UAF Class

Several years ago, I was an online participant in Tara Maginnis' Costume History Class at the University of Alaska.  I had fun with those assignments and I've saved them from the web site that was part of the class, never quite sure what to do with them.  Now, here they are! Costume History at UAF-Fairbanks Welcome to my little corner of the online Costume History class through the University of Alaska at  Fairbanks. Here you'll find my assignments and class activities.  I'll post links, based on assignments, on my Favorite Links page. See the menu bar at the left! Costume History Assignments Assignment #10 - Imagine you are producing a play ....You have a huge budget, but little time....Describe what you could, and could not, find online. I am imagining producing a play or film version of "Berniece Bobs Her Hair", by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Although I was advised that finding reproduction and vintage apparel for the 1910's and 1920's would be more difficult than Victorian era apparel, I decided to stick with this story.  The challenge sounded fun and I like the story!  As it turned out, there is plenty of reproduction costume from the 10's and 20's and I think that anyone doing this for real would have no difficulty acquiring suitable pieces on fairly short notice. If you aren't familiar with the story, start here: http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/bernice/index.html for the description which follows. "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" was Fitzgerald's fourth Saturday Evening Post story (1 May 1920) and provided the subject for the dust-jacket illustration when it was collected in Flappers and Philosophers. It occupies an important position in the Fitzgerald canon as a witty early treatment of a characteristic subject that he would later examine more seriously: the competition for social success and the determination with which his characters-- especially the young women--engage in it.  The story was based on a detailed memo Fitzgerald wrote to his younger sister, Annabel, advising her how to achieve popularity with boys: "Cultivate deliberate physical grace." (See the complete letter in Correspondence of F. Scott Fitzgerald, pp 15-18.) Fitzgerald had some difficulty bringing "Bernice" to salable form; he cut some three thousand words and rewrote to "inject a snappy climax. " For the complete text of the story go to: http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/bernice/bernice.html I did check out patterns at Folkwear Patterns (http://www.larkbooks.com/home.nav/fw/).  They had several patterns suitable for Marjorie and all her college-age pals. The Tango Dress, Spectator Coat and MonteCarlo Dress all would make up quite well for the young, sophisticated crowd featured in the story. For Berniece, a frumpish, unfashionable young lady, the Armistice Blouse (1918), Garden Party (post-edwardian), and Afternoon Tea Dress (Edwardian) could all be adapted to produce garments for a young lady wearing out-dated hand-me-downs in fabrics that were not very fancy even when new. For other pattern sources, Alter Years, http://www.alteryears.com/info/whatinstore.html, offers what sounds like a great selection, but their catalog is not available on-line, only in hard copy by regular mail. For speed, and for items not found in pattern form such as lingerie, shoes and jewelry, I found quite a few web-sites carrying or featuring apparel and accessories for the 1910's and 1920's.  These would be very good alternatives to making everything from scratch. Some even do make reproductions to order, to your measurements.  Here are a few: Echoes of Time has costumes for sale, but their selection is not pictured on line and you must call for a catalog or other assistance (757-428-2332). Premier Designs, http://premierclothing.com/TheTeens.html, http://premierclothing.com/TheTeens2.html, http://premierclothing.com/1920sDresses.html, offers an interesting selection of reproduction vintage apparel suitable for the eras represented in "Berniece..." . Rebecca's Reproductions (formerly Rizzo's) has an on-line catalog, but it was not working when I went to the website.   http://www.costumegallery.com/rizzos/repros.htm http://ellielaubner.com/20s-cost.htm - A look at 20's costume http://www.vintagegladrags.com/1920s.htm - Glad Rags - vintage costume for several periods - good selection for the 'teens and 20's. http://cvip.fresno.com/~jsh33/roar.html - 1920's website - all aspects of the period! Really cool! www.nightingaleantiques.com/costumejewelry/10067.html - 1920's costume jewelry www.pastperfection.com/ For additional information about costume in the 20's, read: "LADIES FASHIONS OF THE 1920s", written by Carol Nolan - edited by Julie Williams. http://www.murrayontravel.com/carolnolan/fashionhistory_1920ladies.html **************************************************** Assignment Week #9 VICTORIAN DRESS REFORM - Health Reformers Dress reform must be considered a 'modern' concept, coming so late in human history. In the periods prior to the 19th century, the concept of fashion developed and fashion took on its role as an ever-changing factor in human life. Certainly some fashions of those earlier periods prompted ridicule (the hennin), or concerns about safety. Yet not until the 19th century was there ever so much argument in favor of deliberately changing fashion for the health, safety and morality of the wearers. One would like to think that health concerns would have carried considerable impact with the Victorian population. Yet when I read of the many pronouncements against the foolishness of Victorian fashion and look at the near total lack of response to the same, I am reminded all over again of the stubborn nature of humans in general and especially of those overly fashion-minded individuals. Use of corsets to restrict waist-line development began in early