[1] The house produced high-end garments for ski, tennis, golf, beach, boating, motoring, biking and hunting, alongside day and evening dresses, accessories, shoes and jewellery.

[2] Known for expertly tailored sports and travel suits[3] and dresses,[4] Vera Borea came to fame with its innovative designs that promoted a new lifestyle, and acceptance of fashion sportswear as appropriate wear for other social occasions.

[5] Countess de Regoli, a passionate sportswoman[6] born and raised in Italian Dolomites, was frustrated by a lack of clothing that was chic yet comfortable and began to design sportswear, négligées and swimming suits featuring special knitting stitch invented by her grandmother[7] With assistance of her friend, the British-born Princess de Rohan, the countess located her haute-couture salon at 29 rue d'Artois, at the very end of Faubourg Saint-Honoré.

With a no-nonsense, hands-on approach, de Regoli, an avid skier, swimmer and golfer, tried out her creations on herself before she offered them for sale, and often modelled them for clients.

[10] American department stores snapped her designs[11] and the house became the reference for garments that were simple in line but unusual in materials and cut, modern and practical.

Vera Borea's creations often featured details that, beyond looking good, served a practical purpose and could be wore on multiple occasions such as after tennis, for motoring or on a ship.

Prestigious fashion magazines featured Vera Borea's creations alongside Hermès, Lanvin, Chanel and Patou.

[14] Scores of Americans soon joined the regular French clients at Borea's Paris salon,[15] including famous sportswomen such as Helen Wills and Suzanne Lenglen[16] and Hollywood movie stars such as Joan Bennett.

[19] In general, the designer favored simple but noble materials like wool, linen, hemp and cotton, often with a textured or nubby surface.

An aviator jacket was made of supple leather and a knitted back panel, making it wearable both indoors and outdoors.

Other elements like fur, raffia, rope, bone, nut, feathers, pine cones and leather also showed up in her designs.

She showed the pants with a bolero, bomber jackets, cropped sweaters or full blouses, which enhanced the elongated effect.

Flared and gored skirts provided fullness and ease of movement while avoiding the stiffness and puffiness of a gathered waistline.

Judicious draping on dresses and jackets, inverted pleats on pants, set-in panels; all continued this body-conscious philosophy.

Pockets freed up a woman's hands, as did chains and clips, which held a clip-on cigarette case, a visor or a pair of gloves.

Thin ribbed pullovers were layered, making them ideal for cool temperatures or outdoor sports, but also easy to peel off once inside for maximum comfort.

In 1934, she showed swimsuits worn under a matching skirt or flared shorts, giving women a new alternative to the fuller covering of an apron dress.

With either option, a woman could simply slip on the skirt, shorts or dress over her swimsuit and go straight to lunch or jump into her car.

An apron style sundress with a low back allowed women to soak up the sun's rays on the terrace of a restaurant.

[29] Passionate about skiing, swimming and golf, Borea particularly enjoyed designing sportswear because she found it so difficult to buy clothing that was chic yet comfortable and well-priced.

Borea's black wool crepon frock had an incrusted collar and top sleeves of white shaved lamb.

These were tailored into small modern suits which were worn with blouses made of dimity or crocheted Irish linen thread.

For town wear, Borea stressed rough linen fabrics and she often employed negligee materials in formal fashions.

She rarely used silks, but sometimes created heavy basket or chevron (insignia) patterns, which she obtained hand woven from Italy.

[38] Borea' silhouette was characterized by moulded bodices, normal shoulders, small waists, and short skirts, with some of them pleated and others slightly flared.

Among her fashions at the showing included a gray flannel ski suit with white leather suspenders and gold buckles.

Borea introduced amber, mouse gray and moss green corduroy box jackets over tweed suits or simple turtleneck wool dresses.