By Monica Sklar,
March 20th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
(Book Reviews)
When I read Simon Doonan‘s Eccentric Glamour: Creating an Insanely More Fabulous You
(my book club recommendation-they all loved it!!), I noted how many times the name Marchesa Luisa Casati kept coming up as an inspiration to modern fashion eccentrics and style superstars. As a student of both dress and subculture, as well as all things diva-tastic I was sort of surprised I didn’t know who this person was.
So, after some digging a bit, it turns out she was an early 20thc icon of unsual and astounding style. More popular in Europe than the States so maybe that is why she’d slipped through my radar. So I thought I’d do a site highlight of what seems to be the most comprehensive website featuring info about her. The site isn’t very new, but it’s worth checking out and is run by the authors of a biography of her, Scot Ryersson and Michael Orlando Yaccarino. The book is entitled Infinite Variety: The Life and Legend of the Marchesa Casati (Definitive Edition)
. I haven’t read it, but it’s on my post-graduation to-do list.
Here is the site. Check it out.
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By Heather Vaughan,
March 20th, 2009 at 9:54 am
(Conferences and Calls for Papers)
Ruben Toledo, detail of the 'Fashion Wheel', 2003
The Eighth Richard Martin Visual Culture Symposium
v
Guest Speaker, Phyllis Magidson
Curator of Costumes and Textiles, The Museum of the City of New York
“New York vs. Paris 1914 to 1941: Fashion Showdown”
v
Presentations by M.A. Candidates in Costume Studies:
Fashion and Façade: Addressing and Undressing
the Bourgeoisie in Emile Zola’s Pot-Bouille
Jessica Pescosolido
The Italian Look: Unique Synergies at Work
Gabriella M. Pannunzio
Shapewear: A Complicated Affair
A Study in the Resurgence of Body Shapers Worn by American Women
Ashley Cohen
Jungle Red and Dragon Ladies:
American Femininities and the Modern Manicure
Suzanne E. Shapiro
v
Friday, April 3, 2009 – 6:00-8:00
Einstein Auditorium
34 Stuyvesant Street
New York, New York 10003
(212) 998-5700
~Reception to follow~
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By Monica Sklar,
March 19th, 2009 at 5:00 am
(Book Reviews, Uncategorized)
Amazingly, the blog The Trad took the time to graciously scan the entire book of Take Ivy
This is a real find! Take Ivy is a Japanese book of photography from the American Ivy League schools in the 60s.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Here are a few sample pieces but you should go to his website to check the whole thing out. Thanx to The Trad!
UPDATE–THE BOOK IS BEING REPRINTED. Take Ivy
5 Comments
By Heather Vaughan,
March 18th, 2009 at 5:00 am
(Exhibitions, History of Dress, Uncategorized)
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. and its newly reopened National Museum of American History. While there, I had the opportunity to see several exhibits, which I’ll be sharing with you over the next few weeks. First up – the exhibition of first ladies dresses.
This exhibit not only showed and discussed the first ladies dresses in the museums collection, but also went into the history of the collection and of the exhibit itself. It has been a part of the Smithsonian’s exhibition program for decades, and is one of the most popular. The collection itself actually has over 1000 objects related to the first ladies and their activities during their years in the white house. I highly recommend a visit to the exhibit on your next trip to D.C. Here are a few of the highlights from when I was there (they frequently rotate gowns out of this exhibition, so you might see something different when you go):
Helen Taft’s 1909 inauguration gown (my personal favorite):
An evening gown from Mamie Eisenhower:
Eleanor Roosevelt’s 1945 Inauguration reception gown:
Martha Washington’s silk gown dating to the 1780s (with reproduction collar and cuffs):
Mary Lincoln’s silk dress from 1861:
Sarah Polk’s silk dress from 1840 (remade into an evening gown in the 1880s):
Florence Harding’s dress by Harry Collins:
For a behind the scenes video of the exhibition with curator Lisa-Kathleen Graddy, click here. Next week, another exhibit from D.C.!
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By Monica Sklar,
March 17th, 2009 at 5:00 am
(Jobs, Uncategorized)
1.) Paid Internships at Knox Museum in Maine
Montpelier, the General Henry Knox Museum, an historic house museum in midcoast Maine, is pleased to post two paid internships for 2009. The museum, a reconstruction of the 1794 mansion built by the country’s first Secretary of War, houses an important collection of Federal Period furniture and decorative arts, as well as primary and secondary resources related to the economic development and settling of midcoast Maine. The museum has a permanent staff of four FT employees and over sixty active volunteers, and offers a very active range of programs, classes and events during the summer. For more information, see www.knoxmuseum.org.
Museum Intern: This internship is designed to offer a broad range of experience in museum operations, including collections management, interpretation, research, and program and exhibition development. Specific projects will be developed in consultation with the museum’s director of education, and special interests of the intern will be taken into account. This internship is 5 days a week (30 hours) for 11 weeks, and pays a stipend of $2,600.
