaranthus in the hat look almost totally 3-D. Notice also the sleeves cross over the body like those of a strait jacket. I’m still trying to figure out what that means.

Click

As with any art book the format is large and the binding is very nice. The paper is matte finished so every detail can be seen at once, and my only small complaint is that some the photos are heavily retouched in the details and this is especially notable in accessories like shoes. The front cover has one of those flat plastic lenticular lenses that we all know from childhood where the image changes depending on the angle you view it; a melting skull transforms into McQueen’s face. It makes me think of that Frances Bacon painting that interprets a Diego Velazquez painting of Pope Innocent X. The two seen together sum up, for me the approach that McQueen used. And the very last piece in the book is what his art is about in metaphor: it’s a wooden boot that is actually one piece from a pair of prosthetic legs carved from elm wood that legless athlete Aimee Mullins wore in his 1999 show with a knee length skirt made from lace and a leather corset. So many emotions come together in that one silent but fascinating object: craft, fashion, disability, norms, beauty and perception. Evidently fashion editors still request it for shoots thinking it’s merely a pair of boots.

This book is rich in meaning and one that repays me with with something new every time I open it. For Alexander McQueen “Art” was much more than a man’s name.

Handy Dandy

coudremode — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 19:00:02 +0000

The last time I got a manicure I noticed the nail tech used a little pump bottle for polish remover and I said to myself “I want some of those!” Polish remover comes in tall narrow bottles that are very tippy and I’m very clumsy. A quick search on Ebay turned up 180inShop based in Hong Kong who sells them in packs of 5 for $8.99 ($5.99 + $1.99 shipping)…these little bottles have a ton of uses: there are two in my sewing room, one filled with water for removing wash-away marker and the other filled with rubbing alcohol for cleaning Sharpie off my Sewing rules. And of course the third one is being used for nail polish remover. The last two went to Abby and Emma and I might just have to take them back!

Memo to John Galliano

coudremode — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 14:03:44 +0000

TO: John Galliano

FR: CourdreMODE

RE: The Incident

John, I have admired your astounding work for many years and I just need to give you some sincere advice. I’ve worked in the corporate world for for a long time and have witnessed all kinds of corporate intrigue and you made a few crucial mistakes:

Develop a relationship with your CEO. I read in news reports that Mr. Toledano said that he had no personal relationship with you and he communicated with you through staff. This is career suicide for someone at your level because even the lowliest worker needs allies in business.

Every cell phone has a camera and people are always on the look out for ways to compromise celebrities. You may not be Oprah Winfrey in terms of face recognition but obviously more people know who you are than you might think.

Remember that the people who really make it all happen in couture are the seamstresses and tailors – the people onstage in the photo. Karl Lagerfeld understands this, just watch “Signe Chanel”

Please don’t turn out like Yves St. Laurent, who lost the last half of his career to various demons and substance abuse issues. The last two collections you did for Dior is some of your finest work and I hope that you solve your problems and come back stronger than ever. The world needs the beauty you create; we don’t need hate speech, there is plenty of that in the world already. Coco Chanel spent a decade in exile and I hope that doesn’t happen to you.

Best of luck,

CoudreMODE

Costume Not Couture

coudremode — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 03:47:29 +0000

Sometimes it’s just about getting the job done and these days I’m in dance costume mode. This jacket and dress is for a solo (not one of my daughters) and the routine is jazzy and edgy. The challenge in coming up with a costume to was to avoid cliche, especially a peculiar erstaz-Fosse type of costume that I just see over and over and over at Nationals (lots of black, bowler hats, fingerless gloves – ho hum.) So this costume is meant to be fresh, urban and youthful. The jacket pattern is Kwik Sew 3764 and the dress is Jalie 2674. I’ve already turned over the dress to the dancer so you’re looking at some extra fabric pinned to my dress form. The only change I made was leaving the straps off; she’ll wear a set of clear straps to make the dress look strapless. The jacket was an interesting challenge because it had to be as sheer as possible and several details were left off, such as the epaulets and the zippered pockets. The seams and edge finish are a three thread narrow overlock; and the heavy stress seams (e.g. armsyce, shoulder, side seams) were done on my industrial and the serger was used to clean finish the seams. The zipper was a challenge and there I just laid the zipper under the overlocked edge. The jacket fabric is dark blue silk organza and the dress is a spangly sequin knit.

New Patterns in My Etsy Shop

coudremode — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 17:37:13 +0000

Winter always turns to spring and there are some great warm weather styles in my Etsy shop CoudreMODE Vintage Patterns.

