Tina Leser was born Christina Wetherill Shillard-Smith on December 12, 1910 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a child Tina traveled with her family around the world to faraway places such as Asia and Africa. She studied art, design, painting and sculpture at university in Philadelphia and Paris.
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| Fashion designs by Tina Leser in the 1940s |
In 1931, Tina married Curtin Leser from whom she took the name under which she designed. They divorced in 1936 and she eventually remarried James Howley in 1948.
Tina opened her first store in Hawaii in 1935 where she sold well made clothing that utilized local Hawaiian and imported Filipino fabrics. She moved to New York and opened her own company in 1941.
It wasn’t until 1943 when Tina joined the Edwin H. Foreman sportswear firm that she started to make a mark in the fashion world. She was known for her playsuits and resortwear and her clothing was influenced by many different locales around the world such as China, Guatemala, Hawaii, India, Japan, Mexico and Thailand.
In 1953, Tina left the Foreman sportswear firm and started her own company again. She designed swimwear for Gabor Swimsuits for awhile. She closed her business in 1964 but opened it again in 1966, and permanently closed her business in 1982.
Tina passed away in 1986. These glamorous photos captured portraits of classic beauties wearing fashion designs by Tina Leser in the 1940s.
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| Model in a bare bathing suit without straps or middle with a sheer wrap skirt by Tina Leser, photo by John Rawlings, Vogue, December 1, 1944 |
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| Model wearing light blue wool jersey together with skirt of printed rayon damask, detailed with sequins, all from Tina Leser, photo by Constantin Joffé, Vogue, October 1, 1944 |
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| Bijou Barrington in bare-shouldershort dinner pyjamas of Celanese rayon by Tina Leser, gold kid belt by Schaffer, photo by Serge Balkin, Vogue, June 1, 1945 |
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| Marilyn Ambrose in a cabana dress of black and white rayon jersey, the printed leaves have sequins along the spines, by Tina Leser, photo by Kay Bell at the Camelback Inn, Arizona, Vogue, March 15, 1945 |
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| Model in stone-white rayon-jersey two-piece swimsuit with long wrap-around skirt for evening by Tina Leser, jewelry from Lampl, photo by Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Harper’s Bazaar, June 1945 |
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