Hollywood Costume is the lavishly illustrated coffee-table book and exhibition catalog from the Victoria & Albert exhibition of the same name. It frequently juxtaposes film stills with the physical costumes. The above costume was designed by Travis Banton for Claudette Colbert in Cleopatra, 1934. The image below shows Colbert wearing the dress (and showing off much cleavage) For more on the costumes in this film, see my article at Worn Throughfrom 2010.
Another spectacular costume featured in Hollywood Costume (along with installation shots and an essay by Sam Gatley on dressing the mannequin) is this costume for Irene Bullock (Carole Lombard) in My Man Godfrey, 1936 by Travis Banton (Page 214-5, Gown and duster jacket designed by Travis Banton. The Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design Larry McQueen. Credit: Victoria and Albert Museum).
My Man Godfrey happens to be one of my favorite movies (hello, William Powell!). The image of this dress is gorgeous in this two-page spread, but seeing all those glass bugle beads in motion in the film is just absolutely stunning. The scene below features the dress, but is also a fairly important point of the plot: (pardon the ad at the beginning of the clip):
For more wonderful insights, be sure to check out the book, Hollywood Costume (Abrams) edited by Deborah Nadoolman Landis.
*Page 137 The Collection of Motion Picture Costume Design Larry McQueen. Credit: Victoria and Albert Museum
"Dresses of the early 1900s were often loosely tailored and simple with a slightly raised waistline. During the years between 1915 and the early 1920s, it wasn’t uncommon for a debutantes dress to be short. Audrey Hoffman, mother of Audrey Clinton, in her coming out dress made of silk, satin, and lace. New York, 1915."
For those who love all things fabulous, there is nothing quite like a debutante ball gown to sweep you off your feet. Debutantes: When Glamour was Born by Diana Oswald (Rizzoli International) offers a decadent peek inside the world of the debutant.
Debutantes: When Glamour was Born includes 150 photographs by renowned fashion photographers such as Horst P. Horst, Bill Cunningham, Cecil Beaton and Toni Frissell (among others), as well as reprinted society pages, documenting high fashion worn by society women in both Europe and the United States during the 20th century. It makes special use of previously unpublished pictures from personal archives of several debutantes (including Lavinia Baker and Tricia Nixon, among others). Gowns by the likes of Oscar de la Renta (who also wrote the foreword), along with Norman Norell, Norman Hartnell, Hattie Carnegie, Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, Mainbocher, and Madeline Vionnet, among other un-credited designers are included.
According to the introduction by David Patrick Columbia, American’s adopted the practice of presenting a young lady into society (a key part of match-making for the wealthy) from Europeans in the 19th century. Surprisingly, American’s had stricter rules than did their British and French counter-parts. Columbia’s introduction goes on to highlight the role of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York Cotillions, present pages of Town & Country, and provide details of society parties for Doris Duke, Barbara Hutton, and Jacqueline Bouvier (Kennedy). It is a brief though sweeping overview (that could use some source citation).
"A master at creating shapes and silhouettes, Dior was known and sometimes even criticized or using over abundant amounts of fabric for just one dress. Chicago debutante Joan peterkin stuns in a strapless tulle and white satin Dior with white satin gloves. Chicago, 1949. Photo by Horst P. Horst."
The remaining five chapters of the book are photographic selections with detailed captions. Chapters are grouped thematically and titled: A Fine Elegance; Celebutantes; Glitter and The Dress; The Grandiose; and Summer Soirées. Photos are captioned with tid-bits of interesting information on the wearer and date, and sometimes the designers is mentioned and described. Example: “Debutante Tess D’Englanger wears a white organdy gown by Irene, 1952. Irene began her career as a costume designer and catered to both high society and Hollywood royalty.” (34)
The gowns in this book are beautiful, but I think each chapter could have benefited from a short (two-page) introduction to provide better context and organization. That said, Debutantes: When Glamour was Borndoes provide photographic access to a very private world of the rich and famous with previously unpublished material, that could be useful to collections housing debutante gowns. It will also most certainly appeal to those looking for inspiration for formal gowns from history, or to add a bit of glamour to the coffee table of the fashion enthusiast.
