Martine Yes, Patricia No
May’s calendar offers up Martine and Patricia (House of Worth, 1950–51) for your delectation. But I am not quite sure what colour they represent: White? Cream? Beige, taupe, eggshell, ecru, eau de nil? They are all lovely descriptions.
I am very sure however, which outfit I would choose if offered: Martine on the left. definitely. That asymmetrical jacket with the dramatic turned-back cuffs on the sleeves is awesome, and the straight skirt versatile. On the other hand, I have never liked strapless bodices, and the whole look Patricia’s sporting with the full skirt is too twee and girly for me. (The gloves are good though, and I prefer Pat’s hat to Tina’s.)
Oh, the illustrations are nice too. May you enjoy a fabulous May!
Autumnal Shades
The April calendar page brings us cherry red outfits, from the Baléares and Madère 1950–51 collections from the House of Worth. I am hazarding a guess that we have here a velvet gown with white embroidery, and a red wool suit with green … paillettes? pompoms? floral appliqués? … scattered all over. Christmas ensembles perhaps? I would choose the suit; the hat looks entertaining too. It would be lovely for autumn. Spring or fall, I hope you have a fabulous April!
Minimalist Modernity
The other day while googling for something, I was once more reminded of the beauty of Mats Gustafson’s watercolour fashion illustrations when one of them appeared in my picture search.
His mastery of the medium is just so sublime, the way he conveys the essential characteristics of garments using such simple, minimalist shapes. Extraneous details such as facial features, garment construction and embellishments, and context are washed away – and indeed are rendered superfluous – with luxurious swoops of his paint-laden brush. What works so beautifully too is his minimal colour palette – his illustrations ultimately just look so modern and elegant.
I also discovered he had another beautiful monograph Mats Gustafson: Watercolors published in 2013, but am weeping because it is currently unavailable to purchase in any form (a fact at which I am not at all surprised – who’d want to sell one secondhand?). You can read a review here. However, in better news, the book he shares with other illustrators Unified Message: Fashionable Photography Meets Drawing is available secondhand (I already own that one and can recommend it).
Scroll down and enjoy!
Lilac Falls
Lilac is the colour of March, which works for both spring and autumn, depending on which hemisphere you hail from. Supposedly it’s autumn here in Melbourne, but you wouldn’t know it from the temperature! It feels like high summer still. Lilac, however, does suit me, a fact I did not discover until the last few years. I always held purple in abhorrence because my mother foisted a little too much of it (her favourite colour) on me when I was a child.
I am enjoying this chic calendar this year. I particularly enjoy the fashion illustrations of this era, the 1930s–50s – the insouciant brushwork is just so elegant. Watercolour was a favourite medium, and is not the easiest to master; the illustrators of this period show an admirable command of it. You can practically feel the weight in the drapery in these gowns.
These gowns are from the Nuit Quisante and Nuit Romantique collections, from the House of Worth, 1950–51.
Have a fabulous month!
A Fashionable Year
Arcadia and Annapurna collections, 1950–51
How fast is this year speeding by? Two months have nearly passed already. It’s frightening.
One of my sisters gave me a calendar for my birthday this year. I was a little anxious because I am very particular about my choice of calendar: printing quality and stock (paper) are as important to me as the images. I couldn’t go a whole year with some rubbishy 120gsm satin stock!
Fortunately my sister chose well: a calendar of the designer Charles Worth’s fashion illustrations from the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum. (The print quality is excellent.) The descriptive text says:
The House of Worth, established in Paris in 1858 by Charles Frederick Worth (1826–95), was the original and founding couture house. A large collection of Worth designs was donated to the V&A by the fashion house in 1956. This wall calendar brings together just a small selection of the 20,000 original designs and sketches, chiefly from the 1950s, now held in the Prints and Drawing department.
Cyclades collection, 1950–51
In fact, the House of Worth was taken over by the House of Paquin in 1950, and the Worth family influence ended with the retirement of Charles Worth’s great-grandson Jean-Charles in 1952. In 1956, the House shut down its couture operations. [Wikipedia]
The 1950s are my second least-favourite fashion periods (many of the fashions seem so restrictive and buttoned-up to me after the freedoms of the 1920s to 1940s). However, the fashion illustrations in themselves are quite beautiful and elegant: graceful with sweeping lines. The Grecian-inspired gowns on the January page are probably my favourite in the whole calendar.
I hope you have all been having an excellent start to 2016. Time, however, is marching on—don’t waste it!