Third Fabric Carrot Consumed.

After wearing my second fabric carrot black galaxy wiggle dress teamed with a simple black fur bolero to my Uncle's funeral on Friday, I was pleased to find I have lost a bit more weight.
As you know from previous blogs I won't have scales in the house, but whilst hurridly rummaging in my wardrobe for a black ensemble to wear to the funeral at the last minute, I discovered that I have managed to get into my third fabric carrot!!
A 1920's - 1960's styled Ruffle dress. Which paired with the correct shoes, makeup, accessories and hairstyle can happily slip into either era of fashion.
I am thrilled to be able to fit this shift dress! Although it hides most of my curves, it shows my legs - a very important part to slim down and tone up so I hear the experts keep saying. All thanks to the rather horrid large pink exercise ball I have been using everyday and a rather limited diet!
It's a funny sixties dress that looks like a rather large bird with black ruffly feathers, or a twenties flappers ruffled dress, either way it's ruffled but it's quirky and I like it. One of those iconic 'era' dresses. Something for special evening occassions only I think.

Callot Souers.

Callot dress 1915.

Having looked at the world of Poiret and the French Couture Houses, I think it only fair to include some of his contempories of the time in a few blogging posts this week. Poiret wasn't the only thing going down in "Gay Paree".

Callout Souers - The Callot Sisters - was a Paris fashion House opened in 1895, operated and run by the four Callot sisters. Marie Callot Gerber, Marthe Callot Bertrand, Regina Callot Tennyson-Chantrell and Josephine Callot Crimont. Only the eldest sister Marie was actually trained in dress making but all the sisters had been taught sewing and lacemaking by their mother, herself a lacemaker by profession.
They started their small business by working with antique laces and ribbons, sewing them to lingerie and to enhance blouses. This attention to fine detail was what their work was known for and it led on to expansion in the business, by 1914 their fashion house was on it's way upwards.
As with the whole of Europe at the time the Orientalists movement was cutting a swathe and for the Callot sisters this meant that their work took on an exotic feel by working with gold and silver lame to make their dresses. One of the first designers to do so and they embraced the whole metallic thread theme creating some of the most beautiful intricate dresses I have even laid eyes on. So delicate with tiny detailing, like shimmering mermaids on land. Remember these metal threads and ornamentation were designed to catch the subdued candle light at evening parties and the moons romantic rays. To flicker and dance with light as the lady in question gracefully glided by on the arm of a certain gentleman. It was fairytale magical imagery. Personally I think it is in evening gowns that this fashion house shone and sparkled. These gowns have to be seen to be believed at the amount of work and love that created them.

Short cape.

A Caollot day dress, with just a teeny
bit of gold thread sparkle.

In 1928 Marie Callot Gerber's son, Pierre, took over the business but in 1937, the House of Callot Soeurs closed and was absorbed into the House of Calvet (Marie-Louise Calvet); under the Callot label. When the Second World War erupted it made matters difficult in France and the Callot label finally closed in 1952, but look what a beautiful gift they gave to the world.

Paul Poiret and his Kimono Coat.

Paul Poiret 1879 - 1944. This
picture was taken in 1913.

At the turn of the 20th Century "Gay Paree" was the place to be. Paris was the epi-centre for the Couture Houses and designers, they became a stopping point for the lesiured classes and Royalty. Among these Couture House's was Paul Poiret. That's Poiret, not Poirot of Agatha Christie's little grey cells fame, n'est pas.
It was Paul Poiret who completely revoultionized the female shilouette and gave us the high waisted empire line dress. C'est magnifique! Poiret was to fashion as Picasso was to art. A head turner, mover and shaker. He was visionary.

Denise Poiret in her husband's iconic
Kimono coat. 1911.

Born in the gritty part Paris, France in 1879 Poiret was born to a cloth merchant family but apprenticed to an umbrella maker. This did not deter him, because still working with the scraps of material from the umbrella's he fashion outfits for his younger sister's dolls, eventually taking his designs and sketches to a pominent dressmaker who instantly bought dozens of his designs. This led him to find employment in one of the Parisian Couture Houses by Jaques Doucet and there a legend was born.  Moving fashion houses as he grew in elevation he designed elegant yet simple practical dresses for the modern woman. However for some his work was abhorrent and too crass, too modern, so in 1903 he set up his own fashion house and designed his innovative masterpiece, the Kimono Coat.
This coat, OMG!! Chic, classy, way out and totally stroke-able beautiful. I must have one!!! I want one, I want one, I WANT ONE!!!!!!

