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To contribute to this collective history project, send pictures and stories about the older women in your life to americanagefashion@gmail.com. The more information you can include (date, place, etc.), the better.-
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Tag Archives: textile patterns
Sewing Classes in Chicago, ca. 1960
September is National Sewing Month, and I’m happily turning my attention away from our fraught political climate to find photos of older women practicing this craft. The American Sewing Guild, of which I’m a member, calls sewing “an art and … Continue reading
Posted in 1950s, 1960s
Tagged African American, aprons, Illinois, sewing, textile patterns
2 Comments
Polka Dots or Stripes?
Let me make a confession—I don’t like polka dots. Delving into fashion history has made me realize that I have very strong opinions about textile patterns in general. From the outset I knew I didn’t like flowered patterns. Geometric designs … Continue reading
Lucy’s Navy Blue Polka Dot Dress
In her memoir Don’t Sing at the Table (2010), the best-selling author Adriana Trigiani tells a wonderful fashion anecdote from her childhood. When she was about eleven, in the late seventies, she noticed that her maternal grandmother, Lucy, only had … Continue reading
Summer Outfit, Mid 1930s
When I found this photo on eBay, I originally thought the pattern was dots—and I was about to launch into an essay on the love of dotted fabric in the 1930s. However, once I enlarged it the pattern looked more … Continue reading
Pola Stout in Pola Stout
Since Lizzie Bramlett of the blog The Vintage Traveler has been covering the fascinating work of Hollywood designer Adrian, I remembered an old post I wrote about one of his main textile designers, Pola Stout. I accidentally eliminated it some … Continue reading
Those Twenties Textiles
A rule of thumb with sewing is to choose a simple pattern when you have a complex textile. Simple lines will make the fabric shine, while a complicated design might not even show up well. Might this be why the … Continue reading
Book Review–The Devil’s Cloth: A History of Stripes by Michel Pastoureau
For those of us who love stripes, it is fascinating to learn something of their controversial history. In this short gem of a book, French historian Michel Pastoureau traces the meaning of stripes from the Middle Ages in Europe to … Continue reading
A Lover of Stripes
If you sew, you know that you can do a lot with stripes. They can go every which way, making all kinds of interesting patterns. I’m not sure that the dress on the left is homemade, but the wearer is … Continue reading
Girl Group, 1940s
This lineup of women with great legs comes from a Chicago antique store. Perhaps this is a family gathering of mothers, daughters, aunts, and nieces. The skirt lengths and cuts indicate that this photo was most likely taken in the … Continue reading
Five Generations in the Valley Times
Have you discovered The Library Book by Susan Orlean? Ostensibly about the Los Angeles Public Library, it is a love letter to libraries and librarians everywhere. One section of the book reminded me that the LA library held digitized photos … Continue reading
Posted in 1950s, 1960s
Tagged California, generations, sheath dress, shirtwaist, special occasion, textile patterns
3 Comments