Vintage Miscellany, May 12, 2013

I’m wishing all the mothers a lovely day.  That’s my mother, holding me.  Isn’t her dress beautiful?

And now for the news…

*   The DAR Museum in Washington, DC, has an interesting-looking exhibition this summer,  Fashioning the New Woman: 1890 – 1925.  Through August 31, 2013.

*   Take a fun video tour of the Pendleton Woolen Mills.

*    Here’s an optimistic video about the textile industry in North Carolina.  This filmmaker focuses on the many success stories.

*   Hear the story of Eleanor Lambert and the beginnings of fashion week from  WNYC’s Sara Fishko.

*   Sadly,  Ottavio Missoni, the co-founder of  Missoni has died at 92.  Next week I’ll be writing about the influence the company had on 1970s fashion.

*    The Scottish cashmere industry is troubled, but the news this winter that Chanel had acquired Barrie, the maker of Chanel sweaters, was very welcome.  Here’s an interesting account of a visit to the factory.

*   As the death toll in the factory collapse in Bangladesh passes the 1000 mark, it appears that action is being taken on quite a few fronts.   Several major companies have joined in a sustainability drive headed by Otis College of Art + Design, retailers are thinking more about transparency in the line of clothing supply, and people are starting to relate this tragedy to several closer to home.  Unfortunately, there are still those who feel they have the right to cheap clothing.  I hope that more people are starting to examine their own clothing consumption, and are making changes to ensure human rights and safety for all workers.

*  Chanel has just released a short film about the beginnings of the House of Chanel.  Entitled Once Upon a Time…, it was directed by Karl Lagerfeld.  All I can say is, Karl, don’t quit the day job.

*  The latest fashion reality show stars designer Betsey Johnson.  XOX Betsey Johnson  starts today on Style TV, 8 pm edt.

*   The Georgia Museum of Art in Athens, Georgia will be showing off their major acquisition of fashion, the 6000 piece collection of Ann Bonfoey Taylor.  The exhibition opens June 1, and closes September 14, 2013.   Proof that you do not have to go to New York or London to see fashion exhibitions.

*  Of course, one can’t deny that there are always several exhibitions of interest to fashion historians at any given time in New York City.  At present, the one getting all the attention is the Met’s Punk: Chaos to Couture.   Even before the opening of the show this past week, there was a growing controversy.  Malcolm McLaran’s widow has claimed that some of the few items from the 1970s are not authentic, and Vivienne Westwood feels she had been slighted when the Met did not take the retrospective that had been put on at the V&A.

But even at the press preview on Monday, curator Andrew Bolton was an apologist for the exhibition, explaining that the exhibition was not meant to be a history of punk fashion; it was a study of the influence punk has had on fashion since the mid 1970s.  For that reason there are no garments shown that were worn by Debbie Harry or Sid Vicious or Patti Smith, and the wigs are not the expected mohawks.  By some accounts, there are only seven actual punk garments in the exhibition.

That despite the fact that the Met’s own press release stated that “Original punk garments from the mid-1970s will be juxtaposed with recent, directional fashion to illustrate how haute couture and ready-to-wear have borrowed punk’s visual symbols…”

My interest in fashion exhibitions always leans toward the historical aspect.  I guess that is why for the life of me I can’t understand why the Met, with its glorious collection of historical fashion, continues to focus on what within the past ten years or so could be seen coming down the fashion runways, and could be examined in person at Bergdorf Goodman.  In fact, there are items in the show that are from at least one current collection, Burberry.

There was an excellent article in the New Yorker back in March, in which you get a good picture of the influence that Anna Wintour has over the decisions involving the exhibition.   Not the gala, the exhibition.  There is some part of me that hates that the person who is choosing the designs we see each month in Vogue, is also helping determine what we are seeing as fashion history and culture.

I’ll withhold any opinion on the exhibition itself until I see it in August, but the reviews are not very positive.  Suzy Menkes called it “Punk without the down and dirty” (except for the CBGB men’s room) and The Daily Beast speculated the the exhibition tends to show that the Costume Institute is just a “shill for the fashion industry.”

And while not a review of the exhibition, Robin Givhan’s piece, “Even if Punk Can’t Shock, Fashion Still Can,” is a very thoughtful examination of the shocking elements that exist within the fashion industry.

Vintage Miscellany, April 28, 2013

There’s nothing like two days of non-stop chilly rain to make one wish for a day out-of-doors, wearing a nice pair of plaid pants, a sharp double-breasted jacket, topped with a turban.  Instead, curl up with this week’s fashion and history links.

