The red floral Kasmer dress was a favorite at LaMonaGirl Shops. It was created by fashion designer Irene Kasmer, who arrived in Los Angeles in 1948 with not much more than talent and determination.

By Pam Sander
Storyteller and LaMonaGirl Shops owner

Last Friday, I finally listed the Irene Kasmer dress I’ve been so reluctant to sell. It has been my muse over the past few weeks, hanging from the closet frame within sight of my desk. Even after I put it up for sale on eBay, Etsy, Poshmark and Mercari, I did not move it to the guest bedroom we have converted to inventory space.

The Kasmer, as I named it, is lightweight, nearly sheer, with a full 1970s slip to keep it respectable. It’s a princess A-line in a floral pattern that says sweetness, with a deep V-neck that says a little more.

I have imagined its previous life — perhaps in a portrait along the Italian countryside or in a Southern garden during peak Azalea season. The timing would have been right for Woodstock, but the Kasmer’s incredible vintage condition, without mud stains or snags, tells me otherwise. Its youth was likely spent in California, where visionary fashion designer Irene Kasmer created it and blazed her fashion trail.

Irene was 21 when she left Czechoslovakia for an escape aboard the Queen Mary — family had died in the Holocaust and she was determined to get to the land of the free. After the ship docked, she worked her way from Ellis Island to her uncle in California.

Within a year, she was making dresses. Within a decade, she had created the first hip-hugger women’s jeans for trend-setting Californians. She also added V-neck blouses and crop tops to her brand.

By the 1960s, her trend was rolling across the country, as L.A. discoveries often do, just in time for Civil Rights protests and the Vietnam War. Girls who previously had accepted housewife as their future top job were burning their bras. In crop tops and hip-hugger jeans.

Kasmer was a fashion idol in Los Angeles. The awards were numerous — New Designer of the Year, Designer of the Year, Trendsetter of the Year. DuPont honored her repeatedly for what she did with its body-hugging Lycra. She became an adviser to Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley, the grandson of slaves who served the city as a police officer then elected official for more than 50 years.

Kasmer was a stalwart for civil rights, women’s rights and human rights. Her fashion gave confidence, spoke to individuality and sometimes offered up a little rebellion.

This morning, I shipped out the Kasmer dress. I had hoped to keep it longer, but, as my husband reminds me, I am in the sales business. I’m thankful it sold on Etsy, the platform most focused on vintage. And I appreciate that the address of the buyer is in California, about an hour from Kasmer’s former design house in downtown L.A.

Check out my stores on LaMonaGirl Etsy, eBay, Poshmark and Mercari.