Art Deco Preservation Ball and The HIGH STYLE exhibit at The SF Legion of Honor

In May, Mark and I were able to attend the Art Deco Preservation Ball at the Scottish Rite Center in downtown Oakland.  It was a magical evening, and the experience rivaled that of making my gown for the event, which took a little over a month. I absolutely love designing and making historical dresses for art deco events. 

And, I LOVE to go to fashion exhibits SO the High Style exhibit at the San Francisco Legion of Honor was quite the treat.  Of course the two dresses pictured above were my favorite and a total inspiration for next year's event.

Here are some photos of my dress in progress:

I started by draping the gold brocade on the dress form front.

I hand smocked the side panels on silk charmuse, as I wanted to have some soft drape in the skirt but a fitted bodice. Smocking was a great way to reduce the fullness on a large part of the fabric.  It's also an older technique and seemed an appropriate accent for a 1920's style dress.

I wanted the lace edge to be curved from front to back, so I cut out the scallop design on both borders and shaped the full width of the lace so that it was curved on both sides to the center of the panel.  You can see the finished effect in the photo below.

Front View

side view

Back View

 I also decided to make a corset to wear under my dress.  I really wanted the silhouette to be authentic.  It was fun to make, however, I needed to add a stretch panel in the back as the original design was a little (ahem) small.

Here are some more photos from the event:

The Chanel Jacket - by guest blogger Maya Young

  By Maya Young - Age 12

           Coco Chanel is a name people have come to know, and wear. Her simplistic and sophisticated designs have cast a spell on us and changed the world. One of her most iconic design is the Chanel jacket, an impeccably tailored, collarless, tweed jacket. Little did Coco Chanel know that this would be just one of her timeless trends that can be worn forever. 

 

           What indeed may you find in the Chanel jacket? Versatility. The beauty of the style is how easily you can dress it up, and dress it down, while still creating an effortless look. The jacket can make a woman look refined, cultured, and yet mysterious as well. It can also transform into a more soft and romantic style as well. However the jacket also brings a slouchy suave appeal to it.  Above all it can say “ I won’t bother you so don’t bother me.”

What may seem like a regular article of clothing for us, was a daringly different and unique for the time period it was originally created. Society wasn’t quite used to women balancing the masculine and feminine look, as the designer advocates the jacket as, “ a way of dressing that was masculine in its unruffled dignity, while remaining true to its creator’s idea of femininity.” In those days nobody would have thought that this sporty look in women could ever be perceived as elegant. But this was all part of Coco’s brilliance, this jacket became a powerhouse of modern fashion.

The jacket itself has a boxy shape, cinched waist, silk lining, pockets, and a chain to weight it down. This isn’t just a chic and stylish jacket, but a sequence of events, that requires continuous fitting, to reveal a flawlessly tailored product. Coco Chanel herself was a perfectionist, willing to rework fit, armholes, and even going as far as putting chains on the hemlines of her jackets so that they would hang correctly. Those making the jacket included only the finest materials, and the craftsmanship that you can only find with the most skilled seamstresses.

 

The Chanel jacket will remain a forever classic. It’s as if Coco Chanel wasn’t just designing for her time period, but as if she were predicting into the future. Even after years of Karl Lagerfeld reinventing the jacket, is it still a trendy look for our generation? Yes! If this can look absolutely stunning on Joan Smalls by tieing the sleeves together to create a bustier and skirt, then this is definitely a piece of clothing that every woman should want in their closet.

 note: This is first in a series of blog posts on the Chanel Jacket.  We'll be making one as well and showing the progress along the way.....

1920's Fashion

This is an essay by sewing student, Maya Young,  written for her English Class.  I hope you will be as thoroughly impressed as I am.

1920's Fashion

by guest blogger - Maya Young (age 12)


The 1920's began with the revolutionary creation of a few fashion designers' influential ideas.  This was the era where women abandoned all restrictions.  the concept of no corsets, low waisted dresses, and earning equality with men, ushered the dawn of a decade in which fashion created the modern woman.

Frances Heger Beniades

The fashion of the "Roaring Twenties" started in the City of Paris.  This time period was know as the golden age to many french designers.  Women longed for a more active role in society in the 1920's, and the arena of fashion was no exception.  It was a time period known for great change and creativity.  While a radical change came after the First World War, and transformed the fashion industry, the famous fashion trends of the 1920's did not truly emerge until 1926 (fashion-era).

Women's fashion was inspired by men's clothing of the time.  The style of this glorious time period, liberated from corsets, gave way to a new boyish look.  Women were freed for mobility and action, and began to gain equality with men by cutting their hair short (Everyday Fashions).

One of the most prominent designers of the 1920's was Coco Chanel.  Her signature style was the supple use of Jersey and simple ensembles consisting of a jacket, blouse and skirt (Everyday Fashions).  The masculine look was popular, and soon women would wear trousers, with credit to Coco Chanel ("1920's Flapper").  Other Designers such as Jean Patou and Jeanne Lanvin were also popular with the athletic look ("1920's Flapper).

Maya Wearing a dress she made from a 1920's pattern found on Etsy

The evolution of art and jazz in this period also motivated the fashion of the time more and more.  Art deco became a substantial part of this change, and was heavily influenced by surrealism, abstraction, and geometric forms.

The hats in the 1920's were the most memorable accessories of the time.  The cloche at, as it's most commonly known, was usually made of felt to conform to the head, and was worn low on the forehead.  it was also sometimes made of beads or lace (Cloche Hat).
 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DLDesignsHatPatterns?ref=seller_info

Maya in a hat she made from etsy seller DL Designs

Unfortunately this era did not last.  The flapper lifestyle did not survive following the Great Depression ("1920's Flapper").  The depression and changing times were forging new fashions (Everyday Fashions).  But this iconic time period in fashion lived on, and the idea of modern imperative for freedom and movement continues throughout fashion history.





Citation list
1. "1920's flapper" 1920's women. Last modified 13 March 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flapper

2. Blum Stella. Everyday Fashions of the Twenties. New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 1981.

3. "1920-30." 1920's Women's Fashions and the Changing Role of Women. 2005. http://1920-30.com/fashion/

4. Thomas Pauline. "fashion-era." Flapper Fashion 1920's C20th Fashion History. http://Fashion-era.com/flapper_fashion_1920s.html

5. "Cloche Hat." Cloche Hat, Design, and Lter Fashion. Last modified 9 February 2012. University of Houston Digital Library. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloche_hat