FIDM Museum Blog

James Galanos cocktail dress, c. 1955

During the 1950s, French haute couture was a dominant force in fashion. Elite American women traveled to Paris and purchased their wardrobes directly from renowned couturiers, while many others experienced haute couture through mass-produced versions of the latest French styles. This was a strength of the American fashion industry; producing stylish and affordable garments in large quantities, whether the latest haute couture copies or playful sportswear. Only a very few American designers worked in the style of the haute couture, producing meticulously crafted garments on a limited scale. Los Angeles' own James Galanos (b. 1924) was one of these designers. In 1954, when Galanos first presented a collection in New York City, fashion critics noted that his "cut and detail smacked of Parisian couture."¹

Cocktail dress
James Galanos
c. 1955
Gift of Susan Lister
S2007.894.1A-C

Nail head dresses

Young cosmopolitans love nail-head glitter!¹

Dresses embellished with decorative gold, brass or silver nail heads first appeared in the late 1930s. Usually seen on solid-color "background" dresses of wool or synthetic crepe, nail heads were used as glittering accents on bodice, sleeves, belt, collar, pocket or cuffs. Marketed towards the "smart, lithe, swift moving figures of youth" for evening or special occasion dress, nail head decoration was also used more sparsely on dresses intended for day wear.² Typical placement usually focused on the neckline and upper bodice, though print advertisements indicate that nail heads were placed anywhere and everywhere. In 1940, the New York City branch of Best & Co. advertised a slim, floor length gown of rayon crepe with "a skirt that falls slim and straight when still, yet flares into a sunburst of nail-studded pleats when you dance."³

Evening gown
Rayon crepe
1938-42
Gift of Women Helping Women
2001.788.1

Sailor suits

Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, young boys and girls were often dressed in sailor suits. Worn as both school uniforms and everyday dress, the popularity of the style was sparked by this 1846 Winterhalter portrait of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. About 5 years old when the portrait was painted, Albert Edward wears a scaled down version of the newly standardized white and blue uniform of the Royal Navy.¹ Throughout the nineteenth century, the Royal Navy was the most powerful navy in the world, a symbol of the United Kingdom's colonial empire and position as a world power. By dressing Albert Edward and her other sons in naval uniforms, Queen Victoria indicated her aspirations for her children and her country. As royalty were the trend-setters of the day, the fashion for sailor suits soon spread across Europe and the United States. National versions of the sailor suit varied, depending on the specific naval uniform of individual countries.

The Little Black Dress

During the nineteenth century, black clothing was usually worn to signify a special status, i.e. mourning, religious piety, extreme poverty or a position of economic and social authority. Because many professional men adopted black suit coats after 1850, black clothing was also associated with masculinity. Though women certainly wore all-black on some occasions, these ensembles were usually worn for specific activities, such as mourning or equestrian pursuits. Black slowly began to enter the realm of fashionable dress in the late nineteenth century when it was adopted by a few daringly audacious women for day and/or evening dress. The infamous black dress worn by Virginie Gautreau in John Singer Sargent's 1884 painting Madame X, though shockingly revealing for the 1880s, is a prescient vision of what would become one of the twentieth century's most iconic garments, the little black dress.

Black dresses slowly gained ground through the early years of the twentieth century, earning the nickname "little" as the elaborate embellishment of late nineteenth century dress gradually dropped away. A November 23, 1906 society feature in the New York Times titled Society Women Wear Black indicates that all-black dress was fashionable but was still considered novel enough to inspire comment. During World War I, mourning dress was so widespread that black dresses were, almost necessarily, created in tune with the latest fashions. For the many women who worked outside the home during World War I, black garments were also a practical choice for everyday dress. Black also entered the fashionable lexicon via the work of Chanel, who presented a collection consisting primarily of black dresses in 1919. Others, including Poiret, Lanvin and Fortuny were also experimenting with the potential of black during this same period. By the late 1920s, the little black dress had become a wardrobe essential.

The images below feature a selection of little black dresses from the FIDM Museum collection. When looking at these images as a group, an impressive continuity is apparent. Despite slight differences in silhouette the primary characteristics of a little black dress, simplicity and an understated elegance, remain the same from decade to decade.

Evening dress
Silk taffeta
1927-29
Transfer from the Museum at FIT
2004.291.21

Young Bess French hood

Released in 1953, the film Young Bess is a fictionalized biography of Queen Elizabeth I. Focusing on her life before she was crowned queen, the film is set in the late 1540s and stars Jean Simmons as Young Bess. The lavish, historically inspired costumes were created by Walter Plunkett, who had already earned a name for himself with his widely admired Gone With the Wind (1939) costumes. Plunkett began his career in film with a semi-successful attempt at becoming an actor in the early 1920s. He made the shift to costume designer in 1926 when he accepted a position as a wardrobe assistant at RKO Studios, eventually moving to MGM in the 1930s. Plunkett had no obvious background in costume design, apparently teaching himself the necessary skills on the job. This lack of formal training was clearly not indicative of his talents, as he quickly gained a reputation for creating historically evocative costumes for period films.

