FIDM Museum Blog

Silk moire bonnet, c. 1845

Bonnet
c. 1845
2008.5.32
Museum Purchase

During the 1840s, headcoverings were an essential part of every women's wardrobe. Inside the home, women often wore delicate, lacy caps which covered the hair and tied under the chin. When venturing out into the world, most American women wore a bonnet made of straw or silk. In the mid-1840s, the fashionable bonnet shape was that seen here: a continuous crown and brim forming a straight line with low tabs covering the cheeks and ears. Embellishment varied, but a bow or puff of ribbons on one side, long ribbon ties at the chin and a "bavolet" were common characteristics. The bavolet, a gathered panel of fabric extending from the lower back of the bonnet, was also functional, providing sun protection for the neck. It also covered and protected the fashionable hairstyle, a knot or twist of hair worn low on the neck. The interior of the bonnet brim often featured additional decoration in the form of artificial flowers, lace or the frilled edges of a house cap peeking out from under the bonnet. Photographic evidence indicates that some women wore fancy house caps under their bonnets, particularly when visiting. The bonnet was removed to reveal the house cap only when entering a home or other appropriate indoor space.

Silver paper headdress, c. 1860

Anyone interested in the history of fashion quickly realizes that fashion is a series of cyclical repetitions. Contemporary silhouettes, colors and design details reference recent and historic styles, often with only slight modifications to bring a garment into the present moment. This cycle isn't new or unique to contemporary culture; documented revivals of historic fashions exist in the nineteenth century and earlier. Fashion historian Barbara Baines has suggested that revivals of historic dress styles are due to a number of factors, including nostalgia and an interest in associating oneself with specific, perceived characteristics of the past. In addition to these psychological factors, concrete events like an archaeological discovery, museum exhibition or period film can inspire a revival of historic styles.¹

Evening glamour, c. 1922

Evening dress
c. 1922
Gift of Laura Stoneman
96.657.2

During the 1920s, nightlife was an important aspect of popular culture. In the United States, the Prohibition of alcohol led to the rise of speakeasies, where patrons could dine, dance and drink in an atmosphere of illicit pleasure. Glamorous evenings required eye-catching garb, such as the beaded velvet evening dress pictured here. As described in this post on the 1920s silhouette, the favored silhouette for both day and evening wear was slim and straight, uninterrupted by the curves of the body. Dresses were reduced to two simple panels of fabric, joined at the shoulders and side seams. For evening, these flat panels became canvases on which beading, sequins, embroidery and other embellishments created abstract or pictorial imagery.   

Texture in fashion

Color and pattern are usually the first aspects of a garment to catch the eye, closely followed by silhouette. But what about texture? Though texture might not be the first thing we notice, it plays an important role in establishing the mood of a garment. Would a roughly woven cotton textile be appropriate for a glamorous evening gown? Maybe, but it would take a talented designer to offset the rustic, outdoorsy mood of the textile and craft it into a glamorous evening ensemble. A smooth and glossy silk textile would seem equally out of place on a weekend camping trip.

Like colors and silhouettes, textures go in and out of fashion. Slippery, synthetic textures dominated the late 1970s, while starched cottons and stiff silks were popular in 1950s fashions. Do popular textile textures affect the spirit and culture of the era in which they are popular? Though it's impossible to directly pinpoint this relationship, it's certainly an intriguing train of thought. With that in mind, take a look at this selection of different textile textures from the FIDM Museum!

Evening or wedding gown (bodice detail)
1852-54
Gift of the Helen Larson Estate
2001.31.6

Irene Castle dancing cap

Between 1911 and 1917, Irene and Vernon Castle were at the forefront of a "craze" for social dancing. Usually called "modern dance" at the time, social dance was promoted as form of healthy and enjoyable recreation. Accompanied by lively music, social dances were usually given memorable names, such as Turkey Trot, Grizzly Bear and Bunny Hug. Though some conservative thinkers considered the relatively close contact and hectic movements of social dance vulgar, the Castles insisted that "real dancing is not a series of gymnastic contortions...real dancing means graceful measures tripped out to the lilting rhythms of fine music."¹ Irene and Vernon Castle promoted their refined version of social dance through appearances on stage and screen and by opening a nightclub and dancing school in New York.

In 1914, the Castles authored an instruction manual titled Modern Dance. In additional to the detailed descriptions and images depicting dance steps, Irene Castle authored several chapters focusing on appropriate dancing dress for women. Included are suggestions on corset types (the Castle Corset, designed specifically for dancers), shoe types, stocking color and an injunction against over-sized "picture" hats, which are "unpleasant" for dancing.² Though Modern Dance features several images of Irene Castle in large hats, she is also pictured wearing a small, close-fitting cap similar to the crocheted and embroidered cap pictured below.

Castle or Dancing cap
Cotton
c. 1915
2004.5.7
Museum Purchase

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

Koos van den Akker

In a Koos van den Akker garment, fabric is always the focal point. Not just a single luxury fabric, but a riotous mix of fabric patches and panels combined into a surprisingly unified whole. According to the designer, his garments always "start with the fabric. Silhouettes come later."¹ Though van den Akker apprenticed at Christian Dior from 1963-1965, his work demonstrates little interest in a precise fit, one of the traditional concerns of the haute couture. Nor is van den Akker interested in the interaction between garments and the human body, declaring that "shapes are not really what I'm interested in."² Instead, van den Akker prefers to use his garments as an arena in which to explore the visual and tactile qualities of different textiles.

Blouse
c. 1976
Koos van den Akker
85.423.1
Gift of Devra Korwin

Norman Norell flower coat

"Flower power" is usually associated with the late 1960s hippie aesthetic, but flowers were actually a popular decorative motif throughout the decade. The early years of the 1960s witnessed a proliferation of stylized and patently artificial floral forms, while real or "natural" flowers dominated the late 1960s. Often used as a motif in textile designs, flowers also appeared as three-dimensional embellishments on garments and accessories. Elaborate headdresses and hair ornaments made particularly good use of artificial flowers during 1964-65. The hand-dyed silk organza flowers on this 1963 Marc Bohan for Christian Dior evening gown are an early example of 1960s flower fever from the haute couture. The April 1, 1965 issue of Vogue praised floral patterned garments for evening wear in an editorial titled "The Garden of Evening." This flower-covered Norman Norell evening coat, though not featured, would have been a perfect fit for the Vogue editorial. Hand-dyed silk flowers in shades of pink and white are stitched to the coat, which is lined in pink silk. A center-front opening is hidden by the oversize flowers.

Evening coat
Norman Norell
c. 1965
Gift of Clarissa Dyer
2003.794.3

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

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