Emma Domb

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Emma Domb
Born
Emma Hymson

1896 or 1897
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedFebruary 27, 1988
Los Altos, California, U.S.
Other namesEmma Vigdor[1]
Label(s)Emma Domb, Domb Manufacturing Company

Emma Domb (c. 1896 – 1988) was an American fashion designer who created feminine clothes for all occasions with a focus on affordability. Her company, the Domb Manufacturing Company, produced bridal gowns and prom dresses from 1939 until 1980. It also supplied gowns for contestants in the Miss America pageant for decades.[2]

Life[edit]

Born to Polish parents in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1896 or 1897, Emma Domb was married to an Austrian or Polish man named Leo Domb, and had a daughter, Lorraine Domb (b. 1918, deceased), with whom she filed for residency in San Francisco with in 1935 after moving there in 1920. Domb died on February 27, 1988, at Pilgrim Haven Convalescent Hospital in Los Altos, California. She was 95.[3]

Work[edit]

Starting in 1939, she operated San Francisco based Domb Manufacturing Company under the label name Emma Domb with her daughter. The "Lorrie Deb" division, was named after her daughter, operated into 1986 despite manufacturing being halted at the plant in 1974 due to Emma's illness and company dissolution in 1980. Emma Domb's work ranged from baby clothes to junior debutante and prom dresses (as was the case in the 1950s launched "Party Lines by Domb" line) to ball and wedding gowns.[2][4][5][6] In 1951, two million yards of fabric were reported to be cut for her dresses in a year, and her company was reported to have 8000 retail stores.[7] In 1948, her company was said to be at an income of two million dollars a year,[8] and two pieces of her work were listed as selling roughly $60 and $100 each in the year 1965.[9]

Domb was one of the first designers to incorporate new fabrics such as nylon and rayon into her work, which she used alongside luxury fabrics such as lace, silk, and satin.[10][11][12] Despite being based on the west coast in San Francisco, her work was modeled and sold as far north in the United States as Alaska[13] and as far east as Washington, D.C. and Mississippi.[14][15]

Her work was shown at The Fashion Flight, a 1974 fashion show in Paris which was the first all-American fashion show held in Europe. Her work was shown under San Francisco's "Fashion Premiere in Paris" and was sponsored by the San Francisco Manufacturers and Wholesalers Association as well as the City of San Francisco, and showcased her advance spring fashions.[16][17][18]

Domb worked with Hollywood celebrities[10][19] and political figures such as Nevada state First Lady Jackalyn Laxalt.[20] Her work frequently appeared in Miss America pageants in the 1950s and 1960s.[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] Stylist Patricia Field utilized Emma Domb dresses in the series Sex and the City and in the movie.[31]

Her work was exhibited in magazines Harper's Bazaar[32] and Vogue,[33] as well as a cover of Look and a feature in Brides.[34]

Domb's work is considered to be valuable by vintage wedding dress collectors.[35] Her work is preserved at the Science History Institute,[36] the Nevada State Library Archives and Public Records,[20] the North Dakota Heritage Center,[37] and the Costume Collection of the Fashion Merchandising and Management Program at California State University, Sacramento,[38] as well as the repository at the SCAD Museum of Art.[39]

