Fashion History

British Boutique movement of the 1960s and 1970s. My name is Liz, a.k.a Emmapeelpants, and I will try to introduce you all to the vibrant design movement as much as I can. Obviously it is an enormous subject, so I have chosen some select designers and boutiques to concentrate on. The emergence of youthful and ambitious British designers in the 1960s was a revolution in the fashion world. Quite apart from the front-runners enabling lots

Fashion trends of the mid 1960s I’m known as Senti (a nickname with a long history) and I am totally stuck in a 1960s timewarp. I missed the 1960s myself – being born in 1979 – but developed a love for this decade very early on, and now live in a 1960s house decorated with the appropriate vintage wallpaper and furniture, wear mainly 1960s clothes, am a self confessed knee-high boot addict. Not having lived

I will start with the earliest use of paper in fashionable dress and that is with fans in the 17th century. The idea of the folding paper fan was brought from the Far East and became a fashionable accessory in the early 1600s! In the late 18th century a cardboard impressed and glazed to look like fancy straw work was used to make hats and bonnets. This example is from 1812. This image, courtesy of

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

Adrian (1903 – 1959) was born Adrian Adolph Greenberg. As a teenager he changed his name to Gilbert Adrian in 1922. His father was Gilbert Greenberg, who later changed his own last name to Adrian to signal pride in his son’s accomplishments. Adrian started out in costume design working with Irving Berlin and later George White’s Scandals. He went under contract with Cecil B. DeMille in 1926 and in 1928 he was lured to MGM.

They were unique. They were of their time. And they were ours. And now, they are all but gone. Like so many other American cities, Louisville once had scores of local clothing stores that were institutions. One grew up and learned to shop were one’s mother and aunts shopped, not unlike following family traditions regarding one’s choice of church, doctor and attorney. Ladies went downtown to shop to the flagship buildings of Stewart’s, Selman’s or

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,

Louella Ballerino (1900 -1978) was a young mother when she first embarked on a professional design career in the mid to late-30s. She had studied with MGM costume designer Andre Ani (over 40 films, c. 1925-1930) while an art history major at the University of Southern California. When her family found themselves in financial difficulties after the Depression, Louella returned to a student money-making scheme of selling fashion sketches to wholesale manufacturers. She could make

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

Carmen de Tomasso (1909 – 2015) “I don’t like sophistication” The words of Carmen de Tomasso, looking back on her career, in 1989, sound somewhat absurd coming from a Paris couturière who resided in a veritable treasure trove of Louis XVI furniture and rich tapestries. But in 1950, ‘Carven’, as she renamed herself, was something different. In 1947, Dior had reasserted the luxury of Paris design with the lavish New Look. Carven, who established her

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

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

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

The following was adapted from a 2006 live workshop presented by Chris Riopelle. Part I: The Beginning Joe Famolare grew up in a third generation shoe making family. He was born in Boston and grew up in Chestnut Hill, which is a neighborhood/area on Boston’s south side. His father, Joe Sr., owned Famolare Shoe Engineering, which was opened in 1934. The company made cutting patterns for the shoe industry. Joe Jr. started working at the

Fashion brings to mind so many stylish cities: Paris, New York, London, Milan, Las Vegas? Las Vegas? Okay, so it may not be the capital of couture, but there is a certain look associated with this vibrant city. Remember Sharon Stone in Casino and what do you see? Acid coloured crochet pantsuits with bare midriffs, pale pink lipstick and big blonde hair. Dino or Frankie or any of the Rats might enjoy lounging about backstage

Hattie Carnegie (1889 -1956) was born in Vienna, Austria. Her name was Henrietta Kanengeiser. In 1900, she immigrated to the United States, and settled with her family in New York City. There is a famous story that while on the ship to America, Hattie asked a fellow voyager about who the richest and most prosperous people in America were. The answer was, “Andrew Carnegie” and according to the story, young Hattie decided to change her

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

Howard Greer (1886 – 1974) was an earlier designer than Adrian, and as well known in his day. Like Adrian, Howard Greer was credited by Vogue with “a sixth sense about the fashion future.” Greer got his start as a sketch artist for Lucile, Ltd. in 1916. He served in World War I on the front line in Europe, staying in Paris afterward and working for Lucile, Molyneux and Poiret. Greer returned to New York

Madame Alix Gres (1903-1993) was actually born Germaine Emilie Krebs in Paris. She began as a sculptor, but never had a fruitful career. Frustrated, she began to design toiles for a design house in Paris. That’s when she decided to try her hand at fashion design. She opened her first house under the name Alix Barton. She designed silk jersey dresses with simple lines and draping, and began gaining some publicity in fashion magazines. Her

Geoffrey Beene (1927 – 2004) The Vintage Fashion Guild would like to honor the life and work of designer Geoffrey Beene who passed away in September, 2004. We have collected a pictorial history of his designs through the years of actual garments either owned or sold by our members. Beene was born August 30th, 1927 in Haynesville, Louisiana. Initially, Beene planned to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and become a doctor. He was enrolled in