FIDM Museum Blog

Gatsby’s Women: 1920s Evening Dress from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection

Evening Dress
Havet-Agnѐs
Paris, France
c. 1927
L2011.13.351

 

Gatsby’s Women: 1920s Evening Dress from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection
FIDM Gallery Orange County
June 6-November 9, 2013
Monday through Friday (by appointment)
10 am to 5 pm

1920s evening dress was made for movement, and designed with frenetic dances like “The Charleston” in mind. Weighted with beads and sequins, these dresses swung wildly to the sounds of Jazz and clinking cocktails. The flat, two-dimensional silhouette was radically new, and body-baring fashions were all the rage—sleeveless styles showed toned, suntanned arms, while raised hemlines shockingly revealed rouged knees. Enter this short-lived, liberated era that glittered brightly with Flappers and Gangsters before the onset of The Great Depression and World War II.

Schedule a time to view Gatsby’s Women: 1920s Evening Dress from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection by calling Jim Nemmert at 949-851-6200.

 

Evening dress, c. 1926

No matter what your feelings about director Baz Luhrmann's new cinematic adaption of  F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic American novel The Great Gatsby, you can't deny that the film is generating interest in 1920s fashion. Though reaction to the film itself has been mixed, retailers, fashion bloggers, and magazine editorials all display symptoms of Gatsby fever. Retail collaborations pay homage to the era while also promoting the film. The Great Gatsby, a new collection from Tiffany & Co., features sparkling jewelry designed in collaboration with The Great Gatsby's costume designer Catherine Martin. Brooks Brothers has also introduced new styles based both on 1920s menswear, and the new film version of Gatsby. Though it remains to be seen how much the film and its costumes will affect mainstream fashion, it's interesting to see fashion history encroaching on popular culture.

Evening dress
c. 1926
France
Gift of Roxanne Wilson
2003.1.2

Silk handkerchiefs, c. 1926

These charmingly presented silk handkerchiefs prove that the whole is usually greater than the sum of its parts. Their colorful, festive packaging elevates them to something memorable. Carefully folded and arranged to form full skirts, the hand-painted handkerchiefs add dimensionality to a beguiling printed background. Because they're so prettily packaged, they probably retailed as a gift item. As declared in a 1924 Vogue advertisement: "Let that last-minute gift be Handkerchiefs! They are always appropriate and sure to be appreciated."¹

Handkerchiefs
c. 1926
Gift of Yvonne Sone
2010.796.1A-F

Jeanne Lanvin fashion figure

Fashion Figure
Winter 1921
Jeanne Lanvin
Museum Purchase
2008.25.1

The original purpose of this extremely rare Jeanne Lanvin (1867-1946) fashion figure is a mystery. It may have been associated with an extensive display of figures at the International Silk Exhibition held in New York City's Grand Central Palace in 1921.¹ Its construction is unusual: a flat, wooden body with lightly padded contours covered with flesh-colored silk crêpe and articulated copper arms with flipper-like hands in the angular Art Deco style. The haughty, painted face with its target-like rouge mimics the highly stylized makeup of the maison's super-attenuated fashion plate figures.

A corresponding croquis from the Lanvin Archive reveals this modѐle's title: "Rose Poupon," which translates to "Plump Rose." It is also a play on words referencing the fashion figures of the eighteenth-century called "poupées," or "dolls," that were sent worldwide to showcase the latest Paris fashions. Lanvin's romantic robe de style—a full-skirted dress with concentrations of gathers at the hips—was the antithesis of the sleek, tubular silhouette that dominated the 1920s. Gathered ribbon roses with hand-tinted pink centers trim the neckline and form a trellis on the skirt. They were called "roses de Polignac," after Gabrielle, comtesse de Polignac (1749-1793), confidant of Queen Marie Antoinette (1755-1793). Lanvin's daughter and muse, Marie-Blanche (1897-1958), was a twentieth-century comtesse de Polignac.

