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Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

Fashionable Quote of the Week by Christine Suppes

Posted in Arts, Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on January 23, 2023| 2 Comments »

Photo by Ulysses Ortega.

I didn’t just want to be someone who bought clothes. I wanted to learn about them. So, I collected them, wrote about them, and have had a life of helping to get exhibitions off the ground.

Christine Suppes – fashion collector and the author of the book Electric Fashion (Skira), which is a photo documentary of her couture collection. Photos by fashion photographer Frederic Aranda.

This quote is from the article, The Collector’s Eye, by Alison S. Cohn, in Harper’s Bazaar, Dec. 2022/Jan. 2023.

Suppes, a resident of Palo Alto, CA recently donated more than 500 pieces of her couture fashion collection to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Her donation includes pieces by Christian Lacroix, Yves Saint Laurent, and Balenciaga. (And you heard it here first, in January 2024 the de Young Museum, inspired by Suppes donation, will open a fashion exhibition featuring the legacy of some of the Bay Area’s most fashionable women both past and present.)

As a member of Costume Society of America, I have heard and read discussions about museums accepting fashion donations. Should they? What should they accept? How and where will they preserve the clothing? It goes hand in hand with the general discussion over whether or not fashion belongs in museums at all. The biggest and much debated question – is fashion art?

The truth is fashion exhibits bring in money – especially those that include popular designer names. I would venture so say that a collection of couture clothing would be welcomed at any museum.

When I was in Seattle a few years ago for a fashion history conference, I attended a fashion exhibit at The Museum of History and Industry. This regional-focused exhibit, called Seattle Style: Fashion/Function, highlighted vintage and modern clothing owned by local people mostly purchased from local department stores and boutiques. It was by no means a spectacle exhibit and that’s why I enjoyed it so much. The fashions on display gave us a peek into what the people of Seattle wore in sunny weather and in rain; to the theater; to the 1962 World’s Fair; or just to work and the grocery store. Regional style, dictated by weather, culture, and tradition, is a fascinating subject and as much as I enjoy “big fashion” and the impeccable crafting of couture, I’m also interested in everyday fashion, particularly from past eras.

I’m looking forward to the upcoming de Young fashion exhibit and learning how Bay Area style is perceived.

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When Polka Dot Met Stripes: A Short Fashionable Tale

Posted in Arts, Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

One day something magical happened. Something forbidden happened.

Polka Dot met Stripes and after that, fashionable life was never the same.

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Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Posted in Events, Fashion, Vintage, tagged , , , , , on January 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »

(Love the socks!)

ODFL pauses to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Pantone Color of 2023 is … Viva Magenta

Posted in Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on January 11, 2023| 2 Comments »

Magenta comes from the red family and it is described by Pantone as a shade with “vim and vigor” and is “expressive of a new signal of strength.” Inspired by nature, more specifically the cochineal beetle, Viva Magenta is meant to reflect strength, power, and compassion in our ever more stressful and challenging world. (Click here for the full Pantone blurb.)

Well, it’s also very bright and hard to wear for a lot of us. Still, I see it as an interesting accent color in patterns for dresses, shirts, and accessory pieces such as scarves, gloves, and socks.

To help us incorporate the new color into our fashion, the British luxury fashion retailer N.Peal offers a list of suggestions. Here are a few:

Magenta trousers paired with a fitted t-shirt for a casual look.

A magenta sweater allows us to play with the new color and can be dressed up or down.

For those feeling a little shy about the new color (or you know it’s not right for you), try it in an accessory such as a pair of shoes or a handbag.

Great ideas, thank you!

What to you think, ODFL readers? Will you be adding a little “vim and vigor” into your fashion looks for 2023?

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The Twelve Days of Brooches: Day Twelve

Posted in Arts, Events, Fashion, Mom's Closet, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 5, 2023| 1 Comment »

Well, we are at the final day of our brooch adventure. I have so many brooches we could continue for another twelve days. But we’ll wrap it up with this lovely embroidered bird brooch.

This unique piece belonged to my mother, but she gave it to me some time ago. I have always loved it and I know that she bought it at a shop called White Duck Workshop on College and Ashby in Berkeley. WDWS was a boutique that sold handmade clothing for women. Known for a certain California aesthetic of the 1970s, WDSH created dresses and skirts in patchwork and appliqué corduroy. As times changed, so did their style. I remember by the 1980s they’d dropped the folk patchwork look for the oversized power look of the day, but still keeping the handmade Berkeley aesthetic.

The bird and flowers are embroidered on silk and I think perhaps the fabric was part of a larger piece – a kimono? – and was made into a brooch. Or it could have been a button. Either way, I suspect the fabric is antique. I think my mother bought the brooch in the 1970s or 1980s. She didn’t wear it often and I don’t either, as it looks delicate. But when I do, I pin it to a rust colored sweater that was also my mother’s and one of my favorite sweaters to wear on cold days.

This brings us to the end of The Twelve Days of Brooches. I hope ODFL readers enjoyed the series. Next year we will do it again with another vintage collection.

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The Twelve Days of Brooches: Day Nine

Posted in Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged , , , , , , , on January 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »

We’re coming close to the end of The Twelve Days of Brooches and Day Nine is a nod to the writer or pen enthusiast.