Educational Intern: This internship is part of the museum’s Center for the Study of Early American History, and will provide a focused experience in museum educational programming. The educational intern’s primary responsibility will be to provide support for the Center’s summer teacher institute, which includes answering phones, preparing mailings, handling teachers’ logistical concerns, assisting teachers with research projects, and assisting with program delivery, working with noted experts in the field of history. In addition, the educational intern will be responsible for developing educational materials and/or activities to expand the museum’s education and interpretive programs. A very high level of organization, motivation and energy is required. This internship is 5 days a week (37.5 hours) for 12 weeks, and pays a stipend of $4,400.
For all internships, undergraduate or graduate students with a background or strong interest in history, historic preservation, education, library and archival science or museum studies are encouraged to apply. A high level of self-motivation and initiative is required. Saturdays and some special evening and weekend events are required. Starting and ending dates are flexible. We regret that the museum can not provide housing.
To apply: Please send a letter describing your interest and experience with museums and/or nonprofits, a resume and three references to Ellen Dyer, General Henry Knox Museum, PO Box 326, Thomaston, ME 04861 or by email to center@knoxmuseum.org. Please indicate in which internship you are interested. Application deadline is Monday, March 9, 2009.
Click here for more info
2.) National WWII Museum-Summer Internship for Collections and Exhibits
The National WWII Museum is currently accepting applications for its Collections and Exhibits non-paid summer Internship program. Interns will assist in a wide variety of collections activities including working with 3D artifacts (cataloging, photography, condition reporting, housing, proper storage), archival materials, as well as the curation and installation of exhibits.
Museum internships are awarded to college juniors and seniors and students entered in graduate programs.
To apply: Please send an essay of no more than 500 words explaining your desire to intern at the National WWII Museum, along with a current resume to:
Internship Program Manager, Collections and Exhibits
The National World War II Museum
945 Magazine Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
Click here for more info
3.) Smithsonian Internship
Time Commitment: 30 – 40 hrs./week
Schedule: Flexible
Salary: Unpaid
Project Description: Intern will assist with all aspects of The Smithsonian Associates (TSA) Performing Arts programming. By working closely with the Program Manager, the Intern will gain experience in all aspects of program production including programming research, booking, budgets, contract negotiation, season planning, logistical set-up, and marketing. Intern will also provide direct, hands-on support through the design and production of printed event programs, flyers, patron correspondence, and onsite support of performing arts, film and family programs. Intern will also assist with box office and house management duties during some evening and weekend productions.
Our internship periods are: winter-spring (early January – March/April), fall (August/September – November/December), and summer (May/June – August/September). While we don’t have application deadlines, early submission is encouraged
Click here for more info
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By Monica Sklar,
March 16th, 2009 at 5:00 am
(Conferences and Calls for Papers, Jobs)
This summer camp for researchers might be enjoyable for someone studying dress and the body.
OHRO Summer Summer Institute
June 1-12, 2009
Narrating the Body: Oral History, Narrative and Embodied Practice
The tuition for the Institute is $1,500. Housing is provided at low cost. Limited scholarships are available.
Applications are due APRIL 6, 2009
The Columbia University Oral History Research Office is delighted to announce that the 2009 Annual Summer Institute will be held June 1 – June 12, 2009. The theme of the 2009 Institute is “Narrating the Body: Oral History, Narrative and Embodied Practice.” The Institute will explore issues, stories and performances tracing the history of the body, as well as oral history as an embodied practice. Two of OHRO’s former Rockefeller Humanities fellows, Kathy Davis of the Netherlands and Jose Carlos Sebe Bom Meihy of Brazil, will join the Institute to share their recent scholarship on the body. Kathy Davis will present on the oral history research that formed the basis for her award-winning book, The Making of Our Bodies, Ourselves: How Feminism Travels Across Borders, as well as her general research and scholarship on the operation of gender and power in health care, feminist activism around the body, and the globalization of women’s narratives. Jose Carlos Sebe Bom Meihy will present on current oral history research in Brazil on the use of the body as a form of self/family survival and space of cultural dialogue and commerce, as well as discourses around migration.
Core faculty, including Alessandro Portelli of the University of Rome and Mary Marshall Clark, Peter Bearman, Ronald J. Grele, Amy Starecheski, Rita Charon and Marsha Hurst of Columbia University, will explore recent theoretical inquiries into the embodied, intersubjective nature of the oral history interview as it addresses hunger, political trauma, disability and illness narratives as well as reproductive rights and sexuality. Workshops will include training for interviewing vulnerable and traumatized families/communities and developing archives of cultural memory and activism. Corie Trancho-Robie, assistant director of OHRO, will a lead workshop on the development of archives and the use of digital technology to record and preserve interviews. Linda Shopes of Pennsylvania will lead a workshop on editing oral history for publication, and Steve Rowland of Pennsylvania will lead a workshop on digital recording and editing.
Click here for more details
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By Monica Sklar,
March 16th, 2009 at 5:00 am
(Conferences and Calls for Papers)
Call for Papers
Costume Society of America Western Region
The CSA Western Region announces a two-day regional symposium to be held in Old Town Sacramento, California, September 25-26, 2009.