1 Vogue (April 1, 1921), 42-43.

 

Butterflies abound

Though we're not a natural history museum or a science center, we have lots of butterflies in our collection. No taxidermy specimens here, FIDM Museum butterflies are woven, printed, painted, and embroidered. Our curatorial team has no specific intent to collect garments and accessories decorated with butterflies, but the popularity of the motif makes it easy to acquire compelling pieces featuring this colorful, winged insect. According to our Curator Kevin Jones, "I would never accept an object into the collection just because it has a certain motif. It would have to be fab for a number of other reasons."

Butterflies can be found on every continent, with the exception of Antarctica. Diverse cultures have developed symbolic interpretations of the butterfly, many of which focus on its dramatic life-cycle. Hatching from the egg as a larva or caterpillar, the insect grows and eats until it reaches the chrysalis stage. During the chrysalis, a shell forms around the caterpillar, protecting the insect as it undergoes a metamorphosis into a beautifully colored butterfly. In ancient Greece, butterflies represented the soul, while Christian interpretations use the butterfly's life-cycle to symbolize resurrection. In parts of Asia, pairs of butterflies represent marital harmony and happiness. Butterflies have also been used to symbolize the transience of childhood, and are often used to decorate garments worn by little girls.

Child's "Dainty Blossom" Ensemble
Daisy Stanford
Hand-painted silk
c. 1925
Museum Purchase
2003.5.24A-C

Spring flowers

 

Spring is here! Today, March 20, is the first day of spring for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. Spring brings longer days, warmer weather and a host of colorful blooms. In celebration of spring's arrival, we offer you an array of flowers from our collection. Enjoy!

Evening boots
1850-55
Gift of Barbara Bundy
2006.37.3AB

This pair of nineteenth century evening boots feature a pattern of roses and twining foliage. Made of a lightly iridescent silk damask brocade accented with green leather foxing at the heel and toe, these boots were almost certainly made to match an evening gown. Because of their delicacy, they would have been worn indoors only. As was common throughout much of the 19th century, these boots have undefined left and right soles. Shoes with distinctly different shapes for the left and right food didn't became widespread until the late 19th century.

Evening dress, 1925-27

 

Vibrant patterns and bold colors are common characteristics of textiles dating from the 1920s. Rejecting the Belle Epoque palette of off-white and cream accented with pale pink or soft blue, textile designers drew from a variety of eclectic sources to create patterns showcasing a rainbow of saturated colors. Design inspiration came from near and far, with elements of European folk art, modern art movements, non-western cultures and classical civilizations all influencing 1920s textile designs. Though noteworthy in their own right, these textiles were also part of a larger design movement called Art Deco. Originating in France around 1910, Art Deco was based on a luxurious interpretation of modern life. The movement influenced all areas of design, including architecture, fashion, graphic design and decorative arts. Disseminated via the well-attended Paris Exposition of 1925, Art Deco became a universal style that influenced both mass-produced and elite design throughout the world.

Evening dress
1925-27
Gift of Mrs. Geroge Holden
83.360.1

Fox collar coat, c. 1927

 

Coat
Wool & fox fur
1925-1929
Gift of Floss Alper
2001.9.1

Appearing in the exquisite creations of the Parisian haute couture and the humbler pages of the Sears catalog, fur suited the extravagant mood of 1920s dress. Though a coat made entirely of fur was the most desirable (and expensive) breed of fur coat, the majority of women settled for a coat or wrap trimmed with fur. A 1927 article on winter furs summed up this hierarchy with a succinct statement: "Next in importance to the all-fur wrap is that trimmed with fur."¹ According to the same article, fox was the chicest fur for trimming, especially black fox paired with black fabric. It's such a relief to know our coat meets the 1927 criteria for chic!

Quilted cloche, c. 1925

 

The close-fitting cloche is the headwear most closely associated with the 1920s. Worn throughout the decade, the streamlined fit of the cloche complemented the slim lines of 1920s dress. Unlike hats of the previous decade, which often featured dimensional decoration of feathers, flower or tulle, the cloche featured relatively minimal embellishment. In 1927, a New York Times fashion reporter lamented the popularity of "the simple, unadorned cloche," suggesting that milliners were in despair over the widespread preference for its straightforward shape and modest decoration.¹

Cloche
c. 1925
Museum Purchase
81.25.6

Evening gown, 1919-1920

 

Evening gown
1919-1920
Gift of Penny Schnabel
2004.821.3