Yet at the time, unbelievably critics didn't love it so much. I know!? But it was soooo new, sooooo in your face different -  that it was shocking. I just think it's beautifully drool-able. What did Poiret do about his critics - well, he threw massive lavish parties and designed flamboyant window designs to bring even more attention to his lavish creations and it worked. Poiret knew his worth in marketing. Infact he was a marketing genius. He had his wife Denise (formerly Boulet) model his Kimono coat for fashion shoots photographed by the celebrated American artist and photographer Edward Steichen- something not commonly done before - his photos of Poiet's designs and gowns were published in the magazine Art et Decoration in 1911 are widely believed to be the first modern fashion photgraphs published. Poriet didn't stop there, he then went on to design a signature perfume, called 'Parfums de Rosine', named after his daughter and he was the first fashion house to do so. When he unveiled a new design or line, he would throw fatastic evening soiree's and extravagant balls making his designs the talk of the fashionable elite. He was a motivational machine in human form.

For Poiret his motivation and muse was his beloved childhood sweetheart and wife Denise, whom he married in 1905 an together they produced five children. Throughout most of his working life Poiret it can be said that he designed with only one woman in mind, his wife Denise.
In 1913 Poiret told Vogue "My wife is the inspiration for all my creations; she is the expression of all my ideals". It seems perplexing then that in 1928 they divorced  in less than amicable circumstances. Madame Poiret kept many of the gowns her former husband designed for her and in 2005 they were bought by the Metroplitan Museum Of Art, in New York.
At the height of his fame Poiret designed clothes for women such as Peggy Guggenheim, Lillie Langtry, Josephine Baker, Isadora Duncan and Elsa Schiaparelli.


Poiret's Hobble skirt. He liked to
boast with this design that 'He freed
the bust but shackled the legs'.

 During the First World War Poiret left Paris and his successful fashion house for the army and streamlining uniforms, when he returned in 1919 his fashion house was already on the brink of bankrupcy, new designers had moved in on his market during his absence, making sleek chic clothes that promised quality craftsmanship. When he met one of these young and upcoming designer's who was to take the 1920's by storm, a miss Coco Chanel, he noted her  wearing one of her classic simple black dresses. He enquired of her "For whom are you in mourning Madmoiselle?" , her reply was "For you Monsieur Poiret".
Poiret's once seemingly simplistic designs were now over worked and fussy. Poiret was out of fashion and business. In 1924 with his designs out of favour and over priced he spoke once more of Ms Chanel "What has she invented? Poverty de luxe". By 1929 Poiret's fashion House had closed with reminent dresses sold by their weight for rags. His decline into embarrassing poverty led him to become a street painter to local street cafes. Later in his life ill with Parkinson's disease Poiret died in 1944 and was forgotten in time. Even his funeral was paid for by an old friend Elsa Schiaparelli, the Italian fashion designer.

Model showing Poiret's draping gowns.

Denise Poiret in Faune ensemble 1919.

Personally even from a twenty first century view point, I find Poiret's designs refreshing and liberating. He was one of the founding designers responsible for freeing woman from their tight laced corsets and restricting boned gowns, then helped introduce the bra. He invited women of the era to brave the streets and even the mobs who booed and hissed at them for their new found body liberation. His Kimono coat is one of the most beautiful coat designs I have ever seen. His other memorable designs given to the world include the notorious Hobble skirt which caused public outcry, Harem pantaloons (of  which recently there has been a big revival in stores), the sack dress, lampshade tunics, la garconne and his draping dress designs. His structual simplicity is the key to his designs and the gateway to leading other modernist designers. Without him where would designs be today? There may not have been the Flapper era, that boyish charm of simple yet bold empowering design. He broke the moulds of tailoring to introduce draping dresses, that "dressed a woman from afar" drawing on Greek influences. He helped bring the Oriental influence into modern Western clothing, making it chic and fashionable for society gals to wear.  In 1911 he founded Artelier Martine, named after yet another daughter. It was a centre of academic fashion where young untrained women and girls were trained to express their own individuality in textile design for furniture and fashion textiles and wallpaper design. This was at a time when women were fighting for the vote in England. He was so ahead of his time. Free without constraints. Everything is an evolution and Poiret is a big marker on the vintage fashion timeline.

Denise Poiret 1913 in New York.

The Kimono Coat.

On my Christmas list this year will be the book Poiret by the Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York City.
Poiret

Coat 1919.

From the private collection of Denise Poiret - now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

What Ho Jeeves!

