Fashion History Weekly Round-Up: 2/12/19

Welcome back to the Fashion History Weekly Round-Up! Here are some of the things I've seen this week that have inspired and fascinated me... #1 - 'A Rare Glimpse Inside The Met's Costume Institute Conservation Laboratory' from Vogue A real treat - a behind the scenes insight into one of the busiest fashion and dress …

Fashion History Weekly Round-Up 18/11/19

A slightly smaller summary this week - albeit still with a lot of interesting things to tell you about! # 1 - An interview with Valerie Steele - Director and Chief Curator at The Museum at FIT This article was posted as part of Fashionista.com's long running series 'How I'm Making It,' detailing the success and career …

Fashion History Weekly Round-Up: 11/11/19

Welcome to the first edition of the fashion history round-up! Each week I will be writing a summary of all the things that have inspired me during the past seven days. These could be announcements about new exhibitions or museum openings, inspiring articles I have read and book releases I am anticipating, and social media …

Guest Post by Rachel Sayers: The History of Irish Dress 1850-1900

Our guest researcher and blogger Rachel Sayers returns to whatgrandmawore for a second post on Irish history! 'On Sundays at the Carnacun chapel the family [….] would pass by the men in knee breeches, frieze coats, and stovepipe hats; inside the church, the men sat on one side, the women hiding their faces behind shawls …

Dior Takes London: Proud Central – A Review

One could be forgiven for thinking that they were trespassing into The Dior Collection exhibition, held at Proud Central, London, from the 7th Feb – 7th April 2019. Quietly situated a close walk from Charing Cross station down a side street, The Dior Collection is held in an intimate, cosy, peaceful gallery space away from the bustle of the …

Collaboration with whatgrandmawore and whatsaroxy: Fashion Illustration

This post is one of many in a collaboration with whatgrandmawore and artist Roxy Van Bemmel. It focuses on the interpretation of historical garments and textiles in an illustrated form, from a modern, abstract, and creative perspective. Roxy van Bemmel painting of an 1826 dress belonging to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2019). All …

Theme of Month: Artistic and Aesthetic Dress

In light of The Costume Society’s upcoming July conference, Pre-Raphaelites and the Arts and Crafts Movement, the terms (in this instance) of the month are Aesthetic/Artistic dress. E.582-1953. F. Champenois. Mucha, Alphonse. Colour lithograph. c1898. Victoria and Albert Museum, London. http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O590845/f-champenois-poster-mucha-alphonse/ These two words are used interchangeably, and can be applied, as stated by Aileen Ribeiro in her …

Guest Blog Post from Rachel Sayers: The History of Irish Dress 1750-1850

whatgrandmawore is pleased to welcome our first guest post from Rachel Sayers! Within the study of fashion history, Irish dress is one of the most neglected and under-researched aspects. There have been less than ten major texts on Irish fashion to be published in the last 40 years, making writing, disseminating and researching Irish dress history …

Like Mother Like Daughter: Jeanne Lanvin and Gazette du Bon Ton from 1920-1925

Jeanne Lanvin was a prolific French couturier who enjoyed several decades of success during the twentieth century. First training as a milliner during the late 19th century and subsequently opening her own business in 1889, Lanvin eventually joined the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in 1909. She ran a highly successful fashion house for many years, …

Classicism and Couture: Greek Art and Design Meets Chanel

‘I’m suggesting going back to move forward. To create the future, you have to pay attention to the past.’ – Karl Lagerfeld ‘There is some irony in a designer who famously dislikes nostalgia creating a collection inspired by an era from about 2,500 years ago.’[1] We start this blog post with two opposing perspectives of …