MARGUERITE GRASSINO FARRE PICK, or Mme. Marguerite, was a favorite dressmaker of the likes of BERTHA PALMER and EDITH ROCKEFELLER in the teens and ’20s. By virtue of being French, she had impeccable credentials as a designer and prospered with shops on Oak Street, Rush Street and Michigan Avenue. At this event Marguerite confronted the task of designing a dress on the spot. in 15 minutes, she came up with this gown of voile and reseda green pussy-willow satin. Good thing this was a benefit; with her regular clientele, such a short wait would never be tolerated.
– Actress for whom Marguerite was an understudy when she first came to Chicago: SARAH BERNHARDT.
– Hours it took to hand-embroider the train of the Christian Dior gown for Melania Knauss’ wedding to Donald Trump: 550.
– Number of “data points” collected by the Intellifit electronic body scanner for fitting clothes: 200,000.
– Bad-luck thread color avoided by designers before fashion shows: GREEN.
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“Where’s the man could ease a heart / Like a satin gown?”
-DOROTHY PARKER, “THE SATIN DRESS”
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nwatkins@tribune.com
