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ETD Abstract Container

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Herman Patrick Tappe: American fashion designer and importer

Palermo, Daina Erin
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1407485555

Abstract Details

2004, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Human Ecology.
The first half of the twentieth century saw many exciting and fresh changes in women’s fashion. Designers such as Poiret, Vionnet, Schiaparelli, Chanel and Patou made their way into the newly developing fashion scene in America. In addition to these French designers who were keenly sought after, homegrown American designers began building names for themselves as well. A personality of intrigue, American fashion designer Herman Patrick Tappe (1876-1954) created a prestigious name for himself among the top designers of his era. Herman Tappe rose from a small town in the Midwest to become one of the key fashion designers and importers in New York City, the fashion capital of America. Tappe designed for the wealthy and famous in New York society, and was well known and trusted as a discriminating importer of French fashion goods. In addition to creating women’s daywear, eveningwear and accessories, he was enthusiastically chosen to design wedding gowns and themes for many prominent New York City brides and their bridal parties. Books on American fashion history are strangely silent about Tappe. Although he seems to have been a prominent figure in New York fashion, no source can be found that provides more than a few sentences about this enigmatic man. Qualitative, narrative historical research was conducted to find extant garments designed and sold by Tappe, to determine the extent of his business and range of clients, and create a direct commentary on his aesthetic and design sense. Shedding light on the career of Tappe provides fashion scholars, designers, and historians a more complete picture of New York American fashion in the early twentieth century, and contributes to the existing body of knowledge about individual American designers of the twentieth century.
Patricia Cunningham (Advisor)
Leslie Stoel (Committee Member)
Gayle Strege (Committee Member)
145 p.
Fine Arts

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Palermo, D. E. (2004). Herman Patrick Tappe: American fashion designer and importer [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1407485555

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Palermo, Daina. Herman Patrick Tappe: American fashion designer and importer. 2004. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1407485555.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Palermo, Daina. "Herman Patrick Tappe: American fashion designer and importer." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1407485555

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1407485555
419
© 2004, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.