*   The FIDM blog has a nice entry on the  Théâtre de la Mode dolls that are on display at the Maryhill Museum of Art, located in rural Washington state.  It’s a bit off the beaten path, but from all accounts, well worth the trip.

*   Someone ought to attempt a Venn Diagram showing the connections between the up-coming PUNK: Chaos to Couture exhibition at the Met, Vogue magazine (including Anna Wintour and Lauren Santo Domingo), and on-line merchant Moda Operandi (again, Lauren Santo Domingo).  But then it probably would just be a circle within a circle within a circle.

*   Someone has finally taken responsibility for inventing one of the all time greatest irritating words: fashionista.

*   SCAD, the Savannah School of Art and Design recently held their yearly SCAD Style event, and they have put video of many of the forums and talks on their blog.  There’s some really great stuff, including conversations with Betsey Johnson, Stephen Burrows and Lisa Immordino Vreeland. Videos go back to April 15, 2013.

*   My favorite laugh of the week was at the expense of a woman who swallowed a diamond at a fashion show fundraiser in Florida.  But I have a feeling she isn’t too upset.

*   John Galliano is now a teacher.   Parsons The New School For Design has announced that he’ll be teaching a class called “Show Me Emotion”.   Seriously, I did not make that up.

*   Brenna Barks has a great post on the subject of  Kashmir shawls on her blog.

*  A jeans making factory in Wales that had been closed since 2002 has been reopened, rehiring some of the old employees and sourcing the equipment in Poland.

*   Front Row: Chinese American Designers  and Shanghai Glamour: New Woman 1910s – 40s are on display now through September 29, 2013 at the Museum of Chinese in America, NYC.

*  I’m sure by now that you have read the story of the latest garment industry incident in Bangladesh.   The officials have begun to “round up the usual suspects,” and the blame game has begun.   It is so heartbreaking to see these people, knowing the conditions in which they were working, and then another huge loss of life, all due to the seriously flawed system by which our clothing is made and procured by companies and stores in the West.

I really wish that the answer to this problem was a simplistic as a refusal to buy garments made in Bangladesh.  There are many who argue that as bad as they are, the factory jobs in countries like Bangladesh provide the necessities of life to millions of people.  History has taught us that putting pressure on factory owners to improve conditions and raise wages often leads to the closure of the factory, or to its relocation in an even cheaper area.

Here in the South, we lament the jobs that were lost first to Mexico, then to Taiwan  then to Korea, then to China, and now to Bangladesh and Vietnam.  But we tend to forget that many of the Southern factories were relocated to the South in the early days of the 20th century, in an effort to escape the labor union movement that was strong in the North, but practically non-existent in the South.

It’s time we all realized that this is everyone’s problem.  Western consumers need to stop thinking that the most important thing about a garment is how little we can pay for it.  We need to take a long hard look at our buying habits, and realize that insisting on a $15 blouse or a pair of $12 pants is taking advantage of a situation that keeps people living in poverty and subjects them to unsafe working conditions.

Western clothing companies and stores need to take a good look at their practices so they will know with whom they are dealing.  And they need to start paying their suppliers a decent profit so the supplier can, in turn, pay the factory enough so that it pays to have a well maintained building and workers who are paid a wage that keeps them out of poverty.

As much as I get ill with the news media and their way of sensationalizing everything, I’m glad that this story has their attention.  In the past, factory tragedies in other countries have been under-reported, but this one is getting so much attention that perhaps it will alert more people to the way their cheap clothes are actually made.   And I’m led to believe that the change is going to have to start with Western consumers.  Refusing to buy cheap, under-priced clothing will not completely solve the problem, but that along with contacting your favorite brands, telling them you support the practice of paying more for a safely made product will help get the point across.

Also, pay attention to the stores and companies who are found to be doing business with dangerous factories.  Pay attention to what they say after tragedy strikes.  If they express surprise that they are doing business with substandard producers, that tells me that they are not paying attention to how they are conducting business.   Contrast that with Patagonia, who puts on their website all the factories with whom they contract.

This is a complicated problem, but one that can be solved if everyone steps up and does the right thing.

Vintage Miscellany – April 14, 2013

I’m not fooled by this young woman.  There is no way she intended to take a ride on that bicycle wearing that frilly frock.  No, I’m afraid she is a poseur.

*   Get a small peek at the great Jeanne Lanvin at work in this film clip at FashionTube.