Known for her ‘peek-a-book’ hairstyle – it became a bit of a problem during World War II: “In the early 1940s, US government officials asked Lake to wear her hair up for the duration of WWII: it seems that too many women working in factories were imitating her famous “peek-a-boo bang” and getting their hair caught in assembly-line machinery.” (Turner Classic Movies)
New from Abrams/V&A in time for holiday gift giving, is Pearls by jewelry historian Beatriz Chandour-Sampson and Hubert Bari, curator at the Qatar Museum authority. Meant to accompany the exhibition of the same name (on view through January 2014), this survey of pearl jewelry spans both time and the globe: from the Byzantine Empire to Jackie Kennedy to the present day.
Ceremonial Glove, Palermo, Sicily, before 1220: Red Velvet, gold, enamel, niello, pearls, amethysts, garnets, rubies, sapphires, spinels. Possibly for the coronation of Frederick II of the Staufer dynasty, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Weitliche Schatzkammer, Vienna
Beautifully illustrated, Pearls utilizes the Victoria & Albert and other museum collections to good effect. The text is both sweeping and detailed, which helps keep this volume petite by packed with information. Eight chapters (or essays) detail the global history and importance of pearls as jewelry.
Covering both its natural (and unnatural) history, as well as their historical context the chapters are basically chronological. While the book primarily covers the history of pearls in the western world, the introduction, first, and concluding chapters explore the global aspects of pearls: their trade, their creation, and their particular role in eastern cultures.
Chrysanthemum Brooch, Tiffany & Co, New York, c1904, Gold, platinum, diamonds, pearls. The pearls are from Mississippi, Tiffany & Co Archives.
Not surprisingly, I’m interested in the twentieth century section of the book, and it does not disappoint in its representation of Belle Epoch, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco examples from makers and designers such as Cartier, Schiaparelli, Chanel, Tiffany, and the like. Photographs of royalty, socialites, film stars, and political figures pepper the pages of this chapter, providing context to significant pieces.
All chapters utilize a wide range of museum collections, high quality images, and very well written text making Pearls a marvelous gift for jewelry enthusiasts and historians alike.
Icon with Virgin and Child, Ivan Nikolaev Mnekin, Moscow, 1886. Gilded Silver, oil mainting on metal, enamel, freshwater pearls. Cyrillic maker's mark 'iM'" the pearls are from Russia. Qatar Museums Authority, Doha
Balenciaga taffeta gown with lace trim, 1955 (Kyoto Costume Institute)
A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend the Costume Society of America program including a tour of “Wear to Party” at the Museum of Ventura County, as well as the tour of Lotusland with a lecture on Ganna Walska (the Polish opera singer) and the costumes designed for her by Erte.
I’m going to go into too much detail (CSA Members can look forward to a writeup in our Spring 2014 newsletter of the event). However, I do want to share a few photos from the tour of “Wear to Party” – which was fabulous, informative, and fun.
“Wear to Party” is an exhibit focused on the clothing worn while social entertaining in Ventura County, including beach parties, barbeques, dinner dances, and of the prom attended by local residents. Our tour guide was the volunteer curator (and former Smithsonian curator), Shelly Foote – whose knowledge seems endless. My favorites from the exhibit include several 1930s dresses: a garden party dress with a jellyfish print, a black taffeta evening gown with a dramatic back, and a black velvet gown with green beaded sleeves. However, the pink Balenciaga-esque prom dress was also a favorite. See more below.
This pink prom dress dates was purchased at I. Magnin in 1956, the year after Balenciaga put out a similar gown
1937 Taffeta gown purchased at Burgdorf Goodman’s in New York while the own was heading to her honeymoon.
1934 velvet and rayon dinner dress (likely worn by the owner to the local 20-30 Club, a dinner-dance venue.
Released just a few weeks ago, Jean Patou: A Fashionable Life by Emmanuelle Polle highlights the extensive private archives of the Patou heirs for the first time. This oversize monograph from Flammarion that Polle spent two years researching, features 250 color and black-and-white illustrations, including the much of the early days of fashion photography (such as those by Baron de Meyer).
The book is divided into three sections: a biography of Jean Patou, his work in Paris, and his work in the United States. Pages are covered from edge to edge with fashion sketches, photographs of garments (sportswear, swimwear, day-wear, etc, gowns), fashion photographs (including both street fashion and studio photographs), focused on the 1920s and 1930s – the height of his powers. It also includes information related to his famous perfumes-Joy and Que Sais-Je.