childhood. Helen Stern found in researching in turn-of-the-century catalogs that corsets were available starting at ages 4-6, and that young women actually were offered corsets designed to shape them to sizes smaller than they had worn in childhood (Stern, 1). Stern also concluded that after a number of years in such corsets, young women would need to wear them to be able to function, as their muscles had probably atrophied somewhat due to the body always being laced and supported. Naturally, when young women developed this reliance on corsets, the masses would have concluded that it was an inherent flaw in young women, not that the corsets were responsible! All this in the name of fashion. At http://www.shsw.wisc.edu/patterns/discontinued.html, there is a reproduction pattern based upon an 1881 avant-garde gown. Had more women adopted this "artistic" style (as might have the aesthetes and feminists), far fewer women would have developed the typical Victorian health problems. Of course, in that time, men didn't want a strong, healthy woman, or so we're told. The wilted flower of a female kept men secure in their masculinity. The rational dress movement was based upon the idea that one's apparel should not cause one ill health. Although bulky and awkward, bustles did not appear to cause physical harm and could be kept, but undergarments that unnecessarily restricted the waist needed to be eliminated. Heavy skirts needed to have their weight better distributed across the framework of the body, with some of the weight going to the shoulders. Long skirts were hazardous both as debris-gatherers and as impediments to movement. Yet they were not discarded for rational reasons, but rather were replaced by shorter garments as women acquired the freedom to participate in athletic activities such as tennis, biking or skating (Knauff 2). Fashion rules, and has for a long time. Inconveniences such as bulky or heavy hoop skirts certainly inspired some dress reform advocates.  Discussions abounded on the merits of reform for the sake of advancing women's rights. Dress reform took place out of absolute necessity as the pioneers settled the West. But no amount of discussion could convince the truly fashionable heart to give up her passion, regardless of the risks to health and life. Only the inevitably changing tide of fashion could move her out of her hoops and corset, and even then, only for the purpose of keeping fashionable. **************************************************** Assignment Week #9 - MY PROJECT GARMENT Check out my Costume History Picture page for photos and sketches of the garment I've chosen - a 1940's blouse. **************************************************** Assignment Week #8 - Fashion On Ebay I chose to research fashion plate availability on E-bay, the auction web-site. This was a dangerous assignment, given that it involved E-bay, and I must confess, I did succumb to the lure of the sales. It didn't help any that I do so love fashion plates. It was interesting that a search on fashion plate vs fashion plates, note the 's', yielded 39 vs 25 active auctions. Either number was modified somewhat when the china auctions were eliminated, although I learned to my surprise that real fashion 'plates' would also have significant fashion interest. The search also yielded some intriguing fashion related toys. Tomy, a toy manufacturer, produced one or more 'fashion plate' toys, during the 1970's. These were plastic plates of raised images of body sections which could be combined to represent a complete figure. The littler girl would rub a 'magic wand' over a piece of paper on top of the combined plates to produce a fashionably dressed figure that could be colored to suit her. (Yes, I did bid - haven't won yet - will let you know!) The completed auctions search yielded a list of 153 auctions, with china included and no simple way to eliminate those. About 20-25% appear to be non-fashion items. Only about 20-25% of the 153 were completed successfully. The majority ended with no bids. Prices for the successful auctions ranged from -30 with one or two around . In the ongoing auctions, bidding was similar, with only 3 bids showing on 35 active auctions. Prices ranged from to including both seller's requested starting bids, and actual placed bids.  Prospective bidders must exercise caution in the areas of labeling/description accuracy, realistic values, item condition and copies vs originals. Also, if one is looking for pre-19th century items, then it helps to find a way to eliminate more current items within the search. Here are a couple of links to actual ebay pages for fashion plates. The search results as of 4/9/01 at 11:00 A.M. Phoenix time http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?query=fashion+plate+%2D%28china%2Cdinner%2Cporcelain%2Cserver%29&ebaytag1=ebayreg&ebaytag1code=0&ht=1 A 'plate', literally, with a fashion figure painted on: http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1131278971 A fashion plate/engraving labeled as from 1800's. Seller is uncertain as to exact date...I think it might be earlier than her stated "late 1800's". I may have to bid on this one, although I do not know yet how to judge the real value of the piece. http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1422110618 **************************************************** Assignment Week #5 - The Writings of Robert Herrick This will, I think, pretty well catch me up with the rest of you. It feels wonderful, even though it's too late for the deadlines. I may have found a new passion to follow in the writings of Robert Herrick. I was simply captivated by the poems, their imagery and the impact contained within such few lines. At first I was pleased to find myself reading the words of someone who appreciated the mystery and anticipation generated by the wearing of the costume of his era. Then surprised (Clothes Do But Cheat...) by his