Enne Burda Style

Send

Enne Burda had impeccable taste. It was not an acquired skill, but rather an innate gift. She appreciated the beauty and believed that a woman should always be well-groomed, regardless of the circumstances.

Enne Lemminger was born in a poor family. Her father worked as a fireman, and then as a steam engine driver. She adored him. Mother is an ordinary woman for whom the church was more important than children. Perhaps that is why the relationship between the daughter and mother did not develop and remained cold throughout life.

Little Enne, photo from the family chronicle
Enne was extremely demanding of herself and others. Even as a child, she refused to wear something that in her opinion did not suit her. When her mother braided a bow in her braids, which did not harmonize with the dress in color, she tore it off, threw it on the floor and stamped it with her feet.
Enne was beautiful, unusual, not like anyone else. At the first meeting with her future husband, she was wearing the smallest Charleston-style hipster dress and a flirty hat.
Before her marriage, at the insistence of her mother, Enne enrolled in cooking and sewing courses at the monastery, where she sewed all her dowry. But on this her sewing experience ended.

Enne and Franz Burda, July 9, 1931
Anne was a great cook. Reading was her passion, as well as cars and beautiful clothes.Enne always had a good taste, and when she married Franz Burda, she was able to afford to dress in the latest fashion. She wore Chanel-style dresses, knee-length and hipster. But at the same time it was impossible to call her a notorious fashionista.

Reading hour with sons Frieder, Hubert and Franz (1942)
Enne always attached great importance to the external gloss, and even the war did not force her to abandon this principle. Once she met a doctor she knew: "Frau Burda, you can’t imagine how nice it is in our terrible time to see a well-groomed woman."
Enne was a burgher. She reached for the aristocrats, wanted to enter their circle, luxury beckoned her. In this woman, the desire for beauty was indeed able to overcome any fears.

Anne at her office
Enne became the owner of a small publishing house and released her first magazine with patterns in post-war Germany in 1950. Thus, she made a revolution in the minds of German women, making up for their urgent need to feel beautiful again. From that moment on, she became really interested in fashion. But this interest was directed exclusively to the magazine. It was the taste and love of beautiful clothes that helped her make fashion accessible to women around the world.

Near the new building of Aenne Burda Publishing House (1955)
Enne did not like monotony, but blindly following fashion trends was not in her spirit. Her outfits were stylish, elegant and always expensive. She dressed in the spirit of her time, but stood out among others. In her wardrobe there were entirely designer things.First, from the famous German Fashion Houses, which, although they were guided by sketches of French couturiers, at the same time developed their own, chic Berlin style. Especially Enne loved the dresses of the famous German fashion designer Uli Richter, who, in addition, was her faithful friend. Later, she began to update her wardrobe with fashionable novelties from Yves-Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld and other famous designers.

With Karl Lagerfeld
Visiting fashion boutiques with designer clothes, Enne quickly made her choice and could not stand the advice of sellers: “How dare you tell me this! I, Frau Burda, have been giving women fashion advice for several decades!”

In clothes, Enne preferred minimalism, but by no means in its exceptional manifestation. If there was an opportunity to refuse some extra details in clothes, she did it. Frau Burda preferred clothes with a fine cut, loved sheath dresses and jewelry.

Always with perfect styling, flawless makeup and a dazzling smile. No excess. Looking at her, one could safely say about the absence of any competition between appearance and clothing.

At an advanced age, Enne preferred clothes of light beige and white colors. She never loved black, and yellow and green now seemed to her inappropriate.
Enne Burda never had a pronounced style. Rather, it was a cold classic elegance. This is how one can characterize the style of the great trendsetter of individual fashion for everyone and the creator of the legendary sewing magazine.
Source and photo: Ute Damen's book "Enne Burda: Burda is fashionable - it's me!"
Material prepared by Julia Dekanova

Send