Lilli Ann - The art of design – Blue Wren Vintage

When I think about suits and coats of the 1940s and 1950s, the designs of Lilli Ann fill my mind. From classic, simple tailoring and structure all the way to exaggerated sleeves, elaborate peplums and defined waists and strong, confident shoulders.

Lilli Ann is a brand synonymous with style and elegance, and the suit and styles of the 40s and 50s really personified this era. Lilli Ann suits and coats were not for the every day person, they were very expensive in the time, in around the US$100 range which is equivalent to about US$950 today. Many women would covet and save to own their very own Lilli Ann coat or suit and thus why we can still find them today very well preserved. These were much loved garments of the time.

There are many misconceptions about this company, particularly the name Lilli Ann. The company was owned by Adolph Schuman who was born American, his father immigrating to the USA from Hungary in the 1890s and his mother from California. Adolph named the company after his first wife, Lillian Schumann (nee Brown). Note the different spelling of the name. The company may have been named after her, but the spelling and the name was different enough for them to be two separate identities. In fact his wife Lillian was not known to have much if any influence in the company, style or direction at all. However she is forever memorialised in this beautiful brand that continues to stun us over 50 years later.

The Designers
The earlier designs of Lilli Ann were by Jean Wright (later Jean Wright Miller) who started with Lilli Ann as a model and was later trained to be a pattern maker. Adolph could see the talent in Jean and she became their main designer, progressing to becoming the vice president of the company in 1948 and designing until 1952. She remained an influencer on the designs of Lilli Ann until her death in 1967.

In around 1950, Adolph spied another talent when he was in Los Angeles, her name was Billie Dugan. Initially recruited to be a model, by 1952 she was travelling with Adolph to Paris on the very same plane as Pierre Balmain. Whilst Billie had no formal design training, her designs exuded confidence and it is these designs that formed many of the iconic pieces of the 1950s now highly coveted today. Her designs were bold, exaggerated and sexy, framing the wasp like waist and highlighted with features such as bold sleeves, architectural silhouettes, colourful fabrics and oversized collars. Billie continued to design for Lilli Ann until around 1958 and she passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 31 in 1962.

After Billie Dugan, the Lilli Ann company employed many other designers, and it was rumoured that some high end fashion houses also anonymously contributed designs. The aesthetic of the 1960s and beyond remained iconically Lilli Ann, however the designers experimented with bolder colours, styles and the use of fur became more prevalent in these later eras. In my mind, the Lilli Ann hey day embodied the simplicity, elegance and grace of the 1940s and 1950s styles.

Adolph Schuman remained actively involved in the Lilli Ann business until his death in 1985, Lilli Ann continued to be operated by family members until the early 1990s when it was sold and then completely closed by 2000.

The Model
The model for much of the advertising for Lilli Ann in the 1950s was Dorian Leigh. Dorian was 5'5" which was very short for a model and began her career at the ripe old age (!!) of 27, at the time of starting her modelling career she had previously been married and had two children. Her very first modelling job was for the cover of the June 1944 edition of Harper's Bazaar. Dorian befriended author Truman Capote and is said to have been the inspiration for the character Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's". It can be said that Dorian led a very colourful life indeed, for example she managed to get herself banned from Vogue, start up her own modelling agency, have 5 children by 4 different fathers and led a career and life filled with ups and downs. Dorian passed away in 2008 at the age of 91. However for Lilli Ann fans, Dorian epitomises and represents the elegance and timeless beauty of the era.

Dorian Leigh - Harper's Bazaar June 1944