Fashion In History

Choker Robert Goossens for Balenciaga Silver-plate set with...

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:05:26 +0100

Choker

Robert Goossens for Balenciaga

Silver-plate set with Bohemian crystals. Australian pearls are spaced along the entire perimeter. At the front they hang from metal wire adorned with pearls and metallic glass rings. The circular closure is adorned with a pearl surrounded by crystals.

Wedding Dress for Grace Kelly (Sketch) Helen Rose 1956 Movie...

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:28:40 +0100

Wedding Dress for Grace Kelly (Sketch)

Helen Rose

1956

Movie actress Grace Kelly, a Philadelphia native, wore this wedding dress for her marriage to Prince Rainier III in the cathedral of Monaco on April 19,1956; Academy Award-winning designer Helen Rose, who had created Kelly’s costumes for the films High Society and The Swan, was chosen to design the gown, which was constructed by the MGM wardrobe department. In style and detail the dress was conceived to complement the “fairy-princess” image of the bride. A bell-shaped skirt of ivory peau de soie supported by three petticoats, a high-necked bodice of Brussels lace was re-embroidered so the seams would be invisible and then accented with seed pearls. Pearl-embellished lace also covers the prayer book, shoes, and cap, which is surmounted by an orange-blossom wreath. The circular silk net veil, especially designed so that the bride’s face could be seen, is decorated with appliquéd lace motifs including two tiny love birds

Tea Gown (Detail) House of Worth 1910 This was worn by the wife...

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:22:00 +0100

Tea Gown (Detail)

House of Worth

1910

This was worn by the wife of one of the great American bankers of the 19th century, J.P. Morgan, Jr. (1867-1943). It exemplifies the grandeur of Worth clothing among wealthy Americans, who aspired to be associated with European royalty.

Dress Alexander McQueen Autumn/Winter 2006 The inspiration here...

Mon, 13 May 2013 15:55:52 +0100

Dress

Alexander McQueen

Autumn/Winter 2006

The inspiration here is highly personal – the designer’s own heritage – which goes at least some way towards explaining the exquisite hand-craftsmanship that goes into each piece as well, of course, as bird head-dresses and McQueen tartan. The collection is luxurious and romantic but melancholic and even austere at the same time. The silhouette – all nipped waists, bustles and exaggerated hip lines – is designed to exaggerate a woman’s form and each piece is unique, a one-off couture creation with emotional content intended to be handed down from generation to generation like the most precious of heirlooms.

Evening Ensemble (Detail) Yves Saint Laurent Spring/Summer...

Sat, 11 May 2013 20:52:17 +0100

Evening Ensemble (Detail)

Yves Saint Laurent

Spring/Summer 1980

While a long, lean body remained the ideal in the 1980s, a new, wide shoulder began to be appended to the silhouette. Ornately rendered here by Yves Saint Laurent, the shoulder provided a foundation from which fabric could be draped down to a contrastingly narrow waist. In the hands of some 1980s designers, shoulders were padded out to absurd widths. To a degree, this was a revival of 1940s fashion. Toward the end of the 1980s and into the ’90s, historicist revivals by fashion designers have created such a multiplicity of silhouettes that finding the defining one will have to wait.

Dress and Petticoat Pierre Balmain 1950-55 Pierre Balmain...

Thu, 09 May 2013 21:00:53 +0100

Dress and Petticoat

Pierre Balmain

1950-55

Pierre Balmain opened his couture house in 1945. He had previously trained alongside Christian Dior at the couture house of Lucien Lelong. Balmain became one of the most successful couturiers of his generation and by 1956 his house employed 600 workers, with 12 couture workrooms and in-house fur and millinery ateliers.

Oyster Dress (Detail) Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2003 A...

Mon, 06 May 2013 21:58:00 +0100

Oyster Dress (Detail)

Alexander McQueen

Spring/Summer 2003

A number of gowns in Alexander McQueen’s “Transitions” collection of spring/summer 2003 appear to be poetic renderings of a disaster at sea. While a similar dress appeared colored like the plumage of a tropical bird, this gown of sand-colored organza recalls the mille-feuille ridging on the surface of a shell. The hem of the skirt, like the wavy lip of a giant mollusk, further emphasizes the seashell quality of the gown. But unlike Aphrodite, who was born in the foam of the sea and borne to shore on a scallop, McQueen’s beauty is a bruised pearl encased in a deconstructing oyster, the tumbled survivor of the violent action of waves.

