THE VINTAGE THIMBLE

Evening shoes Pietro Yantorny. 1914–19. French. Silk, metal & jet. Pietro Yantorny (1874-1936), the self-proclaimed "most expensive shoemaker in the world", was a consummate craftsman utterly devoted to the art of shoemaking. Yantorny sought to create the most perfectly crafted shoes possible for a select and exclusive clientele of the most perfectly dressed people. Because Yantorny did not advertise and his production was strictly limited, his work is now best known through surviving shoes he created for Rita de Acosta Lydig, who reportedly owned over 300 pairs. Lydig was an avid collector of antique lace and textiles, and provided Yantorny materials with which to make her shoes. Alluring and individualistic, Lydig was in ideal client for Yantorny: dedicated to the art of self-presentation, profligate in her clothing expenditures, and very rich. | THE MET

Dinner dress House of Drécoll. 1914–16. French. Silk & fur. Drécoll was founded in 1896 by Christoff von Drécoll in Vienna, Austria where he designed fashions for the Imperial family of Austria. In 1902, a couture house was opened in Paris and run by Monsieur and Madame Besancon de Wagner. Their daughter Maggie Rouff was a talented designer, working for the house first and then later managing the business with her husband Pierre beginning in 1929. Eventually, the house merged with the House of Beer and then in 1931 they merged with the House of Agness, closing in 1963. This dress shows a dramatic sense of style, exemplified with the use of ciré satin accented by the burgundy silk sash at the waist. The combination of such sumptuous materials was typical of the period, done by other couturiers as it added an extra element of luxury and refinement. | THE MET