Beth Levine (December 31, 1914 - September 20, 2006) was an American fashion designer most known for her designs from the 1940s through the 1970s. Events 406 – Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gallia. Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 451 - The Battle of Chalons takes place in North Eastern France. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Fashion design is the Applied art dedicated to Clothing and lifestyle Accessories created within the cultural and social influences of a specific time The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. Under the label of her husband Herbert Levine she was the best-known American women's shoe designer from the 1950s to the early 1970s, and is still referred to as "The first Lady of American Shoes Design" ([1]). Herbert Levine (1916–1991 was an American fashion executive active from the 1940s through the 1970s
She was born as Elizabeth Katz in Patchogue, New York, the third of five children of Anna and Israel Katz, Lithuanian Jewish emigrants who operated a dairy farm. Patchogue ( /ˈpætʃoʊg/,'pach-og or 'pach-äg is a village in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the In the 1930s, she moved to Manhattan and found work as a shoe model, then worked her way up from a stylist to head designer for I. Miller. She served as a Red Cross volunteer during World War II. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an International humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers worldwide who stated World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including
She met Herbert Levine when she applied for a job designing shoes for another shoe manufacturer in 1944 and married him three months later. Herbert Levine (1916–1991 was an American fashion executive active from the 1940s through the 1970s Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He was head of the firm, and this gave her designs the chance to come to center stage. They founded a new company under the name Herbert Levine in 1948. Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Beth Levine described their vision for the company by saying, "We wanted to create a shoemaking niche. We were making very pretty shoes that nobody needed, but everybody wanted" [2].
Although the company was named after publicity-savvy former-journalist Herbert, Beth Levine's name was still featured as the primary shoe designer for their products. A journalist (also called a newspaperman) is a person who practices Journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events trends She was given the Coty Award in 1967 for design innovation. The Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards is the highest praise that can be awarded in Clothing and is often referred to as the " Oscars " of the clothing Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar.
The Levines' greatest influence is considered to be the re-introduction of boots to women's fashion in the 1960s and the popularization of the shoe style known as mules. Fashion refers to styles of dress (but can also include cuisine literature art architecture and general comportment that are popular in a culture at any given time A Mule ( French word is a type of Shoe that is backless and often closed-toed When Nancy Sinatra wore Levine boots in publicity shots for the 1960s hit song These Boots Are Made for Walkin' demand for fashion boots leaped so much that Saks Fifth Avenue opened a special section its shoe department called Beth’s Bootery. " These Boots Are Made for Walkin' " is a pop song composed by Lee Hazlewood and first recorded by Nancy Sinatra. Saks Fifth Avenue is an upscale American Department store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises (SFAE a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated.
Beth had recognized how much women admired the delicacy and femininity of high fashion shoes when she modeled them on her tiny (size 4B, European size 35) foot. She set out to create designs that would make women with average shoe sizes look more delicate and feminine in their shoes, and in the process changed the silhouettes of American fashion. She experimented with cutting away more and more of the leather to expose more and more of the foot, in the process creating shoes that were regarded as both sexier and more elegant than her predecessors.
In addition to three First Ladies, Jackie Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson and Pat Nixon, the clientele also included movies stars such as Bette Davis and musicians like Barbra Streisand. Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson (December 22 1912&ndashJuly 11 2007 was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 having been the wife of Thelma Catherine " Pat " Ryan Nixon (March 16 1912 &ndash June 22 1993 was the wife of Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5 1908 – October 6 1989 was an American actress of Film, Television and Theatre. Barbra Streisand (ˈstraɪsænd "STRY-sand" born April 24 1942 is an American Singer, Film and Theatre Actress Beth Levine worked to ensure that the wives of former presidential rivals John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon never ran into each other at her studio, and once frantically had to rearrange their fitting schedules when she discovered their visits would overlap [1]
Contents |
Innovations
Fashion innovations introduced by the Levines include:
- Boots as Haute Couture. John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of Haute couture ( French for "high sewing" or "high dressmaking" oːt kuˈtyʁ refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted fashions Once highly stylish, boots lost favor in fashion after World War I as skirts became shorter and new manufacturing styles allowed shoes in a variety of styles to be made less expensively. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All A skirt is a tube- or cone-shaped Garment that hangs from the Waist and covers all or part of the Legs In European culture, skirts are usually In the mid-1960s the Levines added fashion boots to their line, starting a trend which remains current four decades later. Nancy Sinatra wore Levine boots for publicity shots and on stage during her period of fame for the song These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Shirley Maclaine used them for dance numbers in Sweet Charity, and Raquel Welch wore them in her television variety specials. Shirley MacLaine (born April 24, 1934) is an American Academy Award -winning Film and Theater Actress, well-known This is an article about the 1969 film For the musical see Sweet Charity. Raquel Welch (born September 5 1940 is a Golden Globe -winning American actor who achieved fame as a Hollywood sex symbol during the 1960s
- Spring-o-lator mules, where an elastic strip allowed the wearer to keep the shoes securely on while wearing stockings despite the lack of any straps at the side or back of the shoes. A Mule ( French word is a type of Shoe that is backless and often closed-toed An elastomer is a Polymer with the property of Elasticity. The term which is derived from elastic polymer, is often used interchangeably with the term Levine got the idea while examining men's workboots, which sometimes featured an elastic liner to hold the foot in place while keeping the boot loose enough to be pulled on and off. Mules had been popular in France and Italy, but had never caught on in the United States for more than boudoir wear in satin or marabou feathers. A boudoir is a Lady 's private Bedroom, sitting room or dressing room Satin is a Cloth that typically has a glossy surface and a dull back
To overcome buyer skepticism upon their introduction, Levine ran across the lobby of a major New York hotel wearing the Spring-o-lator mules during a reception during a large apparel convention, proving dramatically that the elastic strips prevented the shoes from coming off. The design -- and the publicity stunt -- was so successful that the Levines spent significant amounts of both time and money the following two decades defending their patent on the concept. A patent is a set of Exclusive rights granted by a State to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an
- Through much of the 1950s and 1960s a wide range of shoe designers used Beth Levine's Spring-o-Lators in their shoe lines. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 Television characters such as Della Street (portrayed by Barbara Hale) in the popular Perry Mason series often made Spring-o-Lators part of their trademark wardrobe. Della Street was the fictional secretary of Perry Mason in the long-running series of novels films and radio and television programs featuring the fictional defense attorney Barbara Hale (born April 18, 1922) is an Emmy Award -winning American actress known for her roles as the loyal secretary of Perry Mason Perry Mason is an Emmy -winning American TV series that ran from 1957 to 1966.
- Stocking boots (panty hose with heels attached, as well as boots made from materials like vinyl and acrylic.
- Clear plastic shoes, a style that inspired later designers including Charles Jourdan. Charles Jourdan (1883-1976 was a French Fashion designer born in the same year as Coco Chanel, and known best for his designs of women's Shoes
Legacy
Although the company closed in 1975, many Beth Levine designs remain on display in museums in Europe and North America. Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Death
Beth Levine died of lung cancer on September 20, 2006, aged 91, in Manhattan. Lung cancer is a Disease of uncontrolled Cell growth in tissues of the Lung. Events 451 - The Battle of Chalons takes place in North Eastern France. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York Predeceased by her husband, Levine was survived by her daughter, Anna Thomson-Wilson.
References
External links
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic