One Shot: Hungarian Evening Dress 1810

    We do not often get to see examples of how styles were interpreted outside of western Europe and the USA during the 1800s.  This evening dress from about 1810 is from Hungary, and though its general shape is on point with the prevailing styles of the time, there is one significant difference, the corset styled bodice with front lacing.

    By 1810 it was still commonplace that evening dress was either white, or some pale color.  It wasn't till a bit further along the track that evening dress got into darker colors, and heavier materials. So in this regard, this gown is fully on track with the mode of the day.

    Something else that marks this dress as singular is the amount and type of embroidery using sequins.  Though sequins and spangles certainly did get used as part of  dress decoration, it is rare that so much was done on a single garment.  The embroidery work is all in white silk done in satin stitch and stem stitch, with the silver plate sequins double sewn in a manner that accentuates the design by following the lines of the flower petals and leaves.

   

  

     But it really is that attached corset front that takes this dress out of the realm of western fashion and places it in Eastern Europe, where the idea of the front tied bodice held sway even in the upper reaches of society.  It wouldn't be until the 20th century that this cultural element of dress would retreat to only festival attire.  So, if the lady who owned this dress had traveled to France or England or New York, she would have been instantly identifiable as not only a new face, but one from Eastern Europe, or possibly Russia.

    All in all a lovely object, and a marvelous look at a place, within a time.

Scatter #117

    Morning All!  it's time for your weekly trip through the dim recesses of my brain, those dusty corridors where who knows what might be lurking.  Now that I've made you apprehensive, lets take a stroll, shall we?

   

    This necklace is from the late period of the 25th Dynasty in Egypt, roughly 760 to 660 BCE. The cartouche beads in gold have two different sets of hieroglyphs on them.  I was struck right off by the simple, straightforward design of this.  I suppose we could decide that such a construct is an obvious one, with the rhythm of the piece evenly distributed by the spacing of the plaques.  But what also comes up for me is that this is an example of how well ingrained our sense of order and beauty is.  This same pattern is so primal, so basic to us that it gets repeated in every culture on earth, and has been so for as long as we've been around, I suspect.  We understand the geometric relationships instantly, whoever we are and wherever we are from.  Plus, it's simply lovely.  And maybe that is why it's lovely.

    A week or so back I posted a garment from the 1820s that has stymied the apparel historians because it looks like a gown of the 1820s to 30s, but it has no sleeves, and though the possibility exists that it is an undergown, the design of the bodice suggests otherwise.  I had stated that dresses of the time always, always had sleeves, even if only vestigial ones.  Here is an example of what I meant.  This is Julie, Countess of Wonya as painted by Frederich von Amerling in 1832. Her gown has tiny puffed sleeves, more like those in fashion more than a decade earlier, but she also has huge oversleeves of what appears to be organdy.  Sleeveless dresses were not socially acceptable. It was a class distinction issue.  Only women who had hard labor to do might be seen entirely sleeveless.  All this said, We still don't really know about the use of that first piece.  Likely we never will.

    This article is a true rarity. There are only a handful of these summer top hats known to exist.  I'm posting this today partly for that reason, partly as an expression of cultural rules, and partly because of the obvious high level of craft that was brought to bear to make it.  As a marker of social rules, it's fascinating that regardless of weather, it was not acceptable for a gentleman to be seen out of doors without his top hat.  I can imagine the poor bloke who owned this quietly sweltering in his wool coat, silk waistcoat, cravat and collar.  But the straw topper was at least a bit less heavy on the brow than the rigid and weighty wool felt of fur ones for other seasons.  As to the structure of it, I love that every detail of a regular top hat has been reproduced in straw, down to the bias band that normally trims the outer edge of the hat brim.  Love this.

    While it's true that we have been adorning clothing with false gems for as long as we've been able to make them, what is different today is the scale of those fakes.  Where in days past the glass paste gems and rhinestones were discretely sized, now it seems bulky, obviously fake stones are all the thing.  It makes me wonder what this says about us, culturally.  Is it a reflection of our growing need to be noticed in an overstimulated and surfeited society? Or is it more a marketing ploy that helps keep Swarovski a global luxury brand instead of simply a maker of rhinestones?  As a side note, I wonder too if the fact that they are showing up on nearly every item of apparel from stockings and shoes, to bags and gloves as also an indicator of our need for notice in a cluttered world.

