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Tag Archives: designers
Fashioning San Francisco
On recent a trip to the Bay Area, my cousin and I visited the current fashion exhibit at San Francisco’s de Young Museum called “Fashioning San Francisco.” It had an interesting organizational premise—all clothes were worn by San Franciscans themselves … Continue reading
Duchess of Windsor Patterns
Perhaps you have not heard of the Spadea Pattern Company, which put out patterns by the likes of Claire McCardell and Mollie Parnis from the 1950s to the 1970s. Read about its fascinating history in Lizzie Bramlett’s Vintage Traveler blog. … Continue reading
Grannies on the Red Carpet, 2024
It’s not every day that older women can steal the show on the red carpet. However, that was the case recently when Chang Li Hua and Yi Yan Fuei showed up in Hollywood dressed in custom Rodarte. Vogue even took … Continue reading
Eunice Johnson–Black Power Fashion
It is hard to overestimate the contribution of Eunice Johnson (1916-2010) to African American fashion in the United States. She and her husband were the founders of Ebony and Jet. Although she worked as secretary and treasurer for the Johnson … Continue reading
Lois Alexander and the Black Fashion Museum
Most fashion museums focus on the works of famous designers and the clothes of the well-off women who supported them. The Black Fashion Museum, which existed from 1979 to 2007, had a different mission. Under the leadership of the visionary … Continue reading
Posted in 1970s, 1980s, 1990, 2000s
Tagged African American, colors, designers, New York, textile patterns, Washington DC
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Hope Skillman Fabrics
I’ve been wanting to write about textile designer and manufacturer Hope Skillman (1908-1981) for a long time, but pictures of her—especially with any sense of what she wore—are hard to find. This Vogue advertisement, featuring her fabric on a dress … Continue reading
Posted in 1940s, 1950s, 1960s
Tagged designers, sewing, textiles, women's organizations
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On the Road with Gloria Swanson for Forever Young
In the 1951 contract that Gloria Swanson signed with Puritan Dress was a clause promising that she would make a month long promotional trip every year to promote her line of Forever Young dresses. Her archive is filled with documents … Continue reading
Gloria Swanson and Puritan Dresses
Film star and entrepreneur Gloria Swanson was something of a pack rack, as evidenced by over 620 boxes of materials housed in her archive at the Henry Ransom Center. Only about twenty boxes—a tiny fraction–have anything to do with her … Continue reading
Book Review: Fashion Climbing by Bill Cunningham
In this book, you meet a different Bill Cunningham than the one presented in the documentary, Bill Cunningham New York, or in his New York Times photos. This is a memoir of his early years in New York when he … Continue reading
The Famous Blue-Green Dress by Mollie Parnis, 1955
If you spend any time studying the clothes of well off women of the 1950s and 1960s, the name Mollie Parnis will come up sooner or later. She was a well known designer of the era who dressed a number … Continue reading