Frankie Welch's Americana: Fashion, Scarves, and Politics

Frankie Welch (1924-2021) was a leading American textile, accessories, and fashion designer who established herself in a career spanning four decades. This book provides a lively account of her life and career, tracing her rise from Rome, Georgia, to her role as a doyenne of fashion in Washington, D.C. It features her scarf and fashion designs for the 1968 presidential campaigns, the history of her influential dress shop in Alexandria, Virginia, her connections to first ladies and other D.C. tastemakers, and her exuberant embrace of Americana during the U.S. Bicentennial. Welch was most widely known for her custom scarves, and each design offers an opportunity for readers to view the nation's recent past through the informative lens of women's fashion.

Format: Hardback
Length: 344 pages
Publication date: 15 February 2022
Publisher: University of Georgia Press

Frankie Welch, a renowned American textile, accessories, and fashion designer, left an indelible mark on the industry over four decades, from the 1960s to the 1990s. This captivating book, lavishly illustrated, offers a lively account of her life and career, tracing her rise from the small town of Rome, Georgia, to her esteemed position as a fashion doyenne in the Washington, D.C., area.

Featuring her iconic scarf designs for the 1968 presidential campaigns, the history of her influential dress shop in Alexandria, Virginia, her connections to first ladies and other D.C. tastemakers, and her vibrant celebration of Americana during the U.S. Bicentennial, this history weaves Welch's personal biography into the very fabric of our country.

Frankie Welch's Americana delves into the intricate details of significant designs and their creation, use, and profound influence. It also highlights Welch's unwavering entrepreneurial spirit, as she built a niche business that capitalized on her proximity to Washington and her political connections.

Welch's most renowned creations were her custom scarves, which she designed for a wide range of clients, including Betty Ford, Furman University, McDonald's, the National Press Club, the Hubert Humphrey presidential campaign, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Garden Club of Georgia. This book is a concise and well-researched masterpiece, serving as the first comprehensive documentation of the ambition and accomplishments of one of the South's most prominent fashion authorities of the second half of the twentieth century.

Weight: 1380g
Dimension: 226 x 280 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780820360485