FIDM Museum Blog

Research resources, part 3

Inspired by a flurry of recent announcements about new online archives, today we take a look at what's new in the world of fashion and fashion history research resources. Twice before we've published roundups of easily accessible online resources: here and here. Do you have a favorite resource (besides this blog!) that we've missed? Post a comment with a link...you just might help out a fellow researcher.

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We've mentioned MetPublications on our Facebook page, but it's definitely worth mentioning again. Visit this page to read or download many of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition catalogs, including out of print titles like The Age of Napoleon: Costume from Revolution to Empire, 1789–1815 and Christian Dior.

We recently discovered this online trove of 1867-1900 Harper's Bazar. Browse full issues, or search with specific terms.

The Zandra Rhodes Digital Study Collection features 500 garments by the designer, with a focus on her work from the 1970s and 1980s. A comprehensive look at Rhodes' work, the site features dates and descriptions for each garment pictured, video interviews with the designer, and design tutorials.

Lee Miller Archives provides access to more than 3,000 watermarked Miller images. Fashion aficionados will be most interested in Miller's fashion photography, though there isn't much accompanying info for most of the photos. This a great 1944 image Miller photographed for British Vogue.

André Studios 1930-1941 is an interesting collaborative project from the Picture Collection of the New York Public Library and the Special Collections & FIT Archives of the Fashion Institute of Technology Library. André Studios was a subscription-based producer of sketches for clothing manufacturers, and the more than 5,000 images in this archive offer a glimpse at fashions from 1930-1941. The archive is searchable by detail (pleat, raglan sleeve, etc.) or garment type.

And because we'd hate to leave you without an image from our collection, here's a detail of our mulberry silk tea gown. This style of loose gown was worn in very specific circumstances—during informal, late afternoon gatherings of close friends. Cascading wisteria vines decorate this garment, highlighting the Western affinity for Japanese design in the 1880s.

Tea gown (back detail)
c. 1887-89
Museum Purchase
2007.5.22

Video from the Costume Colloquium III

If Christina's recent post describing her experiences at the Costume Colloquium in Florence piqued your curiosity, you're in luck! Videos of all the conference presentations are now available on the Costume Colloquium website. You can watch Christina's presentation, “Doris Langley Moore: Ultimate ‘Woman in Fashion’” here. Find Christina's presentation by clicking on the button reading 9/11/2012; her presentation is the second listed. According to the Costume Colloquium's website, you'll need to view the video using either the Internet Explorer or Chrome browsers.

Pictured below is the c. 1878 wedding gown that started Christina's research on Doris Langley Moore almost 10 years ago! She was first introduced to this princess-line gown by Moore's book, The Woman in Fashion. In 2001, the gown was donated to the FIDM Museum by the Helen Larson Estate. Readers, watch the video of Christina's presentation to see how this wedding gown fits into her research.

Wedding Gown
c. 1878
2001.31.4
Gift of the Helen Larson Estate

Event Recap: Monarchy Lecture & Royal Tea

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

Princess Mary's 1922 going-away dress

The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection, which the FIDM Museum is currently fundraising to acquire, includes over 50 ensembles worn by British royal women. In this blog post, Associate Curator Christina Johnson examines a dress with royal provenance, utilizing letters in the Helen Larson Papers and additional primary source material to trace a path back to its original wearer.

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After reading hundreds of her letters, I understand that Helen Larson was absolutely intrigued with royalty. Most of her pieces with royal provenance were acquired during the 1960s and 1970s, when she employed British costume historian and dealer Doris Langley Moore to bid for her at auctions as well as make contact with extended members of Britain’s royal family in hopes that they might part with old clothes worn by their illustrious relatives.

