Many may not think so, but a recently released book highlights the importance of fashion that evolved from California.
By Michelle Logsdon/Special to The Malibu Times
From surf attire to the Academy Awards(r) red carpet, California has long been an influential fashion source but its trends are rarely credited in the mass media. Most people think of New York, Milan or Paris when they think of high fashion-not California.
Malibuite Marian Hall is doing her part to change that. A fixture in the state’s fashion industry for decades, Hall recently published a book called “California Fashion.”
“California has not really been recognized for what it has done for the world of fashion,” Hall said. “I want people to realize that things we hit on in the book have truly influenced world fashion.”
In the book, Hall highlights the styles that originated in the Golden State and took on worldwide significance. Probably the most notable piece of clothing to come out of California was Levi Strauss’ blue jeans-a special item he created for local miners who needed comfortable, rugged outfits to wear while searching for gold.
As time went on, the need for sportswear in a climate of endless summer became the over-riding fashion theme coming out of California. Hall herself was a retail associate for Bullocks-Wilshire and a model before making her mark on the fashion industry by designing her own swimsuit when she was expecting her first child.
“All my friends told me I should market the suit so I had my mother whip me up a few samples and I took them around, and by golly I sold them.”
Soon Hall’s designs were available in maternity stores throughout California and eventually through Lord & Taylor’s mail order catalog. And she expanded her repertoire to include casual wear such as linen shorts and tops. Later she added a pre-teen clothing line that seemed a natural extension to her work because she was already creating most of the clothing for her young daughter.
Hall ended up having four children and decided to close down her business when it began to interfere with her family time. After 18 years in clothing manufacturing, Hall turned her attention to teaching at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. She also started the school’s costume library.
As a member of the charity group Colleagues, Hall carried on her philanthropic pursuits and combined her passions for fashion and volunteering by helping the organization open a second-hand clothing store in Santa Monica. The Colleagues includes about 60 socially elite California women who support the Children’s Institute International-an organization dedicated to helping prevent child abuse.
“One of the best things that anybody can do is volunteer-do something-no matter what it is. You meet so many people and it introduces you to so many different things.”
Hall’s pride over California’s contributions to the fashion world is obvious whether she is talking about the hippie styles of Haight-Ashbury or old Hollywood studio costume designers such as Edith Head or Gilbert Adrian.
The lack of reference material about California’s fashion history led Hall to collaborate on the book with her friends Marjorie Carne and Sylvia Sheppard. All three women had worked in the industry since the 1940s. Carne was the promoter for California Fashion Creators-a group of manufacturers who lured buyers and the press to California to show them everything the state had to offer and how fashion and lifestyle were inseparable here.
Sheppard worked as the West Coast editor for Women’s Wear Daily. The book is dedicated to their friend Lynn Norby Johnson, who was the West Coast editor for Harper’s Bazaar from 1951-1988.
“California Fashion” is over-flowing with historical photos, drawings and advertisements. The chapters connect with ease as the pictures tell the majority of the story.
And the story is not over yet, according to Hall. California is still leading the fashion world through award shows and the entertainment industry including television, film and music. Neoprene is making its way from the California beaches to the runways of Europe and, in Hall’s opinion, the natural look is taking shape here and spreading-with a positive attitude to go with it.
“Women’s sports are changing women a lot. Young girls now have so much esprit de corps and confidence in themselves and they want clothes to reflect that.”
“California Fashion” can be found in major bookstores everywhere.