Are you a P.G Wodehouse fan? I adore the quintessential English language, it tickles me immensely, how words were formed, their roots and original meanings, how language develops over the years and comes in waves of fashionable slang.

P.G Wodehouse.

Reading one of P.G Wodehouse's classic novels about gentleman Bertie Wooster and his gentleman's gentleman valet, the reliable Jeeves, makes me howl with laughter at a life past that I feel sure I once inhabited. The way that Wodehouse weaves the English language is too delightful to just read, one really needs to watch Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie take a stab at the characters as well. They're a positive wheeze!
Wodehouse, known as Plum by his close family and friends, but born as Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, was born in Guildford, England in 1881. A chap from a bygone era who was a master at prose and the English language. A lot of his early life is reflected in the tales of Jeeves and Wooster, and I'll leave it to you to ponder whether it's a lot more of the Wooster than Jeeves or visa versa.

His characters names and settings are familiar areas around where we live, such as Lord Emsworth who has a penchant for pigs. In fact when I come to think of it most of his character's have a peculiar attachment to 'things' of varying kinds - Gussie Fink-Nottle has his newts, Bertie's uncle and his antique silver and there's something warming in his eccentric characters names with the likes of  Tuppy Glossop, Pongo Twistleton, Offy Prosser, Bingo Little, Watkyn Bassett and Galahad Threepwood dancing about the pages one can't help but smile whilst reading them.
I love the turn of phrase and precise language Jeeves uses when he quotes such utterings as, "Precisely so Sir, but Mrs Snap refuses to consider such a venture while Sir Roderick's daughter remains unmarried. In a colourful turn of phrase she stated that specific and scarcely to be anticipated  meteorological conditions would have to take place in the infernal region before she would share a home with Miss Honoria"...... Priceless!

The draw of his good natured characters is their mental silliness and willingness to get themselves into sticky situations, none more so than the lovable Bertie Wooster, who is always rescued by his loyal man Jeeves. Wodehouse created Jeeves as a character in 1915 and he has become the stereotypical  English valet or Butler type, even spawning an 'Ask Jeeves' Internet search engine.

The Infallible Jeeves.

Most of the plots are instigated by interfering female characters who seem to want to mould Wooster in some Mothering way, be they young and pretty, chap's sisters or his whole gaggle of aged aunts - Wooster is plagued by the women in his life whilst remaining determinedly single.

The loveable Bertie Wooster. 

I read the books because I love the era and feel surprisingly at home inside Wodehouse's pages. They're comforting as if I've missed the people and the bustle of a life gone by. One of the best things about Jeeves and Wooster though is watching the famous Fry and Laurie adaptations. The dry humour, the cars, the decor , the homes and furnishings and oh my the clothes, hats and shoes. It is delicious period eye candy to feast upon.

Lady Glossop.

    I wish I could step through the screen and land amongst them in a period frou frou of chiffon and lace.  Where hats were worn to match gloves and outfits were solely designed for afternoon tea and Tiffins.                                   

Are you a Robe, Gown or Peignoir Girl?

Now the weather has taken on a slight chill I have changed a vital piece of my wardrobe - my dressing gown - from silk to fleece.  This small act started me thinking about the humble dressing gown or robe as some call it. From whence did it originate?

The Medieval female  robe.

Well, according to the word root dictionary, the word robe comes from old English and literally means garment, but it's thought that it originated from the Frankish language (which is an extinct old West Germanic language) from the word 'rouba' . Scholars think this comes from the word 'to rob', meaning of gowns and clothing, because material was very expensive and time consuming to produce in the Middle Ages. Especially if it was of fine quality, it could be worth a lot. This word then has travelled down to our language of today to eventually mean a woman's dress or long wrap, hence the word dressing robe. The distinction of difference being that a robe had long sleeves, as opposed to being a cape or a cloak.

Pattern for 1920's Housecoat.

Over the years there have been many variants on the usage and words associated with robe. There's the dressing robe - which years ago meant a male garment or the dressing gown - a loose garment with a wrap belt worn when one is relaxing about the house usually in bedwear attire.

Then there's the humble bathrobe made of absorbent material to wear after a bath, and the housecoat - worn in the 1930's and becoming very popular in the 1940's. This was not worn for bed or relaxing, but generally about the house as the title suggests. Perhaps it's other commonly referred to name will give you a clue to it's usage, 'the duster' . Longer than an apron, but less coverage than a pinafore, the housecoat was worn to protect the lady of the house's beautiful dresses whilst she bustled about the house doing her daily chores. They were made from a variety of light fabrics and some were even quited for extra warmth. Woman it seems found them so comfy that they started wearing them in longer styles in the evenings for lounging around, making the fashion industry design more stylish numbers. This then is the pre-outfit to our modern dressing gown......but where did it originally originate from in history?

