Winter is almost here, and that means basketball. These early 1900s players are wearing a variety of blouses, and show quite a difference in skirt lengths. The emblem on the blouses seems to read “CK” so any guesses as to the school or club are appreciated.
And now for the news:
* Grace Coddington’s memoir has been published, and the reviews are mixed. She gets high marks for her accounts of her modeling days in 1960s London and her days at Vogue as fashion editor and creative director, but low marks for keeping the inner Grace carefully hidden. For example, she talks more about her cats than she did about the auto accident that smashed her face and pretty much ended her modeling career.
* To get a small taste of it, The Telegraph has extracts of her early years and of her life at Vogue.
* Or if you are not a reader, there is an audio of an interview with Fresh Air’s Terry Gross, and a video interview with a very mumbly and slightly annoying Sarah Mower.
* And if you have not seen the film that brought Grace Coddington to the attention of the world, you must see The September Issue.
Now for the non-Grace news…
* Ralph Lauren has discovered vintage and it comes with a certificate of authenticity.
* How to write a book the easy way, according to Kate Moss.
* To go along with their exhibition The Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-Garde, the Tate in London will be conducting a panel discussion, The Fabric of Art: Legacy of the Pre-Raphaelites in Contemporary Fashion. December 13, 2012.
* If the store is called Unionmade, does that mean the products are union-made? Apparently not.
* James Bond does not get his suits at Men’s Wearhouse. But I bet you knew that already.
* A vendor at the Paris antiques market of St. Ouen shows off her shop full of vintage Louis Vuitton trucks and such.
* Time travel back to 1925, and spend a little time in a newsstand of the day. (thanks to Susan Grote)
* Leah Gottieb, founder and designer of Gottex swimsuits, has died at age 94.
* Greenpeace has released a study on the presence of toxic materials in our clothing. Yep, it is scary.
* This podcast on the invention on the zipper is part of a series on the year 1913. (thanks to Nadine Stewart)
* Italy, where quality still matters.
Late addition:
There has been another devastating fire in a garment factory in Bangladesh.
The Vintage Traveler 
Does this mean Ralph Lauren will soon be trademarking the word “vintage”?
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Wait. What? Why is everything in that RL collection marked “1990s”? Why do you have to “inquire” about a price? For something from the 1990s?
And also…why does that photo of RL in cowboy gear just make me want to laugh and laugh?
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The Greenpeace report will go some way in raising awareness of the way the fashion industry conducts business. There is a growing movement which challenges the global economic system which is being driven by social, environmental and ethical practices. It will be a slow evolution but I believe that people are beginning to understand more about how their products are made and are more informed so that their decisions are governed by what is socially responsible and what is best for our planet. The fashion company roller-coaster which drives the consumer to buy more clothes 4-6 times per year is a huge profit driven model which for high street brands reflects quality. I read an article the other day citing how the customer is wanting better quality mass market clothing. This will come at a price but one most of us are prepared to pay. Customers can now make the connection between a factory worker in say Bangladesh (another sad news story Lizzie has reminded us of) producing garments which may not only fail to meet quality standards but which questions ethical and environmental manufacturing practices. I hope that consciousness spreads.
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Thanks for all the interesting links. Too bad I’m leaving London next week and missing the Pre-Raphaelite fashion talk.
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