Jean Thompson Davis; fashion illustrator
Hyfler/Rosner
March 21, 2006 Tuesday
Byline: Holly Crenshaw
Jean Thompson Davis, fashion illustrator, always looked
'perfect'
Jean Thompson Davis was a walking, talking sales pitch for
her job as a fashion illustrator --- a glamorous,
accomplished artist who always looked like a million bucks.
"If there was a trendy, up-to-date look in fashion, she was
on top of it," said her son Jim Davis of Acworth. "She was
interested in clothes and fashion her whole life.
"When we went through her apartment, she had fashion books
that went back 50 years --- huge, illustrated volumes on the
history of fashion design. And Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, you
name it. Whatever was in with magazines, she had them."
Mrs. Davis, 82, of Chamblee died March 12 of pulmonary
failure at Odyssey Hospice. The body was cremated. Memorial
service plans will be announced by Premier Crematory.
Mrs. Davis, a native of Scranton, Pa., went to New York City
to study art and illustration at the prestigious Pratt
Institute. She was already a high-flying fashion illustrator
and art director making $35,000 a year, more money than him,
when she married Tom Davis in 1949, her son said. They
settled in Atlanta in 1955.
"When she came to Atlanta, they wanted to keep her so badly
in New York that they offered her a huge promotion and said
they'd find a job for my father if she'd stay," her son
said.
Instead, she moved into part-time work, whipping out fashion
ads for the best department stores, including Rich's,
Davison's, Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor. She
converted a basement room into a studio and drew
sophisticated spreads of dresses, hats and scarves and all
the latest looks in women's wear.
By the early 1980s, Mrs. Davis had moved into teaching at
the Art Institute of Atlanta, where she spent several years
leading basic design and drawing classes.
Her backyard was often the neighborhood headquarters for
huge cookouts and pool parties, complete with live bands.
"She was also a great swim instructor and used to teach in
the pool in our backyard, and then she started teaching down
at the Y and lifeguarding," said another son, Lee Davis of
Sandy Springs.
His mother got her water safety instructor certification
when she was 50 years old. "She had to swim a mile and take
classes with all these teenagers back when the test was a
lot harder than it is today, and she was really proud that
she did that," Lee Davis said.
Maybe it was from all that swimming, but Mrs. Davis never
lost her svelte good looks, said her friend Nell Bateh of
Atlanta.
"I'd always ask her things about fashion, like what goes
with what, and about makeup," Mrs. Bateh said. "She looked
like a movie star. Her hair was perfect, her lipstick was
perfect, her nails were perfect. She even told me how she
used Max Factor makeup because it covers the skin so well."
Mrs. Davis may have picked out some of her flattering
outfits at the larger stores she worked for, but she also
seemed to have a secret weapon, Mrs. Bateh said.
"She always liked to have different clothes than all of us,
so she probably went to boutiques," she said. "I remember
she always wore belts and her waist looked so small in her
tight clothes.
"She could have been a model, with her great figure and tiny
waistline. And her voice was so gentle. She talked like
Marilyn Monroe, very sexy."
Survivors include another son, Glenn Davis of Las Vegas.
GRAPHIC: Photo: Family photoAs always, Jean Thompson Davis,
when she married Tom Davis in 1949, was immaculately
outfitted, and that never changed.