*   Can you remember when Bloomies was the coolest store in New York?  Get a reminder from 60 Minutes.

*   The story of Elizabeth Keckley and Mary Lincoln is not a simple one.  Read about the former slave who was dressmaker to the president’s wife.

*   Michael Kors  once told a Project Runway contestant that the name of the show was not Project Seamstress.  His point was well taken, but now we actually do have a show that features sewing skill.  The BBC brings us The Great British Sewing Bee, and it appears to be gaining momentum in the UK.  And luckily for everyone else in the world, the episodes are on YouTube.  There are only eight contestants, with four shows total, and the run is halfway through.  See episode 1 and episode 2 and pray the other two are available.  High point: Savile Row tailor Patrick Grant is one of the judges.

*   Target will be doing a limited release of 17 scarves based on designs of Vera Neumann.  Starting April 28, and costing $19.95.  I’m glad that the Vera name will be given a mainstream fashion audience, but I hope the scarves will be clearly marked.

*   Caerlee Mills, one of the last of the great Scottish cashmere mills is in liquidation administration.  Beca Lipscombe explains why this is such bad news, both culturally and economically.

*   Art for breakfast.

*   The latest fashion movie explores the world that is Bergdorf Goodman.  Limited release on May 3, 2013.  I have a feeling they won’t be showing this one at the Smoky Mountain cinema…

*   There is an interesting exhibition in Paris  of fashion photos that were taken for copyright purposes.  1931, Face-Dos-Profil shows the couture of 1931 in three views as a way of fighting fashion piracy.  At the  Galerie du Crédit Municipal de Paris through July 6, 2013.

*  I want to thank Brooke at CustomStyle,  Kirsty Michelle at Central Station, Karen at Fifty Dresses, and Kate at MasonBentleyStyle for bestowing blogging award honors upon me last week.  I’m really, really bad at passing awards on, mainly because I’m so bad at choosing.  But I do want to say how nice it is to be recognized by other blog writers.

Along with receiving the award, the recipient is supposed to tell seven unshared things about themselves.  I’ve been blogging since 2004 and I’m not sure I have any secrets left.  No, I’m sure I have no secrets left because I’ve been thinking hard, trying to come up with a list.  The only thing I can think of is that I’m left handed, and I’m betting that somewhere along the line I’ve already shared that newsflash.  

Vintage Miscellany – March 31, 2013

I hope that everyone has a new hat for Easter, but without the dead birds, or live birds for that matter.

*   Tonight is the US debut of Mr. Selfridge, the story of the founder of  London’s  Selfridges department store.  I’ve heard that it is quite good.  PBS Masterpiece Classic, 9 pm ET.

*   Celine’s Phoebe Philo takes inspiration from Geoffrey Beene, 2004.

*   I really bet there is more to this story of Francesca di Damon designer Frances Rappaport and a family dispute.

*   The story of Willis and Geiger, the “Lost” expedition clothing brand.

*    Here’s a great reason to travel to Washington, DC, this summer – the National Gallery is hosting a huge exhibition on the art and costumes of the Ballet Russes.  May 12 through September 2, 2013.

*  The Savannah College of Art and Design is holding their annual event, SCADStyle and they have a great line-up this year with Betsey Johnson, Stephen Burows, Pat Cleveland, Lisa Vreeland and Fern Mallis.  April 15 – 19.

*   Jody at Couture Allure has written a good biography of largely forgotten designer, Nelly de Grab.

*  And Jenn at Hatfeathers profiles the other Nelly - Nelly Don.

*  An article at Forbes tells how Jen Guarino bought a dying  100+ year old leather goods company, J.W. Hulme,  and turned it into a $5 million a year business.

*   Ghosts of D.C. found some super photos from the Library of Congress  of girls in 1899 exercising in a gym.

*   The April issue of American Vogue features the 1950s inspired clothing of spring 2012 in a fashion feature based on the Hitchcock film, Rear Window.     Starring Tobey Maguire and Carolyn Murphy, it’s beautifully staged by Grace Coddington.  Weirdly, the name of the film is not mentioned until the ninth page of the story.  I can’t help but wonder if the connection to that movie was immediately obvious to readers who are not classic film fans, or is the imagery from Rear Window so much of pop culture that they did not need to identify the “classic Hitchcock film.”

