Phelps, Elspeth (1876-1968)
Dates
- Existence: 1876-1968
Biography
Derived from http://www.beauxbooks.com/a-collection-of-original-fashion-illustrations-of-designs-by-the-couturier-elspeth-phelps.html: Constance Elspeth Phelps was born in 1877 in Madeira, Portugal. She emigrated to England to work as a dressmaker and at the turn of the century was working under the court dressmaker Ada Nettleship (Augustus John's mother-in-law) in Wigmore Street. [Around] 1906 she opened her own London couture house in Albemarle Street. From here she designed gowns for Court and high society, as well as dressing the cream of London's theater stars, including Lily Elsie and Irene Castle. In 1920 she married Lionel Fox Pitt, by which name she is often referred. The fashion house continued to expand over the next two decades. In 1923 she formed an alliance with the London branch of the French fashion house Paquin; she sold the Elspeth Phelps name to them and opened a new showroom in Dover Street. The arrangement was not to end well and a very public court case ensued, with Paquin accusing Phelps of underhand dealings and Phelps suing Paquin for breach of contract. She managed to extricate herself from the arrangement and reopened her house as Elspeth Fox Pitt Ltd. in the late 1920s. The business continued to run for many years. Her London shop was bombed during the Second World War and she relocated her workrooms to Oxford. The company was closed in 1959. Phelps died on 10 March 1968.