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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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Category Archives: General
The Olive Cycle
Although I have vowed to stop buying books, I couldn’t pass up Elizabeth Strout’s the new novel about Olive Kitteridge. I read it in a flash and then decided to read the two books–Olive Kitteridge and Olive Again–one after another. … Continue reading
The Bridge Ladies
Not too long ago I read a wonderful memoir called The Bridge Ladies about a group of four friends who played bridge every week over the course of fifty years. Their conversations covered marriages, children, and eventually widowhood. Throughout there … Continue reading
Book Review: Fashionopolis by Dana Thomas
First the bad news, then the good: that’s the structure of this book. You can see it in the subtitle—“The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes.” The bad news section of the book, about a fifth of … Continue reading
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
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
Harriet Strong, the Pampas Woman
When you drive around Southern California, you often see big stands of pampas grass, the tall billowing plant in the background of the photo above. It grows like a weed. Native to South America, the plant was brought here in … 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
Stella Reichman–Advocate for Bigger (and Older) Women
“Big is beautiful,” is the motto behind Stella Reichman’s 1977 book, Great Big Beautiful Doll: Everything for the Body and Soul of the Larger Woman. In her late fifties when the book was published, she also advocates for older women. … Continue reading