Fox Fur Coat | Shannon Reynolds | c. 1968
This evening coat, with its sweeping proportions and generous use of white fox fur, harks back to 1930s glamour. It was created by respected American designer Shannon Rodgers.
I want this right now. I am so cold.
Charles James | c. 1955 The inspiration for this elegant evening dress probably came from cuirasse bodices and bustle skirts of the 1870s. James was fascinated by the cut of historical dress and explored innovative new forms of garment construction, such as spiral draping. His forte included the creation of luxurious, full-skirted evening gowns. He looked on dresses as works of art, as did his customers. Born in Britain, James (1906-1978) worked as a milliner and custom dressmaker in New York in 1924-1929. In 1929 he opened premises in London, and a Paris branch in 1934. In 1939 he returned to New York and went on inventing and reworking toiles and constructing extraordinary clothes in lavish fabrics for a devoted clientele.
Anna Wintour says that fashion is not about looking back, but about looking forward. I disagree. History shows than all events get repeated once and again, only with different characters. And fashion is not different. A new thing is nothing more than an old thing that got forgotten.
When we talk about other eras’ clothing, we tend to imagine them through the films. And films are not always too accurate I’m afraid. Sometimes they don’t show the real style, but a reinterpretation they make from our time.
That’s why I love so much Defunct Fashion, because, for once, cloths are showed with out any filter. And even if they lose the charm, they win in realism. Let each one decide what they prefer.
Dress | c. 1850
This makes me want to take a ride in a one horse open sleigh.