    The soldiers of the Landsknecht, German mercenary soldiers of great reputation distinguished themselves with some of the most outlandish clothing Western culture has ever seen.  Taking the fashion for slashing to unheard of levels and blowing the scale of their clothes up huge they were a set of soldier dandies who regularly tried to outdo each other with the level of their  peacock display.  This Work is by Hans Holbein the Younger and shows us a couple of dashing Landsknecht gents sporting their work clothes.  They were primarily pikemen, and foot soldiers, and became for a time the got to mercenaries throughout Europe, because of their great skills.

    One of the things I love about the work of designer Issey Miyake is his willingness to work with outlandish , and sometimes, (as here) custom made textiles to achieve what he's after.  This iridescent, and very geometrical design is created out of recycled plastic bottles.  One of the other things I love about his work is that, regardless of the material in use, there is never a time when ease of motion and comfort are forgotten.  Having seen and touched many of his works over the years, I've always been amazed at their lightness and fluidity of motion, even if they appear rock rigid. So, however crystalline this might look, it is probably able to slide over the body effortlessly.

    I do love dandyism. And when it manifests these days I love it even more.  This fashion shoot of a Walter Van Bierendonck outfit is just what I mean.  While none of the individual pieces is structurally unusual, the combination of finishes and textures, along with that boldly stated print on the jacket, make this an expression that is nearly operatic in it's effect.  The point here is really that this manner of dress is not outside the reach of most of us, should we wish it.  Sure we may not be able to afford these exact pieces, but the look itself, the nature of it is doable. Loosely fitted tan trousers, white shirt, neckerchief, and an emphatic coat; not impossible at all.

   

    By the later 1700s riding had become a sport women were encouraged to pursue, so of course clothing appropriate to the activity began to emerge.  Shorter coats, or those with cutaway fronts for ease of riding became the norm, especially one's with a strong menswear spin to them.  This one is from 1835.  It's made of a mid-weight worsted wool, with plush collar and cuffs that were probably once black, but have faded to brown.  In the second image you can see clearly how all that volume in the sleeve is controlled.  A row of very fine cartridge pleats is set into the rear of the armseye to keep all that fabric in check.  Milady would also have worn a top hat just like a gents, and a skirt deliberately longer on one side so that sitting sidesaddle, the hem would appear to be correct.

    The Tarahumara people of northern Mexico still utilize what is very probably the oldest Attire word of all.  They paint their bodies with dots, just as our unknowable ancestors did who knows how many eons ago.  In the past, it is likely that it was white clay or possibly chalk, rather than the kind of paint they use now.  In their culture they adorn themselves this way for a specific festival that honors the dead.  The white dots represent stars, and the spirits of those relatives who have passed away.

    Yes, this has veered all the way to costume territory, and I just don't care a fig.  The model has become some dangerous space age android villain.  Honestly though, I'm fascinated by the horsehair braid and boning collar which, though utterly impractical is just wonderfully grand.  I'm also intrigued by the textured pants with the stiff, belled chaps over them.  It's actually a concept that could be scaled back and used in real world terms.  I'd like to see someone play with these ideas in a more wearable way.

    Okay, I will admit it freely.  Yes, i think he's gorgeous.  So that's out of the way.  In reference to the post I did about gold work embroidery, this example.  One of the few cultures that still employs it often is that of India.  I love the unusual hat, and how the arc of its shape is carried through in the line of the extended shoulder.  I even like the small post on the hat with its dangling spangles.  In my fantasy world, men would get to dress like this without raising a single unpleasant eyebrow. Sighs happily.

     The final shot today is from V Man magazine.  When I came across it, I stopped dead.  It's about as potent an illustration of the extremities we will go to to mark ourselves as individuals in this day and age. For a growing number of people it is not enough to dress in a unique way, or do their hair a particular way. The body itself must be altered, with inks, piercings, and surgical implants.  It speaks about a kind of desperation we feel.  Our population continues to grow, and we are constantly assaulted with images, and sounds that compete for our attention. So what attention span we have left gets squeezed, and people go unseen who might not otherwise in a less complex society.  So, some of us resort to ever more involved measures to gain notice, even if that notice isn't always positive.  It's a damning statement about who we are allowing ourselves to become.

