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Category Archives: 1960s
A Faith Ringgold Retrospective
Aren’t there times when you wished you lived in New York City? I wish I were there now to see the Faith Ringgold retrospective at the New Museum. It is the first comprehensive US retrospective of her work, beginning with … Continue reading
Posted in 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s
Tagged African American, artist, New Jersey, New York, textiles, visual arts
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The Black Women of California’s Central Valley
During the Great Depression, when waves of migrants came to California to escape the drought, Black cotton farmers were part of the population transfer. Some were recruited by California cotton growers, while others came on their own. More migrated after … Continue reading
Posted in 1960s
Tagged African American, California, hats/headcoverings, jewelry, shirtwaist
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Imaginary Sewing
As a historian, I relish finding secret messages from the past—sketches in book margins, shopping lists and the like—that no one but the writer was meant to see. I discovered several such notes in an old issue of Vogue Pattern … Continue reading
Mrs. Exeter’s Fall Wardrobe, 1962
Do you remember Mrs. Exeter, Vogue’s older woman of fashion? I recently came across her again in a Vogue Pattern Book from 1962. By that time, she had all but disappeared from the fashion magazine. Apparently editors believed she was … Continue reading
Ohio Blue–What Older Women Wore in 1968
One fascinating source of information on older women’s dress are dissertations written by students in Home Economics programs. One 1968 thesis by Alicia Pieper for Kent State University seems custom made for this blog. Her focus was on older women … Continue reading
A Studio Portrait, 1962
This portrait looks quite old fashioned, but it was made in the early 1960s by the Ninomayo Photography Studio in Los Angeles. Located in Los Angeles’s Japan Town, this Japanese American business began in the 1920s and shut down during … Continue reading
At the Beach, 1960s
Are they off on a brief vacation, or is this their retirement home? Somehow I’m guessing the latter. I don’t think they could have achieved their well-tanned look in the course of a few days. This is some people’s idea … Continue reading
The Birmingham Project of Dawoud Bey
The Whitney Museum in New York City is currently showing the work of Dawoud Bey, an African American photographer with an inclusive eye. One of his most inventive works is the Birmingham Project of 2012, commemorating 50 years since the … Continue reading
An “Oriental Celebration,” 1960
Where do you stand of the issue of cultural appropriation? You might remember the recent story of a white high school girl who was shamed for wearing a Chinese style quipao dress to her prom. Some Asian Americans complained that … Continue reading
Mini Skirts and the Older Woman
The British designer Mary Quant is often given credit for inventing the mini skirt, that iconic clothing item of the 1960s. Where did her ideas come from? In her interesting book on women designers, Women of Fashion, historian Valerie Steele … Continue reading