California & The West, Events, Film & Television, Interwar Years (1920s-1930s), Museums & Exhibitions, Uncategorized

Levi Strauss & Co: The CSA Tour

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A few Sunday’s ago, I had the pleasure of joining a select group of Costume Society of America Western Region members for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Levi Strauss & Co archives in San Francisco.

In the Levi Strauss archives

This was a tour that had been years in the making, and thanks to the generosity of Lynn Downey (the company archivist) and to the organizer (CSA Western President Shelly Foote) the program was a great success.

The weather couldn’t have been more idyllic, and when we arrived at the archives, a beautiful array of clothing from throughout Levi’s history was laid out before us. Ms. Downey had brought out her favorite pieces and generously peppered her talk with contextual information – how each was linked to Western or California history at large, company history, or cultural history. Downey discussed everything from early western work-wear and the origin of the riveted pant, to the company’s foray into Khaki pants, women’s denim wear on dude ranches, to early children’s wear during the baby boom of the 1950s, collaborations (including shirts for the 1939 Worlds Fair and Winchester hunting wear), and clear through to Mod clothing of the 1960s, Leisure suits of the 1970s, the 1980s collector trend in Japan, and up through Christian Siriano’s design for Project Runway.

Some quick-facts to tease you:

  • More from inside the Levi Strauss archives

    Levi Strauss did not have a store in the United States until 1991: they were only wholesale merchants until that point

  • In 1872 a Reno, NV tailor named Jacob Davis suggested that Strauss include rivets on denim pants to make them more sturdy. Although Strauss was not a manufacturer at this time he agreed to patent the design with the tailor. On May 20, 1873 the two gentlemen got the patent to make the first pair of mens riveted work pants.
  • The original name of the 501 jean was “XX”
  • The Levi Strauss archive acquired an 1880s pair of jeans (not the 501) with a ‘rule’ pocket, paying $46,500 after an intense bidding war
  • The oldest known riveted denim jacket (from the 1880s) was found in a ghost town in Southern California (and is now in their collection)

Ms. Downey generously spoke to our group for a little over an hour, and then allowed us to put on gloves and examine everything more closely. She offered to answer any questions we had about Levi myths, ‘things we had heard,’ and even offered to bring out additional items if we wanted.

After a number of questions and lively discussions, our group moved back into the public display area to look at the clothing, artifacts and ephemera on view to the public, which included the company’s recent movie and celebrity tie-ins, as well as a conservation video, and a brief history of the company.

I was thrilled with this unique opportunity to learn more about this historic western company. Happily for CSA Western Region members, a full report will be forthcoming in the next issues of the regional newsletter. Should you want to learn more about Levi’s, Ms. Downey has written a book providing the definitive history of Levi Strauss & Co. I’ve included below some of my photos from the behind-the-scenes tour. Enjoy!

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Books & Resources, California & The West, Film & Television, Uncategorized

Behind the costumes of Bye Bye Birdie (1963)

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I recently watched the 1963s musical Bye Bye Birdie and wanted to quickly share some of my favorite costume moments from this wonderfully bright and colorful film (if you haven’t seen it, the camp factor is through the roof).

Conrad Birdie's Bathrobe from Bye Bye Birdie (Click for source)

The costumes — executed by Pat Barto and Marjorie B. Wahl — include some pretty outrageous ensembles. Hearthrob Rock ‘n Roll star ‘Conrad Birdie’ (quite clearly modeled on Elvis) has some of the loudest costumes (including the tiger-print bathrobe seen on the right and an Elvis-esque gold lame suit), but the costumes of both Kim (Ann-Margret) and Rosie (Janet Leigh) have greater significance – both to film history and popular culture at large.

Many will be familiar with the theme song to Bye Bye Birdie from it’s brief appearance in a Madmen Episode, where Ann-Margret’s character is explored as the epitome of innocence and sexuality. In her autobiography, My Story, Ann-Margeret explains a little more of that dichotomy and how it worked to her advantage when getting cast in the role (See photos above):

For whatever reason, director George Sidney decided that I was perfect for the part of Kim McAfee. He’d even selected me before we met, having spotted me dancing at the Sands in Las Vegas the previous New Year’s Eve. A while later, he sent me a script for Birdie, then arranged a meeting in his office. He always reminded me that he’d had to keep from smiling at how I’d put on a pleated skirt and flats to try and look sixteen. ‘I saw how you looked in Vegas,’ he confessed. ‘It wasn’t sixteen.'”

