Teens

The Walking Suit Circa 1912

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

The Teens Era was a time of fashion transition as styles moved away from the tightly sculpted silhouettes of the 1890s and early 1900s. Corsetry was shifting, placing a greater emphasis on creating a smooth, slender upright profile and flattening the breast line- the “pouter pigeon” look was definitely out- and whether it was daytime or evening, the general silhouette remained the same. 🙂

Teens Era fashion wasn’t just about evening wear so today we present some daytime styles starting with the walking suit. The walking suit represented a major step in the evolution of women’s wear during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Starting in the early 1890s, the walking suit was considered an essential part of a woman’s wardrobe and by the Teens, it occupied a prominent place in fashion. Style details, construction, and fabric varied depending on price point but the objective was always the same- a outfit that a woman could wear out in public that was practical yet stylish. In response to the growing popularity of walking suits, clothing manufacturers produced walking suits in a variety of fabrics, colors and styles. Walking suits became to widespread that even the major couturiers couldn’t ignore it.  We start first with this this circa 1912 walking suit from Paquin:

Paquin, Walking Suit, 1912; National Gallery of Victoria (2015.670.a-b)

Now, we have to admit that this is bordering more on a dress than a walking suit but it illustrates one of the distinctive styles of the era- the faux kimono/robe jacket style. Constructed of ivory and salmon-striped silk chiffon and trimmed with black velvet, this dress gives a practical yet dressed up look and it was a very popular style. Here’s a similar style, circa 1913, from Maison Worth:

Worth, Walking Suit, c. 1913; Metropolitan Museum of Art (1980.16.3a, b)

Unfortunately, it’s difficult to determine just what the precise fashion fabric is but it’s mostly likely a tropical weight wool. The jacket silhouette is more of a robe held together by an elaborate waistband/belt.

Side Profile

Rear View

Here’s a more detailed view of the jacket back:

Close-up of the back.

The above walking suit is Jackets cold also follow a more conventional style such as with this circa 1910 Paquin walking suit:

Jeanne Paquin, Walking Suit, Spring/Summer 1910; Metropolitan Museum of Art (2009.300.474a–d)

The suit follows a fairly conventional silhouette and as with many of Paquin’s designs, it was very practical, especially with the skirt. Although the “hobble style” was coming into being during this period, this dress is open and allows for complete mobility. The fabric appears to be a gray tropical weight wool with excellent drapability- it simply “flows.”

Three- Quarter Rear View

Close-Up Of Sleeve/Back

The cuffs have been artfully cut so as to give the illusion of lace cuffs underneath. Here’s what was actually worn underneath the jacket and note that the half-sleeves. 😉

Close-up of the front without the jacket.

We conclude with a more conventional walking suit style with this circa 1910 suit:

Walking Suit, c. 1912; McCord Museum (M976.35.2.1-2)

This suit embodies functionality with a minimum of trim except for decorative buttons and the double-layer collar. The skirt is also practical, allowing for full mobility. Unfortunately, there’s no indication what the fashion fabric is- it cold be linen, cotton, or even a tropical weight wool.

Walking suits came in a variety of styles with varying amounts of trim and decorative elements but no matter what, the emphasis was on practicality. In future posts, we’ll be exploring Teens Era walking suits further so stay tuned. 🙂


And For Another Take On Circa 1912 Formal Wear

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We haven’t done a lot with the Teens Era lately but it doesn’t mean that we don’t like it. 🙂 Recently, we came across two circa 1912 formal dresses what we thought were spectacular, especially with their use of the color gold combined with gold metallic embroidery to create their effect. Both are dazzling and definitely caught our eye. Enjoy! 🙂

In yesterday’s post, we showed a circa 1912 presentation gown. Just for some variation, today we’re showing a very similar dress style from 1912-1913 by Gustave Beer:

Gustave Beer, Evening Gown, c. 1912 -1913; FIDM Museum

We were fortunately able to view this dress in person and get up fairly close to it. The silhouette follows a slender form created by flat (relatively speaking in comparison to the earlier s-bend corset) corsetry. However, at the same time, the geometric lines created by corsetry were offset by draping on the outer garments which was especially evident with more formal styles such as this one. The upper dress combines empire and kimono style elements, especially with the high waist combined with the loose drape-like shoulders.

This dress is constructed from a gold charmeuse trimmed with gold floral-patterned embroidery. Combined with the main dress is a short overskirt of black silk netting with jeweling, artfully cut so as to end at the high waist, giving emphasis to this area. The arrowhead curves of the outerskirt also points the viewer’s eye upwards; this dress is a masterful example of the use of vertical lines in fashion design. Below are closer views of the netted outerskirt:

Note the v-shaped gold plastron that is placed over the the silk net overskirt that gives further emphasis to the waistline.

Finally, this is a view of the train. It’s been cut in a diamond shape that gives full emphasis to the embroidery design:

In comparison with the dress in the previous post, we believe that this is a more dramatic dress yet both deliver a serious impact that only differs in the cut of the fabrics and the use of trim. Also, while both employ embroidery, this dress does so in a more tidy and controlled manner culminating with the diamond-shaped trim.


