Though the focus of the FIDM Museum collection is on objects related to Western European and North American dress, we do have a small number of outstanding objects related to the sartorial traditions of other cultures and countries. Many of these objects, like this kimono dressing gown, have been reimagined or repurposed to suit Western tastes. Today's object, a small drawstring bag covered with mirrorwork embroidery, is no exception.
Drawstring bag
1900-35
Gift of Carita Kadison
2003.792.3
Evening gowns of the 1930s were usually floor-length and clung to the body. Made of silk or velvet, they were cut on the bias and often exposed a swath of bare back or shoulder. Of course, this exposure meant that a fashionable evening coat was necessary in the colder months. Though black was encouraged as a practical, wear-with-everything choice, another option would have been an evening coat in an intense shade of purple, raspberry red, bottle green, chartreuse or orange. In person, the FIDM Museum velvet evening coat seen here is an enticing shade of rich, bright orange. During the 1920s and into the 1930s, this particular color was sometimes called nasturtium after the orange flower of the same name.
Evening coat
c. 1930-32
Gift of Renee Sanders
2008.932.10
During the Great Depression (1929-1941), many women could not afford to purchase new clothing on a regular basis. Instead, women exploited the potential of accessories to update an old frock. Carefully coordinated gloves, hat, handbag and shoes could be used to distract attention from a well-worn day dress or suit. Along with items such as a delicate handkerchief or modest jewelry, these accessories were prized as a means to providing a "moral uplift" in difficult times. Reframing necessity as a virtue, fashion journalists suggested that these "little triumphs" (i.e. accessories) were actually the key to a fashionable wardrobe.
Because they framed the face and drew attention away from outdated or worn garments, hats were a focal point of fashion throughout the 1930s. Hat shape was dictated by personal taste and women could choose from a seemingly endless array of available styles. Berets, fedoras, pillbox, platter, and sailor styles were all available, along with many others. Trim was also extremely varied with feathers, bows, beads, artificial flowers or fruit, ribbon and many other whimsical items appearing on 1930s headwear. Many 1930s hats were worn at a jaunty angle. Relatively simple turban shaped hats, as seen in the FIDM Museum example below, were also widely popular.
Coat and matching hat
Wool boucle with rhinestones
1938-39
Gift of Anonymous Donor
2003.40.17AB
In practical terms, aprons are merely protective overgarments, worn to prevent food or dirt from staining the clothing underneath. Despite these functional origins, aprons have taken on the much larger role of signifying feminine domesticity. This is particularly true of aprons featuring brightly patterned fabric or decorative embellishments. In the late 19th and through the mid-20th century, plain, utilitarian aprons were worn while doing actual work in the kitchen or home, while colorful aprons were worn when receiving guests or serving food. Thus, decorative aprons came to be associated with competent and dedicated homemakers. Even today, an image of a woman or man wearing an apron is intended to convey domestic prowess.
The distinction between plain and colored aprons was particularly important in the late 19th century, when many households began to hire servants. In order to provide visual differentiation between hired servants and the lady of the house, household maids were always clothed in white aprons when interacting with visitors. In early 20th century pattern books and kitchen manuals, white full aprons are usually labeled "maid's aprons" while those made of patterned fabric are designated "fancy aprons." Though fancy aprons were not strictly necessary, it was suggested that no woman's wardrobe was complete without a few fancy aprons to spruce up her everyday dress.
Fancy apron
1895-1905
Gift of Ms. Judy Thomsen
2004.823.3
As mentioned in this post, FIDM Museum staff are constantly engaged in collection oriented research. Currently, Christina Johnson (Collections Manager) and Kevin Jones (Curator) are at the Fashion & Materiality symposium hosted by the Centre for Fashion Studies at Stockholm University in Stockholm, Sweden. Click on the link above for more information on the conference and the other presenters. Today's post consists of their respective presentation abstracts and images. Enjoy!
“In my case the face was created.”1 Fashion and Identity in the Life of Marlene Dietrich
by Christina Johnson
Marlene
Dietrich was married to the same man for over fifty years. She did not
gain notoriety in Hollywood until age thirty. She was a mother and
grandmother. She was self-conscious to the point of obsession regarding
her perceived bodily imperfections. She was a recluse for the last ten
years of her life. She longed to be accepted, admired, and loved. These
personal facts are in direct opposition to Dietrich’s public identity.