Nicolas Bylston in a green Banyan,
painted 1767.

An aged Sir Issacc Newton in a Banyan,
painted by James Thornhill 1709-12.

It seems that looking back over history the dressing gown or lounge robe, whatever you wish to call it has been with us since the early 17th Century in disguise with a rather peculiar name, the Banyan.

Vintage Male Banyan.

The Banyan originally only worn by men, of course, was a dressing robe - rather like an English Tudor styled nobles robe but with sleeves reaching to the knees and a heady mix from the Persian or Asian style clothes that had begun to influence society. The word Banyan means in Arabic and Portuguese - merchant.
With the Orientalist movement in Art it was only fitting that it moved over into fashion.The exotic oriental style had become the latest fascination for Europe and so the robe took on an exotic matching flavour becoming more flamboyant and resplendent in it's fabrics and colours. It was around this time that it started to become known in our English culture as a morning gown, or robe de chambre - nightgown, becoming a floor length gown and at last it took on the appearance that we feel familiar with today. The range of materials increased to include Indian and Chinese silks and bedtime chic was created in Europe.

Dressing robe for women.

But what of the women? When were we allowed to wear Banyans and nightgowns..........well of course we did but not as extravagant as our male peacocks, that didn't occur until the 18th Century I'm afraid with the introduction of the Japanese Kimono into Western thought.

1920's Kimono styled robe.

1930's Hollywood glamour in black.

Then of course in the 19th Century we had the delectably named Peignoir. What a delightful word, it just simply rolls of the tongue with ease and sophistication and a touch of naughtiness.......peignoir.



1930's robe.



With the Peignoir 'comfort' was the ultimate key word. A woman's comfort in those days was hardly ever thought of in clothing that was so very restrictive in every way shape and form, yet here was a delicate little number that allowed just that.....comfort so women could breathe away from the dreaded laced corset.

Usually made of lace and chiffon, it was light and airy to wear and felt cool against their skin. The word Peignoir comes from the French word 'peigner' to 'comb ones hair' from the Latin pectin/comb. Which is when woman brushed their hair the most - at night. Remember, one hundred stokes girls to make it shiny and lustrous.

Peignoirs were later sold as a whole set of gown, panties and stockings with which to wear to bed. I should think that that appeal alone was enough to men to make the Peignoir an instant hit as the number one saucy Christmas gift of the 19th Century! There is no other era that shows this better than the Hollywood glamour of the 1930's - 1940's with the movie stars and their black and white photography.
The male Banyan developed into the smoking jacket and then sadly both males and female attire seemed to mere into the androgenous terry toweling dressing gown that we see hung on shops rails today. I must say they're jolly comfortable not very glamorous or sexy - what's wrong with a little bit of sexy glamour?! Bring back the peignoir! Of course it's still around and the best places to find them apart from the high street lingerie shops are in the vintage boutiques. Perhaps a peignoir will be on your naughty Christmas list this year? I know it'll be on mine. ;)

Well We All Just Wanna Be Big All Stars !

Who doesn't own a pair of Converse? I know I have two pairs and my three girls practically live in theirs. Both long and short style. They are an extremely comfy trendy shoe.

It has been a little over one hundred years since the shoe company CONVERSE started trading from their Rubber Shoe Factory in Malden, Massachusetts, U.S.A. in 1908. The brain child of Marquis Mills Converse - a descendant of William the Conquerer would you believe.
The factory began by producing sturdy triple tread Winter Converse boots. They soon proved to be a massive hit, becoming the must have footwear for every man, woman and child in 1910. A legend was born.

1928 Advert.

It was in 1918 that the All Star's were born. A basketball sneaker, named after a basketball player, so the tale goes, walked through the company's doors with a complaint about his sore feet. It was these 'Chuck Taylor's' that TURNED Converse history forever pulling them into sports, the outdoor life and celebrities.

James Dean in a pair of iconic Converse.

By the 1950's and the birth of the teenager everyone from James Dean to Elvis Presley were wearing them. Converse became Rock 'n' Roll icons in their own right almost over night. Since then they have just grown from strength to strength into a giant legend of footwear. With just about everyone whose anyone owning a pair and most people loving them until they wear out, then mourning their passing like a beloved pet. I mean come on......even Harry Potter owns a pair!