At Helen’s request in 1977, Doris wrote to George Lascelles, Seventh Earl of Harewood. He had been a member of Doris’s Museum of Costume Committee in the 1950s, when she was trying to find a home for her own collection of antique clothes. Photograph of Princess Mary as a young girl, Helen Larson Papers

Black silk faille formal dress, 1894-96

 

Studying period garments, fashion illustrations, reference books, and whenever possible, photographs, helps create a mental checklist against which to compare undated garments and images. Unfitted, columnar dress with elaborate beading? Start thinking about the 1920s. A women's suit with fit and styling reminiscent of menswear? Consider the styles of the World War II era. Of course, you'll need to watch out for styles that reference past fashion trends. Carefully examining labels, fabric, trim and construction details can help you ferret out whether a garment is a period original or later revival. There will always be tricky garments that defy exact dating, but understanding when specific styles emerged and declined enables researchers to date and contextualize historic garments.

Two-piece formal dress
1894-96
Gift of The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
87.25.1AB

How do curators dress when doing research?

Our curators go the extra mile when they’re researching an exhibition!

Wearing historically accurate dress, inside and out, Kevin Jones and Christina Johnson recently attended the Jane Austen Evening in Pasadena, CA. Sponsored by the Society for Manners & Merriment, this annual event consists of dancing, refreshments and entertainment in the spirit of Jane Austen’s era. Aside from enjoying an evening out, Kevin and Christina had a serious mission: field research for FIDM Museum's Fall 2013 Empire & Romantic exhibition, which will focus on the years 1800-1835. The lifetime of celebrated author Jane Austen (1775-1817) coincides with this era, so the Jane Austen Evening was the perfect opportunity for Kevin and Christina to kick-off their research.

This photo captures Kevin and Christina in their reproduction ensembles. Christina wears a gown of plum silk based on a French fashion plate and flat leather dancing slippers with ribbon ties. Kevin wears a white shirt and cravat, fall front breeches, waistcoat (vest) and dress coat. Their ensembles were designed by Mela Hoyt-Heydon, friend of the FIDM Museum, union costume designer for the entertainment industry and faculty member at Fullerton College Theatre Arts Department. Most of the costume elements were designed by Mela for a stage production of Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice.

After attending the Jane Austen Evening, Kevin understands why gentlemen of Jane Austen's era always brought a change of linens to Assemblies: dancing is a cardio workout! Also, it's tiring to keep your arms in the proper dance position all evening. Christina learned that wearing a corset greatly improves a lady's deportment, and that fans are necessary after an evening of dancing in a packed ballroom.

Stay tuned for occasional updates as Kevin and Christina develop themes and select objects for this 2013 exhibition. They’re on the hunt for enlightening resources describing the dress and society of 1800-1835. If you know of something useful, send us your suggestions!

 

Research resources, part 2

 

It's been a long time since we've talked about research resources! Our last post on this topic was in February 2010--practically a millenia in terms of how fast information appears on the internet. All of the resources we suggested in that post are still excellent starting points for fashion history research. See what we recommended in February 2010 here. In the time since we wrote that post, more and more information is available on the internet, particularly primary sources.

This list of resources is only a small sampling of what's actually available, both online and offline. Because our readers are scattered all over the world, we're focusing primarily on what is available online. But, we know there are MANY great research resources out there. Leave a comment telling us what we've missed. You might just leave a tip that leads a fellow researcher to a breakthrough!

We hate to post without including an image, so here's a FABULOUS! teaser. Pictured below is the full eleven-foot train of our 1907 Redfern court gown. Look forward to a post on this confection sometime in the next few weeks.

Court gown train
Redfern
1907
Museum Purchase, Funds provided by Yvonne Hummel
2008.932.19AB

Research resources

One of the best aspects of working in a museum is the constant discoveries we make about our objects. In addition to preserving and protecting the objects in our care, we also spend a lot of time researching objects in our collection. Each object embodies a specific narrative, and it's our job to document and relate this story. One of our goals in starting this blog was to make these narratives widely available. We also share our research through regular exhibitions in our gallery, presentations at academic and community venues, and through our interactions with the faculty and students of FIDM.

When we're researching objects, we utilize a variety of resources. In our post today, we're going to reveal some of our sources! Readers, we'd also love to hear from you. Where do you turn when you are trying to find out more about a particular garment or designer?