Vintage Designer: Lanz Originals

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Perhaps I'm a little biased (I do share my last name with the vintage dress brand...perhaps I'm a descendant of vintage royalty?!), but Lanz Originals are some of my favorite vintage pieces to find. They aren't known for being particularly showy, but the cuts are always quite classic and the prints adorable. Plus, their tags are darn cute! I just found a couple of lovely Lanz dresses (pictured below) which inspired me to do a little digging into the background of the brand.

Lanz originated in Austria during the early '20s and made a name for themselves by blending traditional Austrian folkwear with the current trends of the time. Why the folkwear base? Lanz originally produced clothing for Austrians at the Salzburg Music Festival and soon tourists began buying the designs to take home, according to the Vintage Fashion Guild. It wasn’t until after WWII that Lanz started designing clothes for American women that were still inspired by traditional Austrian culture.

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Here's where it gets a little tricky...By the late '70s, two Lanz labels existed in America–Lanz Originals and Lanz of Salzburg, which was focused on making women’s sleepwear. This is likely why many people associate the Lanz name with nightgowns, I know my mom had one. Today, Lanz Originals still focuses on traditional Austrian clothing and dirndls while Lanz of Salzburg continues to produce women’s sleepwear in the U.S.

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