This charming brooch popped up while I was searching through a box of buttons at the Alameda Antique Faire. Since I’m a writer, of course it had to be added to my collection. It is black enamel on gold tone and it has a little rhinestone on the nib (tip). As I said, charming.

I wear this on the lapel of a blazer whenever I’m going somewhere for professional writers, like a conference.

Come back tomorrow for Day Ten and another brooch story.

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The Twelve Days of Brooches: Day Eight

Posted in Arts, Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 1, 2023| 2 Comments »

Mid-century copper brooch.

Hello to Day Eight and a copper brooch. I found this at an outdoor antique market in Philadelphia for $5. It’s not marked but I know from the design and the fact that it’s copper that it dates to the 1950s.

Although sparkly chunky pieces with colored rhinestones are the iconic jewelry look of the 1950s, a more subtle Arts & Crafts style was also popular and copper was the perfect metal for that. There were two companies at the time making copper jewelry – Francisco Rebajes of New York and Jerry Fels, founder of both Renoir of California and Matisse Ltd., based in Southern California. Rebajes sold his pieces out of his store in NYC and Fel sold his work to department stores. Some of Fel’s pieces were enameled, the most recognizable is the painter’s palette. After much success, both companies closed in 1964.

I really like the atomic shape of this brooch as well as the texture. It lives permanently on the lapel of my wool blazer.

It’s January 1, 2023. Here’s to a new year with more opportunities for creativity and growth!

The Twelve Days of Brooches continues tomorrow. Day Nine … what will it be?

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The Twelve Days of Brooches: Day Seven, New Year’s Eve

Posted in Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 31, 2022| 2 Comments »

Victorian glass brooch.

Today’s brooch feels festive and I often wear it for a New Year’s Eve party or some other special celebration. My mother gave it to me and I think it’s Victorian, perhaps crystal or glass. It reminds me of a icicles or a waterfall and since it’s quite large and slightly heavy, I pin it to a coat. An even better place to wear it is on a handbag.

This Corde handbag (circa 1930s), embellished with a Victorian brooch, is just the thing for a New Year’s Eve celebration.

Start the new year off tomorrow with Day Eight of The Twelve Days of Brooches.

Wishing all ODFL readers a happy and safe New Year’s Eve.

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The Twelve Days of Brooches: Day Three

Posted in Arts, Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged , , , , , , on December 27, 2022| 2 Comments »

It’s Day Three and today would have been my mother’s birthday. So, it seems fitting to feature a carved jet brooch. (I recently wrote a post about jet and its importance in Victorian England for mourning.)

This brooch is Victorian and is set in gold. I bought it from a fellow jet collector. She is also the accomplished seamstress and she made my 1831 ball gown back when I was attending formal Victorian balls. It was one of those moments where I saw it and had to have it. No hesitation because I hadn’t seen many carved jet pieces – still don’t. It’s not polished and therefore has a matte finish and since it’s small I liked to wear this with other jet brooches on the lapel of a jacket.

Happy Birthday, Mom. We are thinking of you.

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The Twelve Days of Brooches: Day Two

Posted in Arts, Events, Fashion, Uncategorized, Vintage, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Day Two of The Twelve Days of Brooches is a vintage 1950s rhinestone flower and it has an interesting story.

This brooch ended up with me by mistake.

The year was 1993 and I was working as an extra on the film Golden Gate starring Matt Dillon and Joan Chen. It’s the story of an FBI agent (Dillon) in 1950s San Francisco and a young Chinese woman (Chen). The filming took place in SF and around the Bay Area. I was called in to work as an extra for a nightclub scene in downtown Oakland. What a blast that night was!

We were told to bring our own clothing – anything dressy that would work for the 1950s. Given my vintage collection that was easy for me. I brought a simple column knit dress in black (my mother’s) and a black faux fur coat (luckily, as we worked outside until the wee hours of the morning and it was cold). They gave me shoes, did my makeup and hair, plopped a hat on my head and added this rhinestone brooch to my coat. There were probably thirty or so other extras, mostly men who were cast as FBI agents. The funny part about that was that all the guys had long hair and one by one they got their hair chopped off because whoever heard of an FBI agent with long hippie hair? (Apparently some of the guys, who didn’t have long hair, were found by the film’s producers hanging out at a Frank Sinatra club in the Haight in SF.) It was a lighthearted gathering of extras and we had fun together.

Here are some of us hanging out together waiting for our scene. I am the third from the left wearing my mother’s 1950s knit dress.

My “part” was a woman hanging off the arm of a well-dressed gentleman. We were in a crowd of people finding our way down a dark alley with FBI agents hiding behind every nook and cranny. I decided to play it drunk and that allowed me to make a lot of noise and stumble around a bit. I’m pretty sure you can hear my laugh echoing into the night at the very end of the scene as we went down a few steps and into the nightclub.

There were maybe a half a dozen takes and when we were released at around 3am all of us were eager to go home. No one remembered the brooch on my coat. I discovered it a few days later and even though it’s not something I’d choose to wear, I keep it for the memories of that unique evening.

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