Homemade Tarts/ Juul Haalmeyer Designs

05/01/2024

04/29/2023

12/19/2022

Most especially during WWII and the privations that occurred afterwards there were consistent publications of things that encouraged women to make up-grades and changes to their costume that would not require massive amounts of new materials. This is a sample of one such effort to encourage women to stay current while also staying within guidelines of government restrictions.
A dress , apart from a person of larger size could not employ more than 2.5 yards of material. So, decorative embellishments were confined to what could be created from scraps.
This image from 1943 is giving home sewers a way to update and change their clothes with minimal cost of fabric.

12/06/2022

11/23/2022

11/20/2022

: The elegance of Ann Lowe’s ‘American Beauty Dress’ 1966-67 via Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
For more see also Museum at FIT Museum at FIT: https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1966-lowe-american-beauty/

11/14/2022

Though the idea of cutting cloth on the bias was in no way new, and in fact whole garments had been constructed in this manner long before, it is Madeleine Vionnet who gets credit for it. Clearly it was a matter of being in the right place and time for it to gain such extraordinary popularity. During the 1930s, bias cutting of clothing for women dominated fashion.
This is a wedding dress of Vionnet’s design from 1930. Made up in white silk crepe backed satin the dress is a perfect expression of what bias cutting can achieve. The effortless seeming fluidity of the draping is entirely because of cutting at 45 degrees to the fabric’s grain.
Interestingly, the matte finish bows at knee length are made of the same satin material, but with the crepe side facing outwards.
Collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.

11/06/2022

10/14/2022

10/10/2022

10/03/2022

Thanks Sue

10/01/2022

09/30/2022

09/16/2022

04/19/2022

From village to village in most European cultures subtle variations of dress enabled a viewer to instantly mark someone as of, or not of their community. This was especially true of festival wear like this fanciful apron. Made in the 19th century in what is now the Czech Republic, this is the sort of apron a woman would wear to festivals and other important events. Often the product of years of patient work in adding to its decorations. Such aprons were highly prized and often passed down.
Here is the V & A’s description of it. “Apron made of glazed indigo-dyed cotton embroidered with multi-coloured cotton. Made from two pieces of cotton joined vertically with a band of embroidery. The apron is gathered into a deep band at the waist and tied with two long woven ribbons. The hem is trimmed with a deep edging of cotton bobbin lace, mainly in white but with red and green. The pattern is composed of bold floral and geometric motifs. There are vertical rows of petals resist-dyed onto the ground fabric.”

Collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

04/11/2022

03/31/2022

Shawl
Early 1850s
Black Chantilly lace backed in sage green silk crepe
Augusta Auctions

03/30/2022

1920, Italy
"Delphos" dress by Henriette Nigrin for Fortuny and evening jacket by Mariano Fortuny
Silk, glass beads; metallic printed cut silk velvet, roller printed, lined in corded silk
V&A Museum

03/27/2022

This magnificent object was discovered in the Royal Kurgan in Pokrov, Ukraine. It is from the 4th century B CE. Fashioned entirely of yellow gold, this torc is lively with rampant animals. It is a vivid testimonial to the high level of artisanship that existed over 2000 years ago.
We like to think that we are “all that”. Sorry, our forebears have a got deal to teach us.
As an additional note, this from Wikipedia about the Royal Kurgan:
“The Royal Kurgan is located about 5 km northeast of the town centre, close to the memorial to the defenders of the Adzhimushkay quarry. The mound is almost 20 metres high and its base perimeter is about 250 meters. It holds a burial chamber with a square floor plan (4.39 m X 4.35 m), which gradually merges into the circular shape of a corbelled dome ("false vault"). The total height of the burial chamber is 8.84 meters. Also the generous dromos, a 2.80-meter-wide and 37-meter-long acute entrance passage, is built in the corbelled vault technique. Both parts of the building are made of yellowish limestone blocks and have a floor from a tamped mix of clay, lime and limestone.

It is assumed that the Royal Kurgan, a masterpiece of ancient architecture, was the final resting place of a ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom. This was founded in the 5th century BC from the Greek colonies in the northern Black Sea region and at the Sea of Azov. The kurgan could in particular have been the tomb of Leukon of Bosporus (389 - 349 BC). In the course of excavations in the years 1833 until 1837, the kurgan was opened. It contained only remnants of a wooden sarcophagus, so it is possible it was robbed long ago. Christian symbols carved on the walls suggest that the grave rooms served early Christians as a place of refuge and as a sanctuary.”

03/23/2022

03/20/2022

It’s Sunday, Shiny Sunday again!

Time for our weekly stroll through Sparkletown.

To begin today, something really quite remarkable, though it’s not sparkly. This is a tiny amphoriskos or perfume jar. It was created in the first century CE in the Eastern Mediterranean, though its precise place of origin is unknown. This lovely little object is not glass. It has been ground and carved from a single perfect piece of quartz crystal. The braided chain is gold, as are the collar and the stopper. It also has a ring attached to the chain to permit it being hung from a hook.
The wealthy lady who owned this probably used it to hold perfume or fragrant oils.

Collection of the Abegg-Stiftung Museum, Switzerland.

03/19/2022

I know this falls really into the Sunday, Shiny Sunday thing, but I can’t help myself. So sue me.
This is what is referred to á la Française as a carnet de bal, a dance card. While it was certainly true that for public balls pasteboard dance cards would be given out to attendees to mark their partners of the evening, at private balls it was assumed that a lady would have her own, often highly decorative dance card with her to jot down the names of potentially adoring swains.
For those with lots of boodle to throw about, these could get pretty over the top. This is an example now in the careful care of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Made in England about 1765, the sheets of the card are slices of white agate. The covers are reddish enamel work with gold framing , and pencils mounted at both ends.
Imagine the consternation of a young fellow approaching a lady of quality who brandished this before her.
Sheesh, asking someone to dance was good deal tougher in the olden days.

03/17/2022

Oh boy....
Erte Costume for “La Traviata” c. 1923. I LOVE ERTE!!!!! 🙂 D’Artagnan.

03/11/2022

03/06/2022

This extraordinary object is a gold hairnet. It comes from the later 3rd century BCE from the Greek city of Taras, (Taranto, South Italy). It is made entirely of yellow gold in a netting pattern with cabochon garnets at the intersections and a large bas-relief image of Medusa at the top. This would have been worn over a coil of hair either at the lower or center back of the head, and held in place with pins.
That such a thing survives at all, and in such splendid condition is a wonder to be sure.

Collection of the Altes Museum, Berlin.