John Redfern/Redfern & Sons, Part 1

July 20, 2015July 28, 2020 / Adam Lid / 6 Comments

John Redfern (1820 – 1895)

One of the lesser-known designers of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries was John Redfern (1820 – 1895). Not a lot of information is out there but here’s what I managed to find out. Redfern was originally trained as a tailor and in 1850 opened a draper’s establishment in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. In 1871, he expanded his business to sell silk and mourning garments. Later, Redfern expanded in offering yachting outfits and other clothing for women, capitalizing on the Isle of Wight being a center for yachting activity. Redfern is credited for being one of the first designers to make tailored clothing respectable for women.

In contrast to Worth who insisted on having his clients travel to him, Redfern established a number of locations close to his wealthy clientele. With the aid of his son Ernest Redfern and an employee Charles Poynter (who later added the surname Redfern to his name), Redfern opened tailoring houses in London and Paris in 1881, followed by two shops in New York in 1884-85, one for tailoring, the other for furs. By 1882 Redfern was successful in becoming Tailors by Appointment for the Princess of Wales and by 1885 had become Tailors by Appointment for Queen Victoria and Queen Emma of the Netherlands, among others. The advertisements below attest to this and in others, Redfern was marketing his firm as being a “Ladies Tailor”.

Advertisement from Vol. V, No. 105 (January 1, 1885) issue of Life.

1885 Advertisement

Advertisement from Harper’s Bazar, November 26, 1887.

Redfern’s forte was tailored garments as can be seen from the September 17, 1887 issue of Harper’s Bazar:

Harper’s Bazar, September 17, 1887.

The three figures in the middle are dressed in the tailored suit style for women that often involved waistcoats, faux and functioning. Redfern helped to popularize this look along with the later “tailormade” style that was to develop in the 1890s. of which the following is just one example:

Bodice Jacket, Redfern, 1892; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (D187.a-c-1974)

The theme of the tailored women’s suit is taken further with this ensemble that Redfern made circa 1887 – 1889. It features two different bodices and an additional front skirt panel. The heavy use of looping braid and buttons takes on a military look, making for a structured look.

Day Dress Ensemble, Redfern, c. 1887 – 1889; Metropolitan Museum of Art ( 49.3.32a–e).

Close-Up of Skirt

And now for the second style. The above bodice could be replaced with a similar one trimmed in a long row of buttons running along each side of the opening. Inset is a one large row of looped braid running down the front.

49.3.32a_B (1)

The second look is interesting in that the bodice has a tail attached to it that spread out to cover the skirt as can be seen below:

The above ensemble is a good example of the tailormade look that was beginning to take hold in the late 1880s. One can see that the bustle is fairly minimal and it’s likely that there was only a bustle pad used underneath.

In the next installment, we will look at a few more examples of Redfern’s work during the late 19th Century. It is interesting that as the 1890s progressed, Redfern would begin to diversify more, creating softer designs that got away from his signature “tailormade” style.

To Be Continued….

And For Another Take On Tombstone And That Famous Gunfight

July 19, 2015May 18, 2020 / Adam Lid / Leave a comment

Today we return briefly to Tombstone through the medium of television and specifically the episode of the original Star Trek television series entitled “Spectre of the Gun.” First aired on October 25, 1968, the episode centered on the inhabitants of planet Theta Kiokis II using an episode out of earth history, the gunfight at the OK Corral, as a means of punishing Captain Kirk for attempting to establish contact with the Melkotians in spite of being warned away by them.

The sets are somewhat surreal with incomplete walls, clocks and pictures that hand in mid-air, etc. because the Melkotians are using Kirk’s thoughts as the basis for Tombstone and the gunfight to recreate them as an illusion. The premise is a cleaver one and one can see it reflective of the spirit of the late 1960s with references to Man’s tendencies towards violence and killing, often for little reason.

In terms of props and costumes, this was no doubt easy to put together since Paramount Studios still had a large collection of wardrobe and props suitable for Westerns (after all, this was the tail end of the heyday of the television Western). Also what is interesting is that while this was filmed on a soundstage, they actually have a live horse or two as background- nice touch that you probably would not see if it were filmed today.

