One of the largest collections of costume at the Museum of Cornish Life is the De Bruyne Collection. Donated to the museum by the artist Anne-Cécile De Bruyne, this collection provides fascinating insights into the lives of the De Bruyne family who have lived in Cadgwith on The Lizard peninsula for many decades. Some of the items were studio props for Wilfred de Glehn (Anne-Cécile’s great uncle), an Impressionist painter who was a colleague of the famed artist John Singer Sargent. Other items were purchased at Kensington Market in London during the late 1960s and early 1970s when the Hippie movement was at its peak and clothing from South Asia was popular. The collection notably also includes two items of prêt-à-porter or ready-to-wear from the French designer Pierre Balmain’s Florilège collection.

The first item is a long-sleeved size 14 cocktail dress dating to 1952 made of a polka dot chiffon over grey silk. There is a velvet trim to the collar, waist, sleeves, and hem while the collar also features a black velvet bow. The dress is buttoned up with three lace-covered fastenings. This airy and lightweight dress would have been worn with underpinnings such as a corset and a stiff petticoat.

The second item is a fine wool woman’s suit. Dating to 1959, the suit is made of a plain black pencil skirt and a black jacket. The jacket has one large button at the top while the remaining smaller buttons are hidden underneath the fabric. Two front ties keep the jacket closed while hand stitching can be seen throughout.

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Both items have labels that include the Pierre Balmain name and note that each item of clothing was ‘Made in France’.

Elma De Bruyne and Ginette Spanier

Why are two items from Pierre Balmain in the De Bruyne Collection and what is their connection to Cornwall? The answer lies with Anne-Cécile’s mother and her friendship with the Pierre Balmain directrice Ginette Spanier. Marrying into the creative De Bruyne family, Elma (née Marsh) was an accomplished cellist. Dedicated to her craft, she altered some of her clothing so that she could properly play her instrument. Elma also taught many pupils. Among her students are the musicians and composers Tunde Jegede and his sister Sona Jobarteh, who are both accomplished kora players. According to Anne-Cécile, Elma met Ginette during their school days. In the first volume of Ginette’s autobiography, It Isn’t All Mink (1959), she points out that when her family moved to London after the outbreak of the First World War, she enrolled at the Frognal School. This may be where Elma and Ginette first became acquainted. Ginette got her position with Pierre Balmain by chance. When the daughter of a friend from London came to stay with her in Paris, Ginette took her to Pierre Balmain. She insisted her friend’s daughter purchase a ‘little blue flannel number’ over a black dress that Ginette claimed was for a middle-aged woman. Balmain’s mother witnessed this exchange and was impressed by Ginette’s straightforward attitude to fashion. In her role as directrice, Ginette oversaw selling the Florilège collection to Harrods. As a friend of Ginette’s, Elma had first dibs on new additions before anyone else. Anne-Cécile recalls that Ginette would phone Elma to tell her that they were sending some items to Harrods that she might like. The fact that these two items from Pierre Balmain remained with the De Bruyne family for so many years is a testament not only to the lasting impression of post-war fashion but the friendship between these two women. Items in the De Bruyne collection, like the two Pierre Balmain pieces, can also tell us about the transition between Second World War and post-war fashion.

Fashion During the Second World War

In 1941, the Second World War ushered rationing on clothing and the introduction of the Utility Scheme. The clothing part of this scheme featured a CC41 label. ‘Make Do and Mend’ was another initiative promoted by the government as people were encouraged to reuse material. The Museum of Cornish Life has examples of CC41 clothing in their collections such as men’s coats from Weatherall and Hepworth’s, a man’s shirt, a pair of brown Mary Jane shoes, a pair of children’s shoes, and a pair of deerskin gloves.

One item of clothing some women would have worn during the war is Woman’s Land Army beeches. A pair is part of the De Bruyne Collection.

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Formed during the First World War, the Women’s Land Army allowed women to maintain Britain’s agricultural sector while able-bodied men were fighting overseas. These women, known as ‘Land Girls’, worked on farms also across the country – including Cornwall. They would have had a ‘uniform’ as such which consisted of a green jumper and breeches. The pair in the De Bruyne Collection were manufactured by V. Sutcliffe & Sons in October 1944 and are a size 7. These wide-leg corduroy beeches were modelled off riding breeches for men. They lace up just below the knee – potentially to accommodate a pair of boots – while the three side buttons at the waist were a concession to women’s styling. This pair was specifically made for fieldwork in the winter and were never worn, perhaps because they were produced during the last year of the War in Britain.

Post-War Fashion and Pierre Balmain

The post-war era in fashion arguably began with French designer Christian Dior’s revolutionary ‘New Look’ collection in 1947. Dior’s designs shifted away from the austere cut of clothing produced during the War to feminine silhouettes made of large amounts of fabric. This collection featured dresses with wide skirts and nipped-in waists. Corsets would have been worn to perfect the look with suspenders underneath to hold up stockings that were no longer being rationed by the War (women would use tea to tan their legs and black pencil to mimic the seam at the centre when they did not have access to real stockings). Pierre Balmain was also part of this change in fashion. The fashion house created a prêt-à-porter collection called Florilège as they were fewer clients for haute couture after the end of the War and brands had to adapt to this shift in the market. Prêt-à-porter was a way for Pierre Balmain to bring French haute couture sensibility to the British middle class.

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Pierre Balmain sold their Florilège collection in Harrods. Advertisements, like the ones shown above, would have appeared in periodicals like British Vogue, Vanity Fair, and The Queen. Through her friendship with Ginette Spanier and the changing market of post-war fashion, Elma and the De Bruyne family brought French design to Cadgwith. The contrast between the utilitarian Woman’s Land Army beeches and the stylish Pierre Balmain prêt-à-porter in the De Bruyne Collection demonstrates the transition between Second World War and post-war fashion.

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Michelle Reynolds

I am a PhD student at the University of Exeter researching late-Victorian and Edwardian women illustrators but also passionate about fashion history.

References:

Cally Blackman, 100 Years of Fashion (London: Laurence King, 2020)

Charlotte Fiell, 1940s Fashion: The Definite Sourcebook (London: Welbeck, 2021)

Claire Wilcox and Valerie D. Mendes, 20^th-Century Fashion in Detail (London: Thames & Hudson, 2018)