That Favorite Dress

I didn’t live in my favorite fashion era, post-World War I to 1925, and I’m very thankful for so many reasons, including penicillin and swimwear. So, my second favorite style period is whatever moment I’m in currently. Yes, the 70’s was my favorite fashion time during that decade, and I was definitely a victim of it. With great joy I rode the wave of mini’s, midi’s, and maxi’s, Granny dresses, plaid pantsuits, suede lace-up boots, platforms, and my “unfortunate disco period.”

Charlie's Angels

 

To revisit all those evolving trends that I apparently enjoyed, I made a list of my “looks” through the 80’s, 90’s, and into the new century.

The She-Man 80’s

With a bit more maturity and self-confidence, I created my own version of the decade of the Iron Woman. Although I avoided the claw-nails, over-done make-up, and giant hair, I admit my mid-decade short bob was permed. Padded shoulders were de rigueur, but my power suit was pin-striped, narrow, and worn with an oxford shirt and man-knotted tie.

Melanie Griffith in Working Girl

Leaving the corporate world for art school and with my overt involvement in the women’s movement now history, I knew my power was on the inside. So I could wear clingy shapes that emphasized my aerobic-tight body, and still feel Helen Reddy’s anthem, “I am woman, hear me roar.”

The All-Over-The-Place ‘90’s

Like every decade, there’s no defining line for fashion change, and my own decade began with some softer, left-over shoulder pads from the 80’s, very short, straight hair, and leggings. That evolved into an odd combination of earthy/preppy, involving Birkenstocks, a Tag watch, and polo shirts. 

This gave way to, as my assistant called it, my “Ojai” period. Oversized jumpers, soft tunics, large ethnic jewelry, and wide pants that a friend described as, “Why didn’t you just come to work in your pajamas?”

The end of the decade brought the beginning of my very short Jackie O era. Since, as a museum employee, I had so many luncheons to attend with designer-clad women, my wardrobe seemed to fill with short suit-skirts paired with interesting jackets I found at the old Loehman’s “Back Room”, actual pantyhose, and “woman politician” necklaces.

The Anything Goes New Century

Several years into the new century, I left the art world job market and segued into animal rescue. When my shelter volunteer’s t-shirt, hiking pants and boots weren’t in use, I now had the time to express my wardrobe even more artistically. Although Jackie O could still be found in some great fitted dresses in my closet, I had the leisure to hand-paint, stencil, or block print fabrics into my own beautiful creations. Downton Abby took me back to my favorite fashion period, and even a Liberty print or two shows up in a few hand-sewn pieces.

The fashion world announced that styles and trends can go anywhere today. Millenials are revisiting the ‘70’s and everything that was old is new again. The 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s are reincarnated by designers everywhere, and women have the freedom to make their own looks without fashion magazines’ dictation.

So, although I really resent that my aging body can’t wear everything anymore and I no longer have Michelle Obama arms to show, this is my new favorite fashion period. I have more restrictions on what I can wear, but, as a textile designer, I always knew that the more restrictions I was given, the more my creativity was challenged. If I was told I could only use three colors in a design, I would mix half and quarter tones of those three colors, and create some of my most inspired patterns. So, today, within the physical restrictions that I impose upon myself, I’m finding much more creative ways to dress that don’t rely on my beautiful young body. The silhouette has taken a back seat to beautiful fabrics, used alone or paired with a luscious contrast, and accessories are even more fun.

Japanese Ikat 100% Cotton

This time in my life has given my creativity a whole new way to express itself, keeping me youthful, but still a bit of an age-appropriate rebel. This is definitely my new favorite fashion era.

   

The Party Crashers - a work of fiction

It was during the heady days before the violence started. When a badge of honor was to be had merely by hearing the words, “get ‘em outa here…get a job, loser!” But how to slip into the party, past the bouncers, unnoticed among the truckers’ hats, beards, strawberry blonde wigs, and over-sized t-shirts?

What if we just covered our own sign to fit in with the crowd until he starts to speak? Then we remove his support cover and wave our own. That seemed easy. And it would involve tape or rubber cement, or something else so primitive that wasn’t even an app for it.

But the last march was a thousand years ago; at least 1973. What would it be like now? The passion is as intense, but it’s about a person, not a cause. Or maybe it is a cause because the ravings against innocent people seem to garner as much support and anger as those who fought us so hard so many decades ago.