In New York in 1924, Jean Patou poses in one of the eighty-odd suits he claimed to own.
Though his career lasted a short fifteen years, his use of embroideries, jersey, and interest in day pajamas, and sportswear made him a rival of Chanel. The book also includes discussion and visual representation of the inspiration he gained during World War I-even including some garments he collected and kept as inspirational pieces. The book discusses his clientele, his friends, his lovers and gives an in-depth look at the man and his design work (much of which researched from private letters, diaries, and other previously unpublished material).
This book is a welcome addition to fashion history literature – as it is the first book to focus solely on the short but substantial career of Jean Patou since the 1980s. Jean Patou: A Fashionable Life is one of those rare gems that will be of interest to both established fashion historians, archivists, libraries, museums and fashion enthusiast alike. Especially those interested in Paris, and the Art Deco period.
For a ‘sneak peak’ of the interior, check out the small gallery below.
Jean Patou Archives, “Fleurs du mal” coat in caramel silk velvet, back embroidered with flowers, 1921. It wasn’t unusual for the names of Jean Patou’s designs to carry literary references. This one reflects the couturier’s taste for the poetry of Baudelaire.
In New York in 1924, Jean Patou poses in one of the eight-odd suits he claimed to own.
Just a few days ago the new issue of Smithsonian Magazine landed in my mailbox. The entire issue is dedicated to the 101 objects (out of the 137 million in the Smithsonian’s collection) that are the ‘most important’ in American history and culture (arguably, of course). More than a few objects of clothing and textiles made the cut.
Each is accompanied by a small contextual essay and an illustration (usually a photograph of the actual object, but occasionally illustrations are included).
Neil Armstrong's Space Suit (1969)
Some of the essays are written by surprising people. For example, Martha Stewart penned the essay on the Singer Sewing Machine and Justice Sandra Day O’Conner wrote the essay on her own judges robe.
The essays are available in part or in full online, and grouped by theme: Wild America, Discovery, Voice, Power, Invention, Community, Happiness, America in the World, and Freedom. It’s a good issue and a unique look at the history of the U.S. The weekend’s approach is a good excuse to seek out the issue, sit down and read it (especially those for those with historical leanings).
What articles of clothing would you have included that they left out?
If you could see the stack of books on my ‘to do list’ you might run for the hills, but you also might sit down for a good long read. There are some great reviews ahead – so keep an eye out. First up is Hollywood Before Glamour: Fashion in American Silent Film by Michelle Tolini Finamore. Released earlier this year, it has been on my to do list the longest, and here are some brief notes about it’s contents.
Nearly 300 compact pages of academic scholarship cover the 1900s through the 1930s in 6 thematic essays (plus an introduction). Not surprisingly, much of the work discusses Lady Duff Gordon (or Lucile), and also includes an entire chapter on the designer Peggy Hamilton.
It also includes discussions of American Fashion design on film during World War I, and the rise of the ‘specialist’ costume designer (including Adrian, Andre-Ani, Travis Banton, Howard Greer, Iribe, Mitchell Leisen, Max Ree, and Sophie Wachner – though noticeably absent is Natacha Rambova.) Actor’s who provided their own wardrobes for modern films, and the marketing potential that came out of that is also explored. The book is well researched, but is not meant to be a comprehensive study of the era. It remains a helpful resource.
*Anna Moore/Lillian Gish wearing negligee in Way Down East (United Pictures 1920, director D.W. Griffith). Photo by Bain News Service, new York. George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress.)
Looms, placed near windows, at the blanket factory of Sutter's FortFor sale in the store at Sutter's Fort
On a mini-vacation to Sacramento last week, I spent a little while at the Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park. For those unfamiliar, the Swiss immigrant named John Sutter founded the fort in the Sacramento Valley after getting a land grant from the Mexican government in 1939. Sutter then created a flourishing agricultural empire, and a haven for many immigrants traveling west. More famously, on January 24, 1848, James Marshall made his customary inspection of the sawmill he was building for John Sutter, and discovered gold that began California’s famous gold rush.
