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 [...]
French Minister of Fashion While Charles Worth is considered the 'Father of Couture,' it all started with Rose Bertin, the French 'Minister of Fashion.' This was a name given to her by her detractors, but that is because she was a woman and she was powerful. She was ambitious and fashion was her ticket out [...]
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 [...]
Lucy Grows into Lucile Lucy Christiana Sutherland was born in London in 1841. Her mother moved back to Ontario, Canada, after the death of her father. The family moved to the Isle of Jersey when her mother remarried. Lucy married James Stuart Wallace in 1884 and gave birth to a daughter, Esme, in 1885. The [...]
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 [...]
by Donna Klein John Redfern, the Man Born in 1820, John Redfern, was the son of a tailor. His father opened a specialty clothing shop in Cowes, Isle-of-Wight, England, in 1811. John followed in his father's footsteps, opening up a draper's shop in Cowes in 1855. He was in the right place [...]
by Donna Klein At the beginning of World War I, women were still wearing hobble skirts, which allowed for very little freedom of movement. But, as women took to the workforce to fill the void of the men who were off fighting the war, it became evident that the style of the day was [...]
By Donna Klein The Online Etymology Dictionary tells us the word 'corset' comes from the Old French word for 'bodice, 'tunic'. The modern name of corset as a stiff, supporting, and constricting undergarment dates to c. 1795. The first undergarment that is truly considered to be a corset dates to the first half of the [...]