Rosie, the character played by Janet Leigh, is supposed to be a wiser “New York” woman in contrast to Kim, the innocent teen. Leigh was a natural blonde, and that didn’t quite work for the character’s image. In a contemporary newspaper clipping, Leigh is quoted as saying “In my present film, “Bye Bye Birdie” at Columbia…I play the role of Rosie De Leon, Spanish secretary and girl friend of Dick Van Dyke. Now, with my blond hair I don’t exactly look Latin, but wearing a black wig—vive la difference! And that’s where the fun comes in.” [Taken from a clipping in the Bye Bye Birdie folder from AMPAS].

In her 1984 autobiography, There Really Was a Hollywood, Leigh went on to discuss the importance of that wig to her later career, saying “When I was shooting Bye Bye Birdie, Blake Edwards had visited the set, and was fascinated by me in the black wig. He was preparing The Pink Panther (and a wig ended up serving as the disguise for the lady’s escapades) and approached me to do the film.”

From a historical perspective, Bye Bye Birdie highlights the growing influence of youth culture, the increasing importance of television and other mass media, not to mention the cult of celebrity. Many of the costumes include the familiar 1950s shirtwaist dresses, and some vaguely mod references. Here’s a good clip to get you started:

Resources:

Ann-Margret, with Todd Gold, My Story, New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons 1994 p. 98

Leigh, Janet, There Really Was a Hollywood, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1984 p. 300

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California & The West, Events, Film & Television, Friends and Colleagues, Uncategorized

Interpreting History Through Costume: A CSA Western Region Symposium

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I’m so excited to share with readers that the Costume Society of America’s Western Region has just released its registration flyer for the next regional symposium! To be held March 16-18 at the William S. Hart Ranch in Newhall, CA, “Interpreting History Through Costume” will include a wide range of activities and intellectually stimulating paper presentations.

The William S. Hart Ranch

For those unfamiliar, William S. Hart was a silent film star – primarily of cowboy movies and he became an avid collector of western art and artifacts (including costumes). His historic 1910 Ranch House will provide an exciting backdrop to the paper presentations.

This academic symposium includes presentations connecting fashion, history, theatre costume, national costume, gender, re-enactors, and much more (it also includes papers by my good friend and regular Worn Through contributor Brenna Barks, and former Smithsonian curator Shelly Foote). Highlights include:

  • A Comparison of Costumes Worn for Performances of Sheridan’s “The School for Scandal”
  • Fashioning Greek Identity-Representing “Greekness” in the 19th Century
  • Saris to Skirts: Negotiating National Identity through Costume
  • Collecting Japan: The Kimono and Textile Collection at the Clark Center for Japanese Culture
  • Dressing the Part: Mary Pickford’s Use of Costume

Additional activities include tours of the Hart Museum and a special costume display, a screening of the William S. Hart Film Tumbleweeds (1925), social time and opportunities to explore the Ranch (which is home to a heard of American Bison and other animals).

For complete details on the symposium and to register, download the flyer below.

Interpreting History Through Costume

March 16-18

 

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California & The West, Film & Television, History in the Making, Knitting & Yarn Arts, Uncategorized

Portlandia and the 1890s

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(Yes, we realize that's a 1920s flapper costume...it's a part of the joke)

In case you missed the latest episode of Portlandia (on IFC), be warned that it is a marvelous example of history and popular culture repeating itself, and repeating itself again. Apparently, the 1890s are a growing trend in Portland and this episode satirizes the mutton-chop wearing, meat-grinding, modern pre-industrial men and women of Portland. I’ll admit, these things are all pretty hip here in the SF Bay Area too – I know a good deal of canners, knitters, beard-growers and straight-razor-users.

Cheers to costume designer Amanda Needham, who won an Emmy for her work on the show last year, for creatively capturing this unique and comedic version of the steam-punk(ish) trend (though it’s admittedly more utilitarian and less glamorous)! Enjoy the clip if you haven’t had a chance to see it:

 

*Image via OregonLive

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California & The West, Events, Friends and Colleagues, Museums & Exhibitions, Uncategorized

California Association of Museums conference (in Berkeley!)

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The 2012 CAM conference, Museums Making It Happen, will take place February 15-17, 2012 at the Berkeley Doubletree Marina and will feature:
  • Programs led by colleagues from 60 California museums
  • Over 40 educational sessions and workshops focusing on administration, school and public programs, exhibitions, collections, and hot topics
  • Receptions, dinners, and other opportunities to dialogue
  • Maker Stations to tinker, be creative, and experience “making” in action (stations to be announced soon!)

Registration includes: entrance to the general session, concurrent sessions, the Lunchtime Learning Opportunities, and the exhibit hall; two continental breakfasts; the closing reception; and all exhibit hall breaks. All workshops, tours, evening events, and luncheons are additional. See 2012 Schedule for workshop, tour, luncheon, and evening event prices.