Yep, there had been other causes to support: women’s rights, Native American rights, animal rights, hungry and homeless kids, voter suppression, the building of McMansions; even the silly fuss over a Hooters coming to town. But this seems urgent. A demagogue feeding the frenzy of bigotry and xenophobia that surfaced 8 years ago. The fears stoked by an economy that hasn’t completely recovered and by terrorist strikes overseas and in the Republic.

But, what would the younger protesters think of our subversive plan, when, with all their chutzpah, they just throw on a protest shirt and get into the rally? Why were we planning such undercover tactics? Maybe because we’d been watching The Americans too long, and the appeal of covert action was more appealing than the in-your-face methods of our youth.

So, two signs of equal size are ordered on-line. The rubber cement comes out, and the board of one sign is carefully attached on top of the other sign. We’re excited. It’s been too many years, and too much life that pushed action to the side.

The BIG day arrives. We take a bus to the stadium for numerous reasons. Everyone on the bus is a big fan so it’s like a party going to a U2 concert…or maybe more like a Ted Nugent gig. The commotion is huge: a line of devotees snaking around blocks, parking lots, and lawns. Groupies are everywhere with badges on cowboy hats, American flags, the celebrity’s face on masks and hand-held fans, kids in costumes and, of course, those t-shirts, wigs, and zillions of signs.

A large group of protestors is gathered and chanting some anti-hate slogans tossed our way. But, because of our age and color, we fit into the fan crowd pretty well. We just bite our tongues and try to stay cool among talk so different from ours. Finally we’re at the entrance. Security is HUGE, but we lie our way in. The excitement is palpitating: the biggest performance in the country is about to begin! There’s a warm-up show with a preacher and dancing girls. The excitement is getting more feverish, the crowd getting more heated. Hmmm….would we be safe unveiling our true colors? Would our age save us from an angry crowd?

At last the real show begins. He comes out on stage to a deafening uproar of adulation. After minutes of basking in the worship, he finally speaks. It’s now or never. Our hearts are pounding so hard and we’re sweating so much, we pretty much look like everyone else. We glance at each other – now is the moment. The multitudes are so entranced that no one’s paying attention as we lower our sign and rip off the cover.

Up goes our sign and we start yelling at the top of our lungs, “Build Bridges, Not Walls”!!!! Everyone around us starts booing and yelling at us. HE finally notices us and seems genuinely shocked that the blue-hairs in the back are actually protesting him. So, instead of calling us losers, he politely says to security, “please guide the little old ladies out (we’re younger than him)….pick up your Social Security Checks and go home, darlings.”

Well, THAT was disappointing. I guess it’s back to raising hell on-line and in the papers.

  

What Becomes a Classic Most?

The first thing you notice when you drive up to this icon of steel and glass is the view – all of Los Angeles twinkles below you. The L-shape wraps around the pool, and the surrounding panorama is the support for this free-floating span of glass. Pierre Koenig’s Case Study House #22, otherwise known as the Stahl House, arose in 1960 at the apex of what became known as Mid-Century Modernism.

Figure 1 CSH #22 Pierre Koenig 1959-60

Figure 2 CSH #22 Pierre Koenig 1959-60

An American reflection of the International and Bauhaus movements, this more organic and casual form manifested itself in residences that transported modernism into post-war suburbia. Inexpensive steel, open floor plans, and lots of glass brought the outdoors in. This was a fresh, clean look that made room for sculpted furnishings, intense colors, and “atomic” styling’s that looked to a bright and optimistic future; one that hosted the bold, forward-thinking “can-do” attitude of the west.

Figure 3 CSH #8 Charles and Ray Eames 1945-49

Nowhere was this more exemplified than in Arts and Architecture magazine’s 1945 challenge to architects: design an inexpensive prototype of a house for America’s burgeoning middle class. By the time the program ended in 1966, although many of the designs had never been built and many of the houses didn’t move beyond a prototype, architecture and interior design was forever changed.

Figure 4 CSH #18 Craig Ellwood 1956-58

Figure 5 CSH #21 Pierre Koenig 1958

Modernism became a classic. Just as 20^th c. art did, this architectural movement influenced all other aspects of international culture, from commercial projects and industrial products, to film and fashion. And, like other furnishing styles that have become classics – rustic, Neo-Classical, Eclectic, Scandinavian, and so many others – Mid-Century Modernism is timeless. Sometimes it takes a back seat to novelty looks of the moment – remember the big, poufy florals of the 80’s? But it was always there for those who wanted a more pared-down look, and it’s the chameleon that fits into every eclectic interior. It can be a fabulous Danish lamp sitting atop a rustic vintage farm table, or the sleek single-cushion sofa that supports the pillows of antique Guatemalan fabric.

