Vested Gentress Cats

My job at Cats Like Us often requires me to do some research on brands and products, especially now that we are carrying true vintage clothing and accessories in addition to just retro. (Retro is new clothing in vintage styles.) The other day I came across a vintage dress online that had a funny cat print all over and the brand was Vested Gentress. I've come across this brand before but never thought anything of it until the cat print caught my attention. (I'm a bit of extremes, either pink and fuzzy or dark and spooky. I have a problem with cat clothes. I blogged about it before.)

This is the dress I saw, available online here.

Vested Gentress was a husband and wife team ~ Bud and Naomi ~ from Valley Forge, PA. Bud was a very good doodler and had some cartoons published. He started a men's clothing line and screen printed vests made-to-order in his home bedroom for some big names like Ambercrombie & Fitch. They played around with a women's line and eventually dissolved the men's line. The women's clothing was official in 1961. Many of the early animal drawings were designed by Bud. The big Newfoundland dog that was part of their hang tag and featured on many prints was actually their real-life dog named Briney Bear.

There was an activewear line that was sold in country clubs and a kid's line too! They advertised in The New Yorker and even had four storefronts along the east coast. Some of the designs were exclusive to the shops. How exciting...and collectible! The company closed in 1985, after Bud's passing.

Now I want to go out and find all their cat dresses. I have a new mission. Send help. Lol.