SKU: 52794369850

"Charles James: Architect Of Fashion- From The Wardrobe Of Lisa Kirk & The Collections Of Homer Layne & FIT"

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"Charles James: Architect Of Fashion- From The Wardrobe Of Lisa Kirk & The Collections Of Homer Layne & FIT"11 1 2" x 8 1 2" (menu size) Cover artwork by 'Antonio' Lopez FIT Exhibition March 23 May 1, 1993 w 11" x 4 1 4" folding [4] pp. card laid In w the (55) CJ lots featured [2] pp. Scroll Down for (2) Additional Scans: Charles James (1906 1978) was a designers designer. Although greatly admired by other couturiers, such as Christian Dior and Jacques Fath, he was unknown to the public at large. Indeed, he was often on the verge of bankruptcy, despite

11 1/2" x 8 1/2" (menu size)
Cover artwork by 'Antonio' Lopez

FIT Exhibition March 23 - May 1, 1993

w/ 11" x 4 1/4" folding [4] pp. card laid-In w/ the (55) CJ lots featured 

[2] pp.

Scroll Down for (2) Additional Scans:

Charles James (1906-1978) was a designer’s designer. Although greatly admired by other couturiers, such as Christian Dior and Jacques Fath, he was unknown to the public at large. Indeed, he was often on the verge of bankruptcy, despite creating expensive clothes for some of the world’s most discriminating clients, such as Mrs. Randolph Hearst and Millicent Rogers. A brilliant designer, but a difficult and tormented personality, he made fewer than 1000 garments over the course of a 50-year career. There are many stories of his eccentricities: once, for example, two clients wanted the same dress, so—like King Solomon—he cut it in half. The extreme rarity and originality of his existing garments makes them among the most valuable objects in museum costume collections.

Born in England, James began his career as a milliner in Chicago, working under the name Charles Boucheron. Then he moved to New York, where he also began designing dresses. The influence of millinery can be seen in the way he juxtaposed rigid geometrical forms and fluid folds. Many couturiers of the 1950s incorporated boning and padding into their dresses, but James went much further, often creating an elaborate infrastructure, encasing the wearer’s torso. A virtuoso with fabric, he would then create a superstructure of artfully-draped silk and satin. James is best-known for the intricately-cut, often asymmetrical ball gowns that he designed in the 1940s and 1950s, which sold at the time for about $1500, and can easily fetch 100 times that figure today. A fashion journalist described one evening gown as “so intricately shaped, so marvelously massed into drapery that every angle presents a new silhouette.” The Museum at FIT owns several gowns that James designed for the performer, Lisa Kirk, as well as a beautiful example of his most famous dress, the Abstract or Four-Leaf Clover ball gown. His quilted, padded evening jackets are also justly famous. Although best known for his ability to “sculpt” with fabric, James was also a brilliant colorist, masterfully juxtaposing unexpected colors, such as golden yellow and ice blue.
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SKU: 52794369850

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APR
Houston, US
★★★★★ 5
A Victorian Addition
Color: 4 Panels Black Wood, Size: 4 Panels, Color: 4 Panels Black Wood, Size: 4 Panels
I am so impressed! This room divider is a piece of Victorian architecture for my dressing area. Well made , eye-catching and refined...just beautiful!
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Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2026
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Sarah Fahmi
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 5
Great product and seller
Color: 4 Panels Natural, Size: 4 Panels
Pretty divider, doesn’t need assembly, and the supplier was great in communications hen I asked to receyit early!
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Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2025
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Julianne McCarthy
Waukegan, US
★★★★★ 4
Nice design, but natural color is unfinished wood.
Color: 6 Panels Natural, Size: 6 Panels
Very cute panel design! I’ve gotten compliments from guests. While I’d like it to be taller, it still works to block the view enough. The natural wood color is not painted at all though, just bare unfinished wood. So the pores are just open. I thought it’d be covered in clear lacquer or finished with something. I have this standing on a tiled surface, when I mopped the floor, the wood soaked up the excess liquid and now has dark water stains going up the legs. If the wood were sealed, this wouldn’t happen. It stands well on its own and the double hinges are great for using it like a door - it opens well in both directions.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2025
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Amazon Customer
New York, US
★★★★★ 5
Multipurpose accent piece for any room!
Color: 4 Panels Brown, Size: 4 Panels, Color: 4 Panels Brown, Size: 4 Panels
This is a lovely sturdy room divider! It also acts as a great accent piece behind any smaller piece of furniture or to bring visual interest to a lost corner in your space. I am an interior decorator and I used this in a sitting room behind the loveseat to conceal a litter box! It really lit up the room.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2026
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keisha P.
Pawtucket, US
★★★★★ 5
Great buy!
Color: 4 Panels Black Wood, Size: 4 Panels
Love this item! Sturdy, looks just like the pictures, great height, and worth the money!
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Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2025

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