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This sporting gent stopped by a photographer’s s

This sporting gent stopped by a photographer’s studio before visiting the beach (see the painted backdrop and seaweed thrown on the floor?) Leaning on a stool and table covered with fabric to resemble rocks, he wears a knit bathing suit rented from a company based in North Beach (the exact beach location is yet to be determined!).

Tintypes, originally known as or ferrotypes or melainotypes, were invented in the 1850s and were produced into the 20th century. To capture the image, a photographic emulsion was applied to a thin sheet of iron coated with a lacquer or enamel in a dark tone; exposure to light produced a unique positive image. Tintypes were produced in many sizes, and are often of irregular shape, owing to the fact they were hastily cut from larger sheets. In some ways, tintypes were like Polaroid photos in the speed with which the image was fixed permanently and handed over to the client...

Customers could purchase frames or special cases to protect and display their images; if desired, hand-colored accents could also be added. Tintype portraits were often made in photographic studios, but eventually they caught on as souvenirs produced at carnival booths or other outdoor fairs and by itinerant photographers. It’s easy to imagine this tintype served as a pleasant reminder of a perfect day at the beach!
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Tintype, 1880s
Gift of Stephen Porterfield
SC2020.897.1
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#1880s #19thcenturyfashion #swimwear #portraiture #tintype #tintypes #tintypephotography #studiophotography #fidmmuseum #fashionhistory #fashionmuseum #fashion #specialcollections #fashionphotography #photography #fashionliveshere

History has the most charming way of repeating its

History has the most charming way of repeating itself! For the Spring/Summer 2022 @Schiaparelli Ready-to-Wear collection, designer @DanielRoseberry styled model @_dilone in an accessory befitting the house’s surrealist lineage: an umbrella that is a hat—or is it a hat that’s an umbrella? We couldn’t resist comparing it with our very own model, which predates surrealism by decades!

A Victorian-era woman concerned about tanning and freckling might have worn a novelty item like ours to attend spectator sports or other outdoor activities, such as gardening. Though novelties are rarely meant to provide serious function, we know there was serious intent behind sunshade hats: a patent awarded to George W. Ross of Texas in July, 1881, describes his “Sun Shade Hat” as “designed to shield the wearer’s head from the sun to prevent heatstroke and keep the wearer’s hands free to work...a clamp and washers to enable the hat to remain in the desired opened/closed state while off of the wearer’s head, which represents an improvement over previous designs.” Improving on a previous version denotes some measure of success in the marketplace for this clever chapeau.

Both the Schiaparelli hat and ours feature snug headbands to keep the umbrella perfectly perched & ready to deflect sunrays. The black Schiaparelli version is a nice foil to the colorful striped bodysuit—but we can’t help ourselves from imagining our striped sunshade in its place!

Our thanks to the House of Schiaparelli for the reproduction of their image.
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Sunshade Hat, United States, ca. 1885
FIDM Museum Purchase
2019.5.36
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#schiaparelli #elsaschiaparelli #danielroseberry #surrealism #surreal #surealist #sunshade #sunhat #danielroseberry #moderndesign #accessories #readytowear #21stcenturyfashion #19thcenturyfashion #20thcenturyfashion #antiquefashion #modernfashion #historyrepeatingitself #whatcomesaroundgoesaround #fidmmuseum #fashionhistory #fashionmuseum #fashioncollection #museumcollection #fashion #fashionliveshere

Happy #globalcatday! Here’s the pick of the litt

Happy #globalcatday! Here’s the pick of the litter: a charming, petite fan in the shape of a cat’s face made by Duvelleroy and painted by Adolphe Thomasse. Thomasse was known as an “animalier,” or an artist specializing in animal likenesses. He created fans in the shapes of rabbits, peacocks, dogs, cats, and more. Painted realistically on both sides, fans like this were expensive novelties...just look at those details!

Want some #caturday reading content on Thomasse and Duvelleroy? You can learn more on our blog—link in bio!
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Fan, c. 1900
Maker: Duvelleroy, Paris; Artist: Alphonse Thomasse
Gift of Mona Lee Nesseth
2016.975.8AB
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@duvelleroy #duvelleroy #alphonsethomasse #animalier #fan #eventails #handfan #antiquefan #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlovers #novelty #antiquefashion #belleepoque #19thcenturyfashion #19thcentury #20thcenturyfashion #20thcentury #turnofthe20thc #antiqueaccessories #fidmmuseum #fashionhistory #fashioncollection #fashion #fashionmuseum #fashionliveshere

For this week’s Unboxing, Associate Curator Chri

For this week’s Unboxing, Associate Curator Christina Johnson shares a few of her favorite examples of 19th-century outerwear. Just the thing as the air is getting brisk...watch now in our IG stories!
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#19thcenturyfashion #19thcentury #mantle #dolman #spencer #cape #antiquefashion #fidmmuseum #fashionhistory #fashionmuseum #fashion #fidmmuseumunboxing #unboxing #museumeducation #museumcollection #fashionliveshere

Our resident textile fanatic Leigh Wishner treats

Our resident textile fanatic Leigh Wishner treats us to a birthday tribute by way of a special piece in our collection. Read on for more about Dorothy Liebes!
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Coat by Bonnie Cashin; fabric by Dorothy Liebes, 1964
Gift of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
77.1964.014.1

#Repost @patternplayusa
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Recently, we celebrated Bonnie Cashin's birthday with a look at one of her creations at @fidmmuseum. So why am I back with another Cashin in the #fidmmuseum collection? Because today we're celebrating Dorothy Liebes's birthday!