One Down – 56 To Go

coudremode — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 01:01:38 +0000

The past month has been a blur of holidays, work, snow, pattern uploading, school, dance, snow, work, school, seed catalogs, snow and more snow. I’m not one of those people who bitch about winter though and this lovely blanket of white is good news for spring and summer gardening. I also have my Etsy shop CoudreMODE Vintage Patterns up and running and I’m adding patterns about once a week. Today I finished part of Abby’s costume for her solo, she’s doing a contemporary routine to a White Stripes tune and her choreographer wanted something rocker but happy. New Look 6648 had the perfect style; this is a very simple pattern with a nice gathered waist. The kimono sleeves are done on a straight stitch machine not a serger, a trick I learned from Gigi and this really gives the sleeve a nice drape. There are no changes from the pattern other than folding the neckline down with a coverstitch. No armsyce seam meant it was perfect for this big Gerbera daisy print from Gorgeous Fabrics. This style really perfect for a poly knits with a large scale patterns. The flower centers have a bit of gold foil color and I added Swarovski 12ss hot-fix crystals in Light Topaz for understated bling. Those came from Crystal Rhinestone Boutique on Ebay (great prices and every size and color.) The rest of her costume? A pair of dark wash RTW jeggings. The other 56 costumes are a silver sequin mini dress under a sheer motorcyle jacket in dark blue organza and 55 costumes for a Bollywood tap routine. Tomorrow I start the production sheets for those!

Pattern Anthropology

coudremode — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:17:03 +0000

This weekend I’ve been cataloging patterns as there is a good amount of work to do to get them ready for Etsy. I have a big spreadsheet going that will have all the pattern data: brand, year, decade, style, size, bust-waist-hip and condition. Quite a few are still in their factory folds and the ones that have been cut need to be looked at make sure all of the pieces are there. Then the envelope needs to be scanned front and back. I have a lot of great stuff but the ones that will be the least likely to sell are styles from the 80′s of course. A few of my sewing BFF’s have already seen this in email but it really needs to be shared with the world. Would you believe the Simplicity masterpiece on the left even in a size 6 (30.5 bust -23 waist -32.5 hip) requires 3 yards of 45 inch fabric. No way? Way. Its still in the factory folds too, which I guess is not too surprising. Gigi said it looks like something Joan Cusack would wear in Working Girl. Another fun thing is looking into the patterns from companies like Marion Martin that appeared in advertisements in local and national papers like Grit (a rural newspaper) and Parade (yes the magazine that comes with the Sunday paper.) These patterns don’t have a pictorial envelope like the Big 4, they were mailed in plain white envelopes that have the fashion illustration on the instructions. Two of them that I opened today are so pristine that I found inserts advertising other patterns; these direct marketing inserts are called “bounce backs” and are the same thing as the catalogs and extra junk you get in the box when you order from on-line retailers. Here is what they look like:

“First Place Pattern Winners”

Based on some of the styles I think this comes from the early 1980′s. The fashion schizophrenia on the front is one thing (notice everything from pinafores to jumpsuits), but the crafts on the reverse side are something else entirely. A quilt of US Presidents? Why on earth would anyone put Richard Nixon on a quilt? How about a antimacassar that looks like a southern bell doll with a crocheted skirt? Or a dish towel embroidered with a bowel of pineapples that have human faces? Don’t for get the toys, such as a soft doll version of Betty Boop a character from the 30′s that by the 80′s no child would have any connection with.

“Designer Patterns”

This must be the high end stuff because there are no kitschy crafts on the reverse. I think this is the 80′s as well but a few years later, as we see some ginormous shoulder pads and that 80′s wedge dress that everyone wore in that decade (c’mon admit it I know you wore one and I did too). On the front side the designer names are Giorgio Sant’Angelo for Marjer, Frank Egitto, Eleanor Brenner, Lopez, Estevez, Vera Maxwell, Lavino Verna and Umba for Parnes-Feinstein. Style -wise we have the sublime (top view, the dress lower right corner) to the ridiculous (the kimono sleeve cardigan with the NFL-size raglan shoulder pads, bottom row 2nd from the left. ) The reverse side has the “Designer Collection” e.g. Frank Masandrea, Mitchel Rodell, Rona, Jayne Jay, Ayako, Bert Geiger, Fredlee plus Vera Maxwell and Eleanor Brenner again. Here I’m guessing the timeframe is a season or two after after Karl Lagerfeld took over Chanel because we see a Rona design top row called the “forever suit” . The best looks here are the suit on the far let with the shoulder drape, the sporty jacket on the top right and the cape and slim coat lower right.

Also – everyday on Facebook I’ve been featuring a pattern that I’ll have in my Etsy shop. If you want to see them leave a comment here on CoudreMODE and I’ll send you a friends request on FB. If you see a pattern on my FB status updates that you like I’ll reserve it for you when my shop opens.

Well…..back to my spreadsheet!