* Last of all, with all the talk of the death of Google Reader  I decided to take a closer look at Bloglovin’, the site where many people say they are retreating to for their blog feed.  I signed up for Bloglovin’ years ago, but honestly, have never used it.  But after seeing how easy it was to see blog updates in one place, it made me wonder why not transfer all my blog links to it.  My gosh, but I am enjoying it, and I was able to follow all but a very few of the blogs I regularly read.  It is a real timesaver.

Vintage Miscellany – March 17, 2013

This is as close as I could come to a St. Patrick’s Day photo, which might be an odd choice, as this young woman is, in all likelihood,  not Irish.  But I think fun is universal, so grab a green beer and settle in for some fun links.

*   Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair, highlights the annual fair held each year from 1958 through 2009 by Ebony magazine.  At the Chicago  History Museum through January 5, 2014.

*   Common Threads: History of Fashion through a Woman’s Eyes is a student and faculty produced exhibition that shows changing fashion trends on college campuses in the Twentieth Century.  At the University of Delaware through June 28, 2013.

*  Talking Chuck Taylors – Spin produces an oral history of the famous Converse sneaker with some interesting interviewees.

*   The Baum School of Art in Allentown, PA, is hosting Vintage Fashion Trunk Show which will include a talk by Monica Murgia, who has recently cataloged the school’s Steig Collection of garments.  There will also be vintage vendors.

*  Reminisce magazine has a nice feature on its website where people tell their fashion stories. thanks to Mod Betty

*   Vivienne Westwood is still Vivienne Westwood.  Please stop expecting age to mellow her.

*   Lillian Cahn, original co-owner, and the first designer of Coach handbags, has died at age 89.

*   A great photo of Vera Neumann at the door of her office is on Shorpy, along with a view of the interior of her Marcel Breuer designed office.  The art on the wall is by Vera.  @SllabStudios

*    Sybil Connolly was an Irish designer who worked to incorporate Irish fabrics into her designs.  Here’s a great old film clip of her and some of her work.  @StitchUpHistory

*   The fashion weeks are over, finally.  I know this blog is about fashion history and vintage fashion, but I always am interested in the new collections, especially of the established firms like Chanel and Dior, and even Ralph Lauren.  It’s fun to see how the designers move forward while keeping the aesthetic of the house in mind.  Love him or hate him, to my mind Lagerfeld at Chanel remains the master of continuing to maintain a fresh look for the house, while incorporating the heritage of the brand in each collection.

I’m too young to remember the beginning of Yves Saint Laurent’s career, but from the mid 1960s on the influence of his Mondrian dresses and the collections that followed reached even me in my little back-water town.   His clothing launched dozens of trends while he was at his peak, everything from safari suits to smoking jackets to Russian gypsies.   This to me, is part of the problem with YSL.  I can’t sum up his “look” in just a few sentences the way I can Chanel or Balenciaga, or Ralph Lauren or Diane von Furstenberg.

But what can be said for Saint Laurent was that he did have the ability for many years to anticipate how women wanted to dress, even before they knew it.  I think Le Smoking is a good example.  How could women have known they wanted a female-scaled tuxedo until Yves gave it to them?

This brings me, of course, to the recently shown Saint Laurent Fall/Winter 2013, designed by Hedi Slimane.  The reactions to the show were rather divided, with some younger bloggers and writers saying they thought it was cool, and yes they would wear it, but with the more established fashion crowd seeing it as warmed over grunge and not at all what they would expect to see at Saint Laurent.

So what would one expect to see at a Saint Laurent show?  I really can’t put my finger on it except to say that I would except to see fresh, luxurious clothing that I and other women would want to wear.   When set to that tune, Slimane fell terribly flat.  I did love the coats, but a grey duffle?  I have one from 1983 already in my closet, and they are literally everywhere this year.  And I’ve not worn a high-waisted gathered plaid dress since I was two.

My favorite statement about Saint Laurent came from Cathy Horyn:   Without the label attached to them, Mr. Slimane’s grunge dresses wouldn’t attract interest — because they’re not special. But a box of labels is worth a million.  

Vintage Miscellany – March 3, 2013

It’s been snowing here for three days, but in true Southern fashion, we only have about an inch on the ground.  It melts almost as fast as it falls, and only during the nighttime has it been able to accumulate.  Still, I’m ready for spring.  To help us all hang on a bit long, I’m sharing this bunch of bathing beauties.  Be sure to click the photo to see them in all their glory.

*   The PR blitz for the upcoming Punk: Chaos to Couture show has begun, with at least three press events in the past three weeks.  And on the other hand, you have the widow of Malcolm McLaren claiming that the exhibition is fatally flawed.

