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The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)

3/25/2019

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Picture
Image of Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire on March 25 - 1911. First published on front page of The New York World 1911-03-26. Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Today is the 108th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.  This workplace disaster galvanized America to pass labor laws that protect workers, and we see the benefits every day.  Does your job have lighted exit signs?  Doors that open outward? Fire alarms?  You have them because the Triangle Waist Company girls didn't. 

NOTE ON PICTURES:
All of the photographs in this post are, to my best knowledge, in the public domain (click them to see their source-pages) or used with permission.  If you're doing research for yourself, you may find it useful to search archives for the "Washington Place Fire", which is how they labeled things in the immediate aftermath, before the fire got its "Triangle Shirtwaist" notoriety. 
This will be a long post, mostly concerning the fire in 1911 and the pro-labor legislation that followed in America, but also touching on the global sweatshop problem today.  Make some tea and join me for a talk. 

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The Great Fire - All the Lace!

11/19/2018

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In September of 1666, the Great Fire of London burned for five days, reaching temperatures hot enough to melt pottery and completely cremate victims, destroying thousands of buildings, and leaving seven eighths of Londoners homeless.  In addition to devastating the city, the disaster ignited religious and ethnic hatreds, stirring mobs to violence and politicians to a blame game, and threatening the newly restored monarchy.  London had been a medieval town, outgrowing its own streets and buildings, but after the fire it was rebuilt, with much the same street plan, but wider streets, better sewage disposal, and fire lanes to the Thames. 

In 2014, PBS released a four-part miniseries dramatizing the Great Fire, which is compelling as history, drama, and costume-feast-for-the-eyes.  And I... I love those things! 

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Corticelli Silk Pamphlet, circa 1923

11/12/2018

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Picture
I promised that I would, over time, show you some of the fascinating ephemera enclosed in Catherine DeVore's fashion and art portfolio from the 1920's... so today I showcase an advertising pamphlet put out by The Corticelli Silk Company in 1923.  This short, stapled booklet has full color pictures of the famous dancer Irene Castle wearing Corticelli Silk!

WHO WAS IRENE CASTLE?

Irene Castle was a fascinating lady... a paragon of class and respectability in the early Teens, who also ran nightclubs, introduced the bob, influenced fashion, acted in films, supported animal rights, and wrote books.  With her husband Vernon Castle, she is one of the founders of modern partner dancing.  

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Belgium in WWI: Flour Sacks and Lace

10/22/2018

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Picture
Photo courtesy of Jorie, of EmbroiderElaine blog. Click to see her site!
As a child, I attended Herbert Hoover Elementary school, yet never knew who Herbert Hoover was.  For years, I had him confused with J. Edgar Hoover (not the same guy at all, it turns out), which is a shame, as I now find he was really an extraordinary man. His greatest and, I think, most lastingly significant work was done when he was a private citizen during the Great War.  For his actions on behalf of starving Belgians, he received grateful tributes of needlework and lace which are are far more compelling and beautiful than my elementary school.  So today: WWI, Herbert Hoover, Belgium, and lace! 

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1920s Portfolio: Catherine DeVore & the Wolfe School

10/4/2018

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Today we get an unexpected peek into the past--a large portfolio of the fashion sketches and pattern drafts of a woman named Catherine Emma DeVore, who graduated from the Wolfe School of Costume Designing in Los Angeles in 1923.  In addition, there are two envelopes full of ephemera: newspaper clippings, her doodles, ads, notes, photographs, envelopes....
Picture
Whence this bounty of delight?  From a man I know who, having acquired this trove, was kind enough let me borrow it to take pictures!  In turn, I did my best to return it as a tidy package, putting the pictures in order.  I got so many photos, and uncovered enough interesting info, to make several posts, so I'll do this in installments:
  • Today I will introduce the portfolio and its maker.  Text-heavy post. 
  • On Monday, I'll share the fashion illustrations.  Image-heavy post. 
  • After that, I'll share the ephemera, as I have time to make the posts.  Those posts will be more about fashion, fabric, and culture in the 1920's. 

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La Reine Margot - Costumes and Lace!

8/25/2018

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PictureLow-res DVD cover; fair use claimed.
Four hundred forty-six years ago yesterday, the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre began in France.  Today the killings continued in the city of Paris, before the King ordered them to stop (then start again, then stop, no really, stop).  They didn't stop; they continued throughout the country into the autumn, but royal permission had been withdrawn so the crown could avoid blame for the later murders. 

Yesterday I looked at the history and the 1994 film about the massacre, La Reine Margot.  Today, I'm going to look at the costumes and especially the lace in that movie.  The pictures in this post are all screencaps from when I last watched it, cropped to focus the attention on specific characters/costumes.  Click any one to see it full size! 


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La Reine Margot - history and film

8/24/2018

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The 1994 film La Reine Margot (Queen Margot) is very artsy, very French, and bloody as a butcher shop.  It tells a "romantic" and fictionalized version of the events surrounding the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in France in 1572, 446 years ago today.  It's compelling-- once I was watching it while sewing, and I sewed right over my finger!  (Don't watch movies while sewing unless you've seen them a bunch of times and don't need to pay too much attention.)  Today, I want to talk briefly of the history of the massacre and review the movie.  Tomorrow, I'll highlight the movie's costuming choices, especially the lace. 

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Hussifs

8/13/2018

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Men going to sea or joining the military miss women... for so many reasons.  But when they wear a hole in their socks or tear their pants, it's the "feminine" art of mending that they most require!  And, since there are no women about, the men have to learn a little handwork.  I remember listening to my uncle, a US marine (there's no such thing as a former marine), tell me with pride how he learned to keep his clothes nice, how he wouldn't trust his wife to properly launder his uniforms, and how every stray thread had to be clipped close to the fabric in a procedure called "Irish pennanting". 
Picture
Sewing kit, or hussif, belonged to NZ41868 Flying Officer Derek Vaughan Bullock, 218 Squadron, Bomber Command, WW2. Auckland Museum [CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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Colbertism and French Needlelace

3/12/2018

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Today an informative post about the development of French needlelaces!  As I previously defined it, needlelace is lace made by embroidering with a needle rather than braiding with bobbins or crocheting or knitting.  During the reign of Louis XIV (the Sun King), the French government made a deliberate investment in lacemaking, as part of a wide-ranging plan to become Europe's center for luxury goods, fashion, and taste.  They had stiff competition in all those fields: the Italians and Dutch were already Europe's sourcebook and marketplace for luxury goods.  In particular, as relates to lace, the bobbin laces of the Netherlands were fantastically expensive and popular.  But the needlelace of Italy was also prestigious;  Italy developed needlelace from its history of drawn thread work and reticella, and by the 1600's the Italian gros point de Venise, which was sculptural and meant to look like carved ivory, was the needlelace to beat.   The French set out to beat it. 

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Why Are Women Always Right?

1/18/2018

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Right-over-left, that is.  In the Western world, women's garments traditionally close right-over-left, while men's close left-over-right.  As an example, the Moss Brothers jacket I showed you on Monday is a women's jacket because of the right-over-left closure (as well as the princess seams giving room for the bosom, and the flared hips with slanting pockets for style).  That's why I was surprised to find no womenswear on their company website! 

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    Karen Roy

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