Transforming the Rudi Gernreich Archive
If you read this post, you'll know that the FIDM Museum houses an extensive Rudi Gernreich Archive. The Archive numbers nearly 1,000 items and includes not only garments and accessories, but patterns, furniture, scrapbooks and other miscellaneous items.... Read Article ››

Betsey Johnson for Alley Cat
Like Twiggy, Betsey Johnson's career began in the youth oriented 1960s. From the beginning, Johnson's designs had a playful, almost costume-like sensibility, an outlook her work maintains to this day. In numerous interviews, Johnson has suggested that... Read Article ››

Twiggy
The girl herself is the extravaganza that makes the look of the sixties.1 Twiggy exploded onto the scene in 1966 though pure happenstance. While getting a haircut at the London salon Leonard of Mayfair, 16 year old Twiggy (then known as Leslie Hornby) was... Read Article ››

Fancy dress
Contemporary Halloween celebrations offer an opportunity for young and old to dress in costume, but in the 19th and early 20th century, Halloween was primarily geared towards children. Adults who wanted to dress in costume attended or hosted fancy dress... Read Article ››

Cinch belt
If you happened to see this cinch belt out and about, what would be your guess as to its age? Given that it is part of the FIDM Museum collection, we probably didn't pick it up at H&M over the weekend. Cinch belt1952SchafferAnonymous... Read Article ››

Opening this week!
High Style: Betsy Bloomingdale and the Haute Couture October 21, 2009-December 13, 2009 Wednesday-Sunday 10am-4pm Evening gown Gianfranco Ferre for Christian Dior 1989-90 Gift of Mrs. Alfred Bloomingdale 2001.116.13 “High Style: Betsy Bloomingdale and the... Read Article ››

Wiener Werkstatte textiles
Remember this post about found textiles? Today's post features a group of Wiener Werkstatte textiles from the same collection. The Wiener Werkstatte (Vienna Workshop) was an artistic collective based on an interest in eliminating the gap between fine art... Read Article ››

Hairpin lace
When this hairpin lace dress was donated to the FIDM Museum in 2007, we had to give ourselves a crash course, because we weren't familiar with this form of handwork. Worked on a small, hand-held "fork" or loom with a crochet hook, hairpin lace... Read Article ››

Do you want IT?
In 1998, Chanel launched an understated new handbag. Based on the upside-down torso of a woman, this aerodynamic bag was called 2005. The sleek, lightweight 2005 bag was created to carry the venerable design house into the new century. Prior to the 2005 bag,... Read Article ››

Presentations abroad!
As mentioned in this post, FIDM Museum staff are constantly engaged in collection-oriented research. Currently, Christina Johnson (Collections Manager) and Kevin Jones (Curator) are at the Fashion & Materiality symposium hosted by the Centre for Fashion... Read Article ››

Our post today was researched and written by FIDM Museum Registrar, Meghan Grossman Hansen! In the Least Likely of Places: Discovering Counterfeit Chanel No. 5 in a Museum Collection“Bathtub Perfume Traps Pool Shark”1     “Pair... Read Article ››

Out and about with Claire McCardell
Do you live in the Chicago area? Will you be traveling to Chicago before January 9, 2010? If so, you're in luck! The FIDM Museum Claire McCardell dresses seen in today's post are on exhibit in Chicago as part of the Learning Modern exhibition at the... Read Article ››
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