Emily Wilkens (1917 – December 2, 2000) was an American fashion designer specializing in children's wear. She won both the

Neiman Marcus Fashion Award The Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion was a yearly award created in 1938 by Carrie Marcus Neiman and Stanley Marcus. Unlike the Coty Award, it was not limited to American-based fashion designers. Recipients of t ...

and the

Coty Award The Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards (awarded 1943–1984) were created in 1942 by the cosmetics and perfume company Coty, Inc. to promote and celebrate American fashion, and encourage design during the Second World War. In 1985, the Coty Awa ...

for her work, which was considered groundbreaking for properly taking note of the requirements of teenage dressing, and not simply offering miniature grown-up garments. She was also an author, writing a number of books on self care and style, and during the late 1960s and early 1970s, became a beauty journalist, writing an advice column.

Early life

Born in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, Emily Wilkens graduated from the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. It has a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was ...

in 1938. She put her studies of fashion illustration to use as a sketcher for newspaper advertisements. In 1947 she married Irving L. Levey, a judge.

As fashion designer

Wilkens was on holiday in Hollywood in the early 1940s when she was mistakenly declared to be a children's fashion designer at a party. This led to her receiving a commission to design film costumes for child actress

Ann Todd Dorothy Ann Todd (24 January 1907 – 6 May 1993) was an English film, television and stage actress who achieved international fame when she starred in 1945's ''The Seventh Veil''. From 1949 to 1957 she was married to David Lean who directed he ...

, and to create outfits for children including the offspring of stars such as

Gracie Allen Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen (July 26, 1895 – August 27, 1964) was an American vaudevillian, singer, actress, and comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns, her straight man, ap ...

and

Jack Benny Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky, February 14, 1894 – December 26, 1974) was an American entertainer who evolved from a modest success playing violin on the vaudeville circuit to one of the leading entertainers of the twentieth century with ...

. Unlike other designers working in the field, Wilkens designed clothes particularly for young girls and teenagers, rather than making miniature versions of their mothers' garments. Realizing that children grew quickly, she made garments that adjusted to accommodate changes in the adolescent figure, whilst maintaining an age-appropriate appearance. Among her signature designs were

little black dress The little black dress (LBD) is a black evening or cocktail dress, cut simply and often quite short. Fashion historians ascribe the origins of the little black dress to the 1920s designs of Coco Chanel. It is intended to be long-lasting, versat ...

es for young girls, which, with bright accessories and details, allowed the wearer to have a "grown up" dress whilst avoiding an austere appearance. The fashion publicist

Eleanor Lambert Eleanor Lambert (August 10, 1903 – October 7, 2003) was an American fashion publicist. She was instrumental in increasing the international prominence of the American fashion industry and in the emergence of New York City as a major fashion ca ...

credited her with recognizing an untapped market, and the fashion historian Richard Martin stated that Wilkens "invented the American teenager" long before

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

and

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...

consolidated the concept. By 1947, she was said to have served over eight million customers. Wilken's designs were inspired by a wide range of sources, including

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

's paintings, Russian folk dress, and nineteenth century fashion. ;Awards Soon after she started in the early 1940s, in 1945, Wilkens won both the

and the

. Coty Award publicity at the time praised Wilkens for producing clothing that gave young girls what they wished for, whilst also pleasing their mothers.

As author

In 1948 Wilkens published her first book, ''Here's Looking at You: The Modern Slant on Smartness for the Junior Miss.'' She went on to write four other titles along similar themes of personal style, beauty tips, and grooming. These included: * * During the 1960s and early 1970s Wilkens wrote an advice column on beauty and personal care, called "A New You" after her 1965 book, and distributed by

King Features Syndicate King Features Syndicate, Inc. is a American content distribution and animation studio, consumer product licensing and print syndication company owned by Hearst Communications that distributes about 150 comic strips, newspaper columns, editoria ...

Later life and death

Between 1966 and 1976 Wilkens was a trustee of the

Fashion Institute of Technology The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) is a public college in New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) and focuses on art, business, design, mass communication, and technology connected to the fashion industry. It ...

in New York. She died at the age of 83 in a retirement home in

Riverdale, Bronx Riverdale is a residential neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of the Bronx. Riverdale, which had a population of 47,850 as of the 2000 United States Census, contains the city's northernmost point, at the College ...

on December 2, 2000. She had been diagnosed with dementia nine years earlier, and moved there in 1991. She was survived by her daughter and son, and five grandchildren.

Early life

As fashion designer

As author

Later life and death

References

Further reading