Have a good weekend, All.
See you Monday!

The Cult Of Arrogance

   We live in a world where arrogance, the ability to promote oneself over anyone else regardless of actual talent or knowledge is king.  How is this affecting us?  What does it mean for you and me as individuals?  How does it manifest in our daily life, the choices we make; and in the context of Attire, how does it affect what we choose to wear?  It affects our ability to see ourselves truly. It affects our self knowledge. And it affects, ultimately, our ability to transmit that self knowledge and understanding to others.

     What we end up with is disinformation, confusion, and a flat out refusal to engage with reality.
     When we are clearly living at a time when we must and should cleave to each other in order to make it to the next stage our society is heading towards, whatever that may be, making sure our communications verbal and non-verbal are precise becomes essential.
    What do I mean by this?  We have built this massive machine that does nothing but produce, produce, produce, even though so many of us have far more, realistically, than we could ever need to comfortably survive.
    It has become a cancer upon our backs.  That is a potential doom.  That is not an overstatement of the truth.  I understand that untelllable millions of people depend on the apparel industry to live, and yet this is also true. We have made of this thing a monster that is utterly out of control.  We starve ourselves, spend endless hours at the gym. spend immense amounts of money to have ourselves sculpted into a simulacrum of perfection.  For what?  For whom?  These questions are especially pointed considering that approval from others is withdrawn even more quickly than it is given, as we see constantly in the media realm.

     The person who is truly lovely, truly hot, truly capable, is the person who does not require the approval of others for their self worth.  We have been carefully schooled that it is the reverse. Decades of fashion imagery, commentary, Project Runway, and endless blogs have told us what we should do to be acceptable.  Truth is, we're just fine.  We don't need anyone's help to be ourselves.  I'm me. You're you. And we should own that fully.  It's not that you can be you only if you look a certain way.  Your own self, your essential you is amazing! Use it. Make it manifest. Take this astonishingly vast language of Attire and make your own story a reality for all to see.

    What is the Cult of Arrogance, then?  It is this media and consumption culture that we have allowed to snow us into believing that one kind of beauty is wonderful, one kind of hot is cool, and that anything else is Also Rans, of no real account. So we, most of us, feel left out. Because we haven't the money, the fortitude, or the genetics to become this thing, whatever it is at the time.  Sure, it's important to have goals to strive towards, and that is the thing that they tell us they are giving us, a goal to achieve.  But the goal is not one that most of us have the body, or the mind to get to.  And for the huge majority of us, who only sort of fit into ready to wear clothes, the results of all our shopping are less than satisfying.  So why should we, at the end of things, aspire to their desires at all?
    Truth is, they do supply what we want, otherwise it would sit on markdown racks across the world, un-looked at.  But the problem we face is, that what they supply is tainted by a vision of us we may not be willing to achieve, yet we still feel forced to try for.  So what do we do? We buy. We buy, and we buy again, which is, naturally exactly what they want. But do we get to what we really want for ourselves?  Only partly. 
    I called it the Cult of Arrogance, and it is.  And we have allowed it to grow.  We permit others to tell us what we want, and how we should be.  The thing is, the technology now exists that could make that a thing of the past. With the rise of robotic production, it will become possible for a whole new manner of dressing ourselves to emerge: one based our own ideas of self, and less on what others think.  Sure, there will always be those who follow others lead, but we just might find a way out of the cult.

Laying On The Gold

    How we decorate the surface of textiles divides into a few categories, though you might not think so.  The kinds of embellishments done for festival attire and for tribal attire does not separate the person wearing it from their culture, but rather binds them to the society of which they are a part.  Gold work embroidery and its many variations, do something entirely different.  While they do connect the person to the culture, it is done at a remove.  The reason is the precision, the price, and the rarity of the process and its materials.  Anyone who can afford or command such work to be done is not a common citizen, they are a person of power. Therein lies the difference, and the allure.

   

    The precise source point for the type of embroidery known as gold work is unknown, though it is highly likely that it emerged from somewhere in the Asian sub-continent.  The likelihood is also high that it comes from one of the peoples who had access to, and understanding of the usage of silk, since gold thread is most often wrapped around a silk core.  But text references, imagery, and in some cases still extant pieces utilizing this special technique survive from cultures spanning all of Eurasia, and a good deal of Africa.  It was even known before the Common Era, and has been in near continual use for over 2000 years.

