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[fashionsfromhistory]

Bed frame

c.1880

Indianapolis Museum of Art (Accession Number: 80.10A-M)

[fashionsfromhistory]

Cabinet

Louis Majorelle

c.1900

Indianapolis Museum of Art (Accession Number: 1991.42)

[fashionsfromhistory]

Clock

Designed by Bruce J. Talbert; Made by Skidmore Art Manufactures Company (English)

c.1865

Indianapolis Museum of Art (Accession Number: 1998.285A-C)

[fashionsfromhistory]

Pastille Burner

Meissen Porcelain Manufactory (German)

c.1810

Indianapolis Museum of Art (Accession Number: 80.9A-C)

[fashionsfromhistory]

Longcase Clock

c.1673

France

Indianapolis Museum of Art (Accession Number: 1989.72A-D)

[fashionsfromhistory]

Evening Dress

c.1913

England or France

Victoria & Albert Museum (Accession Number: T.33-1947)

[fashionsfromhistory]

Day Dress

c.1913

England

Victoria & Albert Museum (Accession Number: T.288&A-1973)

[fashionsfromhistory]

Evening Dress

House of Worth (Paris, France)

c.1910

Victoria & Albert Museum (Accession Number: T.57-1961)

[fashionsfromhistory]

Evening Dress

Jay's Ltd. (London, England)

c.1908

Victoria & Albert Museum (Accession Number: T.193&A-1970)

[fashionsfromhistory]

Evening Dress

Jean-Philippe Worth

c.1900

Victoria & Albert (Accession Number: T.459 to B-1974)

[fashionsfromhistory]

Tea Gown

Jean-Philippe Worth (France)

c.1900

Victoria & Albert Museum (Accession Number: T.48-1961)

[fashionsfromhistory]

Evening Dress

Jean Dessès

c.1958

Philadelphia Museum of Art

[fashionsfromhistory]

Ensemble

Sophie Gimbel

c.1955

Sophie Gimbel’s tailoring skills are apparent in this meticulously pieced ensemble worn by socialite Elizabeth Parke Firestone. Considered in the 1950s to be one of the best-dressed women in the world, Firestone possessed an astute awareness of the fabrics, colors, and styles that suited her best. She left no detail unattended, commissioning Parisian firms for the majority of her wardrobe and supplementing it with items from the American Salon Moderne. Celebrated by Cecil Beaton and other fashion photographers of the day, Firestone was said to be radiant in pinks and blues, and most of her clothing was made in these shades. This white ensemble is a particularly rare item in her wardrobe.

RISD Museum

[fashionsfromhistory]

Coat Dress

Christian Dior

Fall/Winter 1947

Kyoto Costume Institute

[fashionsfromhistory]

Paper Dress

Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell

1966

The fashion world in the US and then the UK adopted the paper dress as the answer to the decade’s restless appetite for ‘the new’. Labels such as Poster Dress, Wastebasket Boutique and Dipso were dedicated to producing fast-changing ranges of disposable garments that allowed customers to easily stay abreast of trends. Designers like Ossie Clark also launched their own range of 'throwaways’. At the height of demand, Mars Hosiery (the makers behind Wastebasket Boutique) was producing 100,000 dresses a week. The 'no sew’ nature of paper dresses made them a good fit for female consumers keen to reject the 'Make Do and Mend’ attitude of the previous generation. Paper dresses could be altered in minutes with scissors and Sellotape: much more fun than spending a night in with your sewing basket. And for those young women who were keen to explore the decade’s increasing freedoms, going out in a dress that was blatantly easy to tear off posed an exciting way to underline the new sexual politics.

Victoria and Albert

[fashionsfromhistory]

Day Dress

Claire McCardell

Early 1950s

RISD Museum

[fashionsfromhistory]

“Autriche” from the Longue Collection

Christian Dior

Autumn/Winter 1951-1952

Royal Ontario Museum (Object number: 2015.90.1.1)