FIDM Museum Blog

Fashion birthday: Vivienne Westwood

Happy birthday to Vivienne Westwood, born on this day in 1941! We wish her the best and look forward to many more of her inventive designs. Though Westwood's early career, which began in the early 1970s, was closely associated with punk, by the 1980s she had turned to the past for her primary inspiration. Never one for straight-forward interpretation of historic fashion, Westwood's work reinterprets aspects of history, making them relevant to the contemporary moment.

Corset & Shorts Ensemble
Spring/Summer 1994
Vivienne Westwood
Museum Purchase
2003.5.12 & 2004.5.1

 

Blue corset, c. 1868-1874

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.

From the Archives: Quilted petticoat, c. 1840-45

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

Top five posts of 2011--Return of the bustle

 

Our fourth most popular post of 2011 featured one of the most analyzed topics in fashion history--nineteenth century understructure. The post, first published in February 2011, discussed the 1880s bustle and featured two examples from our collection.

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In the 1880s, the bustle made a comeback. Last seen in the previous decade, the bustle of the early-to-mid 1870s supported puffs and swags of fabric, creating a rounded fullness which often ended with a short train. Though exaggerated, this silhouette still had a certain softness. When the bustle returned in the 1880s it was more angular, extending almost at a right angle from the waist. This 1885-88 blue silk afternoon gown demonstrates the rigid shape of the 1880s bustle silhouette.

Given the shape and size of the 1880s bustle, you'd think it was supported by a large, heavy apparatus. Actually, the 1880s bustle was usually quite small. This c. 1885 bustle is about 6 1/2 inches wide and 13 inches long. Made of metal coils covered with tan cotton and secured at the waist with a twill ribbon and metal prong buckle, this oddly shaped device was used to create the angular 1880s bustle silhouette.

Bustle
Cotton/wire
c. 1885
Museum Purchase
2005.5.174

The Height of Fashion

 

Today's post is courtesy of our registrar, Meghan Grossman Hansen. In this post, Meghan examines the interaction between the fashionable silhouette and the human body in the second half of the nineteenth century. You'll also get a sneak peak at two day gowns featured in our upcoming exhibition, FABULOUS! Ten Years of FIDM Museum Acquisitions, 2000-2010.

As a fashion museum professional, I spend a lot of time looking at fashion plates. By examining these beautiful illustrations, including this one from the Los Angeles Public Library, the researcher becomes familiar with the fashionable silhouette in its most idealized state, an important part of learning about the history of fashion. And yet, on a daily basis, I work with clothes that were worn by actual women, not the idealized figures of fashion illustrations. This dichotomy of ideal and real comes to life when we dress a historic garment for exhibition.
Day Gown
Paris, France, c. 1897
P. Barroin, Designer
Printed dotted Swiss, silk chiffon, silk taffeta & cotton braid
Gift of Jane Riggs & Lynelle Doll
2010.1098.3A-C

During a photography shoot for the forthcoming exhibition catalog, FABULOUS! Ten Years of FIDM Museum Acquisitions, 2000-2010, our curators selected this Parisian couture day dress by P. Barroin to represent the assimilation of sportswear into French high fashion. What we all noticed once she was dressed was her height, at least 5 feet 10 inches! We were all wowed by her height, and seeing this garment dressed was an object lesson in how changes to silhouette were proportional to the individual being dressed. For a woman of her height, the shoulder puffs and skirt hem were proportionately expanded. The result is a balanced shape of broad shoulders and wide skirts, accentuating the narrow waist. This Amazonian woman corseted herself down to 28 inches, a far cry from  Scarlett O’Hara’s legendary 16 inch-waist. Nevertheless, this stately woman appears both fashionable and impressive in stature. This is incontrovertible proof against the myth that ‘everyone was smaller back then.’

Corselet, 1790-98

 

Corselet
1790-98
Gift of the Helen Larson Estate
S2001.31.17

This late eighteenth century corselet is a bit of a puzzle. Structurally, it's akin to a corset, complete with boning throughout. Despite its similarity to a corset, the surface embellishment, including small metal disks, metallic galoon lace and two vertical rows of ornate metal hooks, certainly doesn't lend itself to being worn as an undergarment. Given its dimensional surface embellishment, this corselet was definitely worn over another garment. But in what context? Was it fashionable dress, fancy dress or an example of regional dress? Given that underwear as outerwear wasn't a part of late eighteenth century or early nineteenth century fashionable dress, it is either an example of regional dress or part of a fancy dress costume.

