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Why I Love History
From Punch Magazine, 1906. http://www.punch.co.uk/Look at this cartoon from a 1906 issue of Punch Magazine, forecasting the future of wireless technology. It shows two people sitting outdoors, but...
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Spangles, Sequins, and Spangs, Oe My!
"The Robe she ware was lawne (white as the Swanne)Which silver Oes and Spangles over-ranThat in her motion such reflexion gave,As fill'd with silver stares, the heav'nly wane."- John Davies of...
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Historic Influence
Right: Image from 13th century Bestiary. British Library, Royal ms 12 F XIII f9r. Sometimes fashion is for the dogs. Just a silly little historic influence post for the weekend! Many thanks to...
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Elizabeth Keckly Before Mary Lincoln
February is Black History Month! To celebrate here on The Fashion Historian, I asked my dear friend and colleague Elizabeth Way if she would pen a couple of guest posts about two incredible African...
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Ann Lowe’s Early Career
February is Black History Month! To celebrate here on The Fashion Historian, I asked my dear friend and colleague Elizabeth Way if she would pen a couple of guest posts about two incredible African...
View ArticleCarnivalesque 104
Welcome to Carnivalesque #104! There's been all sorts of fascinating research being posted on the blogosphere, so let's take a look at what my fellow historians have been up to recently!To start with...
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The Past and the Future: Two Court Presentation Gowns from the Chicago...
In my work as curatorial assistant at the Chicago History Museum I was fortunate enough to study two beautiful court presentation gowns from the 1920s. I blogged about those dresses and the ritual of...
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Fashion and New Technology
Fashion has always had a strong relationship with new technology. In the late eighteenth century, looms ran on punch cards to weave complex textile designs-- the very first computing technology. In the...
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Historic Influence
(As always, click for full size.)Left: Elizabeth Banks in Elie Saab Fall 2014 CoutureTop Right: Three robes a la francaise from the Kyoto Costume InstituteBottom Right: Robe a la francaise, 1755-65,...
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La Mode à la Girafe
La mode à la girafe translates to giraffe fashion, that is, fashion inspired by and celebrating giraffes. Or, in the case of late 1820s France, the fashion influence of one very famous giraffe.Nicolas...
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Exploring the Decades with Disney Princesses: Cinderella
Part 1: Snow White from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)As a fashion historian, I find that an interesting aspect of Disney is how the animated features serve as records of the visual culture of...
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Coiffure à la [Fill in the Blank]
One of the most famous and persistent images of the eighteenth century is a woman with an enormous tall wig decorated with ribbons, feathers, and all manner of figurines. Known as the pouf, this tall...
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Embroidery Samples at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Any visitor to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City should stop by Gallery 599 on their tour of the museum. It's a small gallery, to get there you simply descend a small flight of stairs...
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MythBusters: Fashion History Edition
Myth: Fashionable eighteenth-century ladies shaved off their eyebrows and used false eyebrows made of mouse fur.Grace Dalrymple Elliot by Thomas Gainsborough, c. 1778. Private Collection. Are those...
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Book Review: Fashion Victims: Dress at the Court of Louis XVI and Marie...
Fashion Victims: Dress at the Court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinetteby Kimberly Chrisman-CampbellYale University Press"Fashion, which its detractors have called slight, inconstant, fickle, and...
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Interview with Fashion Victims Author Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell
Dr. Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell recently published her first book, Fashion Victims: Dress at the Court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. After looking through this lavish text, I wanted to know a bit...
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Printed Textiles in Eighteenth-Century America
It's Textile Month here on The Fashion Historian! Each week this month we'll be bringing you a textile themed post. This week, learn about printed textiles in eighteenth-century America!Printed cotton...
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Art Deco Textiles in America Part 1: Africana Prints and Non-Western Influences
It's Textile Month here on The Fashion Historian! Each week this month we'll be bringing you a textile themed post. This week, in Part 1 of a two-part series, learn about how the art of non-Western...
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Book Review: Nautical Chic by Amber Jane Butchart
Nautical Chicby Amber Jane ButchartAbrams (USA); Thames & Hudson Ltd. (UK)"It is France, the United States, and Britain whose naval uniforms and maritime clothing have had a lasting legacy around...
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Art Deco Textiles In America Part 2: American History and Modern Life
We're finishing up Textile Month after some technical difficulties! This week we bring you the long awaited Part 2 of our Art Deco textiles series. Catch up with Part 1 at the link below, and then read...
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Book Week Review: The Dress Detective by Ingrid Mida and Alexandra Kim
Welcome to Book Week on The Fashion Historian! Every day this week I will be reviewing the latest in fashion and textile history scholarship. Enjoy!The Dress Detective: A Practical Guide to...
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Pink
Think Pink from Funny Face (1957) The color pink has come to represent all that is quintessentially girly. Barbie, the most famous of girl's dolls, frequently wears pink, drives a pink convertable,...
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Exploring The Decades With Disney Princesses: Snow White
As a fashion historian, I find that an interesting aspect of Disney is how the animated features serve as records of the visual culture of their day. The Disney Princesses, a successful sub-franchise...
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Eighteenth-Century Fans at the Chicago History Museum
Is anyone a fan of the eighteenth century? Fans have been an important luxury item, status symbol, and practical object throughout history. Fans survive from cultures all over the world, many...
View ArticleThe Fashion Stigma
I recently read this article by Lisa Bloom, called How to Talk to Little Girls. It's a quick and interesting read but the gist of it is that the author recently met the five-year-old daughter of a...
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