Vintage Dress, Fur, and Shoe Clips

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Dress, fur, and shoe clips first appeared in the 1920s, when the concept of costume jewelry was taking the world by storm. Before then, only royalty and celebrities had access to opulent, ostentatious fine jewelry bedecked with precious stones...
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Dress, fur, and shoe clips first appeared in the 1920s, when the concept of costume jewelry was taking the world by storm. Before then, only royalty and celebrities had access to opulent, ostentatious fine jewelry bedecked with precious stones like diamonds and emeralds, and so most women's adornment was subtle and tasteful. But in the Roaring Twenties, Coco Chanel introduced the idea of wearing less-expensive costume jewelry as art, as opposed to wearing fine jewelry to indicate status and wealth. Jewelry then became a subject of experimentation as designers created all sorts of large, bold, and inventive pieces for women looking to spice up plain or neutral items of clothing. Similar to brooches and pins, dress and fur clips were worn fastened to dresses, furs, and other items of clothing, often to accentuate an alluring detail such as a well-cut lapel or deep neckline. They were made out of the same materials as brooches—sterling silver, bronze, rhinestones, enamels, and plastics like Bakelite—and in similar styles, from Art Deco geometric patterns to floral and figural designs. Eisenberg Originals, which started out as a clothing company in 1914, came up with the idea of embellishing dresses and sweaters by sewing in large, glimmering Swarovski crystals. But the rhinestones were so tantalizing, especially in the aftermath of the Great Stock Market Crash of 1929, they were ripped off of the clothing in department stores. That's why, in the 1930s, Eisenberg launched its own line of jewelry, mostly brooches and dress and fur clips in clear high-quality diamante. Fine jewelry and wristwatch designer Louis Cartier came up with the concept of the double dress clip, which he patented in 1927, a clever device that let two twin clips attach to each other and worn as one brooch. The pieces could also be worn separately as matching dress clips, for example, on either side of a neckline. This versatile design, known as "clip-pins," was such a huge success...
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