Fashion Features

A noteworthy event of 20th century American fashion was the emergence of the film costume designer as an influence on everyday fashion. Prior to the 30s, Hollywood imported European fashion designers to bring some much needed style and class to their offerings after the excesses of the 20s. When the Paris designers returned home, Hollywood designers came in to their own designing both period epics and modern fashion features.

Due to the success of both the film industry and the untiring efforts of the studio publicity departments, many costume designers became house hold names and used this recognition when they made the shift to fashion design. They were certainly helped in the USA by the absence of French and English fashion during the war years. By the time their houses closed in the 50s and 60s, the influence of film designers on retail fashion had begun to fade. Today even most fashionistas can’t name a film costume designer. And yet in their day designers such as Howard Greer, Adrian, Irene, Helen Rose, Edith Head and Travis Banton were as well known in the US and even internationally as many Couture designers.

The greatest of them all was possibly Adrian, whose work in film and fashion influenced much of American fashion in the 1940s. His fashion work commands serious attention to this day. Greer was an earlier star, but his work went on for years, and was seen as recently as 2005 when Sarah Jessica Parker wore a black and pink Greer dress to the CFDA awards. Both Irene’s and Helen Rose’s work continues to be highly collectible. Banton and Head, while influential, never attempted their own wholesale houses.

Read more about notable designers in the film industry

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Swirl was not so much a company as it was a product, especially in the early days of production. But in order to understand the product, we need to know a little about the company that produced it.

The story starts in Philadelphia with the L. Nachman and Son Company, which was located at 10th and Berks Streets. This company had produced clothing since the early days of the 20th century. In 1944 the Swirl dress and label were born. Actually, the Swirl was originally conceived as an apron. When Lawrence Nachman registered the Swirl name with the US Patent and Trade mark office, the product was listed as “WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ WRAP-AROUND APRONS”. The wrap around apron was a common garment of the day.

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Just what IS rockabilly? Well, according to Wikipedia, “Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, and emerged in the early-1950’s. The term “rockabilly” is a portmanteau of “rock,” from rock and roll, and “hillbilly”, the latter a reference to the country music (often called “hillbilly music” in the 1940s and 1950s) that contributed strongly to the style’s development. Other important influences on rockabilly include Western Swing, blues music, boogie woogie, and Jump blues. Although there are notable exceptions, its origins lie primarily in the Southern USA.”. Rockabilly is generally considered to have been popular just from the early 1950’s to early 1960’s, though once its influence reached the mainstream it never truly went away. Several rockabilly revivals have taken place within the music industry over the years, most notably in the 80’s with the popularity of the Stray Cats.

But why does rockabilly matter to fashion? What is the rockabilly “look”? That’s a question often pondered by both sellers and buyers of vintage clothing, and the answer is a little more complicated than the one above. As any genre of music has done over the years, rockabilly had a strong influence on fashions on the 50s to early 60s which have evolved into a more complex definition in today’s fashion world.

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See shoes from VFG members on Etsy (paid link)

THE 19th CENTURY – Modesty and Technology

Nature may dictate height but the shoe designer is more than capable of manipulating it. This was never more obvious than immediately following the French Revolution (1792) when shoe heels all but disappeared. Their demise was motivated by politics and the desire to suggest that everyone was born on the same level.

Heels first returned on male footwear when in the late 1810s a new fashion emerged. Trousers were anchored with stirrup straps underneath the foot, which displaced the older knee-length breeches. The heel was an additional aid in keeping the pant strap in place.

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Remember the 90s when everyone wore black until a darker shade came along? What is it with colour? Brown became the new black in the late 1990s but then a riot of colour exploded each spring of the new millennium that offered a playful palette for hot summer months, only to be shelved each autumn for a return to neutrals. Fashion, is… well, fashion. And it must change if for no other reason than the sake of change.

