Category Archives: 1960s

Hearts on their Sleeves–The Terno in Los Angeles

Posted on November 5, 2022 by Lynn

In what contexts do immigrants wear their native dress?  For Filipina women, the most distinctive item of clothing is the terno—a dress or set of matching separates with a much extended, wing-like upper sleeve, as seen in the picture above. … Continue reading →

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Anna May Wong, Aging

Posted on October 22, 2022 by Lynn

By now, everyone must have heard that Chinese American actress Anna May Wong has earned a place on American quarters.  Key elements of her famous look, including the bangs and high eyebrows, remained with her as she aged.  The photo … Continue reading →

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Sorry in the Sixties

Posted on October 16, 2022 by Lynn

Do grown women really play the game Sorry?  I can’t quite remember the rules, since it has been about sixty plus years (no kidding) since I last played.  This was apparently an afternoon for games, with Sorry substituting for Bridge.  … Continue reading →

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Stylish Threesome

Posted on October 8, 2022 by Lynn

This eBay find is almost certainly a three-generation photo, one of my favorite kinds.  The grandmother stands in the middle, with her daughter to her left and her granddaughter to the right.  It is some kind of dress up event … Continue reading →

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Spring in Central Park, April 1960

Posted on October 1, 2022 by Lynn

If you can look past the two doormen at the center of this picture, it offers an interesting overview of different clothing styles adapted by a set of older women in New York at the dawn of the 1960s. Starting … Continue reading →

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Matchy Matchy in the Sixties

Posted on September 10, 2022 by Lynn

Renewed attention to Queen Elizabeth’s fashion choices has brought “monochromatic style” back into the fashion discussion.  There is a less flattering term for it, however–“matchy matchy.” These days it’s often used as an insult for women without enough imagination to … Continue reading →

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Hope Skillman Fabrics

Posted on July 23, 2022 by Lynn

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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A Faith Ringgold Retrospective

Posted on February 18, 2022 by Lynn

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 →

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The Black Women of California’s Central Valley

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Lynn

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 →

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Imaginary Sewing

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Lynn

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 →

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