Evening star., 1938-06-05
COURT WILL VIEW
FASHION PARADE
Case Involving Smuggling of
Paris Gowns Reopens in
New York Tomorrow.
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, June A fashion
parade of beautiful mannequins and
New York society women will play
out new scenes Monday in the re-
opening of as bizarre courtroom
drama as Manhattan has witnessed
in years.
A few months ago the name of
Marcel Rochas of Paris, International
ly famous modiste, was an electric
magnet.
In Park avenues luxurious pent-
houses, dowagers and debutantes
spread the good news:
Genuine Paris creations by
Rochas, my dear, at only $50! The
originals"
AS avid as any $22-a-week stenogra-
pher Drawing elbows in a bargain
basement crush, the dowagers and
debs stormed Rochas' exclusive FIVE
story salon off Fifth avenue and heard
chic French and American models as
sure them:
"Mais oui! Yes. guaranteed-direct
from France!"
Too Good to Be True.
Fountain pens scratched eagerly in
checkbooks. Only $3.50 for "guaran-
teed Paris originals"-instead of the
$500 to 81 500 they had been accus-
toned to paying. 1t was almost too
good to be true
There Uncle Sam stepped in. 1t
was, indeed, too good to be true.
United States customs agents
checked back over the declaration lists
and found no record of imported
dresses assigned to Rochas. Inc.
For months, suspecting leak" 4"
Uncle Sans watchdogs increased their
vigilance, looking for gowns from Paris
for Rochas
They hunted in vain. Each pas
senger possessing Paris-made gowns
by Rochas, Inc, swore they were per-
sonal property destined for SALE
And the passengers were impress
sive." Above suspicion. There was
a countess. There were apparently
wealthy young girls travelling first
class. Certainly not smugglers.
Records Seized in Raid.
Baffled, United States Attorney La
mar Hardy decided to strike elsewhere.
Federal agents raided the Rochas
shop, seizing books, records of sales
and scores of gowns.
The raid was subsequently declared
illegal, after Rochas had been in
dicted. along with his New York man
age, Guy Guerin de Font-Joyepse
The court ruled that the search war
rant was illegally issued because the
petition did not state facts to justify
the invasion" of Rochas' salon.
With Rochas' books as evidence,
the Governments case seemed hope
less.
But the old slogan "cherchez la
femme" emerged-in reverse.
In this case, the woman actually
sought out the Government to tell
what she knew.
So in court last week, Christaine
Drovadaine, a former $35-a-week
Rochas model, testified that she went
to the United States customs house
and voluntarily gave agents the names
of women customers and the names of
gowns they had bought in the New
York salon.
List of Names Supplied.
The pretty French woman said she
told because she hoped the man who
had dismissed her in an argument
over her salary would be punished.
If the Government was not in
terested in her revenge" motive, it
was decidedly interested in the vol
supplied list of names, open
ing as it did the trail to much-needed
witnesses for the Government, which
had been closed by the decision of
illegal seizure of Rochas' books.
Another Government witness. the
svelte, dark-haired Countess Kyra
Russian refugee, injected
a moment of drama in the trial when
she testified she had been employed
as a $35-a-week saleswoman in the
Paris salon of Rochas, Inc, for eight |
years.
Her fallen fortunes, she said, seemed
on the rise when Rochas sent her to
join the New York staff with salary
boost to $500 a month.
1T seemed almost riches, once
more" she said wistfully.
Escorted to Salon.
Then, on the eve of sailing to the
United States, she said, she was in
structed by the New York office to
bring two trunks and a hat box"
with her and told mot to worry but |
to declare the contents as personal
"I had no idea there was anything
wrong" she said, adding that she had
been met at the pier by the New York
manager and escorted directly, with
the trunks, to the Fifth avenue salon.
The defendants. denying guilt, have
still to present their side of the case,
30 far being content to fight the Gov
ernment's charges on technicalities.
And on the side lines, ranged along
side some of the loveliest models of
New York and Paris, are society women
who bought the allegedly smuggled
gowns, including Miss Elinor Ryan,
of the late railroad |
Thomas Fortune Ryan; Mrs.
Harry A. Bull, wife of the editor of |
Town and Country magazine; Mrs. |
Cortineus Gillette. jr., the Princess