Opening and running our Etsy Shop has been a lot of fun for us because we get to scour through clothes for great vintage finds (shop for a reason!) and are able to do fun photo shoots, but my favorite part is actually learning more about the history behind the pieces of clothing and their designers.
We recently received a cute white and blue mini dress in our vintage lot (pictures coming soon!) that had the tag "Beeline Fashions" and like I do with our other items, I started to do some research about this designer online to be able to date and price our item. However, this particular company really stuck out to me. Below is a little bit about the company's founders that I found while researching online.
"Beatrice F. Birginal (known as “Bee”) had a knack for mixing-and-matching clothes and she and her husband H. Edison Birginal were savvy enough to turn her skills into a fashion empire. After he was discharged from the military following World War II, the couple settled in Chicago. They used his G.I. loan to start up a business.
He sold hosiery items door-to-door. They expanded the merchandise to include moderately priced sportswear, which he termed “Bee's line of clothing.” The name stuck. In 1948, Beeline Fashions hooked up with independent contractors and gave them the fashions to sell at home parties.
(photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shookphotos/4261638195/)
Bee served not only as the clothing buyer, but was the catalog typist and designer (simple mimeographed hand drawings) for the family business. According to son Gary Birginal, "In the late 1950s and 1960s, women didn't have opportunities to work outside the home. Beeline Fashions provided them with a chance to work part time one or two nights a week, and the business exploded."
(photo credit: http://hideelee1966.blogspot.com , May 1967)
The popular home parties were termed style shows. Beeline Fashions expanded rapidly during the 1960s and peaked in 1979 with 20,000 independent contractors (known as stylists)."
(credit: http://www.loti.com/fifties_fashion/Beeline_Fashion_and_Fun.htm; Roberta Beach Jacobson)
On that note, I hope that we find another Beeline Fashions tag in our quest to find vintage treasures soon!
EDIT(October 17th, 2011 3:00pm): Here is our Beeline Fashions Dress for Sale on Etsy!!
EDIT(October 17th, 2011 3:00pm): Here is our Beeline Fashions Dress for Sale on Etsy!!
