CHRONOLOGY

Exhibition
Charles James
Alumni Gallery, May 31, 2007, to February 17, 2008
Dr. Anne Bissonnette, Curator
   
   

1906
Birth of Charles Wilson Brega James on July 18 in Surrey, England (British citizen till death). Son of Chicago native Louise Enders Brega and the Englishman Ralph Ernest Haweis James.


1919-1922
Formal education at Harrow School in London. Establishes life-long friendship with Cecil Beaton (1904-1980).


1926-1928
Milliner at 19, he launches Boucheron, Inc. in Chicago and begins his career as "Charles Boucheron." Creates hats and garments when he moves to New York in 1928.

1929-1939
Establishes himself as a "sartorial structural architect" in London. Before 1933, travels to Paris: furthers his informal fashion education by copying and selling designs to American firms. Oscillates between London, Paris and America.

• Spiraling Taxi dress (1929-1930) adapted for zipper 1933
• Beaton photograph of evening outerwear, U.S. Vogue 1936
• Silk ribbon gowns and wraps, first Paris showing 1937
• Quilted satin evening jacket, London 1937 (right)
• Sirène evening dress, Paris 1938

1940-1945
Moves to New York. Selected as the exclusive designer of custom-made clothes for Elizabeth Arden's Salon, 1943-1945.

1945-1952
Establishes his salon at 699 Madison Avenue. Leaves in June 1947 for a triumphant visit to London and Paris. Is inspirational in Dior's New Look. Decade of Design exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, 1948. James is among the most illustrious couturiers in the world: wins his first Coty American Fashion Critics Award, 1950. Develops "shape twelve" Jennies dress forms, 1951.

• Bustle gowns, 1947-1949
• Beaton photograph of evening gowns, U.S. Vogue 1948
• Petal (right), Swan, Tulip and Concert ball gowns, 1949
• Rose gown and Lopez-Willshaw gown with bodice of gold-ribbed military braid, 1950

1952-1957
Moves his enterprises to 716 Madison Avenue. Obtains his second Coty American Fashion Critics Award, 1954. Marries Nancy Lee Gregory, July 8, 1954, who subsequently has two children.

• Infanta evening dress, 1952
• Four-leaf Clover/Abstract gown and Egyptian day dress (right), 1953
• Butterfly gown and Pagoda suit, 1954
• Ballon gown, 1955
• Children's wear, 1956-1957

1964-1978
Lives and work at the Chelsea Hotel in New York. Collaborates with the illustrator Antonio Lopez (1964-ca. 1974) and the designer Halston (1970). Exhibition at the Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, 1975. Dies of pneumonia, September 23, 1978.