Matching Accessories For Milady

1955 La Femme Accessories

Part of the marketing ploy used to attract women to the Dodge La Femme was a feminine "accessory" package that came with the car. Per L.F. Desmond, General Sales Manager at Dodge, the 1955 model came with "a stylish rain cape, fisherman's style rain hat and umbrella." Additionally, buyers were presented with a "stunning shoulder bag in soft rose leather...fitted with compact, lighter and cigarette case." Unfortunately, it seems that many of these accessories disappeared before they even reached the dealer showroom and, consequently, such accessories are EXTREMELY rare today.

In order to accomodate these special items, Dodge elected to create unique compartments, located behind the front seat, to provide storage for them. As to the items themselves, the original purse, shown at right, was not really a shoulder bag, per se, but more of a large hand purse.

1956 La Femme Accessories

In 1956, Dodge once again presented accessories to La Femme buyers. This time, however, they opted to go without a special purse and instead only offered the rain gear, this time in a different pattern and featuring a baseball cap style rain hat, as shown at right.

Again, special compartments behind the seats, this time slightly different from the 1955 version, were used for storage of these items. In both cases, the storage compartments featured flap top openings, and were trimmed to match the car's interior. One thing to note is that, while the 1955 version featured the pink rosebud lining found on the seats and door panels of the car, the 1956 version utilized the special headliner pattern for its lining.

La Femme Seat Backs

1955 Seat Back

1956 Seat Back