‘Zémire’ Ensemble Christian Dior Autumn/Winter...

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:46:11 +0100

‘Zémire’ Ensemble

Christian Dior

Autumn/Winter 1954-55

The dress shown here is called ‘Zemire’ and was part of Dior’s H-line collection of Autumn/winter 1954-5. Dior often made cultural references when christening his designs. ‘Zemire’ was named after Zémire et Azor, an opera by Grétry first performed at the royal palace of Fontainebleau in 1771. Initially, it was called ‘Fontainebleau’, but this was crossed out on the chart and replaced by ‘Zemire’. It is one of his most historical designs, echoing the shape of riding-habits, and it was successful. The original model in grey silk satin was shown to Princess Margaret at Blenheim Palace in 1954, and it appears in several magazine features. A ready-to-wear version was licensed to Susan Small, a British company that made ‘line-for-line’ copies for Harrods. It sold for 22 guineas, a fraction of what a made-to-measure version would have cost.

Afternoon Dress (Detail) Jacques Doucet 1900-1903 The dress is...

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:32:35 +0100

Afternoon Dress (Detail)

Jacques Doucet

1900-1903

The dress is an excellent example of Doucet’s penchant for lingerie-like garments, which is represented by the delicate ruffles and rose printed chiffon. The color combination of blues accented with turquoise is a favorite of the designer.

Evening Dress Michael Sherard Spring/Summer 1958 This dress was...

Fri, 03 May 2013 16:28:00 +0100

Evening Dress

Michael Sherard

Spring/Summer 1958

This dress was designed by Michael Sherard (1910–98) for his acclaimed 1958 spring collection. The flamenco dress was a recurring theme in 1950s cocktail and evening wear. Sherard’s version has a bell-like skirt and train made entirely of lace, his trademark fabric.

Evening Dress (Detail) House of Worth 1898-1900 The superb...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 17:12:27 +0100

Evening Dress (Detail)

House of Worth

1898-1900

The superb example of dressmaking shown here reflects the aesthetic of the late nineteenth century, not only in its striking Art Nouveau pattern of black velvet scrolls on an ivory satin ground, but also in the fashionable S-curve of its silhouette. The textile was woven à la disposition, with each section of the costume patterned to its shape, making the fabric’s design intrinsic to the composition of the dress.

‘Four Leaf Clover’ Ball Gown Charles...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:12:14 +0100

‘Four Leaf Clover’ Ball Gown

Charles James

1953

While James’ inspiration for this dress was likely the 1860s silhouette supported by a cage crinoline, its construction is far more complex than its precursor made of concentric steel wires connected by linen tapes. This one was built using two separate understructures of boning and stiff interfacings to give it shape and balance. The fifteen-pound skirt was engineered to rest comfortably on the hips, and, unlike the cage crinoline, to effectuate a graceful glide rather than a back and forth sway. With artistic bravado, James heightened the visual drama by separating the luminosity of ivory satin and the muted reflectivity of ivory faille on the upper and lower sections with a curvaceous black velvet swath, which further defines the serpentine effect of the four-lobed skirt. As he considered himself to be a sculptor, engineer, and architect, James thought this design his greatest achievement.

‘Venus’ Evening Dress (Detail) Christian...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:20:29 +0100

‘Venus’ Evening Dress (Detail)

Christian Dior

Autumn/Winter 1949

This extraordinary ball gown by Christian Dior, of foggy gray silk tulle, arrayed with an overlay of scallop-shaped petals, is called “Venus.” The bodice and shell forms of its skirt are embellished with nacreous paillettes and sequins, iridescent seed beads, aurora-borealis crystals, and pearls. The glittering overskirt and train adumbrate both the seashell motif and the crescent wave patterns of Botticelli’s Venus.