Gallery[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ inc, Dun and Bradstreet (1975). Dun & Bradstreet Middle Market Directory. Dun & Bradstreet, Incorporated. p. 362. {{cite book}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ a b "Domb, Emma". Vintage Fashion Guild.
  3. ^ "Obituaries: Emma Vigdor". Peninsula Times Tribune. March 1, 1988. p. C-9.
  4. ^ Gruening-Hay, Liz (January 4, 2022). "Vintage Fashion Designer Spotlight: Emma Domb". The Vintage Inn.
  5. ^ "Gorgeous 1950s Emma Domb Ivory Matte Satin Dress w Sequin & 3D Flower Detailing". Shrimpton Couture.
  6. ^ Fortier, Melody (December 23, 2014). The Little Guide to Vintage Shopping: How to Buy, Fix, and Keep Secondhand Clothing. Quirk Books. ISBN 978-1-59474-811-0.
  7. ^ California Stylist. California Fashion Publications. 1951. p. 89.
  8. ^ "Sales Management". Dartnell Corporation. 1948. p. 41.
  9. ^ Company, Johnson Publishing (May 1965). Ebony. Johnson Publishing Company. pp. 186, 190.
  10. ^ a b Clothiers, Vintique Vintage. "1950's-60's Emma Domb, Dreamy Drop Waist Ivory Tulle and Lace Wedding Dress (tea length)". Vintique Vintage Clothiers.
  11. ^ McCall's. McCall Publishing Company. 1956. p. 165.
  12. ^ "LIFE". Time Inc. August 18, 1947. p. 63.
  13. ^ "The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, September 24, 1951, Image 3". The Daily Alaska empire. National Endowment for the Humanities. September 24, 1951. p. 3.
  14. ^ "Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, February 07, 1960, Image 87". National Endowment for the Humanities. February 7, 1960. p. H-1. ISSN 2331-9968.
  15. ^ "The Chronicle star the Moss Point advertiser. (Pascagoula; Moss Point, Miss.) 1949-1961, May 15, 1953, SECTION ONE, Image 4". The Chronicle star the Moss Point advertiser. National Endowment for the Humanities. May 15, 1953. p. 4. ISSN 2766-1199.
  16. ^ Finley, Ruth (October 13, 1947). "Fashion Calendar, October 13, 1947". New York : Ruth Finley, Publisher.
  17. ^ "White net evening gown by Emma Domb". aenigma – Images and stories from the movies and fashion.
  18. ^ "The Fashion Flight – California comes to Paris". aenigma – Images and stories from the movies and fashion. February 1, 2017.
  19. ^ "Textile Colorist". Howes Publishing Company. 1948. pp. 29, 46.
  20. ^ a b "Ball gowns on parade at gallery". www.nevadaappeal.com. Nevada Appeal.
  21. ^ "Kankakee Sunday Journal: KDJ - 1972". Kankakee Sunday Journal. September 17, 1972. p. 15.
  22. ^ "Nancy Anne Fleming, Miss America 1961, in Ban-Lon lace short formal gown by Emma Domb | Hagley Digital Archives". digital.hagley.org.
  23. ^ "Marilyn Van Derbur, Miss America 1958, in Custom's Everglaze cotton satin ball gown by Emma Domb | Hagley Digital Archives". digital.hagley.org.
  24. ^ "Mary Ann Mobley, Miss America 1959, in Ban-Lon lace evening dress by Emma Domb | Hagley Digital Archives". digital.hagley.org.
  25. ^ "Jacquelyn Mayer, Miss America 1963, in ball gown by Emma Domb featuring Everfast's Everglaze cotton satin | Hagley Digital Archives". digital.hagley.org.
  26. ^ "Marian McKnight, Miss America 1957, in Fuller Everglaze cotton satin dress by Emma Domb | Hagley Digital Archives". digital.hagley.org.
  27. ^ "Nancy Anne Fleming, Miss America 1961, in Everfast Everglaze cotton satin evening gown by Emma Domb | Hagley Digital Archives". digital.hagley.org.
  28. ^ "Cocktail dress by Emma Domb in Everglaze Moireen polished cotton by Everfast with attached fabric sample | Hagley Digital Archives". digital.hagley.org.
  29. ^ "Mary Ann Mobley, Miss America 1959, in Everfast's Everglaze cotton ball gown and matching stole by Emma Domb | Hagley Digital Archives". digital.hagley.org.
  30. ^ "Maria Beale Fletcher, Miss America 1962, in Everfast Everglaze white cotton satin ball gown by Emma Dombs | Hagley Digital Archives". digital.hagley.org.
  31. ^ "The perfect 1950s wedding dress by Emma Domb - my vintage wedding dress of the week!". Heavenly Vintage Brides. August 3, 2014.
  32. ^ Harper's Bazaar. Hearst Corporation. July 1965. p. 134.
  33. ^ Vogue. Condé Nast Publications. 1961. p. 61.
  34. ^ Opera, Concert and Symphony. 1947. p. 23.
  35. ^ Beeforth, Annabel (April 2013). Style Me Vintage: Weddings: An Inspirational Guide to Styling the Perfect Vintage Wedding. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-61374-814-5.
  36. ^ "Nylon Ball Gown - Dress | Science History Institute". sciencehistory.pastperfectonline.com. Science History Institute.
  37. ^ "Recent Acquisitions to Museum Collections | State Historical Society of North Dakota Blog". blog.statemuseum.nd.gov. North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum.
  38. ^ "Welcome to the Fashion Costume Gallery" (PDF). www.csus.edu. California State University, Sacramento.
  39. ^ "[No title] on JSTOR". www.jstor.org.
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