Irene Castle  Couture

    Her real name was Irene Foote and she was born in New York. She was a dancer extraordinaire. Her husband Vincent was from England and together they danced their way to fame.

    If you would like to know about Irene and Vincent Castle please visit the  History of the Castle Family. This family has no known links to our Johnson County families.  

    Their signature-dance called the Castlewalk that became famous and invented the dance / steps called the "Lame Duck." They usually followed the Castlewalk up with a One-Step, Argentine Tango and Maxixe and finished with a dance of their choice.  They were very well accepted in all circles famous and not.

    The press called them "The Aristocrats of Dance" and while in Vaudeville they were billed as the "Worlds Greatest Society Dancers."  Irene Castle became very fashionable in Society and endorsed certain ways to dress etc. Society copied Mrs. Castle's wardrobe and Makeup to the "T." 

    As you can see from the ads above New York haute couture even made its way into Johnson County and the stores in West Virginia. Ladies no matter the year kept up with the fashion of the times. These ads were circa  early 1920.

    Special Thanks to Mr. Walter Preston  for helping to provide the ads that let us see what our ancestors were likely to see while shopping.