preference for having no costume in the way of his appreciation of the female form of his mistress. The series ended with his comments that he preferred Art above Nature, that the carefully arranged costume appealed to him. He has run a wide range of emotional responses to the fashions of the day. The overriding desire seems to be for a mode of dress that intrigues without being overly artificial. Better naked, than overly dressed and made up, but if dressed easily, what delight in the wondering. Perhaps these writings only appealed to me because of their simplicity and easy reading, but I think that the deeper images and ideas are a fascinating picture of how far people had come from the nearly-nudist Egyptians, and yet still so aware of the power of a bit of cloth to fire the imagination and the desires. Below are listed the pieces that I read for this assignment. Contemporary texts (Below) Robert Herrick: Delight in Disorder. Robert Herrick. Julia's Petticoat. Robert Herrick. Upon Julia's Clothes. Robert Herrick: The Shoe Tying. Robert Herrick. Clothes Do But Cheat and Cozen Us. Robert Herrick: Upon A Black Twist Rounding The Arm Of The Countess Of Carlisle. Robert Herrick: What Kind of Mistress He Would Have. Robert Herrick. Art Above Nature: To Julia. **************************************************** Assignment Week #4 - Renaissance Costume Movies Better late than never? As I read the movie costume analyses of my fellow classmates, I found myself overwhelmed by the depth of the responses presented. I didn't for even a moment expect to be able to analyze a movie's costumes at that level.  That said, I was comfortable picking a movie which I had seen several times before. I felt that this would make it easier for me to focus on the costumes, rather than the storyline. So, Romeo and Juliet became my target.  Per the assignment, here is my response to/review of Romeo and Juliet. 1. The basic story - boy meets girl, boy loses girl, girl loses boy, families regret their losses. This isn't meant to be a facetious analysis of the film, but to state that this movie, and the Shakespearean work from which it came, is a timeless story that probably has happened, in some variation, regularly throughout history. 2. The style of the film - I don't believe that I have possession of the correct vocabulary for this question. The film strives to be as realistic as our imaginations and our historical knowledge permit. It is often dark, as if to hint at the impending disaster. There are sunny scenes, but even those usually end in tragedy. 3. The extent to which the costumes in the film supported the story - The costume are rich, sumptuous, fascinating. They contribute to the fairytale quality of young people becoming young lovers against the odds. 4. The extent to which the costumes appeared to conform to real images from the past - Parti-coloring was rampant in this movie - very accurate. The gowns were appropriately rich and decorative, and pretty close to correct for line and shape. 5. Why you thought the costumes were successful or unsuccessful overall. The costumes were reasonably accurate for the period, visually appetizing, and very indicative of the wealth of the families involved in the dispute. I want to be Juliet and wear the ballgown. That makes it work for me. **************************************************** Assignment #3 I can recall my own childhood fascination with the headdress known, contemporarily, as the hennin. This must have been inspired by something seen on television, probably something inaccurate in its costume portrayal. What fascinates us about it today? Perhaps the illusion of height it lends the wearer? This would make sense in our current mode of denying the acceptability of our own physical selves. Internet information on the hennin seems to be mostly photos of artworks portraying wearers of the intriguing headpiece, and patterns or instructions for creating one's own. Discussion was limited, as was the lifespan of the hennin, indicated in one source as having been 1430-1470. Did constant ducking through doorways convince women of the folly of the fashion? With apparently no surviving examples of the style, costumers have found it necessary to recreate the hennin based upon artists' renditions and using materials known to have been available at the time. What materials really were used is open to speculation. Hennins styles varied in shape of the base - the 'pointed hat', most memorably seen with veils drooping around its peak; or the 'truncated' version, with a base much like a Shriner's hat. Either version could be plain or veiled. The veils could be supported, possibly by reads or wires, to give effects with memorable names such as 'butterfly hennin'. One notable detail that accompanied the hennin in most paintings was the altered hairline of the wearer. It was during this time that women plucked their foreheads to create a higher forehead, an apparently receding hairline. One final note: in a printed resource I found clarification of an issue only hinted at in on-line articles - the term hennin - inaccurate usage as a name for these headdresses? In the Boucher text, the term hennin is identified as an insult hurled at the wearer's, not a name for the hats themselves. **************************************************** Assignment #2 Seeking out websites for antique and reproduction Egyptian jewelry was interesting and potentially disastrous for the budget! There are many sites with very nice reproduction jewelry. For antique jewelry, the sites exist, but I found myself wondering about the legitimacy of the claimed ages of some of the pieces. As with any form of antique or collectible, you need to research the background of the source and their references! Once comfortable with their credentials, some of these online dealers do offer interesting pieces which might be very nice to start your own collection!