Midnight Blue [more info] Retail Price: $299.00 Our Price: $299.00 Quantity in Basket: none Ships Winter 2012.	Click on picture for more info.
Cordelia - Arriving At The Grand [more info] Retail Price: $279.00 Our Price: $279.00 Quantity in Basket: none WJ had insisted that he wanted to purchase her going away suit in Paris and nothing could stop WJ once he had his mind set on something. Cordelia selected the fabrics and colors from a swatch book that he sent in a letter to her. He had even arranged for a duplicate of her wedding bouquet so that she would have flowers when she arrived at the Grand. The Grand Hotel was Walter's favorite hotel in the world and he made sure that all was perfect for his bride's arrival. Clothing does not make the woman and although Cordelia's gown was the stuff of front page news, it was the young woman that immediately won the hearts of everyone from diplomat to doorman. . . .	Click on picture for more info.
Cordelia - Beautiful Trousseau [more info] Retail Price: $249.00 Our Price: $249.00 Quantity in Basket: none Cordelia's mother had wanted to give her daughter the most beautiful trousseau that Boston had ever seen, but Cordelia had a mind of her own. She wanted to hand make every stitch and bit of her soft white night gown and matching corset/teddy. Mrs. Wainwright knew she had won when Cordelia asked her to select her dressing gown and she was able to find one of fine purple velvet lined in the color of a bright Boston sky. The fine trims had to be hand attached and as her daughter sat long into the night making her wedding night gown, Mrs. Wainwright took the tiniest of stitches, sewing real gold trim to the train of the dressing gown. With every stitch she was thankful for the young woman that Cordelia had become - free thinking, beautiful, kind, and compassionate - what more could a mother ask? When she was finished with the dressing gown, Cordelia's mother tucked a note inside . . .	Click on picture for more info.
Cordelia - Becomes Mrs. W. J. Shumaker [more info] Retail Price: $239.00 Our Price: $239.00 Quantity in Basket: none Cordelia wed Walter James Shumaker in 1912 when she was nineteen. They had met by chance in January of 1911 when she was visiting her cousins, on her mother's side, in Atlanta. Needing gloves for a last minute engagement, she stopped in at Atlanta's famous Shumaker's Department Store to purchase a pair. The handsome bachelor Walter, WJ, Shumaker had followed in his father's footsteps as the owner of Shumaker's. Most days he could be found in his office on the third floor, but on that fateful day, WJ was behind the ladies glove counter when one Cordelia Adele Wainwright pointed to a pair of long white kid gloves and asked if she could try them. He would tell you it was love at first sight. She would tell you . . . .	Click on picture for more info.
Cordelia - Halloween Ball 1912 [more info] Retail Price: $239.00 Our Price: $239.00 Quantity in Basket: none WJ insisted that he wanted to go to the ball as himself-how like him, but he ordered special jewelry to be made for the gown that was being fashioned for his Cordi. After all, she was only 19 and he wanted her to be the belle of the ball.	Click on picture for more info.
Cordelia - Receiving Guests [more info] Retail Price: $219.00 Our Price: $219.00 Quantity in Basket: none The Chicago Newspapers were all a buzz with the news of WJ Shumaker's Wedding, his bride Cordelia, and the fact that out of all the places in the world that he could have chosen for their honeymoon he had selected The Grand on the shores of Lake Michigan. For years WJ had been a regular visitor to the fair city and on the "A" list for every party and event. Now, the man who so many Chicago socialites had hoped to call their own had married a young woman from Boston and brought her there for a honeymoon month. On the afternoon that she began receiving guests, many a calling card lay on the silver tray at the entrance of their suite, and by the time the first star of evening appeared folks all over Chicago were expounding on her virtues. The dress is made with vintage lace from the designer's personal collection. The top coat is made of exotic Sari Silk.	Click on picture for more info.
Cordelia - Skating In The Public Gardens [more info] Retail Price: $249.95 Our Price: $249.95 Quantity in Basket: none Walter had arranged to have a gift delivered to Cordelia on the train ride back home. The box was tied in a big red silk ribbon and he had asked the porter to bring it by a couple hours outside of Chicago. She was all bubbly and talkative about the ball the evening before and in the next minute she would tell him how much she would miss her new friends in Chicago. WJ could look into those eyes forever, all sparkling and full of passion for life and for him. He had promised to bring their "girl" home for a visit after the honeymoon and he was making good on his promise. Cordelia loved Boston's Public Garden's, the swan boats in the summer and skating in the winter. Of late ladies were encouraged to skate and swim and be more athletic. Tap - the porter knocked and asked for Mrs. W.J. Shumaker. He gave her two boxes - one that Walter recognized and the other Cordelia handed to him. She hugged him so tight when she opened the red and gray skating outfit and then she ask him to open his. Inside was the most beautiful pair of men's ice skates that Walter had ever seen and a scarf made of the soft paisley silk with fringed ends. He wrapped it around his neck and turned a bit so she would not see him get all choked up over her handmade gift. That girl had a way of touching his heart like no one he had ever met and she was his wife.	Click on picture for more info.
Outfit - State Street Stroll [more info] Retail Price: $119.00 Our Price: $119.00 Quantity in Basket: none Designed to compliment her Receiving Guest Doll. Within days after arriving WJ strolled along Chicago's State Street, his bride's hand safely tucked into the crook of his elbow. He wanted her to meet his friends at the most famous department store in America, Marshall Fields. Every head turned as they strolled along State.	Click on picture for more info.
Josette - LA To Monterey [more info] Retail Price: $179.95 Our Price: $179.95 Quantity in Basket: none In the spring of 1955 Therese Rousseau was working late one evening when the back doorbell rang. A dark limousine idled near by. Looking out, she recognized the driver, opened the door, and motioned for the passenger to come inside. No stranger to these late night visits, Therese rushed through the fog to welcome her friend inside for a rich cup of coffee and for what, she knew would be a night of finding just the right wardrobe for a starlet the designer needed to dress. They were always in a hurry in Hollywood, and for years The Beautiful Vault TM had been known as the "go to source" for the quality of their clothes, the discretion of the proprietors, and a great home cooked French meal. The first ensemble Therese pull together was a basic brown linen sundress, detachable jacket, scarf, hat, tortoise shell sunglasses, and sweet little white gloves. Theresa dressed Josette in the pairing to show her guest that it was the perfect combination for a junket from LA to Monterey. The limo pulled away around midnight . . .	Click on picture for more info.
Josette - Paris Is Back [more info] Retail Price: $219.95 Our Price: $219.95 Quantity in Basket: none The war years were lean for The Beautiful Vault. The communication from their uncle and family in Paris came slowly and the packages stopped altogether. Therese and Claude had to find local patrons and society ladies who wanted to sell their gowns, as well as, clients who needed a great look at a fraction of the original price tag. It was during those years, that the people of San Francisco came to love the Rousseau's. They had a way of making the simple - lovely, and one could always stop in to talk about life and the world. There was never a push to buy. Even weak tea at The Beautiful Vault was a special treat. Then one day in 1949, a huge box arrived from Paris - written on the top in her uncle's bold handwriting were the words, "Paris is Back!" The first gown that they lifted from the box was the one they called, "Paris is Back." Seems the original owner never worn the gown - decided it was a little to revealing. A few days after opening the shipment Claude designed one of the most beautiful windows that San Francisco had ever seen. Josette was the star in the ball gown that dipped dangerously low in the back and featured a skirt that was made of yards of embroidered taffeta.	Click on picture for more info.