Les Modes : revue mensuelle illustrée des arts décoratifs appliqués à la femme, no. 94, vol. 8, octobre 1908, Paris. La Robe-Manteau de Zimmermann. Dans ses diverses transformations. (Modèle breveté S.G.D.G.) Photos Félix. Bibliothèque nationale de France
"A breathtaking masterpiece of 1920’s couture by legendary designer Sadie Nemser. Composed of aquamarine silk velvet and metallic silver lace, adorned with hand made ribbon flowers, beads and pearls."
Photo of five New York sisters from a family estate, names now sadly lost. A great example of daytime fashion in the teens - you can really see the loose fit in their walking suits that would evolve into the loose-fitting 1920s gowns in the next decade. Hemlines are a bit higher, and the lady in front is wearing spats over her boots. You can get a decent look at her bag. Some good views of 1910s hairstyles for Black American women.
L'Art et la mode, no. 41, vol. 11, 11 octobre 1890, Paris. Robe en velours violet évêque, formant par devant casaque dont le pan, coupé à mi-jupe, est orné d’une broderie et d’une frange de perles violet et or. Cette casaque s’ouvre sur une jupe de damas paille broché de plumes violettes, terminée dans le bas en créneaux sur un bord violet. Corsage croisé; manches en broché. Dessin de M. de Solar. Bibliothèque nationale de France
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Velvet Renaissance Italian Dress
Anna May Wong wearing her famous black silk dragon dress designed by Travis Banton for Limehouse Blues - 1934
Wong donated the gown to The Brooklyn Museum in 1956, wich later was transferred to The Costume institute at The Met.
Umberto Brunelleschi, Fashion illustration, Toilette au goût Vénitien (Venetian Costume), Costumes Parisiens, Journal des dames et des modes, 1913.
Illustration with a design for a "Venetian Outfit", part of the 54th issue of the "Journal des dames et des modes", published in Paris on November 20, 1913. The illustration features a woman wearing a pink jacket with wide hips, decorated with bundles of purple and white flowers, and with white fur borders and pleated sleeves over a yellow blouse with similar floral patterns and gold borders, and a pink, draped, ankle-length, narrow skirt. She wears a Navy style black hat on her head, with a large, black lace veil hanging from it over her shoulders and back, a necklace with a large, round green stone, and lavender shoes with small, golden buckles. (x)
The origins of the witch's hat as it is shown today are controversial.
In antiquity, the pointed hat may have been a symbol of power and wisdom. The conical figure points towards the sky, connecting the mind to the higher realm and conferring the ability to focus and concentrate energies.
According to some theories, the witch's hat originated from the Phrygian cap, associated with Mithraism, a Greek and later Roman mystery cult. Bronze Age priests wore tall conical hats made of gold and decorated with emblems of the stars and moon to show off their astronomical prowess.
This symbol of wisdom later became a sign of disgrace. Those who disobeyed the law, committed heresy or advocated religious ideas and practices at odds with the dominant theology of the time were required to wear a conical hat throughout the Middle Ages.
One theory is that the negative connotation arose from anti-Semitism: in the Middle Ages, an edict obliged all Jews to wear a pointed cap, called a Judenhut, to identify them and all heretics associated with black magic and Satan worship.
A similar theory holds that the image of the archetypal witch's hat arose from anti-quaker prejudice.
Another hypothesis proposes that witch hats originated as alewife hats, distinctive headgear worn by women who brewed beer at home for sale. Combined with the general suspicion that women with herbal knowledge worked in an occult sphere, the alewife hat may have been associated with witchcraft.
In modern times, the hat has become the main feature of the identity and power of witches and has recently been re-evaluated as an act of re-appropriation of female knowledge.
This video by fashion historian Abby Cox delves into the anti-Quaker theory:
Jewish dress historian SnappyDragon explores the antisemitic roots of the pointy witch hat:
Also, although I CANNOT find a source for this, I remember seeing that the wizard's pointy hat definitely seems to come from the above-mentioned Judenhut.
L'Art et la mode, no. 43, vol. 31, 22 octobre 1910, Paris. Robe de charmeuse bleu ancien. Blouse de mousseline de soie grise bordée d’hermine. Broderie arabe de différents tons. Imp. d'art L. Lafontaine, Paris. Bibliothèque nationale de France
submitted by @thecorrupteddatabase 💙💛💜
Okay, the hats look AMAZING, but they are also EXACTLY the reason why you're not allowed to pick up and keep bird feathers in the US anymore. lol
Also, I learned something interesting from that article! This was happening about the same time as WWI. In WWI, when a man wouldn't enlist, sometimes a woman who knew him or was related to him would give him a white feather. The white feather was a badge of cowardice, and was extremely shaming, especially as an insult to a man's masculinity.
A popular women's accessory at the time was an "aigrette", a bunch of feathers. It took the feathers of four egrets to produce one aigrette. Because of this, eventually the news media took to calling the aigrette "white badge of cruelty.” Turning tables on the ladies.
(the Gender Discourse is perennial.)
Finished this Spiderweb corset yesterday) really happy about the results, however, I think I’ll add more cobs)
Vlisco fabrics
German Renaissance costumes based on the art of Lucas Cranach the Elder
1. 1530s 5. by cleometcalfe on Flickr
Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz in Bandidas (2006)
