FIDM Museum Blog

Gloves in the 20th century

 

In contemporary fashion, gloves are generally overlooked. Warm knitted gloves keep our hands warm in winter, while sturdy canvas or leather gloves protect our hands during gardening or construction projects. Protective gloves (or sometimes mittens) fill an important role, but because they are primarily utilitarian, function often trumps design. Though brightly colored winter gloves are often cheerfully appealing, they aren't worn just for their appearance; if they aren't warm enough, you'll probably purchase a different pair. When was the last time you wore a pair of gloves simply because their elegance was overwhelming?

Evening gloves
c. 1952
Christian Dior, designer
Lionel Legrand, maker
Leather, rhinestone, bugle beads & sequins
Museum Purchase
2006.5.4AB

“The Art of Dressing Has Never Been Manifested with So Much Brilliancy”: Fashion and the Paris Exposition of 1900

 

Did you know that working at a museum requires ace detective skills? In this blog post, Associate Curator Christina Johnson describes her research on a evening gown in our collection. This research, aka sleuthing, led to a wealth of knowledge about the gown itself, its wearer and the context in which it was created.

Evening gown
1900
2005.842.22
Gift of Madge Baker
FIDM Museum Collection

My research began with the evening gown you see above, donated to the FIDM Museum in 2005. The gown is part of a collection of about 25 garments and accessories dating from the 1890s to the 1940s worn by Ida Irwin Jones and her daughter Katharine. The items were donated by Katharine’s daughter, Madge Baker. The original wearer of this evening gown must have been Ida who would have been about 28 years old at the time.

Sewing patterns from the FIDM Museum

Within the FIDM Museum collection are a number of smaller mini-collections. Some, like the Rudi Gernreich Archive, consist of large groupings of objects that document the work of a specific designer. Others, like our photograph collection, are less focused groupings of objects collected to help us interpret fashion history. One of my favorite mini-collections is our collection of paper sewing patterns. In addition to their entertaining envelope illustrations, sewing patterns are a valuable source of fashion information because they help us understand how high fashion or runway garments are interpreted for the mass market. This is particularly true for patterns associated with known designers. They can also point to the social context of specific garments or styles. Because many patterns are copyrighted, they can be very useful in dating extant garments. Sewing patterns also allow us the opportunity to engage with fashion on a very personal level. With a bit of practice and patience, any sewer can create a custom-designed garment demonstrating either a highly individual sense of style or one perfectly attuned to the latest runway fashions.

  Misses' and Women's Slack Suit and Coverall pattern
Simplicity
1942-45
2003.46.10
Gift of Andrea Tice In Memory of Carmelita Johnson

Christian Dior's New Look at the FIDM Museum

With it's slope shouldered, close-fitting bodice, wasp waist and extravagantly full skirt, Christian Dior's New Look of 1947 is one of the most distinct and recognizable silhouettes of the twentieth century. In contrast to early 1940s feminine dress, which borrowed heavily from masculine military uniforms, the New Look exaggerated the curves and contours of the feminine form. To create this idealized female body, the New Look relied on a rigid framework of strategically placed padding and boning, not to mention corsets and petticoats. The full skirts of the New Look required a tremendous amount of fabric, up to 15 yards in some cases! After the restrictions and rationing of the World War II years, the New Look was scandalous in its extravagant usage of raw materials and in its presentation of the female body. Though perceived as shockingly new, the New Look was actually a return to physical ideals of the later nineteenth century and a continuation of a trend interrupted by World War II. Despite these precedents, when it appeared in 1947, the New Look was a watershed moment in fashion. Though other silhouettes achieved popularity in the 1950s, the New Look informed (either negatively or positively) all subsequent fashionable silhouettes through the 1960s.

The signature ensemble of the New Look was the Bar suit. A two-piece suit consisting of a pale, fitted jacket with narrow waist, padded hips and a black, mid-calf, knife pleated skirt--the famous mid-1950s image by Willy Maywald often serves as visual shorthand for the New Look. Though this suit was reportedly the best selling item from the first New Look collection, very few existing versions have found their way into museums. (If you happen to have a Bar suit hanging in the back of your closet, feel free to donate it to the FIDM Museum!) Though we don't have an original Bar suit in our collection, we are fortunate to have a replica Bar suit. Sewn from the original pattern pieces, it was donated to the FIDM Museum by Marc Bohan (then chief designer for Christian Dior) in 1981. Though many museums choose not to accession replica artifacts, we did so in the interest of research. Because we are affiliated with a teaching institution, this iconic garment is an important resource for students and faculty.

Reproduction of the Bar suit designed by Christian Dior
1981 from the 1947 design
Silk faille (jacket) and wool crepe (skirt)
Gift of Marc Bohan for Christian Dior
79.780.1AB

Aprons

In practical terms, aprons are merely protective overgarments, worn to prevent food or dirt from staining the clothing underneath. Despite these functional origins, aprons have taken on the much larger role of signifying feminine domesticity. This is particularly true of aprons featuring brightly patterned fabric or decorative embellishments. In the late 19th and through the mid-20th century, plain, utilitarian aprons were worn while doing actual work in the kitchen or home, while colorful aprons were worn when receiving guests or serving food. Thus, decorative aprons came to be associated with competent and dedicated homemakers. Even today, an image of a woman or man wearing an apron is intended to convey domestic prowess.

The distinction between plain and colored aprons was particularly important in the late 19th century, when many households began to hire servants. In order to provide visual differentiation between hired servants and the lady of the house, household maids were always clothed in white aprons when interacting with visitors. In early 20th century pattern books and kitchen manuals, white full aprons are usually labeled "maid's aprons" while those made of patterned fabric are designated "fancy aprons." Though fancy aprons were not strictly necessary, it was suggested that no woman's wardrobe was complete without a few fancy aprons to spruce up her everyday dress.

Fancy apron
1895-1905
Gift of Ms. Judy Thomsen
2004.823.3

Sewing patterns

All devotees of home sewing should know these two names: Madame Demorest and Ebenezer Butterick. Madame Demorest, wife of a successful New York merchant, was the first pattern maven. In the 1850s, she began selling tissue-paper patterns for home sewers via mail order advertisements in fashion periodicals such as the Ladies Gazette and Godey's Lady's Book. Initially, these patterns were ungraded, meaning that the seamstress had to enlarge or reduce the pattern to fit her figure. Garment elements such as sleeves, bodices and skirts were sold individually so that the sewer could create her own dress. In 1860, Madame Demorest began to sell her patterns through her own publication, called The Mirror of Fashion. Patterns were also sold via "Madame Demorest's Magasins des Modes" shops, of which there were 300 national and international locations by the middle of the 1870s. By the late 1880s, Madame Demorest and her husband had sold their pattern empire and turned their interests to philanthropy.