samedi, octobre 14, 2006
Gladys Cooper, 1910s
"The actress Gladys Cooper, later to be the star of stage and screen in The Second Mrs Tanquery and My Fair Lady, wears a high-waisted Empire line evening dress in the new fluid, classical style. Although the fussy frills have gone, the surface of the dress is still intricately beaded. Feathers, tiaras and jewelled bands were often worn in the hair for the evening."
Scanned and quoted from the book "Decades of Fashion" by Harriet Worsley.
vendredi, octobre 13, 2006
Fur-trimmed cape, 1902
"This fur-trimmed cape of 1902 was probably worn as eveningwear. Although the low-cut, frilled lace evening dress looks fragile, the frills would be set over a cage-like corset."
Scanned and quoted from the book "Decades of Fashion" by Harriet Worsley.
Carol McComas, 1905
"Actress Carol McComas poses for the camera in 1905. Her clothes are typical of those of the elegant woman of the time, with an abundance of lace and frills and sweeping skirt. The waist was pulled in by corsets, and the bosom flung forward, but dress bodices fell loosely, billowing slightly over the waistband at the front. This would have been an evening dress, as high-collared dresses were always worn for day."
Scanned and quoted from the book "Decades of Fashion" by Harriet Worsley.
Anna Held, 1902
"This beauty queen (The book is wrong, she is Anna Held) hides under a lavish cape from 1902. Long coats and skating outfits were some-times topped with a short, matching cape thrown over the shoulders. This one may have been part of a tea gown ensemble -- long loose dresses and wraps women relaxed in, without corsets, before dinner."
Scanned and quoted from the book "Decades of Fashion" by Harriet Worsley.
jeudi, octobre 12, 2006
Vanessa Stephen, 1900s
"The artist Vanessa Stephen was the novelist Virginia Woolf's sister; perhaps the only studio photograph for which she ever sat, this was probably taken on the occasion of her marriage to the art critic Clive Bell. Both were leading members of the Bloomsbury Group, a set of bohemian artists and writers. Vanessa Bell was known for wearing daringly bright, flowing robes, but here she is more restrained in a simple dress."
Scanned and quoted from the book "Decades of Fashion" by Harriet Worsley.
Lady Ottoline Morrell, 1900s
"Lady Ottoline Morrell, Bloomsbury Group society and literary hostess, sometimes wore extravagant Turkish robes and dyed her hair a soft purple. Here it is parted in the middle. swept up with combs, and probably pinned over hair pads to create the exaggerated rolls of hair which were fashionable at the time. Wherever she appeared, Lady Ottoline invariably caught the eye; Quentin Bell, the son of Clive and Vanessa Bell, described her as 'that fantastic baroque flamingo..."
Scanned and quoted from the book "Decades of Fashion" by Harriet Worsley.
Gertie Miller, The Dancing Mistress, 1912
"Actress Gertie Miller on stage in The Dancing Mistress of 1912 in full evening dress with long, white gloves, an essential eveningwear accessory. dresses often had a small over-jacket incorporated into the garment like this one, which stops on the thigh, breaking the long column skirt into two tiers."
Scanned and quoted from the book "Decades of Fashion" by Harriet Worsley.
mercredi, octobre 11, 2006
Daisy Irving, 1910
"Actress Daisy Irving poses in what is probably a two-tired 'lampshade' dress by Paul Poiret, 1910. His loose silhouettes reduced the need for as many underclothes as a 'frou-frou' dress would have done, and the bosom was freed from the confines of a corset."
Scanned and quoted from the book "Decades of Fashion" by Harriet Worsley.
mardi, octobre 10, 2006
Henley railway station, 1905
"Women walk from Henley railway station to watch the Regatta during the 1905 Season armed with parasols and shawls. Summer day dresses were usually made in soft pastel colours such as lilac, white and pink, and these may have been made of print cotton. Girls wore their hair long until they were eighteen, when it was swept up in combs and pins."
Scanned from "Decades of Fashion" by Harriet Worsley.
Miss Sedley, 1903
"Miss Sedley wears a delicately pleated, draped, high-necked gown, 1903. The twisting lines of the bodice emphasise the corseted curves of her silhouette, and her high collar would have been held up by wire of whalebone.
Hairpieces and hair pads were often used to create the required volume, and hair was held in place with combs."
Scanned from "Decades of Fashion" by Harriet Worsley.
Lina Cavalieri, 1910s
"The detailing on this elegant black dress perfectly sets off the lavish jewellery worn around the neck."
Scanned and quoted from the book "Decades of Fashion" by Harriet Worsley.
Flapper girl, 1910s
"A young worker mends army uniforms in America. Her sailor suit-style is typical of childrenswear at the time. Boys would have worn a similar top, but with trousers. The bows which girls wore in their hair became known as 'flappers' because of the way they fell onto the head. The name would stick with this generation, as they grew up in the Twenties."
Scanned and quoted from the book "Decades of Fashion" by Harriet Worsley.
dimanche, octobre 08, 2006
Queen Alexandra, 1910
"Queen Alexandra wears a Cartier necklace in 1910. She was famous for wearing high chokers in the style shown and for wearing a daring amount of make-up, in so doing rejecting the fashion for natural complexions."
Scanned and quoted from the book "Decades of Fashion" by Harriet Worsley.
Mela Kohler, Fashion Drawings, c. 1907
Fashion drawings, three illustrated postcards of the Wiener Werkstatte, c. 1907.
"The Wiener Werkstatte managed to mix all the manifestations of existence through artistic means. Meal tables, floral arrangements and even fashion sketches -- such as Van de Velde's -- all were integrated in one unique symmetry."
Scanned and quoted from the book "Art Nouveau" by Gabriele Fahr-Becker.