French hood worn by Jean Simmons in Young Bess
Walter Plunkett
1953
Gift of Stacey Behlmer
2003.798.1

Oscar dressing

In the early years of the Academy Awards, celebrities didn't always dress themselves in the latest glamorous fashions. In 1935, Claudette Colbert wore a simple traveling suit to accept the Best Actress Award for It Happened One Night. Colbert didn't expect to win, so was already on-board a New York bound train as the ceremony began. The train was held at the station and Colbert was rushed to the ceremony to accept her award. That same year, Bette Davis wore an "afternoon frock" to the Academy Awards and was criticized by the press and studio executives for her lack of glamour. During the early 1940s, Ingrid Bergman proudly wore the same black dress to the Academy Awards two years in a row!

Balenciaga

Popular conceptions of 1950s dress usually fixate on the defined waist and full skirt of Christian Dior's New Look. Though this silhouette dominated fashion for much of the decade, in 1957 a new shape appeared. Called the sack or chemise, this new dress skimmed and enveloped the body instead of enforcing an hourglass silhouette. Presented by both Christian Dior and Balenciaga, credit (and blame) for the innovation went to Balenciaga. Variations on the chemise soon appeared, including this belted Empire-waist version designed by Balenciaga.

Chemise dress
Balenciaga
1959-1963
Transfer from the Museum at FIT
Gift of the Estate of Anita Loos Emerson
S2004.291.15A-D

Howard Greer

Today's post on Howard Greer was written by costume historian Shelly Foote. From 1994-2004, Shelly worked with the Costume Collection at The National Museum of American History as the Assistant Chair in the Division of Social History. Retired since 2004, Shelly is closely involved with the Costume Society of America and is also researching a book on Howard Greer. As part of this process, Shelly has examined and researched Howard Greer garments in the FIDM Museum collection. In this post, Shelly shares some of her findings on the work of Howard Greer.

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HOWARD GREER

Howard Greer (1896-1974), born in Illinois and raised in Nebraska, was fascinated by the world of fashion and theater as a young man. So, after college, he pursued and obtained a position with Lucile (Lady Duff Gordon), first at her establishment in Chicago and then in New York. After his military service in World War I he asked to be mustered out in Paris – where he reconnected with Lucile.

He returned to New York in 1921. After designing a few garments for the theater, he was offered a job in Hollywood with Famous Players-Lasky (later Paramount). He designed for many films which featured the silent movie star, Pola Negri. Unfortunately, many of these movies have been lost. In 1925 he was made head of the wardrobe department.

In 1927 Greer opened a couture salon in Hollywood patterned after the House of Lucile, both in how the salon looked and how the garments were made. Patronized by Hollywood movie stars, his collections were featured in movie and fashion magazines and Women's Wear Daily. Garments were rumored to take weeks to produce, required frequent fittings and were notoriously expensive.¹ Garments made by Greer incorporated fine quality fabrics and were beautifully finished.

Greer continued to design for the movies on a freelance basis, most famously for Mary Pickford in Coquette (1929) and Katharine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby (1938).

Greer and Travis Banton, who had also worked at Paramount, formed a short-lived partnership in 1938. FIDM Museum owns the only known existing garment from this partnership - a heavily embroidered and beaded jacket worn by Marlene Dietrich.

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

Handbag variety

Like shoes, handbags and purses straddle the line between functional and decorative objects. Though many women (and some men) consider them necessary containers for objects such as keys or money, the sheer diversity of available styles demonstrates that handbags are also a design object in their own right. Until about 1800, when menswear became more sedate and less decorative, both men and women carried purses on a regular basis. From this point onward, men typically carried compact wallets or a very small pouch tucked in a sleeve or pocket. Women continued to carry decorative purses, creating an association between handbags and femininity.

Beaded purse
c. 1920
Gift of Penny Schnabel
S2004.821.2

Marimekko

With its oversized imagery and brightly clashing colors, Marimekko textiles are unmistakable. The Finnish company began in 1951 as a textile design firm specializing in hand silk-screened cotton fabric. The patterns created by Marimekko designers were a departure from traditional Finnish floral patterns, though the graphic, modern Marimekko imagery was definitely inspired by aspects of Finnish heritage and landscape. To promote their textile designs, the founders of Marimekko created a collection of unrestrictive garments utilizing their textiles. From the beginning, Marimekko garments were loose and unstructured, meant to allow freedom of movement. Marimekko gained widespread popularity in the United States when Jackie Kennedy purchased several Marimekko dresses in 1960, which she wore throughout her husband's presidential campaign.

Belted dress
Marimekko
1972-74
Gift of Dora Lou Davis
2004.835.1AB