A Lone Star Fashion Show, 1939 – LIFE

LIFE’s coverage of the fashion world inevitably leaned on stories about the latest looks from Paris and New York, but the magazine also cast its eye further afield. Consider its 1939 story on a major show that took place Dallas, whose claim to fame in the fashion world is that it was the home of the original Neiman Marcus department store. In 1939, according to the report in LIFE, more than 8,000 people flocked to the store in Dallas for an extravaganza that lasted three nights. It was “the most spectacular fashion show ever held in the great Southwest,” LIFE wrote.

And it was quite a scene: “The audience gasped, applauded and made mental notes of $200 costumes and $2,000 fur coats which would soon be bought to complete a winter wardrobe,” LIFE said. When assessing those prices, keep in mind that one dollar in 1939 is the equivalent of about $23 in 2024.

The customers might not have been daunted by those prices because they came to Neiman Marcus with oil money in their pockets, and also a dose of Lone Star pride. LIFE wrote that the wealthy shoppers of Texas ‘”spurn the labels of the great New York houses. Patriotically they prefer to flaunt the label of their great local store.”

LIFE assigned legendary photographer Alfred Eisenstadt to the Neiman Marcus show. While he did shoot the main event, he made more memorable images when he took models away from the runway and onto the streets of Dallas. A woman modeling a Hattie Carnegie dress in the parking lot of the Pig ‘n Whistle makes the point that these models are definitely not in Paris.

A model walked the runway during a fashion show in Dallas showcasing the fall lines at the Neiman Marcus department store, 1939

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman modeled a dress by designer Hattie Carnegie, Texas, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman modeled a dress by designer Hattie Carnegie, Texas, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman modeled clothes by Hattie Carnegie in Texas, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman modeled clothes by fashion designer Hattie Carnegie in Dallas, October 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman modeled for a story at the new lines available at the Neiman Marcus department store in Dallas, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman modeled sheared beaver mantelet and muff, Dallas, October 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A model wore a Russian ermine mantelet trimmed in ermine tails with muff, Dallas, Texas, October 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Woman wearing a suit and plaid trouser on sale at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas, October 1939

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A model wore an elegant gown that was on sale at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Model wearing sable fur coat with feathered fur hat by designer John Frederics, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Model wearing Persian lamb hat, for sale at Neiman Marcus for $55 in 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A model wore a sweater and trousers on sale at Neiman Marcus, Texas, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman modeled harem-hemlined gown at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas, October 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A woman modeled lounging pajamas featuring peg-top trousers like jodpurs for sale at Neiman Marcus for $89.50 in 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A model wore a $27.75 velvet turban with striped cloth handbag that was for sale at Neiman Marcus store in Dallas, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The wall plaque outside the original Neiman-Marcus store in Dallas, 1939.

Alfred Eisenstaedt/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock