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The FIDM Museum blog will be on hiatus through early January 2015. In the meantime, enjoy weekly posts from the archives. To keep up with our current projects, find us on Facebook and Twitter, which will be updated regularly during... Read Article ››
From the Archives: Holly’s Harp evening gown
The FIDM Museum blog will be on hiatus through early January 2015. In the meantime, enjoy weekly posts from the archives. To keep up with our current projects, find us on Facebook and Twitter, which will be updated regularly during... Read Article ››
Fashion Birthday: Charles Frederick Worth
Charles Frederick Worth was born 189 years ago today, on October 13, 1825! Considered the pre-eminent fashion tastemaker of the latter nineteenth-century, Worth labeled his garments, ensuring that his creations were perpetually associated with his... Read Article ››
Playgrounds of the World silk fabric swatch
Playgrounds of the World silk swatch Spring/Summer 1928 H.R. Mallinson & Company Gift of Roberta Tuller 2006.865.5 In 1928, H.R. Mallinson & Company, a New York based textile design and manufacturer, introduced a new line of printed... Read Article ››
Silk gauze dress, c. 1855-1860
c. 1855-1860 Gift of Jane M. Gincig and Patricia Larson KalayjianS2011.1087.189 With a low, curved neckline and short sleeves, this silk gauze dress was meant for evening. Day dresses of this era featured long sleeves and modest necklines, but evening... Read Article ››
From the Archives: Vivienne Westwood suit
Happy birthday to Dame Vivienne Westwood! Born on April 8, 1941, Westwood's career has spanned generations of fashion, from 1970s punk to her more recent interest in historicism. Today we salute her work by taking a close look at a plaid wool suit... Read Article ››
More BLISS
Open now at the FIDM Museum, BLISS: 19th-Century Wedding Gowns from The Helen Larson Historic Fashion Collection explores the evolving silhouette of 19th-century wedding gowns. From the simple sheaths of the First Empire to the complicated draperies of the... Read Article ››
Celebrate Spring
Spring has officially arrived! March 20 was the first day of the spring in the Northern Hemisphere. From here on out, the weather gradually gets warmer and days are longer. Warm days encourage colorful spring flowers to bloom: cherry blossoms, tulips,... Read Article ››
Duvelleroy fan-bag, 1890s
Fan-bag 1890s Georges Duvelleroy Museum Purchase 2008.5.28 Luxury fan maker Jean-Pierre Duvelleroy (1802-1889) founded his namesake company in 1827. By the late nineteenth-century, Duvelleroy was the most prestigious éventailliste (fan maker) in... Read Article ››
Jacques Fath, Spring/Summer 1953
"St. Charles" afternoon dress Jacques Fath Spring/Summer 1953 Museum Purchase 2010.5.26 Jacques Fath (1912-1954) was an impish designer who imbued his clothes with a sense of fun and glamour. Vogue praised his "unexpected mix of casual... Read Article ››
Miniature corset, 1890s
Miniature corset France, 1890s Museum Purchase 2010.5.9 The corset was literally and figuratively the most defining female fashion of the Victorian era. The body underneath and the clothing above relied on the anatomy-shaping device to compress excess flesh... Read Article ››
Fashion Birthday: Elsa Schiaparelli
Happy birthday to Elsa Schiaparelli! Born in Rome on September 10, 1890, Schiaparelli would be 123 years old today. One of the twentieth-century’s most revered fashion designs, her work is admired for its wit and creativity. Schiaparelli’s career in... Read Article ››