Author: Keren Ben-Horin

Downtown, Uptown: From the Dry Goods Store to the Palace of Consumption – Part II

19th century, thematic essays

This essay traces the evolution of New York’s shopping scene in the 19th century from the downtown dry goods store to the uptown “palace of consumption.”

Read More

Downtown, Uptown: From the Dry Goods Store to the Palace of Consumption

19th century, thematic essays

This essay traces the evolution of New York’s shopping scene in the 19th century from the downtown dry goods store to the uptown “palace of consumption.”

Read More

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Alexandra, Princess of Wales, and later Queen of E

Alexandra, Princess of Wales, and later Queen of England, held a uniquely powerful influence over nineteenth century fashion. Born in 1844 in Denmark, Alexandra wed Queen Victoria’s eldest son, Albert Edward on March 10, 1863. She immediately captured the attention of the public, and quickly became beloved by the British people, a population starved for royal youth and glamour. By the 1870s, Alexandra’s importance in nineteenth-century fashion was such that the “princess line” was named for her. Her trim figure was the beauty ideal of the time and was displayed to fantastic effect in this new style, which she did much to popularize. She was also associated with the emergence of the preference for tight chignons and curled fringe in the late 1870s. Alexandra even kept up to date with the latest trends in color, never shying away from the newest bright hues. Throughout her life, especially during the 1870s and 1880s when she was at the height of her sartorial powers, Alexandra used opulent and fashionable dress to great effect. In contrast to the aging Queen Victoria, Alexandra kept a busy social calendar, always appearing in the latest fashions. While Victoria dressed in British mourning dress, Alexandra frequently bought and wore Parisian couture. Her modish, youthful style breathed new life into the British monarchy. Fashion historian Kate Strasdin argues that Alexandra’s popularity, supported through her clothing choices, may have had outsized effects on the stability of the monarchy, writing: “As the epitome of a ‘princess’ her clever clothing choices meant that she was both regal as the event required, or through a general conformity of style she made herself more available as a public figure in a way that Victoria had ceased to be.” Read more at the link in bio!
#victorianfashion #fashionhistory #alexandraprincessofwales #britishfashion

The story of the 1963 film Cleopatra, starring Eli

The story of the 1963 film Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor, begins in the 1950s, when lavishly produced period films were Hollywood’s answer to the rise of television. Epic spectacles set in antiquity, filmed in widescreen Technicolor, seemed like a winning formula to lure audiences away from the small black-and-white screen at home and back into theaters. The action of the film takes place between 48 B.C. and 30 B.C., in Alexandria, Egypt and in Rome. Cleopatra (born c. 69 B.C.) ages from twenty to thirty-nine during the course of the story. Research for the outfits of the film was done from early Egyptian bas-reliefs, tomb paintings, and sculpture. Of the two sculptures depicting Cleopatra during her lifetime she wears a strap gown typical of women from the earliest periods of Egyptian history. The strap gown consisted of two pieces of linen sewn up the sides and suspended from the shoulders by means of straps made of folded linen, wide enough to cover the breasts. Although the strap gown could be decorated with embroidered beads in various colors, it was usually plain linen, in its natural color or bleached white, the material used for most ancient Egyptian dress. The first costume Elizabeth Taylor wears in the film is typical of many that appear later; a fitted sleeveless dress, with a V-neckline, based on the Egyptian strap gown. There are over a dozen variations of this type of costume in the film, worn alone or under another garment as part of an ensemble. Some are loose-fitting or with a drawstring waistline, but most are fitted and have lines of stitched horizontal or vertical pleats on the bodices. The Egyptian kalasiris, a wide linen garment with a slit in the center that was usually pleated or crimped, is similarly worn in variation throughout the film. Read more at the link in the bio!
#fashionhistory #costumehistory #digitalhumanities

Jean-Marc Nattier was known for his mythological s

Jean-Marc Nattier was known for his mythological style, painting women wearing clothing loosely based on fashionable trends, as is true in his 1750 Portrait of a Young Woman. He painted women with a beautiful, goddess-like quality, even depicting some sitters as specific goddesses. Much like his other paintings, this portrait shows the sitter not dressed with the fashion of her time, but instead wearing deconstructed elements of 18th century style. Her off-the-shoulder draped chemise exposes her décolletage. Her sleeves are cinched with pearls creating a virago sleeve. Such adornments were popular during this time; however, this ensemble altogether would be deemed too deconstructed to be fashionable to wear for an occasion other than for a portrait sitting. Under her bust there is delicate bobbin lace. She has flowers along her sash and in her hair. At her waist there is a pink satin ribbon secured with a bow. Contrary to her ensemble, women of the 18th century wore more structured garments with elaborate details including trains, silk brocades, and heavily decorated petticoats. Read more about Nattier’s work at the link in the bio!
#fashionhistory #digitalhumanities #18thcenturyfashion

The year 1938 was a period of transition from the

The year 1938 was a period of transition from the catastrophic Great Depression to World War II. Women’s fashion was exuberant: vibrant colors, Surrealist accessories, ornate hats with minimal embellishments were key trends. However, the overall silhouette was simple, clean, and sophisticated. Hemlines began to fall down below the knees. Restrained, structured shoulders evolved into the iconic puff sleeve. Public figures such as the Duchess of Windsor inspired women in their everyday dress. Accessories became a huge part of people’s everyday style, with Surrealist inventions like those from Schiaparelli particularly popular. Small, flamboyant hats were yet another key trend. The year 1938 was a continuation of Surrealist fashion inventions, especially accessories. The impact of Hollywood on this period was phenomenal. Glamorous films like Holiday inspired people during a time of economic darkness. Fashion magazines regularly featured “Hollywood Fashions” in photospreads. With the enduring effects of the Great Depression and the build-up to the outbreak of World War II the next year, 1938 was a year of economic and social distress. However, the immense difficulties did not suppress the change of fashion. Read more in the link in bio! #1930sfashion #fashionhistory #20thcenturyfashion

