Phelps Associates was an American leather fashion accessories company originally founded in 1938 by William and Elizabeth Phelps; and subsequently relaunched in the early 2010s by their grand-nephew as T. B. Phelps.

History

The company was founded in 1938 after William made his wife a couple of leather belts that her friends wanted to buy copies of. Its business model, focused solely on good quality leather goods, was inspired by artisans in Europe who ran little shops individually selling what they themselves were expert at making. One of their first successful designs was a 1941

cowhide Cowhide is the natural, unbleached skin and hair of a cow. It retains the original coloring of the animal. Cowhides are a product of the food industry from cattle. Cowhide is frequently processed into leather. Process Once a cow has been killed ...

shoulder bag with a long leather strap that became part of the US Army women's uniform. In 1943 Phelps Associates was awarded a

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 ...

in the second year of the awards being granted. The following year, they were awarded 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 ...

. In 1945, the '' Evening Star'' published an article about the Phelps's ongoing support and employment of disabled war veterans, noting that William Phelps (himself a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

veteran) was so dedicated to the cause that he encouraged his workers to set up competing businesses. At this time it was reported that the company manufactured hundreds of different styles of belts and purses, and that they were among the top designers in America in their field. In 1950, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

held a landmark menswear exhibition, the first of its kind in America, titled Adam Through The Looking Glass. Elizabeth Phelps was one of twelve leading American women designers invited to create futuristic menswear looks for the show, alongside her contemporaries

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Clare Potter Clare Potter was a fashion designer who was born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1903. In the 1930s she was one of the first American fashion designers to be promoted as an individual design talent. Working under her elided name Clarepotter, she h ...

and

Lilly Daché Lilly Daché ( 1892 – 31 December 1989) was a French-born American milliner and fashion merchandiser. She started her career in a small bonnet shop, advanced to being a sales lady at Macy's department store, and from there started her own ha ...

. Her design for the future male comprised a faded blue denim jacket with an attached pale green shirt-front, blue denim

jodhpurs Jodhpurs, in their modern form, are tight-fitting trousers to the ankle, where they end in a snug cuff, and are worn primarily for horse riding. The term is also used as slang for a type of short riding boot, also called a ''paddock boot'' or ...

and black leather belt and shoulder bag. During the early 1950s, after the Phelpses moved to Pennsylvania, Elizabeth launched an "occupational leisure wear" line called Phelps Deep Country, which produced denim clothing aimed at American housewives. She told a journalist that after she and William moved to Pennsylvania, the only country-appropriate clothing she could find to wear was blue jeans, which he hated, and so she began designing practical womenswear designed for this lifestyle. Leather and suede were easily damaged in active country life, so Elizabeth stopped using them in her work and instead used alternative materials, as well as replacing buttons with

snap fastener A snap fastener, also called snap button, press stud, press fastener, dome fastener, popper, snap and tich (or tich button), is a pair of interlocking discs, made out of a metal or plastic, commonly used in place of traditional buttons to fasten ...

s. By 1964, William Phelps had died, and Elizabeth was living and working in

Skyland, North Carolina Skyland is an unincorporated community in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is on U.S. Route 25, where North Carolina Highway 146 starts, east of Interstate 26. It is north of Royal Pines, south of Biltmore Forest, and a suburb of ...

. In 1969, Elizabeth joined

Hanes Hanes (founded in 1900) and Hanes Her Way (founded in 1985) is a brand of clothing. History Hanes was founded in 1900 by John Wesley Hanes (one of Winston-Salem's wealthiest and most influential business men) at Winston, North Carolina under th ...

as a consultant-designer, closing her "Deep Country" label. Archival materials relating to Phelps Leather Goods between 1944 and 1989 are held by the National Museum of American History. In the early 2010s, the Phelps's grand-nephew, Thomas Phelps Bates relaunched the leather goods company as T.B. Phelps, taking advantage of the family name and reputation.

References

{{reflist 1938 establishments in the United States Leather manufacturers