On Friday we will gather to socialize at an informal reception. Saturday presentations will be held at the fascinating California State Railroad Museum. We are delighted that Inez Brooks-Myers has agreed to be the keynote speaker. Besides our keynote presentation, juried papers and research-in-progress reports will fill out the day-long program.
Abstracts must be postmarked by April 4, 2009
For more information click here
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By Lauren Michel,
March 13th, 2009 at 5:00 am
(Teaching)
Two of a fashion instructor’s best resources for the popular fashion zeitgeist are the popular press and street style. Even better than the two sources taken separately, are the two when they are combined into one forum. Voilà, the fashion blog.
Since you have found this article, you probably already know the definition of the word blog. Fashion blogs can range from the scholarly (such as this one), to up-to-the-minute runway reports, to street style, and beyond. Because blogs are often self-published, their authors write on anything that strikes their fancy (or fancies). Fashion blogs, in particular, are no different.
Here some of my current favorites that I enjoy sharing in my classroom:
The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman
Scott Schuman’s blog, The Sartorialist, features high quality photos of international big-city street style. Schuman, who is based in New York, travels to fashion weeks in Stockholm, New York, London, Milan and Paris and photographs inspiring and unique individuals on the street.
Garance Doré: Une Fille Comme Moi
French fashion illustrator and photographer Garance Doré photographs fashion week street style in a way similar to The Sartorialist, however she also posts some of her illustrations and maintains a French perspective throughout. She writes in French and posts an English translation of her blog.
Mrs O: Fashion and Style
Mrs. O is dedicated to following the fashion of First Lady Michelle Obama, providing fashion commentary and information.
The Fashion-y Blog: Musings of a Teenage Fashion Addict
Written by nineteen-year-old Kori Perten, The Fashion-y Blog is exactly what the title describes: Musings of a Teenage Fashion Addict. Well-written and a delight to read.
A Dress a Day
For a discussion of wearing and collecting vintage dresses, and making new ones from vintage patterns, visit lexicographer Erin McKean’s A Dress a Day. In my opinion, this blog is written with both a sense of humor and practicality, because what could be more fun and practical than wearing amusing second-hand clothing and making your own retro-inspired dresses?
Monterey, California Street Style
Monterey Street Style
I have recently started a Monterey, California street style blog called Monterey Street Style, inspired by The Sartorialist, naturally.
Do you use blogs in your classroom? How do you feel about students citing blogs in their assignments?
If you are not a professor or instructor, in addition to Worn Through, what are your favorite fashion blogs?
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By Monica Sklar,
March 12th, 2009 at 5:00 am
(Uncategorized)
Harlo and I are off to London in early May for a week to site-see, do some research for my book/dissertation, and see The Specials reunion concert.
We’ve never been before (which somehow now seems almost shocking) and so any tips anyone has are greatly appreciated. We’ve got a list a mile long of things we want to do, but I’m ALWAYS wanting more suggestions and especially when it comes to my research. The V&A didn’t work out as they need about 6 months notice, but I’ll still see what’s on their permanent display. The Museum of London is letting me see some of their punk collection. I’ve got a few friends and friends of friends who I’ll interview/hang with, we’ll go to Camdem Market, some art galleries and music venues, and lots more! But, please do send along your thoughts….
I’m really torn about taking one day away form London and heading to Brighton to see their museum’s collection of punk stuff but it’d be a sacrifice of prescious time in London and our endless list of must-dos.
I’ve been writing a few people/places and oddly they don’t seem to be getting back. I’m sort of bummed on the slow reply and crosisng my fingers the emails will arrive any day now to book a few more appointments. Now of course, I’d love to just spend the whole time site-seeing, but, it seems a waste to not do at least a little research every day. Although I guess inherently a lot of the things we’d do will take us toward some awesome art/punk directions.
Oh and did I tell you we’re seeing the double whammy of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen in Waiting for Godot! Judi Dench and Mr Bean are also in plays at that time. Sort of blew our minds. Terry Hall and Gandalf in one trip! (Morrissey is playing too but I’m seeing him just a few weeks before here in MPLS for my birthday. Otherwise that’d be a perfectly British thing to do of course.)
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By Monica Sklar,
March 12th, 2009 at 5:00 am
(Exhibitions, Uncategorized)
As you may know from precious posts (or personally), I’m mildly obsessed with maritime fashion and if there was one consistent thing about my wardrobe it’s stripes. Whether those are dubbed PArisian, punk, or sailor-inspired—I’m down with the striped look. Also, with our lil’ boat that we’re anxious to get back on, as the winter id dragging on, this exhibit seems like a fun day dream.
Below you’ll find an exhibit I wish I could go to, which was cosponsored by Rogues Gallery apparel. Rogues Gallery, if you’re unfamiliar, is a fab, vintage-inspired clothing line. On their blog they’ve posted some images from the exhibit.
Maine Maritime Museum
The Sea Within Us: Iconically Maritime in Fashion & Design
January 16, 2009 – April 19, 2009
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