On this picture dating back to 1917, one can see the writer Marguerite Radclyffe Hall (standing up, on the right), with her partner Lady Una Trowbridge. Athough they both wear a skirt or a dress (quite short), they strikingly challenge gender norms. M. Radclyffe Hall in particular wears her hair extremely short, even for the 20’s, with a black jacket and a bow tie, while smoking. This style might have been enabled by the the emergence of a more androgynous silhouette in the 20’s ; but more importantly, the two women were living together and not hiding the fact that they were lesbians. In the coming year (1918), the author was indeed going to publish The Well of Loneliness, that would be subject to an obscenity trial.
Besides, it seems to me that the materials and clothing one can see on this picture is quite representative of the late 20’s style, or at least the one of the upper classes : their jacket and dress are covered with abstract or decorative art patterns, while the leopard blanket and the floral silk pillows evokes the Orientalist influence.
I am interested in this photo because it shows how clothing have been used to question gender stereotypes and gender divides, even in a context of social reprehension, like in the UK during these years. It is a context that I don’t know very well (interwar period in England), and that I would be happy to discover.
Although in terms of aesthetic the garments they wear have little in common with my my own work, I think that the overlapping of the individual, of its gender and sexual orientation, of its social class with the overall political, historical and social context must always be
This picture of 1922 features an outfit designed by Poiret, that will have a long lasting success : the harem pajama, mostly worn in the evening. On the picture, the model (I don’t know who she is, but I saw her wearing others of Poiret’s dresses) stands up, her legs spreads, almost in a ‘fight position’. She is young, smokes, has short hair, and a slim, sporty body. She embodies the modern women, whose style is promoted by Poiret in the early 20’s before that it became Chanel’s prerogative. She wears a pants, which little by little becomes acceptable for women.
The pajama, or harem pant is a key piece in Poiret’s career. It was originally inspired by Leon Bakst costumes for the Ballet Russe Sheherazade (1910), and dominated in collection of 1911. Ten years later, it is still here, which shows the importance of the orientalist trend in Poiret’s creation. But if this design controbuted to Poiret’s fame, it may also bee seen as a symbol of his fall : indeed, it was, wit the lampshade dress one of the design that was copied numbered of times in the United States.
The interior is interesting as well. It is obviously a Parisian one, probably Haussmannian, and the numbers of decorative objects reminds of Poiret’s effort in order to link is work to other decorative and art fields. The fact that his new collection is photographed also reminds us that photography is becoming a more common means of advertisement, slowly replacing illustrations.
When I saw this picture, I was immediately struck by the style of the women and the determination in her glance. I didn’t know much about Poiret’s design until recently, and studying this picture would probably enable me to look at this topic more deeply. Besides, I am interested in dance and in the exchanges between fashion and costumes, or fashion and other arts in general – the collection I am designing for my Visual Communication class is costume collection.
This screenshot shows one of of the first scene of the 1973 movie La Maman et la Putain (The Mother and the Whore, directed by Jean Eustache. The four characters are teachers on their way to the History of Arts University, in the Latin Quarter.
They wear very typical clothing of the period : flare pants or jeans, long coat and opened flowery shirt for the woman on the left, and the man on the right has long hair. It is only 4 years after 1968 and its May revolution, and the filmmaker encapsulates the spirit of the time. The academics environment got rid of the past rigidity, and this impacts fashion style, that is much more casual than it used to be : no more tie or suit for men, pants for women or casual skirts. It is also the ‘Saint Laurent years”, who proposes an empowering style to women. And indeed, we have working women on this image, walking with their men’s fiend, which put them on an equal footing. The setting is also a good indicator of the period, and of the casual, relaxed atmosphere : a motorcyle is parked on the side, and although we really see it because it is black and white we assume that it is sunny (two of them wear sunglasses).
This picture is interesting to me because it shows us what ”street fashion” really looked like at the time, instead of showing us models or aristocrats. Yet, the people featured are supposed to be part of the young, intellectual, Parisian elite. Besides, the fact that it is a movie scene is interesting to me : these are not real people, but a representation of what the filmmaker had in mind of this era ; which makes it even more mediated than a ”real” street style picture. Although this is not really the kind of pieces I usually create, I am interested in studying this period (the early 70’s) more in depth, and to see how social changes impacted fashion. Last but not least, I used to go to school – middle-school and high school – at the corner of the street, so it is a lot of memory that come back when I look at this image, and watching the movie made me discover what it could have been to live in this same area 30 or 40 years later.