   

    Certainly the largest part of current gold work comes from India and Pakistan, and it is likely that European knowledge of the process comes from early trade with those places, as well as Russia, and the Middle East, both cultures which also used gold work extensively.
    What makes the whole thing possible is one physical characteristic of the element itself, malleability. Gold is unlike any other metal for its nearly endless ability to be folded, twisted, and manipulated without breaking.  Apart from it's singular warm color, this makes it perfect for application to the surface of a flexible textile.
    The essential actions used to create gold work are not unknown in other embroidery. The only thing that is particular about it, is that the gold is never taken under the surface of the material it's applied to. In part this is because gold is so precious, and gives rise to one of the other ways of referring to it, laid work, since the gold is laid down on the surface, and held in place with stitches.

 

    Frequently, gold work is padded. Sometimes the padding is either felt or cotton wadding, usually in a yellow color to be less visible between passes of thread, purl or strip.  Sometimes, when a more precise shape is desired, as is often the case in vestments or military regalia, cardboard is used to define a shape, roughly stitched down and then covered with whatever specific gold material is desired.
    By far the most common technique is couching, where threads either matching or contrasting the gold, are passed over it at regular intervals to keep it in place.

    Small amounts of gold washed kidskin are also used, most times padded to create a smoother looking surface texture.  Often this results in leaves and scrolling forms of a gleaming surface.

   

   

    Along with the luxury of its appearance it has always functioned, regardless of culture, as a singular method of conveying wealth, status and taste. Because the materials in use are so dear, and the number of skilled people capable of doing the work so few, gold work was and is phenomenally, fabulously expensive.  Even now, when gold work is almost never actually gold, but either a composite containing some gold, or another material entirely, the basic stuffs are still pricey.  As an example, for this post I looked at several purveyors of supplies, and an 18 inch length of  2% gold purl will cost you about 4 US dollars.  When you think of how far that will go in an extensive piece, the costs mount rapidly.
    So here is an example. 

 

     Self proclaimed Emperor Bokassa I of Central Africa is credited with commissioning the most expensive garment ever done at over one million dollars for the embroidery work alone (in 1977). The embroidery work for his empress Catherine's dress and cape, which measured over 20 feet with its train, took 12,000 hours of work time, and the combined weight of dress and cape was 130 pounds. This was largely due to the 18 karat gold beads and other gold work done on the dress and cape. Thinking in terms of person hours and cost, this translates to 6 complete years of unbroken labor on one project. Naturally many dozens of hands worked on this. But still it is a gasp worthy, and deeply revelatory expression how how much we will go through, how much we will expend to make sure others realize our importance. (Especially when we aren't too sure of it, ourselves)  His imperial reign, unrecognized internationally, lasted only three years, a telling statement about about what happens when you try too hard.
    Yes, the appearance of evident wealth confers status, but only for a time, and eventually, only if it seems merited. So gold work continues to grab our attention, but not in quite the way it did before.  It means wealth, yes, but it no longer instantly signifies taste or sway.  Merely money.

   

Scatter #116

    Hello there, all.  I hope your week has been good to you.  It's time for your scatter post, so here we go!

    Italian Futurisist Artist and graphic designer Fortunato Depero was responsible for this men's waistcoat which he did in 1930, shortly after returning to Italy from several years in New York.  Futurism had as its prime goal a celebration of the dynamism of modern technology, and so it attempted to divorce itself from traditional image forms.  This piece has a fierce energy to it, and is also expertly constructed.  The surface is elaborately pieced, but there are no connecting points that are not smooth.  In that too it holds up Futurist ideals that connect directly to the precision of machine production.  This would be plenty edgy now, but in its time this was seriously avant garde.  The movement, which began in 1909 lost favor and dissipated after it became connected in the public's mind with the rise of Fascism in the 1930s.

    Girls gone wild, 1920s style.  This is what the party girls of the 20s looked like.  One of the interesting things here is that during this period wigs became quite popular as evening accessories.  At least three of the women in this image are wearing them.  They were made up in numerous styles, and often came in unusual colors, even in metallic versions.
    It was one of the first times that women had the freedom to express themselves with such abandon.  Far more frankly sexy, somewhat aggressive, and far less willing to sideline themselves, it was a major step along the path to equality.  Sure the options for women were still limited, but expanding all the time.  Women were in the work force, going to college, and engaging in active sports to an unprecedented degree.  These party hearty girls were in their way, moving the conversation forward.