Figure 6 A Beautifully Curated Assemblage

Perhaps John Etenza didn’t know the effect that his Case Study House program would have on the future of design, but its imprint is everywhere, and we love it.  And, thankfully, it will influence our design sensibilities forever.

A Year Gone By......

Yes, it's been a whole year since I last blogged. But, what a busy year it's been! I assisted in the creation of an on-line store, www.santafefabrics.com, and wrote stories, fabric descriptions, and Cookie's blog for that gorgeous website. I also helped women become their most creative selves in the brick and mortar store, and drew many followers on Twitter and through Cookie's witty banter and stylish observations. Sadly, the owners, Nancy and Jack, decided to close the business, and so I moved on to help launch Detours at La Fonda www.lafondasantafe.com, the hotel's new gift store. It carries all the guest necessities ("I need a bottle opener for that Merlot I just purchased"), along with La Fonda Lifestyles, high-end art and much more.

It's good to write for myself again, so I'll update my Facebook page www.facebook.com/StudioLizzy, Tweet Cynthia Cavanaugh@StudioLIzzy.com, and Reggie will be heard from again (he's been very miffed, and his fans have not been happy about his absence).

And, since I'm also looking for those perfect writing assignments, here are some examples from my very eclectic portfolio.

The keys are clicking again!

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Lunchtime Letter

My Darling Peach,

You and your partner were the chosen ones.

So huge and gorgeous, nestled in your little carton

near the late summer melons and early fall apples.

I placed you gently into my basket and nudged you

around so the onions, pinto beans, beets, and roasted chilies

wouldn’t bruise your tender skin

I knew you weren’t ready, so you sat in a plain brown bag

in my kitchen for a few days.

I’ve had my lunch of earthy quinoa salad from Real Food Nation,

and the last of the glorious tiny cherry tomatoes, so sweet,

they burst on my tongue like exploding sugar balls.

Wouldn’t anything after that be really anticlimactic?

But there you were, filling the house with your heady perfume.

So huge I’d have to cut you in half with no one to share you with.

Peeled, sliced, and laid out in jeweled slices,

one bite sent all cherry tomato memory into orbit.

Your days in paper bag seclusion released all your musky sweetness.

You’re so good, you don’t need a pie or tart to add to your pure,

luscious magnificence.

Memories of long-ago evenings of mom’s canning from the Little

Tree in the Yard fill my mind with every bite.

You are the essence of summer, my darling.

Thank you for sharing yourself with me.

All my love,

-C

Cynthia L. Cavanaugh 09/10

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A fabric description for www.santafefabrics.com by Cynthia Cavanaugh

A Devore Velvet Coat from the 1920's

Fukeiga Devore Velvet

65% Rayon / 35% Silk, 42-44" wide
Fukeiga, or Japanese landscape, is beautifully rendered in this sumptuous burnout (or devoré) velvet. The sheer dyed scene in soft, subtle colors sits next to the gorgeous black velvet. This treasure reaches back to the popularity of devoré in evening coats of the late teens and early 20's: think Fortuny and Callot Soeurs, and wraps, opera coats, or jackets...

.....or, if you're very at ease in your own skin and a little adventurous, consider separating the two landscape scenes into pieces with sheer areas placed wherever you're comfortable. A form-fitting dress with each fukeiga running vertically down your sides, or fitting snugly in a horizontal placement ever so strategically...
...or fabricate your piece on the diagonal to float this scene around your body.

This work of art could be executed in your own art piece: an evening wrap, vest, or shaped jacket in its most elegant form. The black ground with softened shades would be the star of any night out.

Have fun with your own work of art! A Cookie Favorite

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A page from a lecture for on-line class at CSULB
Cynthia Cavanaugh, Instructor

COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT

MODULE 3: CARE AND STORAGE

Class Eight: Exhibition

Introduction

The size and type of institution that you work for will dictate your involvement with exhibitions. Your institution might not have exhibitions at all; but you might loan out your pieces to other institutions for exhibition. In that case, you might need to courier the art to its destination.

You might work for a very small institution where you “wear many hats” and will act as Curator, Registrar, Collections Manager, etc. In that case, your roles will be very broad.

You might work for a large institution that does exhibit, but has many departments involved, and so your role is strictly in Collections Management.

