vendeuse

vendeuse (noun, French) /vɑ̃.døz/

The personal assistant of a Parisian couture house. The role emerged in the 1860s with Charles Frederick Worth, who opened the first maison de couture and reframed the relationship between shop and customer as one between atelier and client. The vendeuse was the bridge.

She received her clients in a private salon, guided them through each season's collection, and oversaw the months of fittings between order and delivery. She kept a notebook of each client — her measurements, her travels, her social events, what she had bought last season and what was missing. The relationship lasted decades. Her highest service was telling her client when something was wrong for her.

Ready-to-wear made the role redundant, and the houses, in time, let her go. The carnet went into a drawer. Most women have, since then, been left to dress themselves, with more options than ever and fewer people whose opinion they trust.

We think she should come back.

Vendeuse opens this autumn.