Archive for September 2, 2011
Fascinating Periods in Time
What decade or era do you find particularly fascinating, and why?
Art deco painting inside the Met (IMG_0614a)
The main reason I find any era fascinating is because of the clothes and the art. I am not a history buff, so what happened during these periods (with a few exceptions) is of secondary importance to me.
I love the clothes and the art of ancient Egypt. Of course, people went naked in Egypt, but when they wore clothes (I’m talking about the wealthy) they wore beautiful fabrics and precious jewels and gold. Yup, that’s for me.
I love saris and Punjabi dresses. The fabrics and designs are beautiful, but they have nothing to do with a particular era. Oh, well.
The 1920s and 30s are another favorite era of mine. There was a lot of silk and satin, and women’s clothing was no longer cumbersome and restrictive. Beading and embroidery were gorgeous, jewelry was still made with real precious metals and gems, and leather was leather and smelled like it. And art nouveau and art deco are among my favorite forms of design.
I love the shoulder pads of the 40s and the way stripes were used as accents and matched for perfect right angles on dresses and suits. Plus, the shoes, the shoes, and bakelight jewelry. Fake was becoming legitimate, even though no adult left the house without a hat on. There’s more, but this will be too long if I go on.
My favorite part of the 50s was felt circle skirts and crinolines. So much fun to wear. And even better than that was the sack dress. Talk about emancipated. You could let your stomach relax and not worry about that 18″ waist you didn’t have.
The 60s – Rudy Gernreich with the topless swimsuit and big geometric prints and Mary Quant with the miniskirt and vinyl boots. Synthetic fabrics took over, bikinis, the beehive hairdo, platform shoes, and huge amounts of eye makeup made fashion fun.
For me, the 70s were a costume party, most of it ugly but still interesting because it was creative.
The best thing about the 80s for me were the huge shoulder pads and animal prints. I love to watch “Dynasty” just to look at the outfits, some of which look pretty bizarre today.
I don’t find fashion today very interesting. We are more comfortable, but less colorful and stylish. Not much originality. You have to use your creativity these days if you want to be stylish, and I’m glad there are still people out there who do.