In this last lesson we’ll deal with both the first and third scenarios because both of those cover the second scenario, that of a small institution, as well. Please refer to your hand-out, “Exhibition Protocol”. This is a protocol that I collaborated on with Conservation to clearly define everyone’s role within our department, in the installation and de-installation of an exhibition. I think that the role of the Collections Manager (in this case called Collection Administrator) is fairly typical of what you would find in most large institutions that handle exhibitions.

Also, this last lesson is all about your organizational skills. You have learned about the hands-on aspect of Collections Management, and you’ve already started to organize your own files with many of the sources that we’ve made available to you to refer to in the future. Your involvement with loans and exhibitions calls upon the handling skills you now have, and will, develop. But, more than that, if you are already a very organized person, that will greatly enhance your ability to handle the intricacies of art movement. If organizational skills are not your greatest asset, now is definitely the time to work on that!

In this class we’ll talk about:

• Loans
• Collection Manager as courier
• In-house exhibitions
• Record keeping

Required reading

1.         The New Museum Registration Methods pages 189-191, 151-155, and 355-358.

2.         Hand-out: “Exhibition Protocol”.

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A fabric story for www.santafefabrics.com by Cynthia Cavanaugh

Making Mali Mud Cloth

Mali Adventure, Day 4 –Djenne′

Sitting here in the cooling shade of a café by the River Bani, it’s hard to imagine that this bit of oasis is in a place of so much sun and so little water. But this is a small, moist corner in a country made more of sand than of green.  Along the Saharan trade route through the millennia, this country of empires that have come and gone, Moroccan and sub-Saharan influences, French colonization, where Tuaregs and their camel caravans can appear unexpectedly on the horizon; it’s a surreal landscape. Along with the official French, Bambara, Dogon, Songhai, Bozo, Fulani, and Tamashek can still be heard in the marketplace where slabs of freshly caught fish lay by baskets of gloriously colored vegetables, the ever-present rice, and beautifully patterned cloth. In this town of mud houses, goats everywhere, the Great Mosque of Djenne′, and 3 hour tea rituals consisting of two pots of water and lots of sugar and mint, are beautiful, gracious people.

Tomorrow, Timbuktu!! But first….a purchase of Malian Mud Cloth.

  

A country of few resources, but with a rich history of music and art, young men are continuing a textile tradition that reaches into the balance of water and soil that is so indigenous to Mali. Bo`go`lanfini or bogolan cloth is a coarsely woven cotton cloth set in a yellow dye that is then removed to reveal clean, simple black and white designs that have been painted over the yellow. The dyes of leaves and bark are used to create the gorgeous earthy colors of this striking fabric. Each piece is a work of art, with simple geometric designs that echo the stark beauty of this harsh land. Perfect hung alone on a wall or as a beautiful floor statement, it can also be adapted to wear over other softening fabric. And with big chunky necklaces or a band of silver or gold African bracelets….magnifque′.

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Downton Abbey Season IV

Six months after Downton Abbey's great tragedy, Mary is mired in grief and the estate is engulfed in death taxes. As the family struggles to lift their financial and emotional woes, clashes arise, sparks fly, and it is up to the older generation to bring Mary back to life, and Robert to his senses – no easy task in either respect. Another departure leaves no tears in its wake, but rather opportunity for new faces – and drama, alliances, and sparks of an entirely different sort – below stairs.

Downton's youth are drawn, as most people are, to glamorous jazz clubs, and a sparkling literary scene and social change sweeps its way up to the venerable estate.

Fashion in 1922-23 carried on the "boy" look of straight lines, flat chests, and no hips. Skirts continued to rise, the cloche style hat took hold, and drape and bias created the silhouette of evening wear.

 

Chanel 1922-23

Paul Poiret 1922-23




Fashion illustration became more and more creative, with art movements continuing to influence styling, making some illustrators almost as famous as designers.

Arte Deco Cloches

Sonia Delaunay

Georges Bibiet

Pret-a-Reporter interviewed Downton costume designer, Caroline McCall:

When we first met Lady Edith Crawley (Laura Carmichael) in 1912, she was Downton Abbey’s irretrievably dowdy middle daughter. She was nowhere near as vibrant as her impulsive and fetching younger sister, Lady Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay). And she certainly did not reside in the regal realm occupied by her older sister, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery).