Wedding Dress Kathryn Kuhn 1960 Made for the nuptials of...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:00:43 +0100

Wedding Dress

Kathryn Kuhn

1960

Made for the nuptials of Miss Patricia Carin Hirschhorn and Mr. Charles Schine which took place in September 1960, this ensemble represents wedding attire on the grandest of scales. The ceremony took place in the Grand Ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The style, proportions and details of the gown, including the lengthy train and 19th century rosepoint lace, would have been appropriate to the grandeur of the occasion and the formality of the venue. The dress is similar in decoration and shape to that created by MGM designer Helen Rose for Grace Kelly when she married Prince Rainier on April 18, 1956, an event that made headlines around the world and influenced bridal fashions long after the royal wedding day.

Evening Gown (Detail) Givenchy 1963 Coral with matching glass...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 20:17:37 +0100

Evening Gown (Detail)

Givenchy

1963

Coral with matching glass beads is applied in high relief on the armature of a minimalist Givenchy silhouette. A princess-seam dress skimming the torso, but flaring to the hem, is almost severe, but it is rendered rococo and ornate by the surface treatment. Givenchy’s special trait was to find an equilibrium between excess and the reductive. An austere form supports a heavily encrusted embroidery, making a gown that works both as an extravagance and as a spartan design.

Evening Ensemble Arnold Scaasi 1958 Arnold Scaasi is best known...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:49:39 +0100

Evening Ensemble

Arnold Scaasi

1958

Arnold Scaasi is best known for his evening wear designs, worn by a long list of celebrity clients primarily during the 1960s through the 1980s. Scaasi’s work incorporates lavish surface decoration, often in the form of floral trimming, bright colors and full silhouettes that extend the proportions of the body. Scaasi creations are rarely easy to ignore; their ostentatious quality has become a signature of the designer’s work.

Evening Ensemble (Detail) Chanel designed by Karl Lagerfeld...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:17:00 +0100

Evening Ensemble (Detail)

Chanel designed by Karl Lagerfeld

1990

Karl Lagerfeld has taken the eighteenth century as a leitmotif of his art and life, from residences and domestic interiors to fashion- and even to a brief whim of powdering his hair. Here, he has seized the bravura assertion from the court gown, opening up at the center front to reveal not a long petticoat but a very short underskirt and thigh-high boots. For Lagerfeld, the condensed and ironic image is both Versailles and red carpet, aristocracy and showgirl. Other Lagerfeld for Chanel references to the eighteenth century include his 1980s Watteau-back gowns and the 1985 ‘Pierrot,’ or ‘Gilles,’ suit derived from the painting of the same name by Jean Antoine Watteau(1648-1721).

Evening Dress Mme. Olympe 1865 This is one of two extant...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:06:19 +0100

Evening Dress

Mme. Olympe

1865

This is one of two extant dresses bearing a Mme. Olympe label. Olympe Boisse was a French-born New Orleans dressmaker who regularly traveled to Paris to keep abreast of trend-setting French fashions of the time.such as those by Charles Frederick Worth and Emile Pingat. Mme. Olympe, as she was professionally known, initially was an importer of French goods but in time designed and sold her own garments. Her claim to fame is that, considering the date of this dress, she was one of the first, if not the first, American dressmakers to label her gowns, a practice intiated by Worth et Bobergh in the early 1860s.

Ball Gown (Detail) House of Worth 1900-1905 Jean-Philippe Worth...

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 16:25:00 +0100

Ball Gown (Detail)

House of Worth

1900-1905

Jean-Philippe Worth began as an assistant to his father, Charles Frederick Worth, in 1875. Gradually he was allowed to create his own designs and when his father died in 1895, he became the lead designer for the house. He was praised for making elaborate artistic gowns with intricate trimmings on unique textiles, much like his father had before him. Although the House of Worth was still favored by royalty and celebrities through the turn of the century, their styles were no longer the forefront of French fashion after 1900. Around 1910 Jean-Philippe limited his design work to important orders and hired his nephew, Jean-Charles Worth, as the new lead designer before leaving the company entirely after World War I.

Evening Cape Jacques Doucet 1900-1905 This evening cape of...

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 22:36:14 +0100

Evening Cape

Jacques Doucet

1900-1905

This evening cape of silk, lace and rhinestones is a grand outer garment, befitting its wearer. Caroline Schermerhorn Astor Wilson held a prominent place in New York society, and as part of her role, dressed in only the finest clothes. The voluminous layers are dramatic, the pink chiffon and the lace of the dress feminizing. The combination of multiple exquisite materials is a true hallmark of the House of Doucet.