A-line : the history of a shape
When I was a sensitive young teen in the mid-1980s, I would rather have gone to prison than wear an A-line skirt. I’m not kidding. A-line was a...
View ArticleVintage cameras online
Vintage cameras are online and we love it. Old analogue cameras are beautiful. I could stare at them all day. I have a few that I’ve inherited from...
View ArticleThe Bob: history of a hairstyle
The 20th Century bob hairstyle symbolises the independent, progressive and spirited woman. Many have turned to vintage-style bobbed hair to encourage a more daring side of their personality....
View ArticleCorduroy: a complete history
Corduroy is a truly vintage textile of cotton or cotton-mix fabric with a raised, ribbed, sheared surface nap and underlying weave. It is made from woven, twisted fibres...
View ArticleFrankie Manning, swing dance legend
Swing dancing lindy hopping legend Frankie Manning died in 2009 aged 94. His contribution to the swing dance revival of the mid-1980s onwards has made him a legend...
View ArticleDisco: a complete history
Disco music is still enjoyed today in the 21st century, but the flamboyant fashions have been relegated to vintage fancy dress and costume parties. However, disco fashion is...
View ArticleEarmuffs: a fashion history
Did you know that earmuffs are patented? Now, while I’m quite sure that people have been cozying up with some kind of ear protection before America was even...
View ArticlePeople’s Olympiad of 1936 and other great Olympic Games poster designs
The Modern Records centre at the University of Warwick has collected and digitised hundreds of documents relating to the Spanish Civil War, which broke out in 1936. It...
View ArticleOlympic sportswear: a complete history
The first modern Olympic Games under the IOC took place in Athens, Greece in 1896. It was a revival of the ancient games taking place in Greece 6th...
View ArticleFascinator: history of a hair accessory
A fascinator hat is a small ornamental headpiece that fits on the head using an alice-band-type base or headband or even a small comb. It is always lightweight...
View ArticleGingham fabric, a chequered history
From Dorothy’s blue gingham dress to the 1960s mod sensibility to classic vintage styling, gingham fabric is a fashion staple representing different elements of this simple design. For...
View ArticleHarris Tweed, history of a trademark
Harris Tweed is the only commercially-produced textile still to be handwoven and the only fabric protected by an act of parliament. Production of Harris Tweed is here to...
View ArticleImpressionism and fashion
This post explores how Impressionism pioneered the documentation of modern urban life in painting. In a pre-pre-digital photography era, when colour photography was still wearing short trousers,...
View ArticleJodhpurs – a history
Jodhpurs entered Western fashion culture by way of horseriding. They are trousers which are tightfitting with a seam that diverts from the inside leg and ending in a...
View ArticleKnitwear – a history unravelled
Knitwear has been with us for a long time. We need it so much in these winter months. Oh, it can drift in and out of fashion in...
View ArticleLipstick : a complete history
Lipstick is made up of oils, waxes, emollients and pigment. It seems that both women and men have been staining their lips as long as there have been...
View ArticleWhat happened in 1901?
An outline of significant events that took place in the year 1901. Also some galleries of images to illustrate the culture, art, design, cinema, fashion and photography of...
View ArticleWhat happened in 1902?
Do you know what happened in 1902? An outline of significant events that took place in the year 1902. Also featuring galleries of images to illustrate the culture,...
View ArticleModernism
Would you believe that the concept of Modernism in taste and design is a modern idea? Think about that for a second. Surely being progressive is inherent in...
View ArticleWhat happened in 1903?
Do you know what happened in 1903? An outline of significant events that took place in the year 1903. Also featuring galleries of images to illustrate the culture,...
View ArticleThe importance of being Cubist
New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has recently received a substantial donation of Cubist art from Estée Lauder heir Leonard Lauder. Cubism and Impressionism are considered the two...
View ArticleWhat happened in 1904?
Do you know what happened in 1904? An outline of significant events that took place in the year 1904. Also featuring galleries of images to illustrate the culture,...
View ArticleNylon : the birth of a synthetic textile
Without the commercial urge to easily produce artificial silk we would not have nylon in our lives. Personally, I would love to have no nylon in my clothing....
View ArticleNylon, a fashion history
Just how have we got into this yoyo love/hate relationship that we now seem to have with nylon? The answer appears to be in clever marketing which was...
View ArticleWhat happened in 1905?
Do you know what happened in 1905? An outline of significant events that took place in the year 1905. Also featuring galleries of images to illustrate the culture,...
View Article…the future is only the past again…
Born on 24th of May 1855, Sir Arthur Wing Pinero was an English actor and dramatist.
View ArticleVintage Cannes
Quick, jump in the time machine for a little film history tour of vintage Cannes. We’ll be back in time for hors d’oeuvres supper. photos by...
View ArticlePearls: a long history
A symbol of wealth, status and a form of currency. Pearls have never gone out of fashion with the rich. And when pearls were cultured, or even faked,...
View ArticleHistory of the quiff hairstyle
Flamboyant, rebellious and not entirely gender specific, the quiff rolls into history as the rebellious offspring of the pompadour hairstyle. But why do we have a masculine hairstyle...
View Article100 Years of Fashion
100 Years of Fashion by Cally Blackman — a book review 100 Years of Fashion (2012) is a fascinating new collection of over 400 photographs and illustrations,...
View ArticleAlice Guy, cinema pioneer
In which decade was the world’s first ever female film director? Was it perhaps the ’60s? Or possibly the ’20s? No. Try the ’90s — the 1890s. Try...
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