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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: designers
Grannies on the Red Carpet, 2024
It’s not every day that older women can steal the show on the red carpet. However, that was the case recently when Chang Li Hua and Yi Yan Fuei showed up in Hollywood dressed in custom Rodarte. Vogue even took … Continue reading
Eunice Johnson–Black Power Fashion
It is hard to overestimate the contribution of Eunice Johnson (1916-2010) to African American fashion in the United States. She and her husband were the founders of Ebony and Jet. Although she worked as secretary and treasurer for the Johnson … Continue reading
Lois Alexander and the Black Fashion Museum
Most fashion museums focus on the works of famous designers and the clothes of the well-off women who supported them. The Black Fashion Museum, which existed from 1979 to 2007, had a different mission. Under the leadership of the visionary … Continue reading
Posted in 1970s, 1980s, 1990, 2000s
Tagged African American, colors, designers, New York, textile patterns, Washington DC
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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
Posted in 1940s, 1950s, 1960s
Tagged designers, sewing, textiles, women's organizations
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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
Book Review: Fashion Climbing by Bill Cunningham
In this book, you meet a different Bill Cunningham than the one presented in the documentary, Bill Cunningham New York, or in his New York Times photos. This is a memoir of his early years in New York when he … Continue reading
The Famous Blue-Green Dress by Mollie Parnis, 1955
If you spend any time studying the clothes of well off women of the 1950s and 1960s, the name Mollie Parnis will come up sooner or later. She was a well known designer of the era who dressed a number … Continue reading
Ann Lowe, Custom Designer for the Upper Crust
Ann Lowe (1898-1981) was the first African American to open a custom dress studio on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. During the fifties and sixties, she was a favorite designer for the moneyed elite, creating debutante and wedding dresses. Perhaps her … Continue reading
How New was the “New Look”?
In many fashion histories, the “New Look” introduced by Christian Dior in 1948 is portrayed as nothing short of a revolution. With his famous collection featuring soft shoulders, nipped waists, full skirts, and longer lengths, he singlehandedly ended prevailing World … Continue reading