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Nelly Don Photographs

When Nell Quinlan married Paul Donnelly and moved to Kansas City from Parsons, Kansas, in 1906, she wanted to keep costs low, but still look stylish while working around the house. Not finding what she wanted, she designed and sewed her own housedresses. Her creative genius grew into a multi-million dollar business-the Donnelly Garment Company and the Nelly Don clothing label, "a stylish, feminine frock." Many women of the 1930s and '40s owned a Nelly Don dress. These few photos are mostly group employee shots.
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