Vintage Angel

Wow. So, the content of this post is almost three years old. I stumbled upon my old blog and thought, “Ya know, I’ve got one last dress I never posted...”

Her last Daddy’s Girl dress was just as appropriately timed as all the others. In preschool, my girl was an angel in the Christmas pageant. So what did I happen to find but a lovely white dress. She wasn’t as glamorous as the other girls, but she was spot on in my book.

And if you think she’s grown up here, you oughta see her now!

I can also proudly convey that other little Daddy’s Little (Great-Grand) Girls have donned the line. Beautiful cousins of my kiddo, and the granddaughters of one of the original models.

Safe to say I’m all done spawning new little models. This white number was also the last purchase. That said, this will likely be the last post. I’m happy that quality pieces of history live on. I know Lothar would have appreciated that.

A Legacy for Christmas

It's been some time since I've shared anything on this blog. Ah, parenthood. My "daddy's little girl" has grown so much! And, by the grace of God, I lucked out once again and found another Daddy's Girl dress in her size just in time for Christmas!

This is a beautiful, pretty much pristine 3T dress in organza. Over Thanksgiving, I told the original Daddy's Girl models (my lovely aunts) that I found a Daddy's Girl dress for my daughter for Christmas. They asked if it was one of the plaid ones and I relayed that while probably not the most Christmasy of the dress line, the sweet little white doves on red were darling for the Yule season. Here is a close up of the detail:

My dad doesn't know I found another dress. I wanted to surprise the whole Miller family on Christmas Eve but I'm not sure I can wait that long! The last four remaining ties to Charmose Inc will all be in attendance and I don't think any of them aside from my dad has seen one of these dresses in person since the factory closed in 1969. My daughter wore her new dress for her Santa pictures and I'm pretty sure Santa thought she stepped right out of the 1950's. Instead of asking for an iPad or something Frozen related, my little girl sat on his lap and politely asked for a piano or a scooter. Santa's expression was priceless. 

I'm always on the hunt for Daddy's Girl dresses. To date, I've been very fortunate in my finds. This is a little collage of my daughter in her collection of dresses. The top two are from Easter 2013 (she was almost one and modeling the 2T but in the dress's defense, she has always been very tall). In the bottom left, she is still modeling a 2T. She's just over a year old in that one. The bottom right is the most recent, from December 2014. She'll be three in April and the 3T dress fit her perfectly. My cousins also have little girls and one of them managed to snag a size 6 and I'm pretty excited about seeing her little girl in it. It'll be even better if we can photograph both great- granddaughters in their dresses together! 

Dressing vintage is always fabulous. Having my daughter wear a piece of family history is amazing. But in this day and age, I think a vintage mentality is important too. It's not just about modeling dresses, it's about modeling a mindset. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Cheers to feeling fabulous!

(Great-Grand) Daddy's Girl

There are a couple of things I can't quite believe. First, that my baby girl is almost one. Second, that she is wearing dresses created by her great-grandfather. The last time a Miller girl wore a Daddy's Girl dress was in the 1960's.

Both of these designs are a size 2T. Now, I've read here and there from one or two sellers that the sizing is a little different, after all, these dresses were manufactured 50+ years ago. However, my little darling is already wearing 24 month clothes so it can't be too far off the mark!

Aqua organza Daddy's Girl dress by Charmose Inc.

For Easter this year, she wore two of her Daddy's Girl dresses. For church, she donned her aqua dress (with the five inch hem as my uncle pointed out!) and for Easter dinner at "The Club" (as my grandfather called it) she changed into her yellow number! Pardon the blankie in the above photo- she was tired after church!

Easter Sunday service at church!

For those of you who don't know, my grandfather, Lothar Miller passed away in 1998. So clearly, my little girl has never met him. There are, however, a few pictures of him displayed in our home. One is an article from a newspaper with a picture of Lothar holding up one of his designs. This photo is accompanied by an article advertising for women to make "mad money" as a seamstress with free lessons at Charmose.