Dorothy Liebes—Dottie to her friends—was a weaving pioneer who has been woefully underrepresented in design history. When she's discussed, it's for her contributions to important interior schemes. You barely find her mentioned when it comes to fashion...

And that's what brings us back to Bonnie. She and Dottie were very close friends; they met in the 40s, when both designed for Hollywood studios. Bonnie started using Dottie's fabrics for garments as early as 1951, and Bonnie adored them. Of course she did: colors, textures, and unusual materials were of utmost importance to both. Aside from the suede trim and brass turn-lock fasteners, this fabulous coat is all Liebes. Hand-woven from linen, Dottie's color philosophy ("There is no such thing as a bad color—only bad color combinations") is in full-force. Red, pink, orange, and pea-green ping-pong off each other in clashing harmony, if there is such a thing! Hand-spun yarns and hand-loomed "honesty" make this fabric so appealing in all its bumps & blips. The coat dates to 1964, as documented by Cashin sketches with Liebes's fabric swatches (@museumatfit). @Coach also produced a "Cashin Carry" bag in this fabric.

I was delighted to update our database to reflect Dorothy Liebes as yet another important 20th-c. woman artist represented in our stellar collection! I'm also delighted that @cooperhewitt is planning the first *major* Liebes retrospective since 1970. It's about time, and it's exciting to know its in the expert hands of my colleagues @agwinton and @susanbtextiles.

I can't wait to step into that Liebesverse!

Couturier Charles Frederick Worth was born #otd in

Couturier Charles Frederick Worth was born #otd in 1825. Referred to as “the dictator of fashion,” Worth had a powerful grip on the world’s wealthiest and most famous women: European queens and empresses, American “Dollar Princesses” (rich socialites marrying into European nobility), stage actresses and other daring ladies of the demimonde. It's difficult to imagine the look of mid-to-late 19th-c. fashion without this tastemaker’s vanguard direction.

This bewitching reception gown is made from luminous black silk velvet; the sleeves and bodice front, constructed in tan silk, contrast with a sheer layer of jet-beaded silk lace in a pomegranate pattern. Another panel of this embellished lace cascades down the skirt’s front; silk ball fringe accents and trim around the hemline would have swayed in motion, adding a soupçon of intrigue. Of the style frequently described as “upholstered,” this gown mimics the plush, tufted furniture decorated with passementerie and swagged draperies found in well-appointed interiors of the day.

Worth was the first designer to elevate himself from mere dressmaker to artist, setting the stage for our modern era of label- and talent-conscious consumers. The next time you check a garment for a tag proclaiming the designer’s name, you have Worth to thank!
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Reception Gown by Charles Frederick Worth
c. 1878
FIDM Museum Purchase
2006.25.2AB
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#charlesfrederickworth #houseofworth #hautecouture #couture #fidmmuseum #fashionhistory #fashionmuseum #fashion #fashiondesigner #fashionliveshere #fashionbirthday #antiquefashion #antiquecostume #antiquetextiles #19thcenturyfashion #bellepoque #1870s #1870sfashion #velvet #jetbeads #lace #embroidery #receptiongown #bustle

You gotta *HAND* it to the maker of these gloves:

You gotta *HAND* it to the maker of these gloves: they did *KNOT* mess around! These cotton fishnet gloves would have been stellar in all-black, but the rainbow striped gauntlets are a nice touch...
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Gloves, c. 1939
Gift of Marianne Burke
2007.813.1AB
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#fidmmuseum #fashionhistory #fashionmuseum #fashion #fashionliveshere #1930s #30s #1930sfashion #20thcenturyfashion #vintagefashion #artdeco #fishnet #net #knotted #gloves #accessories #vintagegloves #vintageaccessories

To honor #indigenouspeoplesday, and #latinxheritag

To honor #indigenouspeoplesday, and #latinxheritagemonth, let’s take a look at the corte, a component of Guatemalan Maya “traje tipico” (traditional indigenous clothing). Cortes are single, long panels of woven fabric worn as skirts, usually with a huipil (blouse) and a faja (a waist sash worn to secure the corte).

This dazzling cotton fabric is called “jaspe”: a resist-dye method (commonly known as ikat) which results in blurry patterns in the warp and/or weft directions. Structurally, jaspe is usually plain-weave and woven on backstrap looms. This particular corte was most likely made in Salcajá, Quetzaltenango, a weaving center renowned for their intricate designs. Complex weaves like this, with supplementary brocading wefts and jaspe motifs in both directions, are also called “labor” jaspe for the sheer amount of specialized work required. An “amarrador” is responsible for tying the warp and weft bundles for labor jaspe; depending on a design’s complexity, an accomplished amarrador can tie enough yards of thread in one day to produce roughly 20 cortes!

Maya women have used the backstrap loom to weave their clothing for over two thousand years, pre-dating the arrival of Spanish colonizers and the treadle loom Spaniards introduced. The looms are often made by weavers themselves, are highly portable, and can provide supplemental income to many. Elders teach young girls this traditional art— one that has persisted since ancient times— to preserve Maya culture.

To learn more about the more than 800 different styles of indigenous clothing in Guatemala, or how to support Guatemalan women and families, we recommend the non-profit organization @MilMilagrosInc as a resource! (Link in bio)
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Corte, purchased in Guatemala by donor in 1948
Gift of Jane Calhoun
2007.918.4
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#maya #mayan #indigenouscultures #guatemala #guatemalan #textilehistory #guatemalanweaving #ikat #jaspe #laborjaspe #corteskirt #regionaldress #worlddress #traditionaldress #fidmmuseum #fashionhistory #fashionmuseum #fashion #fashionliveshere