Analogue Chic

Archive for the ‘Textile Addiction’ Category

A friend recently asked me my opinion on tie-dye.

I'd like your opinion on tie dye. Not like neon yellow and green and all, more subtle, black & white and I suppose more on the batik end of the spectrum than grateful dead, if that makes sense. 

Happy to oblige!

Tie-dye lost its charm for me immediately after the Woodstock commemoration in 1994, when I was in 7th grade.

Recent sightings on yoga wear and ladies’ casual clothes have provoked nothing but a violent gag reflex.

Thou shalt not. Ever.

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Prom Season is open! Be an eco-prom queen, or king!

The Community Service Club of New Fairfield is hosting a prom dress re-sale. They are accepting formal dresses less than 5 years old, which will be on sale at their Pretty for Prom Gown Sale, March 12th in New Fairfield.

All proceeds from the gown sale will be used for the CSC's Kids Dress for Success campaign, which provides school supplies and cold-weather gear for underprivileged kids in New Fairfield.

I will be on hand for FREE mini style consultations, and I'll also display my upcycled accessories and vintage handbags for sale.

Free DIY Fashion Parties for local high school students!

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Here's the latest installment of my monthly series, "Tute Review".  I review DIY fashion tutorials and how-tos from all over the web, let you know how user-friendly they are, and show you what I make. Hooray for arts & crafts!

This month, for your craftin pleasure, I'm reviewing this drapey, no-sew top that I've had bookmarked forever…

No-sew wrap top

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Fitting right in with my post earlier this week, this new coat offered by Garmz is very 18th century.

Image via American Duchess

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This weekend I went to a presentation at the Danbury Museum about shopping habits in the U.S. in the 18th century.  Due to some technical difficulties, I found myself huddled around a laptop with half a dozen women history buffs, looking at newspaper ads from 1774 and chatting with Fran Hendrickson about fashion, commerce, and dancing. Around us glittered the sparkly, woolly, colorful wares of the museum gift shop and Holiday Bazaar.

Fran is fascinating: a musician, historical reenactor, dance instructor, publisher, researcher, she’s also the former director of the Danbury Senior Center.

Image via Project Gutenberg (click through)

I honestly had so much fun “geeking out” about bum rolls, umbrellas, aprons, pompons, minuets, and puzzling over the mysterious vocabulary and pre-standard English of the newspapers.

You can read my article in The Mercurial about the presentation.

Here are some of my favorite visual sweets to indulge your love of 18th century style:

UK-Nigeria textile artist Yinka Shonibare, MBE

Ingrid Mida’s blog

Marie Antoinette’s “official” blog

These amazing paper wigs

This music video

Sophia Coppola’s M.A. movie, of course

The Duchess of Devonshire’s biopic

UPDATE 12/27/10: I was just going through my Inbox and found this photo from Daily Fashion Report on the Spring ’11 Pierre Cardin show.

Photo: Randy Brooke

Saturday night my husband and I trekked up to Hartford for the Forgeries art auction, to benefit the Charter Oak Cultural Center.  If you've been following the blog, you've surely seen my cryptic posts about a "mystery project", which I revealed last week.  My baby was auctioned off at Forgeries, with proceeds benefiting the Charter Oak's youth arts programs.

The premise of the call for donated works was to select one of 10 masterpieces to copy or interpret in one's own style.  For all my fans who've been dying to know for sure, I worked from Divan Japonais by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

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Are you, like me, completely skeeved-out every time you are forced– either by budget or retail availability– to buy yet another cheap garment that you just know was made in seriously reprehensible conditions?

Are you, too, wondering whether that "eco-friendly" pair of jeans is not laden with toxic chemicals and sewn by a child slowly going blind in a dark sweatshop?

Now, there's a solution.

Last week, Fair Trade USA announced the launch of its certification program for textiles and apparel.  The sole third-party certification organization in the US will be auditing and certifying raw material producers as well as cut-and-sew manufacturers that import to the US.

For the first time ever, two points of the supply chain – cut-and-sew workers and cotton farmers – will benefit from Fair Trade premiums. U.S. companies that source Fair Trade Certified apparel will pay a percentage on top of the cost of the garment as a Fair Trade premium, which goes directly to factory workers who decide democratically how the funds are spent. Additionally, cotton farmers will earn a guaranteed minimum price and Fair Trade premium to invest in community needs such as schools, health centers and infrastructure.

This is a major step to bringing accountability to the garment trade, as apparel lines from high end to mass market have latched onto "green" as a selling point, with no way for consumers to investigate their claims.

Via EcoSalon

Read the original press release from Fair Trade USA, here.

You can also read previous posts in which I rant a bit about fiber production and sustainable fashion.

Check out these fashion and textiles exhibits on the West Coast!

At the DeYoung Museum of Fine Arts

To Dye For

July 31, 2010 – January 9, 2011

Textiles and apparel featuring all types of resist-dyeing methods, from ancient to modern.

 

 

At the Museum of Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising

The Art of Television and Costume Design

July 27, 2010 – September 4, 2010

Emmy-award winning costumes and a Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland special exhibit.

Also check out The Annette Green Perfume Museum on the 2nd Floor

 

Via CANBlog

 

Also be sure to check out my other list of fashion exhibits in the US and Europe this summer, here! 

Have you visited any of these exhibits? Tell us what you thought and send in your photos!  Leave a comment below, or email me, Allie {at} AnalogueChic {dot} com.

 

New listing under Fashion Exhibits to See This Summer:

And while fashion exhibitions can be challenging to the imagination—how often have you been to a museum where it seems like they’ve just hung a bunch of dresses on mannequins?—this show comes alive with the help of legendary fashion photographs taken by the likes of Cecil Beaton and Richard Avedon.

Woah.

Quote and images via Racked.

Hello there,

‘Twas just a garden in the rain…

A misty-moisty morning to visit the wedding dress exhibit and flower show at the Danbury Museum on Saturday.  Lovely plants and beautiful dresses, unfortunately served to highlight how badly the Museum needs better exhibit space.  So donate generously!

You can read my write-up, with photos, over at The Mercurial.

[Updated June 15]

It’s more than just "here’s a bunch of clothing from our collection"– it’s a really illustrative survey of what women from this little part of Connecticut were wearing on their wedding day.

I’ve been informed by Museum staff that, with the Flower Show completed, some dresses will be coming out of the glass cases and onto dress forms, with some other items also going on display.  I was just cringing looking at some of those heavy dresses on hangers, and the trains folded up in the case.  It will be great for visitors to get a little closer to the details.

Having been involved with several small museums in Connecticut, I completely understand the limitations of funding on everything from roof repairs to paperclips.  The Museum is quite proud of the recent renovations to the central building, Huntington Hall.  I’m sure it’s a vast improvement on its previous setting.  On a personal note, I just have to say the style of the building is quite a visual jolt when you see it surrounded by the historical buildings and garden.  A building with flexible exhibit space, with climate control and adaptable lighting, on one floor, and offices, etc. on a separate floor, in a more harmonious style on the exterior, would be an ideal starting point for tours of the rest of the buildings.

So again, visit often, and donate generously!