This article is framed and hanging above my daughter's pack'n'play. One day, she began laughing, babbling and pointing to the photo. We were all tickled by this and I introduced Lothar as "Pop-pop". Now, whenever I say "Pop-pop" her head whips in the direction of the photo and she points and smiles. I can't help but feel like there is a special bond there, especially now that she's wearing the dresses he created!

Yellow Daddy's Girl dress.

Gotta love that sweet little collar!

Adelaide & Daddy!

What a special time! Easter dinner at "The Club" with her Miller family while wearing a Daddy's Girl dress! The Millers have been members of the German Club for about 60 years.

On a side note, it's funny to me that it's very likely either her great uncle or even her Opapa had a hand in either assembling, steaming or packaging the dresses she wore for Easter. Gotta love Etsy and Ebay!

I'm looking forward to Adelaide wearing more of her "Pop-Pop's" dresses as she continues to grow.

Now THAT'S a Daddy's girl.

Daddy's Girl Dresses Daddy's Doll!

In case you were wondering what a Daddy's Girl dress went for back in the 50's and 60's...

Here is Lothar's youngest daughter Janice modeling a few pretty numbers in the late 50's.

Maybe you had one of these styles!

Note: The 72 indicates photo #, not the year this was taken.

Lothar often took dresses to "exhibits" and his children tended to accompany him (especially the girls!) Here is Lothar with his daughters Marlo and Janice. 

Can you spot a familiar Daddy's Girl dress on the rack?

Lothar and Janice

Marlo and Janice

Charmose Inc In Person

Inside Charmose Inc...

Charmose Inc 1957

This is where the magic happened...

Written beside photo: May 1963 Right 2nd floor window office of Lothar H- Charmose Inc

The arrival of the latest "Daddy's Girl" in the Miller line has significantly hindered my blogging abilities. That was back in April, just days after the first published post! (I knew she was coming ahead of schedule! What a good little German!) Hopefully, I will be able to post more pictures associated with Daddy's Girl Dresses- particularly vintage and modern photos of some dresses. And, the way this baby girl is growing... she'll be sporting the family line in no time!

History of Charmose Inc

"Charmose stands for: Superior workmanship in Ladies' Lingerie and Hosiery... finest materials, of course." 

Charmose Inc was located at Lincoln and Tanner Avenues in Hatboro, Pennsylvania. A small town in a bygone era. True to the time, Charmose was and continued to be a family operation. The founder, Otto Miller immigrated to America from Oberlungwitz, Germany with his wife and five children in 1925. By the 1930's he went from building sewing machines to running his own hosiery mill. Charmose produced fine quality ladies' lingerie and hosiery. 

From 1940's Charmose catalogue

Fabric swatches still attached!

A Post-War Revival

After WWII, Otto's son Lothar came home from the fighting in Europe. He had been a lieutenant in the United States Army with the 10th Armored Division, a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge. Lothar came home to his wife and child and began to expand not only his family, but Charmose Inc. He created the line of Daddy's Girl dresses and acquired additional space, adding to the bungalow that Charmose originally operated out of.

       

A Family Affair

Throughout the 50's and 60's, Charmose remained a family business. Lothar's daughters Marlo and Janice modeled the dresses for Daddy's Girl, his brothers George and John assisted in operations, his sisters Charlotte and Marianne sold sample dresses and "seconds" (dresses with imperfections) on Friday mornings in the bungalow, and Lothar's sons Kurt and Duane helped with sweeping, and packing dresses for shipping. By the age of ten Kurt was sewing, fixing machines and working in the shipping department. By thirteen he worked more hours than most adults in the cutting room and was pricing and ordering samples by sixteen. His industrious nature continued to flourish and hasn't slowed one bit to this day. 

Janice modeling a Daddy's Girl dress
1958 (the 72 on the bottom indicates photo #)

Charmose Inc remained in business until 1969. By then, a majority of manufacturing was moving down south, or out of country where production was less expensive.