Thierry Mugler’s campy “Birth of Venus” dres

Renoir’s famous 1883 painting, Dance at Bougival

Renoir’s famous 1883 painting, Dance at Bougival, captures a romantic moment during a couple’s dance featuring simple, yet fashionable garments for the time. Renoir grew up with a particular eye for fashion as his father was a tailor and his mother was a dressmaker. The woman in the painting wears a 2-piece pink cotton ensemble with a basque bodice extending past her hips, an extremely popular silhouette choice of the time. The bodice has an open fold-over collar with three-quarter sleeves ending in cuffs. The opening of the bodice cuts diagonally across the front, and is finished with red edging, matching the trim on the collar, cuff, and hem of the bodice. The apron overskirt is pulled towards the back in a bustled drape, with the excess fabric coming out from underneath in a flared shape. Her ensemble is finished with a red bonnet, tied with a bow under her chin and decorated with purple fruits. Her hat proves to be very stylish for the time, as these colors were popular, and also fitting for a casual suburban dance. The dress is considered fashionable for the year, but not as elaborate as Parisian couture. Both the man and woman’s ensembles seem very appropriate for the setting, Bougival, which was a working-class suburb located about 15km from Paris that had become a popular summertime day trip from Paris. The pink dress certainly has many similarities in its silhouette, colors, and accessories to fashion plates, photographs, and surviving garments from the time. Read more at the link in the bio!
#fashionhistory #digitalhumanities #19thcenturyfashion

The 1540s saw womenswear become increasingly rigid

The 1540s saw womenswear become increasingly rigid with stiffened bodices flattening the torso and breasts. The Spanish farthingale also became more extensively used throughout Europe, giving skirts a firm cone shape. In general, English costume moved away from German styles, and instead became more inspired by Spanish fashion. However, basic components of a woman’s dress stayed the same from previous decades including the chemise, kirtle, and gown. Large, funnel-shaped sleeves were popular, and accentuated with equally large undersleeves typically made from the same fabric as the visible part of the kirtle. The French hood became the dominant headdress in England, which was a rounded bonnet made on a stiff frame worn on the back of the head. These were sometimes decorated with jewels. Jewels typically adorned the girdle as well, which was the must-have accessory to accentuate the waist. A square neckline was particularly favorable, and worn with a linen partlet to fill it in. Read more at the link in the bio!
#fashionhistory #digitalhumanities #16thcenturyfashion

Chantilly lace is a relatively new style of lace,

Chantilly lace is a relatively new style of lace, originally made by bobbins rather than needles. It is a French style that flourished in the mid-eighteenth century and was usually made in black silk thread. Other bobbin laces, like Torchon and Genoese, came to popularity in earlier centuries and were often made of linen. French silk lace is often referred to as ‘blonde’ lace, due to the natural color of silk. Although originally established in the seventeenth century by the Duchess of Longueville in Chantilly near Paris, the French revolution destroyed the industry in the 1790s. The industry was resuscitated in the early nineteenth century but had to move away from Chantilly due to costs. While a key sign of Chantilly lace is that it is made of black silk, the structure is what actually makes it Chantilly, and thus white and ‘blonde’ examples do exist. Production of the lace flourished between 1740 and 1785 when it was under the patronage of Louis XV (1715-74) and Louis XVI (1774-93), but few eighteenth-century examples have been identified. An example of ‘inherent vice,’ the black dye used was acid that contained iron and oxidized, causing the lace to lose its color and rot the fabric. Many textiles made with iron-based black dye suffered the same fate, which is why we have so few of them. Black Chantilly lace shawls were extremely popular in the mid-19th century, and various other types of headdresses were created with it in earlier decades. The twentieth century represented the demise of traditional lace. Machine-made lace had been available in some form since at least 1809; soon after, it became more cost- and quality-effective to create lace by machine rather than by hand. Read more at the link in the bio!
#fashionhistory #18thcentury #digitalhumanities

Gilbert Adrian’s whimsical dress from 1942 is ma

Gilbert Adrian’s whimsical dress from 1942 is made of silk crepe and features playful lambs frolicking through a flowery field on a sunny day. This dress was created during WWII, and served as a way to bring hope and happiness into American lives during a difficult time. During the war, the government set strict guidelines for fashion, rationing the amount and types of fabric that could be used for a garment. Still, Adrian was adamant on continuing to design beautiful dresses for women, and felt there was nothing in the restrictions preventing them from having flattering gowns for the evening. Adrian was most famous as a Hollywood costume designer, designing for the likes of Judy Garland, Greta Garbo, and Joan Crawford. One of his most well-known dresses includes the iconic gingham dress worn by Judy Garland in ‘The Wizard of Oz’. Before 1942, his designs were restricted to the Hollywood elite only, but became available to the public with the opening of his Beverly Hills shop. Some of Adrian’s designs in this period give off a whimsical, rustic feeling. For example, another of his popular dinner dresses titled ‘The Egg and I’, has striking similarities to his lamb dress. It features a barnyard scene, complete with roosters in a field. Both dresses have a simple bodice, and a softly hanging skirt. Adrian was able to not only keep in line with the fabric rationing rules of the time, but also instill optimism into the lives of Americans with his playful and charming designs. Read more at the link in the bio!
#fashionhistory #digitalhumanities #20thcenturyfashion

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