by Donna Klein Long and Short of Sleeves during the Victorian Era Whether they were short or long or somewhere in between, sleeve styles of the Victorian era created an interesting canvas upon which fashion designers could make a statement. Here are a few examples. Fashions of 1861 from Godey's Lady's [...]
by Donna Klein From Bouillonné to Ruching - gather your ruffles! Ruffles are more than a brand of potato chip. Ruffles have been embellishing and trimming garments for a very long time. There are a few ways to describe ruffles, each with its own nuanced meaning when it comes to design. Ruffles can [...]
by Donna Klein Gloves - a Part of Fashion for Nearly One Thousand Years Gloves have been used by humans for protection since antiquity. One legend relates that gloves have been a fashion statement among nobility since the 11th century when, according to The Evolution of the Glove, “the Doge of Venice, Domenico [...]
by Donna Klein Removing the Cloak from Mantle Whether the word is spelled 'mantle' or 'mantel,' the origin is the same. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, it comes from “Latin mantellum 'cloak'.” By the time it progressed to the Old English, it meant a 'loose, sleeveless cloak.' Whether you talk about a [...]
by Donna Klein The Corsage: Evolution from Body to Bodice to Bouquet What do you think of when you hear the word “corsage?” Most likely you think of a single flower or a small bouquet or nosegay that is usually worn near the shoulder of a woman's dress or on the lapel of [...]
by Donna Klein Nature – the World's First Dyes Before the advent of synthetic dye compounds such as those made from aniline, fabric color came solely from nature; plants, animals, and minerals. Humans have been using dyes to color fabric for more than 2,600 years; the earliest recorded use coming from China. Dyes [...]
by Donna Klein The Seeds of Couture Charles Frederick Worth was born in 1825 in Bourne, England. He was the youngest of five children born to William and Ann Worth and only one of two children (he and his brother) who survived to adulthood. His father abandoned the family by the time Charles [...]
by Donna Klein Redfern - from John to Charles Three years before John Redfern's death in 1895, his sons took over the the company and changed the name to Redfern Ltd. This seamless transition allowed the fashion house to move forward, mostly through the creative thinking of his son, Charles Poynter Redfern (1853 [...]
by Donna Klein Doucet - a Name in Fashion for Three Generations Jacques Doucet may not be a household name anymore, but he was once one of the most prosperous and well-respected fashion designers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Doucet name had been associated with lingerie and fine linen in Paris [...]