Since I just signed onto the Threads Forumsthis past week, I have taken a little bit of time reading about Bishop. As I mentioend in earlier posts, I am Bishop trained. Many of you are talking about the book, The Bishop Method of Clothing Construction, by Edna Bryte Bishop and Majorie Stotler Arch. The book is readily available on the Internet.
I recently saw one copy at $35.00. You don’t have to pay that. I have seen it as inexpensive as $1.00. At that time I was going to purchase about 20 copies to have on hand for my students, but then I would have been charged by that particular vendor $9.00 PER BOOK postage!!! I didn’t buy. I have seen the 1959 and 1966 editions for anywhere from $1.00 to $5.00 I highly advise you to purchase copies. I believe the copywright is still in affect so you can’t copy things from the book. But at those prices, why chance it.
I believe Threads did an article on Kitty Rotruck a while back, or maybe it was Sew News. I am not sure. The late Kitty Rotruck was Mrs. Bishop’s right hand and she is the one who travelled extensively, giving workshops in the ’70’s and 80’s. Unfortunately, Kitty left us a few years ago, maybe five. She was phenomenal. I remember watching her ‘strip’ at a seminar. She appeared in a beautiful outfit, hat and all. (She was always fully accessorized.) As she spoke, she would take off an article of clothing. You have to realize she was wearing 20 outfits and yet she did not appear to be bulky in any way. She started out with a coat over a long vest over a dress, over a skirt and top—it went on and on. Her final garment was a bathing suit. In her later years, Kitty’s body would grow as the day got longer. She appeared in the same outfit all through the workshop of the day. What most people didn’t know was that she had two identical wardrobes in different sizes! She changed during the afternoon break to the larger size. This is when she started having health problemsand medications did strange things to her body. We never knew what she was doing. Always elegant, helpful, knowledgeable, and as I said before, phenomenal. She was a credit to Mrs Bishop and her teachings. She is greatly missed by those who knew her.
gansettgal
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gansettgal, I remember seeing Kitty do the "strip" at one of her workshops with mom. What I remember best about Kitty was -- you guessed it! -- White Shoulders perfume. I recall this gorgeous coral-orange crepe tunic top over pants with a scarf -- oh, yes, always the scarf. She looked fabulous. Kitty, as you may know, was mom's teacher too. Mom attended one of her sewing classes at Halpern's in Metairie in the sixties. Mom was a model and secretary at the time. Kitty snatched her up, took her under her wing, and began intensive training with her. At the end of it all, mom was a BMCC Certified Master Teacher Instructor. She and Kitty traveled all over the place together for a number of years until she got her certifications, then she began to teach and travel herself. At the time of her death, she had taught and fitted well over 30,000 students. What a credit to Kitty. She is surely missed. I enjoyed seeing a photo of her in Marie Kehr's book....donna kaye childress
I find all things "Edna Bryte Bishop" to be interesting and edifying. It is possible that I may be a "fan" or a "groupie". Fastinating and delightful teachers and associates. All elegant, all lovely ladies. A generation gone by, for sure, but they left a rich legasy for the seamstresses of today. We could learn much. Thank you for sharing your memories. Gail
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