FIDM Museum Blog

Green in fashion

Thanks to Pantone, avoiding a pinch on St. Patrick's Day will be much easier this year. According to their decree, 2013 is the year of emerald green, a rich jewel tone "that enhances our sense of well-being, balance and harmony."¹ Due to Pantone's promotion of the color, retailers are well-stocked with garments and accessories featuring emerald and other shades of green. So, if you wear green on St. Patrick's Day, you'll be sporting the most fashionable color of 2013 and immune to the painful pinches given to those who shun green clothing on this informal holiday.

In the FIDM Museum collection, we are fortunate to have some wonderful green garments and accessories. In honor of both St. Patrick's Day and Pantone's color of the year, today's post features an emerald green silk bonnet from the late 19th century. Want to see another emerald garment from our collection? Revisit our post on James Galanos' vivid 1950s cocktail dress.

"Kate Greenaway" bonnet
c. 1880-89
Museum Purchase
2004.5.11

Investigating a Silver Studio textile

 

In 2007, the Textile Group of Los Angeles donated a late 19th century Silver Studio textile panel to the FIDM Museum. About 7 feet long and 2 ½ feet wide, this printed cotton textile features a dynamic pattern of orange poppies and white daisy chains on a pink ground. As our curators were familiar with the Silver Studio, they were certain that the textile had been used to decorate an interior, not for garment construction. Silver Studio
1897
Gift of the Textile Group of Los Angeles
2007.916.1

From the Archives: Aesthetes, Bohemians & Craftsmen: Artistic Dress, 1880s–1920s

 

While doing some research for an upcoming blog post, I had the chance to revisit images from our 2008 exhibit Aesthetes, Bohemians & Craftsmen: Artistic Dress, 1880s–1920s. Combining fashion, textiles, furniture and ephemera, Aesthetes, Bohemians & Craftsmen followed the path of the design rebellion that occurred in reaction to 19th century industrialization. Originating in mid-19th century England, Artistic dress was sparked by influential artists who subverted societal norms. Rejecting the tightly-trussed clothing of the Victorian era, Artistic dressers sought liberated and individually expressive modes of dressing. Abandoning contemporary fashions, Aesthetes adopted the loose, un-corseted styles of ancient Greece and medieval Europe. In the United States, Bohemian artists championed loose-fitting smocks and the aesthetics of Far Eastern art. Craftsmen looked to the past, creating handmade garments and accessories inspired by historic examples. These groups were unified in their rejection of the inexpensive and widely available products of the Industrial Revolution.

As we hadn't yet established our blog, Facebook profile or Twitter account at the time of this exhibition, most of the installation images from Aesthetes, Bohemians & Craftsmen have never been published. In this post, we share a few images from the exhibit. We hope you enjoy this glimpse into the world of Artistic Dress!

The first gallery of the exhibition grounded visitors in late 19th century fashionable dress. Straight from Paris, with corseted silhouettes and extreme proportions, these three ensembles are the antithesis of Artistic Dress. Portraits on the opposite wall highlighted the lives and achievements of six Artistic women: Isadora Duncan, Ellen Terry, Romaine Brooks, Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, Annie Garnett and May Morris.

Liberty & Co. evening gown, c. 1910

 

Evening gown
Liberty & Co.
c. 1910
Silk satin, silk gauze & pearl beads
Museum Purchase
2006.5.7

Liberty & Co. opened in London's West End during 1875. Founder Arthur Lasenby Liberty stocked his small shop with goods imported from the Middle East and Japan, including curios, porcelain, fans and lengths of fabric. Liberty's shop had a bazaar-like atmosphere and attracted a clientele sympathetic to the ideals of the Aesthetic Movement. From the beginning, textiles were an important part of Lasenby's retail plan. In addition to stocking imported textiles, Liberty & Co. soon began commissioning furnishing and dress textiles from known and emerging artisans. These textiles were all marketed under the name "Liberty Art Fabrics." The most distinct of these textiles were densely patterned and often borrowed imagery from the natural world. One pattern frequently associated with Liberty & Co. features overlapping sprays of peacock feathers. This pattern was designed in the late 1880s, and is still used by Liberty & Co. today. Other textiles were soft, solid color silks in a variety of weights. Whether patterned or plain, Liberty textiles were prized for their softness and graceful drape.