Turning to the costumes, it’s pretty much television B-Western stuff but in context of this being a Star Trek episode, it works. Here are some shots of Ensign Chekhov with Sylvia, the love interest:

We first meet her in a saloon girl style dress that’s right out of B-Western Central Casting. Unfortunately, I could not get a good screen shot of the whole dress but it’s short and the color is appropriately bright and gaudy.

Chekhov with his love interest Sylvia.

Here we see Sylvia in something more demure, a generic bustle dress. Once again, I was unable to secure a screen shot but it’s a pretty generic B-Western look for the 1870s or 80s. Like much of this costuming of this era, the actresses did not wear any period undergarments (like say, a corset) and it’s evident in this picture. The hat appears to be something from the 1930s or 1950s that’s been reconditioned.

Next we have the Enterprise landing party. No surprises here and they’re all wearing the stereotypical buscadero rigs for their guns, a look that was invented for Hollywood in the early 1920s. The web belt on Spock is interesting though- no doubt they all were simply dug out of the prop room with little thought except that they fit.

Now let’s take a look at some of the other characters:

The Earps, from left to right: Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil.

Morgan Earp

Virgil Earp

Wyatt Earp

And of course no gunfight at the OK Corral is complete without:

Doc Holliday

And we can’t forget:

Johnny Behan

Kind of a contrast to this: 🙂

Johnny Behan as portrayed in the movie Tombstone.

And for a few more shots:

Doc Holliday and Dr. McCoy

The “walkdown” to the OK Corral.

Morgan is about to get his chance to settle the score….

The above shot of Morgan Earp, framed by lightning is very effective in revealing his character, a manic individual who is bent on a gunfight no matter what.

The OK Corral complete with live horse as background set dressing. 🙂

Star-Trek-The-Original-Series-DeForest-Kelley-s-script-for-Spectre-of-the-Gun-4

No getting out of it now…

And the fight is on!

From a costume perspective there’s not a lot going on here but as a Star Trek episode, it was imaginative and fresh for the time. In some respects it hits on themes that are still relevant in later film versions of the Gunfight at the OK Corral and the events leading up to it.

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And Now For Something From Charles Frederick Worth…

July 17, 2015May 17, 2018 / Adam Lid / Leave a comment

And today we bring you a little eye-candy from one of the leading Couturiers of the 19th Century, Frederick Charles Worth. As no doubt many of you know, Worth was one of the first Couturiers or designers in the modern sense of the word and gave rise to Haute Couture as we know it today. Although Worth would design individual creations for clients, his primary modus operandi was have his models parade a series of predefined dresses for a client from which the client would make their choice. Trim, colors, fabrics, and even some construction elements might vary but the basic underlying structural design would remain unchanged. Essentially, what the client chose was something that was within a range of styles that were presented to them.

It is also said that Worth deliberately arranged things so that similar dress designs were sold only to clients that were located in different geographic regions so as to minimize the chance that two women would show up at the same affair wearing the same or similar dresses (something to be avoided at all costs). By utilizing this method, Worth was able to give the appearance that each client had bought a unique one-of-a-kind dress but in reality, the selection was based on a relatively narrow range of choices. In many respects, this is way cars (both mass market and high end) are sold today.

Below is a day dress that was designed circa 1890 – 1893 for Katherine Helena (August 2, 1851 – April 4, 1933), Lady Lloyd of the Bronwydd Castle and estate Cardiganshire, whose husband was Sir Marteine Owen Mowbray Lloyd. On June 24, 2014, this dress sold for £6,000 at auction.

Close-up of the front of the bodice. The faux button-fronted waistcoat panels can barely be seen behind the goffered ivory chiffon.

The dress is constructed from bottle green/teal brocade silk satin with Jacquard-woven black plume repeats. The bodice itself of a basque style, covering the hips and with the front extending further down than the back panels which were intended for wear with a bustle. The bodice and skirt have inset faux button-fronted waistcoat panels made from silk ivory satin framed by ivory chiffon that has been goffered (crimped).

