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Howard Greer

This is circa 1940's rare eveningwear, designed by noted Hollywood costume designer, Howard Greer. It is very representative of his work. According to "Those Glorious Glamour Years" by Margaret J. Bailey and "Costume Design in the Movies" by Elizabeth Leese, Greer was born in 1886 in Nebraska and died in 1974. Before he became a Hollywood costume designer Greer trained with Lady Duff Gordon (aka Lucille Ltd), Paul Poiret and Molyneux. In 1923 Greer became Chief Designer for Famous Players - Lasky which later became Paramount PIctures. Greer was the first big name costume designer to open a custom clothing shop in Hollywood (Dec. 27, 1927). Greer dressed many leading Hollywood actresses of the day. As a Hollywood costume designer his most famous pictures include The Ten Commandments (silent version), Hell's Angels, Bringing Up Baby (Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn), Holiday, Spellbound, His Kind of Woman, The French Line. Greer also designed wedding gowns for Shirley Temple and Gloria Vanderbilt. Another very famous Hollywood costume designer, Edith Head, started at Paramount in 1923 as a sketch artist for Howard Greer. Howard Greer designed spectacular fashions, especially glamorous evening gowns. Today, his representative and signature designs are rare and hard to find. The gown is a 1940's multi-color bugle beaded bodice overlaid on black silk chiffon with nude rayon crepe spaghetti strap bodice underlay with a voluminous skirt consisting of a narrow black sheath style skirt with a dramatic crinkled black nylon overlay. Back can be worn entirely closed or opened in a stylish keyhole fashion. This is an excellent representation of 1940's glamour by a top Hollywood fashion designer. Howard Greer fits 2 fashion categories; He was both an well-known American designer and a famous Hollywood fashion designer. for further information