Lounge jacket, 1880s

 

Lounge or at-home jacket
Silk with cotton embroidery
1880s
Museum Purchase
2008.5.34

We are excited to announce that our 1880s embroidered silk lounge jacket will be featured in The Cult of Beauty: The Aesthetic Movement 1860-1900. Opening April 2 at the V&A Museum in London, this exhibition explores the arts of the Aesthetic Movement, including painting, sculpture, design, furniture, architecture, fashion and literature. We are thrilled to contribute to this exhibition!

Chatelaine purse

Combining utility and beauty, chatelaines were a form of functional jewelry worn hanging at the waist. Comprising a hook and multiple dangling chains attached to small, useful objects (scissors, writing utensils, keys, purse, watch, perfume vial, etc.) chatelaines were hooked to a sash, belt or waistband. Visible storage worked in intricate designs of silver, enamel or gold, chatelaines were also an expression of authority. Chatelaines usually adorned the “keeper of the keys” for a large household and signified a position of familial and social authority. This was a clear visual expression of the literal meaning of chatelaine, a mistress of the chateau. Though their origins are a bit obscure, the chatelaine probably developed sometime in the Middle Ages, enjoying periodic revivals through the late nineteenth century. An early nineteenth century cut steel chatelaine can be seen here and an 1887 octopus shaped chatelaine can be seen here.

In the nineteenth century, chatelaines were usually worn by women. As the century progressed, variations on the chatelaine emerged, including the chatelaine pocket or chatelaine bag. Unlike a chatelaine which featured multiple items dangling from an elaborate hook, a chatelaine pocket or chatelaine purse showcased one item, a small pouch or purse. Purse and pocket chatelaines were particularly popular from the mid-1870s until the early 1880s. During these years, the fashionable silhouette clung tightly to the hips and upper legs and would have been disrupted by a pocket, especially if it was actually in use.

Chatelaine purse
1860s silver frame
1880s velvet
Gift of Pat Schmidt
90.636.1

Hand painted silk ensemble, c. 1925

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

Hand-painted novelties, including dresses, scarves and ribbons, enjoyed a burst of popularity in the teens and twenties. A Paris fashion report from 1913 stated that "hand-painted dresses...are said to be the coming craze at fashionable Summer resorts."¹ This was despite their high price, "which is said to be 40 per cent in excess of the ordinary figure."² In 1924, "painted things," including gowns, gloves, stockings and scarves, were declared "in perfect harmony with the mode of the day and very smart."³

Morning gown, c. 1895

For the Victorian woman, correct dress was an essential component of social acceptance. Women of the aristocratic classes and the nouveaux riche changed outfits multiple times each day, always with the knowledge that dress played a crucial role in determining social standing. Understanding the correspondence between the details (trim, fabric, neckline, etc.) of a particular gown and a specific social occasion was valued knowledge, "from which one could not depart without appearing lacking in education."¹ Fortunately for the "uneducated," magazines like Harper's Bazaar and Godey's Magazine contained articles on dress and etiquette for all occasions. The gown pictured below is of a type called a morning gown, intended for breakfast at home with the family and possibly some light housework or correspondence.

Morning gown
1893-1897
Gift of Marilyn Habicht
S2002.41.1

Masculine dress?

In the early 20th century, women who chose to wear bifurcated garments (i.e. trousers) outside of the gymnasium or off the playing field risked public censure. Though women had been wearing full, almost skirt-like trousers for sporting activities since the late 19th century, these bifurcated garments escaped condemnation only because they were functional, not fashionable. Full trousers of this type were often called "bloomers," after Amelia Bloomer, leader of a controversial attempt to popularize bifurcated garments as everyday dress for women during the early 1850s. Worn for activities such as bicycling, cricket, light calisthenics and swimming, bloomers allowed for freedom of movement, while obscuring the contours of the leg and lower body.

Bloomers
c. 1920
Gift of the Manlove Family
2006.870.76

Wheat motif

Widespread cultural preoccupations or anxieties are often expressed through dress. This can be extremely overt, as in the case of a T-shirt slogan, or much more discreet, as in a frequently recurring decorative motif. In the 19th century, anxiety relating to the Industrial Revolution and the move from an agrarian to urban/industrial society resulted in the frequent appearance of ripe wheat stalks on dress and accessories.

Shawl
1875-1885
Gift of E. Heise
97.347.1