The Pre-Registration Deadline is Friday, Janaury 27, 2012.
Highlights (from my point of view) include:
California Indian Basketry Workshop at the Hearst’s Basket & Textile storage facility in Berkeley/Emeryville.

Emerging Professionals Participants will gain an understanding of the kinds of jobs available, trends in the field, and how to land that first paid position.

Play With Your Stuff: Collections and Social Media Join professionals from across the museum spectrum as we brainstorm ideas to promote your collections through social media.

Collections Management Roundtable These informal roundtable discussions will focus on specific topics pertaining to collections management and provide an opportunity to network with (and learn from) colleagues.
The New Magnes: The Vaults Revisited : After nearly a 50 year history as an independent museum, the Judah L. Magnes joined the Bancroft library at the University of California, Berkeley in 2010. In January 2012, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life reopens in a new facility in the Berkeley arts and culture district.
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California & The West, Friends and Colleagues, Museums & Exhibitions, Uncategorized

Upcoming Exhibit “Dolls: Collections, Stories, and Tradition”

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What: “Dolls: Collections, Stories, and Tradition” Exhibition

Where: African American Art & Culture Complex, Sargent Johnson Gallery, 1st Floor, San Francisco

When: Opening Reception: February 2, 2012, Time: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. (Exhibition on view Feb 2 — May 3)

Details:

The Sargent Johnson Gallery is pleased to present a doll exhibition that addresses a need to celebrate the diversity and beauty of African American and African people and their experience, manifested in dolls. This exhibition is a survey, with selected samples of dolls from several collections and doll makers who have as their focus Black Dolls. They come in all shapes and sizes. They are made of various materials and have different functions. They tell stories and are witness to history. The human form doll is among the first play toys a child, especially a female child has to identify with; thus, its aesthetic appearance has important implications for how a child perceives his or her self image.

Curated by Nashormeh Lindo, this exhibition serves as a response to the underrepresentation of positive images reflective of the black experience in the mainstream toy and doll industry and that have negative implications for young girls from the Western Addition—primarily those who are African American of a darker skin complexion. Come and learn about the fascinating world of African and African American dolls!

Click here for more details: African American Art & Culture Complex

 

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California & The West, Film & Television, Friends and Colleagues, Interwar Years (1920s-1930s), Uncategorized

Noir City Film Festival starts tomorrow!

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The 10th Annual Noir City Film Festival starts tomorrow in San Francisco, and Eddie Muller (the Czar of Noir) is pulling out all the stops. The festival runs January 20-29 at its traditional home, the Castro Theatre, and features films from the 1930s-1960s. For the uninitiated, the Film Noir Foundation is dedicated to “rescuing and restoring America’s Film Noir Heritage” and they put on this amazing festival every year. Here are a few highlights to keep in mind when buying your tickets:

  • Angie Dickinson in Person (for a live interview on her career): Saturday night, January 21
  • Laura (1944) with costumes by Bonnie Cashin: Sunday, January 22
  • A brand new 35mm print of 1949’s The Great Gatsby, starring Alan Ladd: Saturday night, January 28
  • A special 10th anniversary celebration, Everyone Comes to Eddie’s, a swanky, sexy, and slightly sinister soiree in which the Swedish American Hall is transformed into a vintage 1940s-era nightclub: Saturday night, January 28, 2012.
  • Noir City Tours of San Francisco: Sunday, Jan. 22 and Wednesday, Jan. 25.
  • The original Maltese Falcon (1931) and a Dashiell Hammett Marathon: Sunday, Jan 29
  • More amazing vintage films that you’ve never seen and aren’t available anywhere else

Sorry to get gushy here kids, but I love this festival and its always got some great gems (not to mention some pretty amazing costumes!). Double-features abound so you really get your money’s worth. But if you can swing it, the Passport ($120) may be the way to go. More details (and a list of films) are available here:

Noir City X

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Books & Resources, California & The West, History in the Making, Uncategorized

Spotlight on real Costume Design

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For those who are enthusiastic about the field of costume design (whether you are an aspiring or working costume designer or you just love movie costumes), there’s a key publication you should be aware of: The Costume Designer. Published by the Costume Designers Guild (local 892), it is the professional union for working costume designers in Hollywood. The current issue celebrates the 25th issue published by the organization and includes a number of articles of interest.

Of course January is Oscar prep season, so many of the ads are promoting designers such as Sandy Powell, Sharen Davis, Deborah Hopper, and Jany Temime (among many others) – asking those voting in the Academy to consider them for the Best Costume Design Oscar. Two special articles include an excerpt from a book on footwear, and a short piece called Beauty in the Details that highlights Drive, The Playboy Club and W.E. (about Wallace Simpson). The best thing about this magazine? It’s free and you can download it as a pdf here:

The Costume Designer

 

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