Originally, this post was going to address 1920s fashion as well, but I think that will wait until later. There is enough to discuss in just the meaning of the term! My issue is with the tendency of people to ascribe the term "flapper" mainly to the 1920s (perhaps mentioning that it was used before … Continue reading The Writer's Guide to Costume: "Flapper"
Category: 1920s
Sad Story with a Happy Ending
I've been a little nervous about the dress forms for the Great, Strange, and Rarely Seen exhibition ever since I worked on the pattern for the ca. 1837 dress, which was quite small, and I got even more nervous after working on the ca. 1867 pattern (the last one I took). The dress forms are … Continue reading Sad Story with a Happy Ending
20th Century Fashion Dolls
Everyone knows that in the eighteenth century, dolls were used to spread the latest fashions; less well known are the versions that were popular in the early twentieth century. While I was pinning images from the Met onto my Pinterest boards, I came across twenty-six of these Lafitte-Desirat dolls, all dressed adorably in the fashions … Continue reading 20th Century Fashion Dolls
Boué Soeurs
Quite a change in subject matter, but I've started working on a story set in 1920 and my costume thoughts have been there lately. The Boué sisters, Madame Sylvie Montegut and Baronne Jeanne d’Etreillis, opened their Parisian fashion house in 1899. (It's speculated that Sylvie was more involved in design and Jeanne was more of … Continue reading Boué Soeurs
Mimic of Modes 