The Vested Gentress

Hand-screened print whimsey

I am supposed to go back into the office 3 days this week, so I stopped by Meeps, one of my favorite vintage stores, today to see if they had anything funky to lift my spirits. Being able to dress up is the only fact of returning to the office that doesn’t exhaust me just thinking about it. Meeps didn’t disappoint. I found a darling 1960s screen printed dress. I was attracted to the thick cotton fabric, the vibrant green, and the zen cheetahs. The shop owner asked me if I was familiar with the brand, The Vested Gentress. I was not. I am now! And you will be, too, if you aren’t already.

The Vested Gentress was started in 1961 by husband and wife duo Bud and Naomi Jackson. Bud was an artist, contributing art for advertising and cartoons to magazines Look and Playboy. There isn’t much information to be found on the brand; it closed in 1985, and the collections remained small batch, limited run, and hand printed. According to this blog post interview of Naomi, the family company mostly advertised in The New Yorker. Bud starting out printing cocktail and classic car motifs on vests with the label The Vested Gentry, but as his drawings became more whimsical, womenswear outsold mens, and the brand name was changed to “Gentress.” Naomi says that Bud drew all of the motifs in the beginning, particularly enjoying the animals, but that an artist was contracted to draw the florals in later lines, which Bud didn’t like to draw. It’s collectible for those in the know, which I was most certainly not when I picked up the contented cheetah dress.

I am a slightly more contented cheetah about returning to office with this frock.

Until next week,

Elizabeth