About a year or so ago, I purchased a gorgeous cardigan and it has quickly become a standard item in my wardrobe (scroll to the end to see my Ethel cardigan). The tag said that the brand was “Ethel of Beverly Hills” and a quick search on the internet brought up multiple gorgeous sweaters, each more beautiful than the next.

Ethel of Beverly Hills vintage clothing label on a vintage sweater.

I did find one Etsy seller (MsAnetVTG) who is selling 2 sweaters and she said that “The company was in business in the Los Angeles market from 1958 until the 1960’s, and even back then these sweaters were considered expensive”. So there is your brief brief history lesson on Ethel of Beverly Hills.

However, even though I cannot seem to find any information on them, I still think that their sweaters are absolutely gorgeous and I think I might start to turn into a collector very soon.

Lets take a browse shall we?

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Note:If you click on a link and the item you are looking for is no longer available, don’t fret. Etsy & eBay are filled with 1000’s of options and updated daily. Do a search and see what comes up. You just never know what you will find!

Ethel of Beverly Hills

Beautiful 1950s & 1960s Sweaters / Cardigans / Boleros

This Ethel is wool with gorgeous pearls and rhinestones creating the letter “A” I believe. I have seen a couple of sweaters with a letter on it, so I wonder if this was something that made them standout?

Ethel Of Beverly Hills Wool Beige Sweater Cardigan

Etsy seller-MsAnetVTG

As I just mentioned above, here is another beautiful black knit Monogram D bolero sweater.

Ethel of Beverly Hills -Black Knit Monogram D Bolero Sweater.

One more Ethel 1950s Sweater with an 8 inch monogrammed C on the left front outlined in pearls and rhinestones.

1950s vintage womens sweater/ cardiganwith an 8 inch monogrammed C on the left front outlined in pearls and rhinestones from Ethel of Beverly Hills

Source: Etsy

I love the cutouts in this 1950s sweater!

1950s Fashion: Ethel of Beverly Hills 1950s vintage sweater

Etsy Seller-WhynaughtShop

As we move down the list, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that you can’t miss an Ethel sweater can you? They have a very distinct style that was unique to their brand.

Like this wonderful arrow design in this sweater, it’s lovely!

Ethel of Beverly Hills vintage sweater with an arrow design

Etsy Seller-wearitagain

The blue sweater colour is perfect and I love the tree design that is made up of metallic gold stitched with applied pearl discs.

1950s Fashion: Vintage 1950s Ethel of Beverly Hills vintage sweater with a tree stitched into it.

Seller-Poppy’s Vintage Clothing

If your name started with a “C” this would be perfect for you! Well… it’s not actually initials in this knockout number but it almost could be with what we have seen above.

vintage sweater from Ethel of Beverly Hills. featuring a stiched in design.

Etsy Seller-greenthreadsboutique

Now an Ethel that does not fit the mold like the ones shown above….

I LOVE IT!! Vintage 1950s Hand-Knit Black Bolero with Cotton Fringe Accents by Ethel of Beverly Hills

Source

A 1950s Cardigan/ sweater in a pretty cream colour that is different from the others above (avail as of April 2023 HERE).

1950s vintage womens sweater/ cardigan by Ethel of Beverly Hills

Source: Etsy

Here is another style similar to the sweater above (this time from the 1960s). I feel as the brand moved into the 1960s they got away from their signature monogram look. Do you agree?

1960s Fashion: Blue mohair cardigan from Ethel of Beverly Hills.

Source: Etsy-AndSheWoreVintage

Here is a picture of one of my Ethel 1950s cardigans. Isn’t it a beauty?

1950s Fashion-Ethel of Beverly Hills 1950s sweater as seen on Liz from the Vintage Inn Blog.

Do you own an Ethel Sweater or did you have a favorite above? Maybe you happen to know the history of this brand? If so, please share!

Vintage Shopping: Do you love vintage cardigans? Then head to my Etsy Collection of vintage cardigans for sale (Including Ethel ones if they are avail).

Further Reading:

Vintage Fashion Designers (Archived Blog Posts)
Vintage Fashion 1920s-1960s (Archived Blog Posts)

Liz 🙂

St. Patrick’s Day is quickly approaching and while I’m not Irish (German background) I never say no to a Guinness and a cheers with friends on this day. Since we cannot do this on the blog I thought it might be fun to check out some images of some lovely Irish Hollywood actresses from the 1940s and 1950s together (feel free to have a beer while reading).

(Note: This is not a complete list, I’m sure I have missed many names).

Irish Movie Actresses of the 1940s and 1950s

First up..

Maureen O’Hara

Born August 17th, 1920 in Dublin Ireland, she is noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. Movie highlights include: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Miracle on 34th Street, plus many more. An icon of Hollywood’s Golden Age, at the height of her career, O’Hara was considered one of the world’s most beautiful women. She is often remembered for her onscreen chemistry with John Wayne. They made five films together between 1948 and 1972: Rio Grande, The Quiet Man, The Wings of Eagles, McLintock! and Big Jake (Source: Wikipedia).

Vintage Photo of actress Maureen O'Hara wearing a beautiful 1940s vintage hairstyle

Maureen O’Sullivan

Born May 17th, 1911 in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland. Maureen was an Irish actress best known for playing Jane in the Tarzan series of films.

Vintage Photo of Actress Maureen OSullivan in the movie Tarzan. Fantastic example of how to wear a hair flower in your hair.

Angela Greene

Actress Angela Greene was born on February 24, 1921 in Dublin, Ireland. She is best known for playing leads in B pictures including the films Hollywood Canteen (1944) and Mildred Pierce (1945), and also appeared in dozens of TV shows. During World War II, she became a popular World War II pin-up girl and her bikini-clad image graced the nose of the US bomber Skipper 2, which flew 25 missions over North Africa and Europe. She dated naval lieutenant John F. Kennedy before marrying businessman Stuart Martin in 1946.

US bomber skipper 2 featuring an illustration of actress Angela Greene

Constance Smith

Born February 7th, 1929 in Limerick, Ireland, Constance was an Irish film actress, and contract player of 20th Century Fox in the 1950s. She starred in two dozen films during the 1940’s and 1950’s, including films like Treasure of the Golden Condor, Taxi and Man in the Attic.

Vintage movie poster for the man in the attic featuring Constance Smith

Do you have any Ireland born screen actresses to add to this list?

Happy St. Patrick’s day!

FURTHER READING:

Vintage St. Patrick’s Day Advertising from the 1930s-1960s

Liz

Tag: 1950’s