“Beauty Adorns Virtue”: Italian Renaissance Fashion
Renaissance beauty was not skin deep. In order to be considered beautiful (and fashionable), an early modern woman must also be virtuous.
Category: thematic essays
A History of Women’s Swimwear
From the eighteenth century to the present day, women’s swimwear has undergone an unparalleled transformation. Changes in women’s swimwear throughout history have reflected sociological and technological factors, thus the garment acts as a barometer of time.
Beetle-Wing Embroidery in Nineteenth-Century Fashion
Beetle-wing embroidery: a colonialist fantasia and exotic fad in nineteenth-century England and America. Fig. 1 - Collector unknown (British). Beetles, before 1951....
Compartment Couture: New York City Department Stores 1850-1930
By examining fashion modes, economical and societal fluctuations, and urban developments, this essay explores how New York City department stores changed from their initial founding as dry goods stores, developed through the turn of the twentieth century, and emerged in the interwar years.
Compartment Couture: New York City Department Stores 1850-1930 (Part 2)
Part 1 of this essay covers the emergence of department stores in New York City during the nineteenth century. Part 2 discusses the roles of salesclerks and anonymous fashion designers who worked for department store labels.
Downtown, Uptown: From the Dry Goods Store to the Palace of Consumption
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.”
Downtown, Uptown: From the Dry Goods Store to the Palace of Consumption – Part II
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.”
Gucci Strikes Red: China’s Love Affair with Gucci
Gucci has taken a thoughtful, creative approach to engaging Chinese consumers. While other brands have fallen into caricature and suffered for it, Gucci has become a beloved and dominant luxury brand in China.
Inès Gâches-Sarraute and the Straight-Front Corset
Often anachronistically called the ‘S-bend,’ the dramatic straight-front corset of the early 1900s was invented by a doctor for health purposes and quickly swept up into the tides of fashion.
Norell: Flappers Back In Fashion
When the spirit of the ’60s brought new relevance to the ’20s silhouette, Norman Norell was at the vanguard of the revival. Indeed, at a time when other designers looked toward the future, Norell looked to the past.
Roaring & Swinging: Shared Fashionable Ideals of Flappers and Mods
Flappers and mods rebelled against the traditional image of femininity held by the generations before them. Although their worlds were very different, their fashion and beauty ideals were remarkably similar.
Stout Fashion & Early 20th Century American Ready-to-Wear
In the early 20th century, the American ready-to-wear industry for stout women–whom we typically call plus-size today–emerged almost simultaneously as that for slimmer women. Stores like Lane Bryant offered a wide variety of clothing specially designed for stout women, who represented a growing portion of the population and had both the desire and income to spend on fashion goods. This essay explores how the industry evolved in the 1910s and 20s to serve them.
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