*   I’ve never been to Manhattan, Kansas, but this exhibition at Kansas State University sure is tempting. Now through October 13, 2013 via @SllabStudios

*   Those of you in and around Manhattan, New York need to check out the Stephen Burrows retrospective at the Museum of the City of New York.  Opens March 22, 2013

*   The Smithsonian has an interesting article on how two  Boston socialites worked to end the trade in feathers.

*  Fashion designers’ names never die, they just get recycled on and on and on.  There is a furor over the new Ossie Clark line, and now there is news that Hollywood designer Irene’s name is being resurrected.  Via Dandelion Vintage

*   Parsons New School for Design has added a great resource on the work of Sophie Gimbel, the house designer at Saks for many years.

*  And they recently hosted the Fashion Colloquia for 2013. They livestreamed it, but if you missed it, you can still view most of it.  Included is a discussion of Sophie Gimbel.

*   There’ll be no Fashion’s Night Out in New York and other US cities this year, darn it.

* The grad school students at FIT run a good blog called On Pins and Needles.  They have just started a series on the art of fashion history exhibition.  The first installment focuses on Diana Vreeland.

*   A very ambitious new website is being developed: Europeana Fashion will provide online access to outstanding fashion content from Europe’s leading museums and private fashion archives. The first version of our exciting new fashion portal will be available online from May 2013.

*  And finally, this coming week brings to us not one, but TWO television reality shows that feature Los Angeles vintage clothing stores.  Debuting on March 6 on Bravo is The Dukes of Melrose, which is about the shop Decades, owned by Cameron Silver and Christos Garkinos.  The website shows a few snippets from the show, and frankly, I’m guessing that will be all I need to see.  The few scenes they show seemed contrived and rehearsed, such as Silver showing up at a client’s home only to find her in a huge bubble bath.  Watch it and see Silver and Garkinos spat over spending money.  My favorite line: “I can’t do coach,” in reference to flying.

UPDATE:  As expected, The Dukes of Melrose is a drama-filled, overly scripted waste of time.  That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.

On the other hand, I actually liked the Smithsonian channel’s L.A. Frock Stars.  It features the store of Doris Raymond, The Way We Wore.  On the site you can watch the entire first episode.  I enjoyed watching Doris and staff going through a vintage show and the closets of prospective sellers.  Some of it seems to be scripted, such as when Dita von Teese (who also makes an appearance in The Dukes of Melrose) shows up in a superb vintage Dior dress, and then proceeds to do a try-on session.  But the conversation was fun and seemed to be authentic.  Debuts March 7.

Vintage Miscellany, February 17, 2013

It’s possible that this basketball team was from the Pennington Seminary of Pennington, New Jersey.  If so, it’s interesting because 1909 was the last year that girls were admitted to the school until 1972.  Today, there is once again, a girl’s basketball team at Pennington – the Red Raiders.

And on to the non-sporting news:

*   Woolrich, the country’s oldest continually running textile factory,  has made a public commitment to expand their made in the USA products in a letter issued at Outdoor Retailer Winter Market.

*   The Textile Gallery at the Charleston Museum has three new exhibitions:  Uniformly Dressed, through August 11, 2013,   Fashion Accessories: Shoes through June 9, 2013, and Hunt and Habit, through April 21, 2013.

*   Is it possible to get enough of Bill Cunningham?  I really don’t think so.

*  The Frick presented a lecture by Aileen Ribeiro titled Renoir and the Democracy of Fashion which you can view in its entirety.

*  Norma Kamali has been doing quilted coats since the 1970s, so I’m wondering what took her so long to do this.

*   Check out these eleven art-inspired fashion shoots, compiled by Raquel Laneri.

*   Designer Alfred Fiandaca died last week at the age of 72.

* The winter 2013 edition of the Vintage Fashion Guild newsletter is available for viewing.  It’s full of articles of interest to vintage fashion lovers.

*  This All Things Considered story helps explain why the New York Garment District remains important to emerging designers.

*   And then they ask the question, “Could Cristobal Balenciaga make it today?“

*   I’ve decided not to get my panties in a twist over the Miuccia Prada costumes for the new Boz Luhrmann Great Gatsby film.  Really, I have.

*  The  Kent State Museum’s collection of Katharine Hepburn’s clothing has left New York and is now on display in Florida at the Vero Beach Museum of Art.  Through May 19, 2013.