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Collections

Margit Fellegi
Woman's Ensemble (Swimsuit and Skirt)1942

Not on view
Full-length emerald green taffeta gown with bow-knot bodice, side cutouts, smocked waist, and tiered skirt trimmed with white beading at each tier seam
Bright green one-piece swimsuit displayed flat, constructed from ruched metallic fabric with a front bow detail, cutout midriff, wide straps, and boy-short legs.
Bright green one-piece swimsuit displayed on a form, with allover ruched texture, a cutout midriff, and a ruffled bow at the bustline with white zigzag trim.

Margit Fellegi, Cole of California, Woman's Ensemble (Swimsuit and Skirt), 1942, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of The Fashion Group, Inc., of Los Angeles, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA

Designer
Margit Fellegi
United States, 1903 - 1975
Design House
Cole of California
United States, California, Los Angeles, founded 1925
Title
Woman's Ensemble (Swimsuit and Skirt)
Place Made
United States, California
Date Made
1942
Medium
Cotton plain weave, glazed cotton rick-rack, elastic (Matletex)
Dimensions
Length (Swimsuit): 29 1/2 in. (74.93 cm) Center back length (Skirt): 44 1/2 in. (113.03 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of The Fashion Group, Inc., of Los Angeles
Accession Number
48.39.24a-b
Classification
Costumes
Collecting Area
Costume and Textiles
Curatorial Notes

One of California’s most influential contributions to American fashion was the bathing suit ensemble—consisting of any combination of bathing suit, skirt, shorts, pants, and top of the same fabric to mix and match to fit the occasion. Margit Fellegi’s two-piece ensemble could be worn as a bathing suit or, with the addition of the skirt, as seen here, for cocktails by the pool.



(California Design, 1930-1965: "Living in a Modern Way," 2011-12)

Selected Bibliography

  • Barron, Stephanie, S. Bernstein and I. S. Fort, with essays by Stephanie Barron, Sherri Bernstein, M. Dear, Howard N. Fox and Richard Rodriguez. Made in California: Art, Image, and Identity, 1900-2000. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Berkeley: University of California Press, Berkeley, 2000.

  • Maeder, Edward. Salute to California: 50 Years of Fashion, 1930-1980. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1980.
  • Kaplan, Wendy, ed. California Design, 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2011.
  • Kaplan, Wendy, ed. Living in a Modern Way: California Design, 1930-1965. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2013.
Selected Exhibition History
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". October 1, 2011 - June 3, 2012
Copyright
© Margit Fellegi Estate. Reproduced with permission of The Warnaco Group, Inc. All rights reserved. For Authentic Fitness Corp., Cole of California

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