Woot! Just got confirmation that they’ll be showing Marie Antoinette costumes at this year’s FIDM movie costume exhibit (starts in late Jan. – full list not yet released; I’ll link to it when they do). ROAD TRIP!!!!! I am SO there.
Threads Happiness
There are a couple of interesting things in this month’s issue of Threads: the Indianapolis Museum of Art has an exhibit on wedding costume from the 19th & 20th centuries (see the exhibit website for details and some nice images), an article on choosing an iron that includes a nice timeline of the history of irons, a great suggestion about storing fabric (using plastic crates from office supply stores, which avoids the problem of trapping gases [plastic tubs] or transferring acids [cardboard boxes]), and a feature on the back cover on a new line of repro fabrics based on textiles owned by Harriet Beecher Stowe (including a beautiful 1880s painted gown that’s nicely pictured).
For My Bay Area Peeps
The V&A exhibit on Vivienne Westwood is coming to the de Young museum in 2007! Here’s the info on the exhibit from the V&A site. Woot!
Also, GBACG has been busy planning our events and workshops for next year. Something to mark your calendar for is Elizabeth & the Pirate on Feb. 24 in Oakland. This is going to be an amazing event: join Queen Elizabeth I and the Irish pirate Grace O’Malley for a banquet at Sequoia Lodge (where we held the Lord of the Rings dinner). Break out your fanciest Renaissance costumes, or your dressy 16th century pirate gear — or come as a cleaned up peasant. It should be magical — I can’t wait!
Exhibits!
Some interesting exhibits with good web presences:
A Perfect Fit: The Garment Industry and American Jewry, 1860-1960 at Yeshiva University Museum, New York City. (On now, closing soon?). There’s an exhibit catalog available.
The Age of Nudity at the Kent State University Museum, Ohio. March 9, 2006 – Jan. 7, 2007. I am loving the transition gowns, and check out these late 1790s transitional stays!
Fashion on the Ohio Frontier: 1790-1840 again at Kent State. The exhibit is closed, but some great pictures online, like: oooooo, the embroidery!, the sleeves!. A catalog is available.
All those pics will go into the next Real Women’s Clothing update, whenever I get around to that.
Fashion in the Round
This will go into the next Real Women’s Clothing directory update, but it’s too good to wait! Ever wondered what some of the V&A costumes look like from other angles? Well look no further — Fashion in the Round.
Edited to add: Also check out two great online exhibits: Pockets and The Secret History of the Corset.