But among the many intriguing surprises in season four of the PBS hit drama is the emergence of Edith as a comely independent woman. Not only is she openly having a relationship with a married man, she also is taking risks with her formerly staid wardrobe.

The show’s costume designer, Caroline McCall, who spoke to Pret-a-Reporter, sees Edith blossoming into a fashion flower. "Edith has never been completely confident in her own skin. When you feel like that, you tend to dress the way you want other people to perceive you," said McCall. "She was hoping that various men would find her appealing. She wore clothing that was a bit too old for her when she was engaged to an older man. And when she was attracted to a farmer, she began to wear farming gear. Then she dressed more nurse-like at the hospital."

 

McCall added: "This season, she’s already met a man she’s attracted to, so when she gets to London -- away from the bleak sadness at Downton -- she dresses very differently."

 McCall feels that the Downton women's change of clothes telegraphs the characters' arcs, explaining: "We are watching Edith and where she is going in this new age of more apparent freedom for women. Rose (played by Lily James) is finding her way in the world and she is of a new generation that is much more frivolous than generations past. Even Anna’s (Joanne Froggatt) clothing, because of the situation she finds herself in (reflects the tension and sorrow of her story-line). When something like that happens to you, it’s the natural thing to try to cover yourself up."

 Season four goes from 1922 to 1923, opening six months after Matthew Crawley’s (Dan Stevens) sudden death. The Downton women -- but not all of them -- are beginning to move from full mourning black to half mourning hues like lavenders, purples and grays, even black and white.

"Victorian tradition meant that the widow would stay in mourning for a year. Queen Victoria actually stayed in mourning for the rest of her life. After a year, women could move into mauve gray, black and white," said McCall.

 McCall stayed true to the early 1920s sensual and sleek bias-cut silhouettes, the result of an intense period of post-WWI creativity from European designers.

"It wasn’t until 1926 that the flapper look actually came into vogue," said McCall. "In the early '20s, there was an explosion of designers like Lanvin, Coco Chanel, Madeleine Vionnet and Paul Poiret, who were tremendously inspired by global influences."

 

True to form, Young Lady Rose continues to favor pink hues and is keeping up her image as a fashionable pretty young frivolous thing, shocking the family further this season with her attraction to a black nightclub singer.
 

But even the indomitable Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) lightens up this season. "Her look is based on Queen Alexandra, who was a contemporary of hers. Throughout her life, she kept the same look -- the nipped-in waist, high-neck collars and beautiful hats. But now the fabrics are getting softer and lighter. Even her hats are lighter and less fussy. For instance, we put a sheer fabric -- a lace or net -- on her chest, in between the dress and the choker."

 Lest you think that McCall simply pops into London costume houses such as Angels and Cosprop for delicate vintage costumes, be advised that there is precious little vintage clothing left intact. She usually has to design a dress around a bit of vintage beading or lace she finds tucked away in a shop.

For instance, the “Beadith” was born from a small piece of original beading. And the coral dress Edith wears in episode two was fashioned from a dress that was literally falling apart. "We re-created it from a part of the original," said McCall.

So, whether the story-lines of Downton retain much depth or not, the costumes and set designs continue to fascinate and provide a good reason to continuing watching this series.

 

That 70's Girl.....and 50's, 60's, 80's, and 90's

This Spring's fashion line-up is all over the place with no specific trend. This is refreshing because any individual look goes. Designers are reaching back to previous decades for inspiration (what else is new?), but this season, and maybe this decade, hopefully, women won't feel enslaved to a particular style trend. Of course, the confident, secure woman is never enslaved to any one "look" or designer.

Sweet 1950's shows up along with the va va voom of the Eisenhower years.

Swinging 60' miniskirts, Carnaby Street, and rock 'n roll are revisited for young long limbs.

The mini that continued into the early 70's adds the hippy/ethnic vibe that carried the decade into disco - a decade that never needs repeating, please.

If anyone wants to throw in some shoulder pads, leg warmers, or Spandex from the 80's, feel free to make any combination today. Remember the excess and the big-shouldered "I Am Woman" period?

Armani 1984

Zandra Rhodes 1981

If the Grunge and Heroin Chic looks of the 90's are still appealing, incorporate them into 2015 and listen to Curt Cobaine, Madonna, Hip-Hop......

When history looks back at this time, will it be able to define this moment by a trend? What are the silhouettes, colors, skirt lengths, pant lines that identify the 2010's?

 

Now for some pieces that, with an endless clothes budget, would find themselves in this Cavanaugh's closet.