    I was instantly impressed with how powerful this image is.  And it's power derives from Attire. If the man pictured was simply masked with a piece of black cloth the message would diminish tremendously.  But place a red soled platform pump over his nose and mouth and suddenly an immensely perverse and layered transmission happens.  It is the presence of an article of apparel, used in a way alien to its purpose that makes it perverse, and our minds begin to wonder, did he do this willingly?  Was it forced upon him?  How would we react in his place?

    Working with stripes can be a tricky business, one false move and everything fails.  But in the hands of someone who knows what they are about, it can become effective in a way different from anything else.  This evening dress by Donna Karan is an example of that.  In her hands the overlapping, intersecting and sometimes arcing strips on the organdy base manage to work together to create strong movement, without exhausting the eye.  We move up and around the shape, but don't feel spent by it.

    It doesn't surprise me, when I give it real thought, this modern fascination with tattooing.  We live in a culture which allows us unprecedented levels of personal interaction through social media and the web in general, yet we feel more disconnected than ever before.  It is no shock that, living in a world where everyone is talking at once, the only way to give adequate voice to some of our feelings and thoughts is to wear them permanently emblazoned on us.   This potent image shows us someone with numerous tattooed visualizations of anger, fear and violence.  Is this this person's way of dealing with those feelings?  Possibly, even probably so.

    This brooch in the shape of an aigrette was made in Hungary in the 1600s.  Fashioned to look like a series of white ostrich plumes with ruby spines, the workmanship is very fine.  Enamels like this were one of the most common parts of jewelry at this time, with pearls running a close second.  Now that pearls are almost exclusively cultured rather than wild, they have lost a good deal of their cachet, but at the time, pearls, especially sizable ones like the central one here,  were hotly sought after, and widely prized.  A piece like this would have been important enough to be given as a love gift to a betrothed, or to a noble.  We are lucky it survives.

    This portrait by Troy Schooneman really caught my attention.  Leaving aside any cultural appropriation thoughts, since they are too obvious to need mention.  What struck me next was that this Rajasthani suit doesn't really fit the model at all.  It's a good size too big for him.  While the turban seems too small, perched as it is on his mass of hair.  So what ends up being conveyed is less a sense of majesty and wealth than a sense of discomfort, of unease.  While the model's pose is easeful, the fact that his clothing does not fit makes him seem to us less comfortable, certainly not internally so.  It seems less his real self than something he was compelled to wear.

    Styles of decoration vary over time as much as silhouette and choices of textiles do.  This detail image of a Franck Sorbier garment gives us a look at the reemergence of some types of decorative detail that have been in eclipse for decades.  Passementerie, which is a term applied to all manner of cording, guimp, fringe and tassels, has been largely off the table design wise for about 60 years.  But recently, and in part because of the beginnings of embellishment on menswear appearing, passementerie has resurfaced.  What will make this easier is that now the making of it can be largely mechanized, where in the past it was a slow and laborious hand work process.  Personally, I love the additional depth and texture it can afford. And for us normal mortals, a small amount of it applied as a detail can elevate and distinguish a garment with ease, and little cost.

    Sometime in the 1910s a skilled dressmaker took some cotton mesh and appliqued the surface of it with flowers and other forms in pink cotton and pink soutache braid.  The process of appliqueing to a fabric is tedious enough, but when doing so to a mesh material what must be done is more complex.  Since a mesh would only allow the applique to be attached at specific points, it must be reinforced with some other thing, in this case the soutache braid that creates a firmer structure for the mesh to be sewn to.  All in all this is a charming, and expertly handled piece of work. I'm sure the lucky woman who owned it did so with confidence.

    This particular piece of armor is called a gorget, worn to protect the upper chest, neck and shoulders from blows in battle.  This one, of gold was made for Louis XIII and depicts the king charging into battle, with the sides decorated with various trophies of battle regalia.   In art and design of the time a trophy was a collection of objects meant to symbolize a trade, an action, emotion, or spiritual state, like Honor, or Science.  This is of course parade armor, never meant to actually see battle, and the craftsmanship of it is amazing.  It's a remarkable work of art, even though it exists to glorify war, (and the king).

