Carrie Munn Explained

Carrie Munn
Other Names:Carolyn Nunder (stage name)
Birth Name:Caroline Neunder
Birth Date:January 29, 1898
Birth Place:Buffalo, New York
Death Date:February 1, 1984 (aged 86)
Death Place:New York, New York
Spouse(S):Orson Desaix Munn II

Carrie Munn (January 29, 1898 – February 1, 1984), born Caroline M. Neunder, was an American fashion designer.

Early life

Caroline M. Neunder was born in Buffalo, New York,[1] the daughter of George F. Neunder and Carolina U. Kreuzer Neunder. Her mother died in 1907.[2] George Griswold Frelinghuysen was her cousin.[3]

Career

As Caroline Nunder or Carolyn Nunder, she had a brief stage career,[4] appearing as a showgirl[5] in two Broadway productions, Girl o' Mine (1918) and Aphrodite (1919).[6] She also designed costumes for Sonny (1921). She also published a short book, Everyday Problems in Etiquette: Explained in Pictures (1922).[7] She opened a dress shop in New York City in 1920, to help support her sister after their father's death.[8] [9]

Munn, a self-taught seamstress with no formal design training, opened another shop on Madison Avenue in 1941;[10] she offered American-made couture gowns, dresses, suits, and separates during World War II and afterwards.[11] [12] [13] She gave parties to show her latest designs to socialites and celebrities,[14] including Elizabeth Parke Firestone[15] and Dorothy Kilgallen,[16] and often modeled her own creations at society events.[17] [18] Her typical silhouettes featured full skirts and nipped-in waists.[19] [20] "Every bodice is moulded close to the figure with a tiny waist. Do not expect limp sheaths or shirtwaist types from this designer," said a newspaper report of Munn's Fall 1952 collection.[21] In 1957, her name was discussed for a possible appointment to an ambassadorship in Luxembourg or Belgium.[22]

Personal life and legacy

Munn married lawyer and magazine editor Orson Desaix Munn II in 1924; they had a son, Orson Desaix Munn III, born in 1925.[23] Her husband died in 1958,[24] and she died in 1984, in New York City, a few days after her 86th birthday. Museums holding works by Carrie Munn include The Henry Ford and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.[25]

Notes and References

  1. News: 1984-02-18 . Carrie Munn, Dress Designer In the 40's and 50's, Is Dead . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-07-26 . 0362-4331.
  2. News: 1907-05-26 . Obituary for Caroline U. Neunder (Aged 35) . 13 . Buffalo Courier . 2022-07-27 . Newspapers.com.
  3. News: 1960-03-08 . Carson Party . 30 . The Los Angeles Times . 2022-07-27 . Newspapers.com.
  4. Book: The Green Book Magazine . December 1918 . Story-Press association . 963 . en.
  5. Book: Bapst . Jacob L. . Beryl Halley: The Life and Follies of a Ziegfeld Beauty, 1897-1988 . Tribe . Ivan M. . 2019-07-26 . McFarland . 978-1-4766-7643-2 . 130 . en.
  6. Book: Mantle, Burns . The Best Plays of 1919-1920: And the Year Book of the Drama in America . 1920 . Small, Maynard . 391 . en.
  7. News: Rooney . Andy . 1990-03-05 . Children Should Remember to be Kind to the Servants . 7 . The Pantagraph . 2022-07-28 . Newspapers.com.
  8. News: Bronner . Milton . 1923-09-22 . American Girls Shaplier, Better Dressed than British or French, Asserts Modiste . 12 . Wisconsin State Journal . 2022-07-28 . Newspapers.com.
  9. News: Grift . Josephine van der . Josephine van der Grift . 1923-10-31 . Childhood Dreams Make $50,000 a Year for this 24 Year-Old Girl . 10 . The Independent-Record . 2022-07-28 . Newspapers.com.
  10. News: Colby . Anita . 1957-02-10 . Destiny Hunts Carrie Munn . 41 . The Courier-Journal . 2022-07-27 . Newspapers.com.
  11. Book: Fiell, Charlotte . 1940s Fashion Sourcebook: The Definitive Sourcebook . 2021-12-07 . Welbeck Publishing Group . 978-1-80279-164-8 . 164 . en.
  12. News: Lambert . Eleanor . 1947-11-20 . Carrie Munn Winter Collection Features 'Important' Dresses . 9 . Metropolitan Pasadena Star-News . 2022-07-27 . Newspapers.com.
  13. News: Cabot . Cynthia . 1953-03-20 . Once Casual Separates Get 'High Fashion' Rating . 17 . The Philadelphia Inquirer . 2022-07-27 . Newspapers.com.
  14. News: Shaw . Eleanor . 1951-04-22 . Preparing for MacArthur Visit Busies New Yorkers . 47 . The Spokesman-Review . 2022-07-27 . Newspapers.com.
  15. Web site: Twenty-Fifth Wedding Anniversary Dress with Jacket, Worn by Elizabeth Parke Firestone, 1946 . 2022-07-27 . The Henry Ford . en.
  16. Book: Israel, Lee . Kilgallen . 1980 . Dell . 978-0-440-14565-3 . 278 . en.
  17. News: McCarthy . Julia . 1942-04-05 . What They're Wearing . 344 . Daily News . 2022-07-27 . Newspapers.com.
  18. December 5, 1949 . Gown of the Year . Life . 161–162.
  19. News: 1948-03-17 . Carrie Munn Fashions Echo Eighteenth Century . 16 . The Charlotte Observer . 2022-07-27 . Newspapers.com.
  20. News: 1950-04-20 . Carrie Munn Stresses Feminine Silhouette . 23 . St. Louis Globe-Democrat . 2022-07-27 . Newspapers.com.
  21. News: 1952-12-05 . Carrie Munn Used Abstract Modern Art to Set Many Themes in Fall Collection . 2 . Alabama Tribune . 2022-07-27 . Newspapers.com.
  22. News: Curtis . Olga . 1957-01-12 . Mrs. Orson Munn, N. Y. Dress Designer, Has Hope of Becoming U. S. Ambassador . 2 . The Gazette . 2022-07-27 . Newspapers.com.
  23. News: Kerr . Adelaide . 1942-11-11 . War Works Many Changes in Lives of Society Crowd . 18 . The Birmingham News . 2022-07-27 . Newspapers.com.
  24. News: 1958-12-23 . Orson Munn, Attorney, at 75 . 86 . Newsday (Suffolk Edition) . 2022-07-27 . Newspapers.com.
  25. Web site: Carrie Munn . 2022-07-26 . The MFAH Collections . en.

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