Colour may be a tool of seasonal fashion fun but in the past it could represent status better than a Hummer, and technological wizardry better than any Ipod that can carry a billion tunes.
The first colour that carried fashion weight was purpura; (Latin for purple) was made from the putrefied crushed shells of Murex, a mollusk, and was more expensive than any colour ever procured in fashion history. Emperor Aurelian refused to let his wife buy a purpura-dyed silk garment in 273 CE because the cost was literally its weight in gold. Seven hundred years previous to this domestic dispute, purple robes had been accessioned into the royal treasury of Persia. Alexander the Great discovered this multi-million dollar vintage hoard nearly two hundred years after their being stowed away.

Fashion however, has always been an art of invention, interpretation, and imitation. By 300 CE a mixture of red and blue dyes made a new, more affordable purple, which was a good thing since the Murex had been harvested to near extinction. Knock-offs however, have always plagued fashion and the late 4th century Emperor Theodosium of Byzantium issued a decree forbidding the use of purple except by the Imperial family. Death was the result of breaking the edict.

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See sewing patterns and supplies from VFG members on Etsy (paid link)

Vintage sewing patterns open up a whole new world of collecting for someone interested in vintage fashion. Some collect vintage patterns because they want to reproduce the styles of days gone by for their wardrobes. Others collect them because these slim envelopes filled with tissue give a glimpse into a lifestyle that many of us no longer have the luxury to live. They are, in, and of themselves, a documentation of fashion sewing of the past. The artwork on the envelopes can also be a thing of beauty to behold all by itself.

For those who cannot find the vintage styling they want in their size, fabric, or price range, vintage patterns afford the ability to have exactly what one wants, the way one wants it, whether one sews it up at home or retains the services of a custom clothier. Even if the pattern doesn’t have the proper size specifications, a skilled seamstress or tailor can make adjustments to fit any body type or size. Patterns can also be used as a starting point or “inspiration” for a modern garment.

Other related items that can be collected along with vintage patterns are old pattern books from fabric stores and departments and monthly or quarterly pattern magazines that were issued by the pattern companies. These publications are invaluable tools for designers, students of apparel design, the custom clothier who specializes in vintage fashion, and the vintage fashion enthusiast.

History

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See women’s swimwear from VFG members on Etsy (paid link)
See men’s swimwear from VFG members on Etsy (paid link)

You may think that the body-baring bikinis of today would have shocked the world centuries ago but you’d be wrong. Actually today’s swimwear is rather similar to that which was worn in ancient Greece as far back as 300 BC. As pictured on mosaic walls, ancient Greek women were barely covered by pieces of fabric, much like the scanty bikinis of the 20th century!

During the Roman Empire, the communal bathhouse was an important neighborhood gathering place. Here business was discussed and gossip shared in pleasurable surroundings that offered the luxury of oil and water, hot and cold baths while you chatted. After the fall of the Roman Empire, bathing was no longer considered a recreational pastime in western society and was reserved for therapeutic use only.

Years later ‘spas’ began to reappear in European towns like Bath in England and Germany’s Baden Baden, at which men were segregated from women.

Even though females couldn’t be viewed by the male gender, they were still concerned about their modesty, so bathing dresses were donned. To prevent the skirts from rising up around the body when entering the water, hems often had weights sewn into them. The suits were worn with heavy dark stockings and for extra caution, many were also worn with long knickers or bloomers.

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See hats from VFG members on Etsy (paid link)

Is a hat a frivolous accessory or a necessity? When looking into its history it quickly becomes apparent that it has been both.

Headwear for women began in earnest during the Middle Ages when the church decreed that their hair must be covered.

During the 18th century, milliners took the hat-making art out of the home and established the millinery profession. Today, a ‘milliner’ defines a person associated with the profession of hat making. In the 18th century however, a milliner was more of a stylist. Traditionally a woman’s occupation, the milliner not only created hats or bonnets to go with costumes but also chose the laces, trims and accessories to complete an ensemble. The term ‘milliner’ comes from the Italian city of Milan, where in the 1700’s, the finest straws were braided and the best quality hat forms were made.

DOUBLE OR NOTHING

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