Interestingly, it was the same James Marshall, Sutter’s head carpenter, who made the looms and spinning wheels for the Sutter’s Fort blanket factory. Thousands of sheep were raised near the fort and in the spring, the sheep were sheare, and the wool processed at the Fort. Local Native Americans worked the looms and wheels. The factory was in the same location in 1846 that it is today, and there is much educational programming (mostly for children) related to its history. The Fort also displays hand-knitting and other textile arts throughout its rooms, and the store even has small kits for learning to quilt, spin, weave, and even sew.
a typical immigrant’s room, note the spinning wheel, quilt, and hand-knitting
Patty Reed’s doll is back on display after some much needed conservation
Recreation of John Sutter’s room at the fort. He got his bed linens from the Russians.
Looms, placed near windows, at the blanket factory of Sutter’s Fort
Spinning wheels at the blanket factory of Sutter’s Fort
My bedtime reading for the last month has been something of a guilty pleasure: Rather than making me sleepy, it keeps me on the edge of my seat and is a fascinating true tale of a real-life bond girl with brains, independence, and beauty.
The Many Lives of Miss K: Toto Koopman – Model, Muse, Spy by Jean-Noel Liaut, translated by Denise Raab Jacobs (Rizzoli, September 2013) is the deftly told story of the world’s first bi-racial model (Javanese and Chinese), who was also a spy, and who was openly bi-sexual, and who also served time in WWII concentration camps, and was influential in the career of artist Francis Bacon.
Her work within the world of Fashion (with a capital F) is detailed here in riveting and creative narrative, and much of that time is in my favorite time period (aesthetically): the 1920s and 1930s. From the designers she worked with, to the Parisian socialites who became her friends: She was an It girl, to be sure.
Toto worked for a brief six months for Chanel in 1930 as a house model, appearing in just one show for the 1930-31 fall/winter collection, “Which featured sober antelope coats and fluid evening dresses with backs that evoked peacock tails.” (24)
She quickly went on to work for Marcel Rochas, and following that Mainbocher (who would become her favorite designer). She even became a ‘jockey:’
The term used for a young woman–model, actress, or socialite–who wore their ‘colors,’ representing them [designers] in Parisian society. And Toto was everywhere: at the opera, at the Longchamp and Auteuil racecourses for the pesages, in nightclubs such as Chez Bricktop and at galas hosted by Jean Patou.” (26)
Toto Koopman models a gown by Augustabernard for photographer George Hoyningen-Huene in Vogue's September 1933 issue.
Toto regularly wore clothes from the most important designers of the 1930s: Chanel, Vionnet, and Schiaparelli. “Always drawn to eccentricity, Toto added quirky accessories, such as gloves with red lizard skin between the fingers, intentionally made to look like diseased skin–definitely Schiaparelli” (47-48)
She also worked steadily with some of the worlds most famous fashion photographers: including George Hoyningen-Huene, Edward Steichen, Horst P. Horst and Cecil Beaton. She first worked with Hoyningen-Huene in 1932, and he considered Toto an ideal model for the designs of Vionnet, Augustabernard, and other designers focused on neo-classicism.
The dresses hugged the curves of the body like a second skin, making it impossible to wear undergarments. To avoid indecency, Toto powdered her breasts and pubic area so that the fabric would not cling to those parts of her body.” (39)
Her work with Honingen-Huene appeared in Vogue often, and she even appeared on the cover. Outside of the long hours at the photography studio, Toto would spend little time with the other models – except for Lee Miller. The pair would remain friends and Miller’s surrealist sense of humor amused Toto. Some of Toto’s other friends included some giants in the Paris social scene. Women who shopped at Cartier and Schiaparelli, and who threw eccentric parties at a time when surrealism (and eccentricity) ruled. Bettina Jones, Roussy Mdivani, Salvador Dali, and Jean Cocteau were among her social set.
The Many Lives of Miss K: Toto Koopman – Model, Muse, Spy is a fascinating read, not only for the sections pertaining to fashion, but also for the historical context they provide for this time period. Despite the glamorous aspects of her life, there are some parts of this book that detail the hard, cold facts of The Resistance, World War II, and Concentration Camps, and while difficult to read it makes the story of Toto Koopman that more amazing, intriguing, and thoroughly fascinating. I’d encourage any fashion historian interested in the war and interwar years to pick up a copy.
My Man Godfrey happens to be one of my favorite movies (hello, William Powell!). The image of this dress is gorgeous in this two-page spread, but seeing all those glass bugle beads in motion in the film is just absolutely stunning. The scene below features the dress, but is also a fairly important point of the plot: (pardon the ad at the beginning of the clip):
