Typical of the imagination that went into Vogue's promotion of French couture was a special feature, "The Six Characters in a Delightful New French Comedy, entitled A Prize Contest Staged by Vogue and gowned by ???? [sic]": seven pages of illustrations by Vogue's French artists of unidentified gowns by couturiers Worth, Lanvin, Chéruit, Poiret, Jenny, Doucet, Premet, Beer, Doeuillet, Patou, and Martial et Armand and the question "...for you to decide, Madame, is which couturier has dressed each lady?" A correct answer with a statement of the contestant's reasons for matching the couturiers with their gowns brought a first prize of any one of the original models illustrated. Ironically, the second prize was an evening gown from Henri Bendel in New York, and the third an afternoon gown from Thurn dressmakers, the most famous New York shop of the time (perhaps Vogue assumed that the second and third prizes would be copies of Paris fashions).

In the same issue, Vogue printed many of the accolades it had received from French designers. Doeuillet wrote: "Everywhere the name of Vogue is synonymous with chic, and...I think of the way in which your organization has always upheld the interests of the haute couture française and enhanced its prestige throughout the whole world."(43) Paul Poiret was more direct: "[Vogue] is today one of our best methods of communication with a distinguished clientele." His remark revealed how essential it was for him to reach American customers at this stage of his career. Thanks to these fashion magazines and an enthusiastic response from the United States, French couture itself was changing. By the 1920s, the industry was well on its way to world-wide distribution.

Because of the onslaught of publicity about Paris designers and the availability in local department stores of good ready-to-wear models that were advertised in Vogue and Harper's Bazar, Tirocchi clients changed their ways. More and more they asked for clothing by couturiers, rather than designs sewn and trimmed by the Tirocchi dressmakers themselves. By 1920, the Providence elite were placing their confidence in Paris. Anna Tirocchi turned this development to her own advantage by making a conscious decision to offer her customers copies of Paris couture from supply houses in New York. The New York companies purchased models in Paris; paid for the right to copy them in the same materials as the original (although illegal copying was rife and bitterly resisted by the couturiers); and stitched up copies to order for retailers like Anna.

Several of the design books for ordering purposes sent to the Tirocchis by New York importer Maginnis &Thomas have survived, and these may be compared with Anna's customer ledgers to suggest something of the Tirocchi clients' tastes. In spring 1925, Mrs. A. T. Wall purchased a black satin chemise designed by Chéruit with elaborate ruching and a shoulder boa [fig. 122]. Tirocchi clients also liked the new designers who appeared after the First World War. Their all-time favorite was Jean Patou. One example of a design by Patou sold in the shop is a sophisticated brown crepe satin chemise with uneven hem and cubist-influenced contrasting shiny and dull satins [fig. 123], ordered by Mrs. Charles (Ruth Trowbridge) Smith III in 1924, shortly after her marriage. Its tight band around the hipline could only have been worn by a young woman with a perfect figure.

Chanel was the second most favored designer of the Tirocchi clientele in the 1920s. Maginnis &Thomas's interpretation of Chanel is to be seen in a series of designs ordered by Mrs. Charles D. Owen in April 1925, which shows her taste for tailored day wear over frilly evening gowns and provides a glance at what Maginnis &Thomas considered the best from several French couturiers. A Lanvin suit of beige "Kashette," probably a knock-off of Rodier's famed "Kasha" cashmere fabric, was combined with a black and white polka-dot silk lining that showed on the garment front, sleeves, and skirt pleats [fig. 124]. The three-quarter line of the middy-style chemise is emphasized by a seam just above the knee, to which a box-pleated skirt is attached. In the drawing the suit is worn with a turban, still popular after its arrival on the scene in the early 1910s with the Orientalist styles of Paul Poiret. An original by Callot Soeurs, a three-piece outfit of blue crepe and blue printed crepe de chine, has a plain blue dress with a skirt facing and a plaid scarf [fig. 125]. The coat is the three-quarter length that Mrs. Owen clearly found becoming and that allows the facing on the skirt to show. It combines plaid with plain and, a couture touch, is reversible. For evening, Mrs. Owen chose a heavy black lace dress with floating panels, typical of the "little black dresses" produced by its designer, Chanel [fig. 126], and a chemise with many draped panels of sophisticated black and gray chiffon by the now-forgotten designers Miler Soeurs that must have looked wonderful on the dance floor [fig. 127]. Last, and perhaps most interesting, is a three-piece costume with a green dress and a three-quarter coat of embroidered chintz [fig. 128]. In this case, the coat was sold to Mrs. Owen after the dress had been purchased by Mrs. Watson. This transaction was a coup for the Tirocchis, who ordered the dress and coat at wholesale for $65, and shows how dressmakers did not hesitate to charge whatever the market would bear. Mrs. Watson paid $88 for the dress, and the coat brought $79 from Mrs. Owen.