I’ve just received my very own copy of Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style (DK publishers – and the Smithsonian)! It’s so exciting to see ones name in print, especially alongside such well-respected and well-known historians, authors and researchers. It really is an amazing resource, and very well done (covering the history of [...]
Starting this evening, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival begins with a showing of Wings (1927) – a film about a lady aviator (or ‘flyer’) starring ‘it girl” Clara Bow. It is one of my favorite silent films, the story AND the costumes are great. Stella Dallas (1925), Mantrap (1926), Spanish Dancer (1923) and Pandora’s [...]
The boyish silhouette of the 1920s required special undergarments. Generally, a bandeau was used to flatten the bust with a single piece of fabric. Corsets and girdles were still heavily boned. Corset substitutes were made of softer elastic and referred to as “step-ins.” Specialty corsets were created for wear during sports, dancing, and even [...]
Yesterday, the Smithsonian Magazine’s blog, Past Imperfect posted a rather long article on Rudolph Valentino and his impact on sex and seduction in the early silent film era – and of course there is a brief mention of Natacha Rambova (the main subject of my own research). The article spends much of its time focused [...]
I am so happy that so many of you entered (10!) in the contest to win a copy of Schiaparelli & Prada! Below are some of the images that people submitted (in case you missed it). I was pleasantly surprised to see that many of you went to major museums to pull images for the [...]
Last week, I was able to share with you my thoughts on the newly released book Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations – and this week I’m happy to share that I have a copy of the book to GIVE AWAY to one lucky reader. To enter simply leave a comment in the section below discussing [...]
“David Cox, who had been [Gilbert] Clark’s assistant, stayed on until 1931 and became a fully-fledged designer. He did Joan Crawford’s famous beaded Charleston dress for Our Dancing Daughters and the rest of her films until the arrival of Adrian. Six days before the film had its world premiere in New York on 6 October, [...]
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