Welcome back Mark Cross
by habituallychic
11 . 03 . 10
I don’t think there is a woman anywhere who doesn’t remember that scene in Rear Window when Grace Kelly comes over with her Mark Cross overnight bag. It was one of the most iconic examples of product placement ever seen and that was 1954. The leather goods company which was founded 165 years ago was closed in 1997 after the Sara Lee Corporation couldn’t find a buyer for the company. One of my lovely readers alerted me this morning that the chic company is back in business and she knows this because her son is one of the designers!
Jeffries:”This is a suitcase?”
Lisa: “Well, a Mark Cross overnight case anyway. Compact but ample enough.”
The new Mark Cross bags will be available in December at Saks Fifth Avenue. I’d start looking for a peignoir set to fill it with now!
13 Comments
Wonderful, so pleased they are back in business. Thanks for letting me know. Great post Amber x
Definitely on my wish list for a lottery win!
So excited to see the return of Mark Cross – also posted about them recently – so we’re clearly on the same wavelength.
Mark Cross….Such a classic!! I am so happy they are back. Your friend’s son must be very talented.
Come and see my latest find, would love your comments,
Xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
Ha! Agreed – a very memorable scene. One of my favourite bags was purchased because I felt it bore a resemblance to Grace Kelly’s overnight bag! (Isn’t her entire outfit in that scene superb?!)
I remember my mom carrying Mark Cross bags when I was little! Sadly I think they are probably collecting dust on a shelf at Goodwill somewhere…
Rear Window is one of my favorite movies and Grace’s role is hard to forget. She is so chic and glamorous and Jimmy Stewart’s reaction to her overnight bag is hilarious!
I remember my mom looking at a car and the dealer saying it was made with Mark Cross leather. I told her she had to buy it because I had seen the movie. She did not and I think it scarred me for life.
In my mothers house there are all sorts of strange things made by Mark Cross….Zebra picture frames, flippy address things , etc. I remember a gold insignia on watered silk.
Why would they keep a classic American luxury brand closed all through the big boom years and NOW reopen it?
O my goodness- to die for!! LOve the bag!!
Oh how I wanted one of those babies. Reissue??
Tender is the Night is my favorite book by F Scott Fitzgerald and most people believe it based on the F’s but it’s actually based on their friends Sara and Gerald Murphy.
Gerald’s family owned Mark Cross and he was an artist. Sara was an heiress and they lived a large ex-pat life (their nannies had maids). They also made the South of France chic in the Summer.
One of my all-time favorite scenes.