FIDM Museum’s Fashion Council wrapped up their 2012 event season with the Monarchy Lecture & Royal Tea on Saturday, December 1. At this sold-out event, 75 Fashion Council members and friends gathered at FIDM’s Orange County campus to enjoy a Royal Tea, and learn more about British royal dress from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection.
Monarchy Lecture at FIDM Orange County
Continue reading "Event Recap: Monarchy Lecture & Royal Tea" »
Corset
c. 1868-1874
FIDM Museum Purchase
2011.5.28
In the late 1860s, the fashionable bodice fit smoothly over a curvaceous corset that emphasized the bust. Skirts flared from a high, compressed waist, so corsets were shaped to place somewhat less pressure on the hips. The resulting silhouette, though hidden under layers of fabric, was a shapely hourglass. As seen in in our blue silk satin corset, godets at hip and bust allowed for a relatively roomy fit. Strategically placed whalebone, cane or steel boning shaped the corset, compressing the body into the desired silhouette. Because of its full bust and rounded hips, the wearer's waist would appear relatively small in comparison, regardless of its actual size. When fully laced and fastened, the waist circumference of this corset is about 22 inches.
In August 1965, British Vogue featured the designs of Ossie Clark, a recent graduate of London's Royal College of Art. Clark's graduation collection featured the graphic patterns and short shift dresses that were popular in the freewheeling milieu of mid-1960s Swinging London. Within a few years, Clark's style had evolved, relying on dramatic sleeves, peek-a-boo cut-outs, flowing skirts, and a defined waistline to create a flattering, overtly feminine silhouette. Clark's aesthetic was informed by his love of glamour and an appreciation for a curvaceous silhouette. According to one woman who wore his designs regularly, "the clothes were intoxicating to wear. They made you feel omnipotent and feminine because they were so complimentary to the body."1 She was not alone in her feelings about Ossie Clark's designs; more testaments to his work can be read here. Clark's clients and fans included Liza Minelli (she wore Ossie Clark in the 1972 film Cabaret), Marianne Faithfull, Suzy Menkes, Mick Jagger and Twiggy.Maxi-dress
Ossie Clark with print by Celia Birtwell
c. 1969
Gift of Honeya Barth
2008.923.1A
RIPPED: Expressions from the Underground is now open! Exploring the art and influence of punk rock on design and culture, RIPPED features 150 band T-shirts, photographs, posters, and related ephemera from the punk, post-punk and indie rock eras. Curated by Cesar Padilla, artist, musician, collector, and punk rock enthusiast, RIPPED is based on Padilla's 2010 book, Ripped: T-shirts from the Underground. In the November 2012 issue of our newsletter, Cesar Padilla discusses how and why he began collecting T-shirts.
RIPPED: Expressions from the Underground is open until December 22, 2012. This FREE exhibition is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10am–5pm. Follow RIPPED on Facebook for regular exhibition updates.
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Want to learn more about The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection? You're in luck! The Costume Cafe's Colleen Marie Monroe recently interviewed FIDM Museum Curator Kevin Jones about this outstanding collection. Their conversation covered a range of topics, including the origins of Helen Larson's collection, her collecting methodology and a discussion of collection highlights. You can listen to their conversation via The Costume Cafe's podcast page. Hope you enjoy this look into The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection!
This quilted petticoat is a fascinating garment. Though worn as an undergarment, it features detailed quilting and a cheerful textile. We first published this post in late 2009, but with winter weather on the horizon, it seemed a good time to revisit this warm and visually striking petticoat.
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Before the introduction of the cage crinoline in 1856, women typically wore multiple layers of petticoats. The petticoat layers (sometimes as many as 6!) not only shaped the skirt into a fashionable bell-shape, but also provided warmth. Between about 1825-1850, petticoats with elaborate quilting were fashionable. Called "quilted coats," "wearing quilts" or "quilts," these petticoats were simply large quilts meant to be worn on the body. They were often created in the same manner as bed quilts, with women working together to complete the patterned stitching. After stitching up the single, vertical back-seam and gathering the drawstring waist, the quilted petticoat was ready for wearing.