Return of the bustle

 

In the 1880s, the bustle made a comeback. Last seen in the previous decade, the bustle of the early-to-mid 1870s supported puffs and swags of fabric, creating a rounded fullness which often ended with a short train. Though exaggerated, this silhouette still had a certain softness. When the bustle returned in the 1880s it was more angular, extending almost at a right angle from the waist. This 1885-88 blue silk afternoon gown demonstrates the rigid shape of the 1880s bustle silhouette.

Given the shape and size of the 1880s bustle, you'd think it was supported by a large, heavy apparatus. Actually, the 1880s bustle was usually quite small. This c. 1885 bustle is about 6 1/2 inches wide and 13 inches long. Made of metal coils covered with tan cotton and secured at the waist with a twill ribbon and metal prong buckle, this oddly shaped device was used to create the angular 1880s bustle silhouette.

Bustle
Cotton/wire
c. 1885
Museum Purchase
2005.5.174

Day ensemble, 1870-72

 

Day ensemble
Silk taffeta
1870-72
Gift of Anne Stampfer
94.661.1A-D

About 1868, the crinoline silhouette went out of style. The smooth, distinctly bell-like shape of the crinoline supported skirt began to change form, with the fullness moving towards the back of the shirt. This new skirt shape required a different kind of understructure: the bustle. Essentially a cage crinoline cut in half, the bustle supported the back of the skirt, while leaving the front unsupported. In the early years of the 1870s, the bustle usually extended from the waist to about the mid-calf. A c. 1871 bustle of cotton with metal boning can be found here. The bustle was fashionable until about 1875, when it went out of style as skirts were fitted closer to both the front and back of the body. Beginning about 1883, the bustle enjoyed another round of popularity until finally going entirely out of fashion about 1890.

Brassiere, 1908-1910

 

The brassiere appeared on the fashion scene about 1904 or 1905. Of course, women wore brassiere-like garments before this date, but they went by other names depending on the time and place in which they were worn. In the 19th century, these garments were called bust supporters, breast girdles or bust corsets. During the second half of the 19th century, these garments were worn by a minority of women, primarily dress reformers, who felt that the tight fit of a corset was too restraining. The majority of women continued to wear corsets until the very late 19th and early 20th century, when the brassiere and its forerunners became popular among European and American women.

The term brassiere was first used in advertising copy by the Charles R. De Bevoise Company in 1904 and included in a 1905 patent by Gabrielle Poix. In French, brassiere referred to a child's vest or undershirt and/or a woman's bodice. Both Poix and De Bevoise probably borrowed this French word to bestow a certain cachet on their product, which was a wise marketing move. Who wouldn't prefer wearing a brassiere over a breast girdle? During the 1930s, brassiere was shortened to bra, the term still in use today.

Parisiana Brassiere
1908-1910
Gift of the Manlove Family
2006.870.23

Cotton wrapper, 1863-65

 

A careful reading of Victorian fashion periodicals and etiquette manuals reveals that each moment and every activity required a specific outfit. Though many woman surely overlapped their morning and afternoon dresses due to economic circumstances or other factors, the ideal wardrobe contained a dizzying array of dress types. Throughout the Victorian era, displaying an understanding of appropriate dress (including accessories) for any given occasion was a way of demonstrating good taste, thus ensuring social standing. The Ladies' Book of Etiquette (1872), describes appropriate dress for the following activities or events: receiving visitors, visiting others, travel, walking, going to market, shopping, visiting new brides, mourning, and going out in stormy weather. Each category of dress is distinguished by type of fabric, presence or absence of trim and physical suitability for the named activity, i.e. an evening gown would prohibit walking. Not comprehending and adhering to these sartorial rules was the epitome of bad taste.

Wrapper
Cotton
1863-65
Museum purchase
2003.5.54