The Authentic Artist Myth
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012My Godmother sent me this brief article on David Hockney’s withering opinion on artists such as Damien Hirst who rely upon assistants to “do the work” — Hirst has only painted five of the 14,00 in existence, and he was quoted as saying that many of his spot paintings are produced by others “because [...]
APEC “Silly Shirts” – Inappropriate or Awesome?
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011I read with some interest the Times article Obama Says Forum’s Costume Photo Is Unnecessary. This refers to the tradition of the 21 members of the annual APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) forum participating in what has unfortunately been dubbed “the silly shirts photo.” Past photo-ops “have included ponchos and what looked like gowns for [...]
Detectives and Gumshoes
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011Even with all the terrific, stylish, contemporary dramas out there, sometimes you just need to pick up an old favorite (there’s a metaphor for a comfy pair of beat up jeans somewhere in there). To wit, I’ve recently revived my Columbo viewing.
Peter Falk as Columbo (1971 – 78; 1989 – 2003) is always deliberately disheveled, [...]
Steal this Style: Yippies and Political Fashions!
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011I assume readers will agree that apparel can be a powerful tool of political and social dissent, such as the Communist / anarchistic subtext of Surreal fashions (see my earlier post). Costume has likewise been leveraged in political upheavals many times; for example Caroline Weber recently illuminated fashion politics in the 18th century with her [...]
The Vulnerable Neck
Monday, September 12th, 2011In trolling through all the mountains of Fashion Week photos several seasons ago now, I stumbled upon Todd Lynn’s Spring and Fall ready-to-wear collections for 2011. They caught my attention because, unlike the standard erogenous zones, these focused on the neck — that is, the neck was almost always covered or partially obscured. Stiff collars [...]
Collecting Clothes with a Conscience
Tuesday, August 30th, 2011Earlier this summer I watched the tremendous documentary Herb & Dorothy (2008) which follows a ridiculously adorable, now elderly, couple (Herb and Dorothy Vogel) who started collecting art in the ’60s and amassed one of the finest and most extensive of modern and contemporary art in the world. The twist here is this: Dorothy was [...]
Lucille Ball, Style Icon… In Spite of Herself
Tuesday, August 16th, 2011This recent August 6 would have been Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday (1911 – 1989), and crowds of impersonators showed up to celebrate in her hometown, Buffalo, NY. There were polka dot dresses, garish red curly wigs, and red lipsticked lips galore in attempts to emulate the comedienne:
Though this ensemble became iconic for the woman (even [...]
Codes of Dress: Inclusionary or Exclusionary?
Monday, August 1st, 2011As most fashion historians (and, I would wager, even most non-fashion historians) accept, clothing is a clear way of identifying oneself as part of a culture, a sub-culture, a tribe. Most of the time, we think of these tribes as unifying, identifying people who listen to similar music, hang out in similar venues, perhaps come [...]
Hair Textiles and Gaga
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011We all know Gaga loves her wigs, but she also dabbles with clothes that resemble wigs, as with this LaVer dress she recently wore to a taping of The View:
Gaga on The View, May 2011
LaVer couture hair dress, 2010 collection
Since medieval times, locks of hair have been given to lovers as amulets, and [...]
Mixing and Matching Men
Tuesday, July 5th, 2011A couple months ago I found myself in Phillie for a family event and I was delighted, not only to spend time with my awesome extended family, but to visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Always a favorite of mine (I think they’ve corned the Duchamp market), they also happened to have multiple fashion exhibits [...]