Quilted petticoat
c. 1840-45
Gift of Anna Bing Arnold
2003.795.12
Continue reading "From the Archives: Quilted petticoat, c. 1840-45" »
What's Halloween without a bat? These small, flying mammals are a favorite Halloween motif, appearing as costumes, decorations, even candy. Though they're generally harmless to humans, western cultures usually consider bats the eeriest of creatures. Blame this bad reputation on their nocturnal lifestyle, and the blood-sucking habits of vampire bats. Though most bats eat insects or fruit, vampire bats eat blood, sucking it from cows, chickens or other livestock in the dark of night. Though humans aren't the vampire bat's preferred meal, they occasionally bite people, sometimes transmitting rabies. Though a vampire bat's bite doesn't turn an animal or human into a blood-sucking monster, western culture typically associates bats with death, danger and disease.
During the latter half of the 1910s, the bat was a surprisingly popular motif. In 1916, Vogue featured a cut-steel bead bag with a red-eyed bat as the central motif. A year later, a Vogue article on women's millinery fashions highlighted a hat with two fully extended bat wings cupping the crown of a beige hat trimmed with sable fur. Bats were not the only animal-based millinery embellishment; feathers and fur were also widely used to create the statement hats popular during the second decade of the twentieth century. Our bat hat is composed of silk velvet, faux astrakhan fur and bat heads.
Hat
c. 1916-18
Museum Purchase in honor of Julia Long
2009.5.69AB
Monarchy Lecture & Royal Tea
December 1, 2012
9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Join FIDM Museum curators Kevin Jones and Christina Johnson, with historians Dale Gluckman and Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell, in a discussion of British Royal Dress from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection. The presentation will include a 1761 court bodice worn to the coronation of King George III, Princess Charlotte of Wales’ 1816-17 gown, an investigation of the provenance of gowns worn by Queen Victoria, and insight into Helen Larson’s collecting practices. Ticket purchase includes tea and a selection of exquisite savories and sweets.
Tickets for this event are $50 per person. To purchase tickets please visit the FIDM Museum Shop. Seating at this event is limited. The Monarchy Lecture & Royal Tea will be held at the FIDM Orange County campus: 17590 Gillette Avenue, Irvine, CA 92614-5610.
Halloween is next week! Will you be dressing up? For those of you who need a little costume inspiration, we offer you this post on an 1880s fancy dress costume in our collection. First posted in 2009, it's one of our most popular blog posts. Read through to the end for access to an amazing 19th century fancy dress manual. Enjoy!
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Contemporary Halloween celebrations offer an opportunity for young and old to dress in costume, but in the 19th and early 20th century, Halloween was primarily geared towards children. Adults who wanted to dress-up attended or hosted fancy dress balls. Not connected to a specific holiday, fancy dress balls and parties took place throughout the year and could be small private events or large-scale public fundraisers. Some fancy dress balls were thematic and related to contemporary or historic events while others were more open, simply requiring attendees to come in costume. Unlike the macabre and/or sexy Halloween costumes of today, fancy dress costumes covered a much broader range of topics: historic figures, abstract concepts, works of art, pieces of furniture, natural phenomena, animals and popular novels or plays. Suggested costumes were published in fashion periodicals and in descriptive manuals. Our fancy dress costume represents an undetermined character, though we think it might be intended as gypsy dress.
Fancy dress costume
c. 1883-87
Swan & Edgar
Gift of Helen Larson Estate
2001.31.15AB
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With the 2012 presidential election less than 2 weeks away, political discourse is inescapable. The candidates, their positions, and rabid speculation on the outcome of the upcoming election dominate the news. For some people, political beliefs are a private topic, something to be kept under wraps. Others choose to express their beliefs, political or otherwise, via sartorial billboard, also known as the T-shirt. Inexpensive to produce and easy to wear, T-shirts are the perfect medium to broadcast opinions, ideas and beliefs to friends and strangers. Whatever your party affiliations, there's surely a T-shirt, hat, coffee mug, or bumper sticker promoting your candidate.
Jeremy Scott
2004
Museum Purchase
2004.5.46
In 2004, designer Jeremy Scott created this T-shirt with a slogan encouraging voter participation. Based on the iconic 1970s "God Save the Queen" T-shirt design by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, Scott's T-shirt incorporates an American political figure, then President George W. Bush. During the 2004 election, incumbent President George Bush and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry vied for the highest political office in the United States. After a close race, President Bush was reelected for a second term.