The above views of the back of the bodice provides an excellent opportunity to see the plume design of the fashion fabric at its best. One can see that the bodice was carefully matched when the panels were pieced together during construction.

Interior view- The lining is an ivory satin (presumably silk)

From the interior view, it appears that the interior was lightly boned, a construction method that helped to define the bodice’s shape.

The sleeve styling is reminiscent of the Renaissance, especially in the faux slashing. The sleeves exhibit just a hint of the leg-of-mutton style that was to emerge full-blown during the mid- 1890s.

The inner skit is lined with starched muslin back panels and there are internal ties that allow the bustle frame to be securely attached to the skirt. Also, the skirt hem is weighted with large lead weights to keep the skirt in place.

The Worth Label- Attached to one of the waist stays on the bodice.

The above dress is a stunning example of Worth’s work. However, it must be noted that although the auction website claims that this dress dates from sometime from 1890 to 1893, it appears to be closer to the late 1880s in style. The bustle, of course, is the biggest indicator of this, along with the basque-style bodice that is longer in the front and shorter in the rear so as to allow for the train created by the bustle effect.

However, at the same time it could be argued that the “open” bodice with faux waistcoat panels is a style characteristic to the 1890s along with the Renaissance style wide sleeve caps. Below is an example that is similar in terms of the open bodice trimmed with goffered chiffon on each edge.

Day Dress, 1893; Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009.300.838a–c)

And another, from 1899:

Wedding Dress, 1899; Victoria & Albert Museum (T.309, A to B-1982)

So, in the end, it’s the presence of the bustle that firmly places this dress somewhere in the late 1880s or perhaps in the early 1890s (wearing slightly out of date clothing is nothing new either now or back in the 19th Century for both rich and not-so-rich people). Unfortunately for us, the auction site was not able to provide a more specific date as to when this dress was actually constructed nor are there any contemporary photos of the Lady Lloyd wearing the dress so we’re working a bit off of conjecture here. The answer may be out there somewhere and of course we could simply be wrong but I doubt it.

In the end, we have to conclude that from a style perspective, this dress is of a transitional style and give that Lady Lloyd was in her early 40s when this dress was made, it would come as no surprise if she had wanted a dress on the conservative side.

Finally, I leave you with this from 1886, a bit early for the above analysis but yet is has a faux waistcoat…it just goes to show that fashion can not always be neatly pigeonholed. 🙂

Day Dress, American, 1886; Metropolitan Museum of Art (C.I.47.76.12a–e)

Life In The Fast Lane

July 16, 2015July 16, 2015 / Karin McKechnie-Lid / Leave a comment

In our aterlier, we use almost exclusively refurbished vintage sewing machines for our sewing; the old machines they sew much more precisely with fewer issues than the modern ones made from plastic. What is especially a pleasure is that the sheer bulk of these cast iron machines keeps the fabric exactly where it should be and that means less stress and strain for me, especially when I am doing some complicated sewing. Here are some of the machines that we use here…

Singer Model 31-15 (aka, the Tailor’s Model) Sewing Machine- One of the first industrial machines.

Treadling sans shoes…life in the fast lane. 🙂

Early morning “view from here”. All good ideas start from that old clipboard! 🙂

Pretty Little Corsets…

July 14, 2015July 14, 2015 / Adam Lid / Leave a comment

Over the years, some of our work has appeared in various film and television productions. One such item is a corset that we patterned and constructed in association with Clockwork Couture for the Pretty Little Liars 2013 Halloween Special. Specifically, the corset was worn by Lucy Hale who plays the character Aria Montgomery.

It was a black brocade on coutil with a black lace on pink satin shaped flange overlay with jewelled clasps, piped and hand finished with a hidden front busk covered with decorative hinges. It was all done via a remote fitting and we were told the actress wanted to keep it, so it has a good home. Perfect fit…the first time.

Here’s the corset: