Gunne Sax is a retired clothing label owned by Jessica McClintock, Inc., which specialized in

formal Formal, formality, informal or informality imply the complying with, or not complying with, some set of requirements ( forms, in Ancient Greek). They may refer to: Dress code and events * Formal wear, attire for formal events * Semi-formal atti ...

and

semi-formal Semi-formal wear or half dress is a grouping of dress codes indicating the sort of clothes worn to events with a level of formality between informal wear and formal wear. In the modern era, the typical interpretation for men is black tie for ...

wear Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology. Wear in ...

for young women. Eleanor Bailey and Carol Miller co-founded the label in San Francisco in 1967, before partnering with Jessica McClintock in 1969 for a $5,000 investment. The name "Gunne Sax" was associated with the label's roots in prairie, Victorian, and Edwardian-styled designs which drew on many elements popular in late-19th and early-20th-century

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

such as

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

gingham Gingham, also called Vichy check, is a medium-weight balanced plain weave, plain-woven textile, fabric typically with Tartan, tartan (plaid), striped, or Check (pattern), check duotone patterns, in bright colour and in white made from dyed cotton o ...

, and

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

. The enterprise was named after the "

gunny sack A gunny sack, also known as a gunny shoe, burlap sack, hessian sack or tow sack, is a large Bag, sack, traditionally made of burlap (Hessian fabric) formed from jute, hemp, sisal, or other natural fibres, usually in the crude Spinning (textile ...

" (hessian/burlap bag) or

trim Trim or TRIM may refer to: Cutting * Cutting or trimming small pieces off something to remove them ** Book trimming, a stage of the publishing process ** Pruning, trimming as a form of pruning often used on trees Decoration * Trim (sewing), or ...

used on some of the earlier dresses. Gunne Sax also manufactured

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

- and

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

-inspired designs, with empire waistlines and center plackets, and used other historical costume elements such as

corset A corset /ˈkɔːrsɪt/ is a support garment worn to constrict the torso into the desired shape and Posture correction, posture. They are traditionally constructed out of fabric with boning made of Baleen, whalebone or steel, a stiff panel in th ...

-like laced

bodice A bodice () is an article of clothing traditionally for women and girls, covering the torso from the neck to the waist. The term typically refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the ...

s and puffed

sleeves A sleeve (, a word allied to '' slip'', cf. Dutch ) is the part of a garment that covers the arm, or through which the arm passes or slips. The sleeve is a characteristic of fashion seen in almost every country and time period, across a myri ...

that tightened below the elbow, a style popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s known as "leg o'mutton." The earliest labels are known amongst collectors as "black labels". Black labels with the text “Gunne Sax of California” were used only in 1969, making them the most rare to find, though current market value largely depends on the style of the dress. Black labels with the text “Gunne Sax by Jessica” were used from 1969 through the early 70’s. A white “hearts label" was used for a short time following, until, during the mid 1970s and early 1980s, a larger label with

scrollwork The scroll in art is an element of ornament (art), ornament and graphic design featuring spirals and rolling incomplete circle motifs, some of which resemble the edge-on view of a book or document in scroll form, though many types are plant- ...

was put into use. From the 1980s onward, Gunne Sax dresses tended to follow modern prom dress sensibilities, such as tight, strapless bodices and full

skirt A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards. At its simplest, a skirt can be a draped garment made out of a single piece of fabric (such as pareos). However, most skirts are ...

s, favoring fabrics like

satin A satin weave is a type of Textile, fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back; it is not durable, as it tends to snag. It is one of three fundamen ...

taffeta Taffeta (archaically spelled taffety or taffata) is a crisp, smooth, plain woven fabric made from silk, nylon, cuprammonium rayons, acetate, or polyester. The word came into Middle English via Old French and Old Italian, which borrowed the Pers ...

, and

tulle Tulle (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Corrèze, in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle- ...

. In 1999

was the number one seller paired with matte

brocade Brocade () is a class of richly decorative shuttle (weaving), shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in coloured silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian langua ...

corsets, with an addition of skirts made in

or dotted swiss. Gunne Sax also had a children/young girls' line referred to as Jeunes Filles. In 2023, online retailer

ModCloth ModCloth is an American online retailer of indie and vintage-inspired women's clothing based in Los Angeles. History Modcloth was founded in 2002 by Susan Gregg Koger and Eric Koger. Susan and Eric were students at Carnegie Mellon University an ...

released a limited collection of Gunne Sax clothing.

References

{{Reflist

External links

"Design empire began with Gunne Sax"
SFGate, Carolyne Zinko, February 13, 2011 Clothing brands