She was a bisexual siren with multiple lovers. She was a self-assured
woman who took pride in showcasing a “perfect” body, eternally youthful
and beautiful. She basked in the admiration and awe bestowed upon her
from legions of fans and friends. A glamorous public identity was
materialized by Marlene Dietrich through her appearance.
This
paper will study fashion and identity in the life of Marlene Dietrich
focusing on a rare group of her garments and accessories from the FIDM
Museum in Los Angeles. This significant collection is comprised of over
fifty personal wardrobe and movie costume ensembles in addition to
twenty pairs of custom shoes donated by Dietrich to a now-defunct
museum from 1964 to 1966 before arriving at the FIDM Museum in 1990.
These pieces date from her early career in Berlin, her Hollywood years,
USO tours, and stage performances.
Snapshot of Marlene Dietrich during her USO tour
1944-45
Museum Purchase
Marlene Dietrich purchased this paisley gown in Los Angeles in the early 1940s and wore it frequently, as evidenced by the many extant photographs. During her 1944-45 USO tour, she was photographed wearing the gown onstage, as seen in the snapshot above. Dietrich also wore the gown in the 1948 film, A Foreign Affair. The image below shows how this illustrious gown is stored at the FIDM Museum.
Gown worn by Marlene Dietrich
Irene
c. 1941
Department of Recreation and Parks, City of Los Angeles, FIDM Museum
INV. 3633
This embellished jacket was part of Dietrich's personal wardrobe.
Evening Jacket worn by Marlene Dietrich
Travis Banton/Howard Greer
c. 1936
Department of Recreation and Parks, City of Los Angeles, FIDM Museum
INV. 1137
Detail of INV. 1137
This is a convoluted story of eleven dresses in the FIDM Museum’s Hollywood Costume Collection. The collection came as a loan to FIDM in 1990 from the City of Los Angeles, California, after being stored in an abandoned city jail for more than twenty years. Many of the garments have been exhibited around the world as authentic; half of these gowns, though, are spurious. While dressing the costumes for an exhibition, it was noticed that some of them did not look as they appeared in publicity stills. Were these the same garments? Had they been altered? A detailed analysis of the gowns ensued. The gowns’ provenance, though, proved to be the thriller of this drama.
In 1960, the rayon
manufacturer Celanese teamed with Paramount Pictures costume designer
Edith Head to launch a new material called “Star in Crepe” by
showcasing eleven original “Golden Era” crepe gowns in fashion shows in
the United States, with contemporary interpretations of the garments to
inspire consumers to purchase the new material so they too could dress
like a star. The first fashion show was held at The Plaza Hotel in New
York. Thereafter, identical copies of the gowns and their
interpretations were worn in fashion shows around the country. Later,
the costumes were donated to Hollywood Museum Associates, an organization
planning a museum of Los Angeles movie history. The copy gowns were
donated to various other institutions. By 1968, Hollywood Museum Associates was
defunct, bailed out of debt by the City of Los Angeles who twenty years
later loaned the eleven gowns to the FIDM Museum.
Which
famous dresses are these? Who were the movie queens wearing such
beautiful creations? Have any of the original dresses survived? Stay
tuned for the ending to this most dramatic Hollywood Scandal!
Sketch of the gown worn by Greta Garbo in the film Inspiration
Gilbert Adrian design for Greta Garbo in Inspiration, 1931
Modern Screen Magazine, March 1931
Image courtesy of Richard Atkins
FIDM Museum
Actual gown worn by Greta Garbo in Inspiration
Gilbert Adrian for Greta Garbo in Inspiration, 1931
Silk velvet and rhinestones
Image courtesy of the Drexel University Historic Costume Collection, PA
Gift of Mrs. Thomas E. Burns Jr., 76-1-1ab
Photography by Dave Gehosky
Image courtesy of the Drexel Digital Museum Project , http://digimuse.cis.drexel.edu
Fake version of the gown worn by Greta Garbo in Inspiration, created in 1961.
Fake by Edith Head for Celanese Corp., 1961
Representing Greta Garbo in "Inspiration," 1931
Department of Recreation and Parks, City of Los Angeles, FIDM Museum
Image of model wearing fake Inspiration gown in 1961 fashion show.
Fake gown by Edith Head for Celanese Corp., 1961
Representing Greta Garbo in Inspiration, 1931
Model wearing the costume for a Celanese Fashion Show,
1962
Department of Recreation and Parks, City of Los Angeles, FIDM Museum
1 Dietrich, Marlene. Marlene. trans. Salvatore Attanasio. New York: Grove Press, 1989.