    By the 1830s the contraction of options for menswear had nearly reached it's ultimate expression.  This suit, which is part of the Kyoto Costume Institute's collection is a perfect example of that slow diminishment.  The trousers and jacket have the beginnings of the precision tailoring that will become the hallmark of menswear in the 1800s.  The color palette has narrowed almost as far as it will later.  And the only remnants of the prior century's exuberant menswear is the waistcoat and cravat.  It's also interesting to look at this jacket, because it will morph in time into the tail coat that we know today as the most formal of attire for men.  Here though, it is part of a day ensemble of clothing.

    The last in the line up this week is this amazingly gaudy, and utterly delightful hat.  Made by Carlos' New York Hats in 1993, it is created of four brilliant colors of finely plaited straw, twisted up into a Carmen Miranda-like turban shape with a vast bow.  It would take a person with a good deal of self possession to pull this off without it taking over entirely. But I gotta say, I think I'd really like the person who could.  Yes indeedy, I would.

That's the wrap, folks for this week. So, go out and have yourselves some fun!

Why I Kilted, What It Meant

    People have asked me many times why I chose to be consistently kilted for a decade.  That is a wonderful question, and one that bears some conversation.  Here is the back story.  At the time that this began I was partnered to a magnificent person, named David.  As a combination Xmas and birthday gift, (my birthdate is in January) he gave me a black classic Utilikilt. I put it on, being the sometimes adventurous soul I am, and sallied out into the world.  I was surprised and delighted by the response, which was uniformly positive.

    Now, I will own that like most folks, the opinions of others have more sway with me than maybe they ought to. I gloried in the positive reaction.  Additionally I have always, as much as I appreciate approval, had a stubborn streak that resists following the herd completely.  So being kilted was a form of defiance as well as a method of proclaiming individuality. One kilt turned into two, then more. Soon, I asked my employers if it would be okay for me to be at work, kilted. Being the expansive minded ex-Hippies that they are, they said yes.  GAME ON.  For the next decade of time I was not seen anywhere, anytime, without a kilt on. Even my travels abroad saw me kilted.  The only times I was in pants were the lounge pants I typically use as pajamas.

    The kilt became a visual symbol that made me instantly recognizable.  Often customers at my work would ask for "the guy with the kilt" if they didn't know my name.  During a lot of this time I was single, and being able to say, "just look for the short guy in a kilt", made it easy for a date to spot me during my on line dating phase.
    For many years it felt entirely positive to me. I had made a potent visual statement that marked my mindset and uniqueness well. I continued to get supportive feedback.
    Then a curious thing began to happen by degrees.  Over time it became lass a symbol of my being entirely myself, and more the definition of me in the minds of others.  I began to realize that by creating such a strong impression it was by starting to take on the rule of law, of tradition.  I understood that it was now expected of me to a significant degree.

    Reenter my stubborn streak.  Something I won't put up with is being told how I am to present myself, especially in a visual sense.  So, I decided to test my suspicions and put on, for the first time in over 10 years, a pair of pants, and go to work.  The response was as quick as it was profound.  People were shocked, genuine in their displeasure, and open in their statements that I looked "wrong" and that I should change.  For some this was merely playful teasing that I had stepped out of bounds.  But for a surprising number the feelings they expressed were serious. They meant it when they disapproved.  I was stunned by the depth of the reaction.

    Since that time, I shifted more and more towards pants, and now it has been some years since I wore one of my kilts.  The initial reaction faded away in time. That said I still deal with this statement nearly daily.  "Oh my god, I've never seen you in pants before!"  And this statement coming from people who have indeed seen me in pants, frequently, and recently.
    The effect the creation of that powerful image was so great that even now, that is the impress that exists in people's minds, though it hasn't been the reality for years.  So, I can offer my experience as a working example of just how much force lives within the Attire language and just how deeply it defines us to those who see us.  Years later, I am still in the minds of many of my customers at my work, "the guy in the kilt".
    It serves as both lesson and warning.  Making a single sort of image for ourselves can have a cost all unbidden.  It can make it tougher for change to happen, both for those who we interact with, and curiously, for ourselves as well.  So, that look you love, could become a kind of imprisonment barring you from evolving for a time.