Tag Archives: textiles

Mary Lee Bendolph, Gee’s Bend Quilter

I imagine most textile lovers like myself know about the Gee’s Bend quilters, a remarkable group of Black women who developed their own strikingly modern quilting style in an isolated community in Alabama.  They became so famous that their work … Continue reading

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Josie Home on Vacation, 1977

“Josie home on vacation,” reads the text on the back of the photo. It also includes the date, 1977, so helpful in analyzing style choices. Josie must be the younger woman in the middle. “Home on vacation” makes me think … Continue reading

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Unquilting/Requilting, 1970

This picture portrays a West Virginia coop turning old quilts into new items.  If you look carefully, it appears that the oldest woman in the back on the right is hand stitching a pillow, while the woman at the far … Continue reading

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Book Review: Worn by Sofi Thanhauser

This is a staggeringly ambitious book, evident already in the subtitle.  By “people” Thanhauser means all people, everywhere.  And by “clothing” she considers not only the sewn or knitted garments we use for protection and expression, but also the raw … Continue reading

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Aging in Color: Ruth Adler Schnee

Famous textile designer Ruth Adler Schnee (1923-2023) died this month at the age of 99.  She is credited with bringing textile design into the world of midcentury modernism.  The daughter of an antiquarian bookseller and a Bauhaus graduate, her family … Continue reading

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The Sheer Dress at Thanksgiving

No turkey on the table, but I’m guessing this must be Thanksgiving. When else is pumpkin pie the only dessert?  As is obvious from the woman who is dolloping out whipped cream, sheer dresses were not only for the old.  … Continue reading

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The Sheer Dress and the Older Woman

I’ve long been fascinated by older women in sheer dresses.  They seem paradoxical to me, revealing an older body shape at a time when many women like to disguise those extra pounds the years have brought.  But there is no … Continue reading

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Considering the Coastal Grandmother

I’ve been avoiding the topic of the Coastal Grandmother, even though it seems a perfect subject for this blog.  Why?   It smacks so much of wealth and white privilege. Everything is white, from the people, to the backgrounds, to the … Continue reading

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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

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Big Hair at the Grand Canyon, 1972

That’s a pretty elaborate hairdo for a vacation outing, but some people put in a lot of effort to look good no matter what the occasion.  This very cheerful woman was not following current hairstyles, which had moved on to … Continue reading

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