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A 1912 Presentation Dress

/ Adam Lid / 1 Comment

Just for a change of pace, today we feature this circa 1912 presentation dress:

Presentation Dress, c. 1912; Augusta Auctions

In terms of general silhouette, the dress definitely follows the convention of the time with its emphasis on a more slender, upright figure. This dress is constructed from a gold silk satin and trimmed with gold lace and embroidery. On the skirt is an asymmetrical fantastical embroidered floral design that curves around the dress front and places major emphasis on the right side.  The dress appears to consist of a skirt that’s been constructed so as to give the effect of a double skirt on the side and has a long train. While the auction house description calls this a “presentation dress,” this could easily be a reception or evening dress of some type. Without more information on the provenance, it’s hard to tell. As with the skirt, the bodice is also asymmetrical with the emphasis placed on the left shoulder to balance the style effect.

Here’s a view of the dress back along with the train:

Here’s some close-up views of the dress that give a good view of the embroidery:

This dress is a good example of a gown meant for wear at the most formal of occasions and definitely displays the early teens design aesthetic. In future posts, we’ll be featuring more examples so stay tuned. 🙂


Nadezhda Lamanova, Part 2

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In our last post, we took a brief look at the career(s) and work of the Russian designer Nadezhda Lamanova as she built a reputation as a designer of Haute Couture for Russia’s upper classes and subsequently reinvented herself as an avant garde designer for the masses in the new revolutionary Russia. Now we’re going to take another look at Lamanova’s designs prior to 1917. To start, here is one particularly striking example of a circa 1910 – 1911 evening dress:

Nadezhda Lamanova, Evening Dress, c. 1911-1912; State Hermitage Museum (ЭРТ-18063)

Lamanova_Green Dress1

Lamanova_Green Dress2

And here’s some details of the embroidered decoration:

The above dress design reflects the shift from the earlier tightly structured silhouette of the S-bend corset towards a more vertical silhouette employing a tubular dress shape. Make no mistake about it, the underpinnings were still there but now the dress flowed loosely in a manner reminiscent of the Classical Grecian Chiton.

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The dress itself is two layers, the underlayer composed of a turquoise/jade green satin and an overlayer consisting of a black chiffon embroidered a floral motif consisting of the flowers and leaves of chrysanthemums. The embroidery itself is in a golden-green silk and gold thread. One can see the combination of different textures, contrasting colors and a separate overlayer with metallic embroidery creates a three dimensional effect to the dress and this is especially evident when one looks at the train. The above pictures simply do not do justice to the dress.

Now, for something a little different from the Mid-1890s. This is a visiting dress that belonged to the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna:

Nadezhda Lamanova, Visiting Dress, c. 1890s; Hermitage Museum (ЭРТ-9404)

 

Day Dress Princess Line Mid 1890s c. 1894-1897 Visiting

Day Dress Princess Line Mid 1890s c. 1894-1897 Visiting

Close-Up

The above visiting dress is from the mid-1890s, most likely 1894-1897 as characterized by the leg of mutton or Gigot sleeve style. Structured as a princess line dress, it was constructed from an ivory/cream-colored silk velvet. The dress features a decorative pattern of lines of green and silver metallic sequins that have been stitched in such a was as to create a vine motif; the vertical lines of sequins suggest some a trellis of sorts which serves to accentuate the vertical lines/silhouette of the dress.

The above examples are a tiny fraction of Lamanova’s output and they reflect the major fashion trends of the times and while much of what she created was fairly mainstream conventional as in the case of the above visiting dress, there were also attempts to push boundaries such as in the case of the above green evening dress. It wasn’t until after the revolution that Lamanova came into her own as a designer, creating ready-to-wear designs for the masses while at the same time creating avant garde designs. Lamanova is a designers that we should know more about.


Nadezhda Lamanova, Part 1

/ Adam Lid / Leave a comment

As with many of our posts, the subject of this one started with one topic but ended with a completely different topic. Initially, we came across some pictures of a ballgown that had been designed in the early 1900s for the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, consort of the Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia. Then, we noted that the designer was a one Nadezhda Lamanova. What was interesting here was that it was both a designer that was unknown to us and even more striking was that she was female. While almost all of the labor force making Haute Couture dresses were female, it was rare that the designer was female, at least before the 1920s.

Nadezhda Lamanova was born on December 14, 1861 in Nizhni Novgorod, Russia and died in Moscow on October 15, 1941 at the age of 79. Due to her parents’ death at an early age, in 1877 she underwent training as a seamstress at the Moscow School of Sewing. Two years later, she went to work for a fashion house. In 1885, she opened her own dressmaking shop in Moscow and successfully built up her business;  until it had become the most popular dressmaking establishment in Moscow. At some point (the translation is unclear), she traveled to Paris and met up with Paul Poiret (hopefully we can find out more about this in the future). Eventually, her work came to the attention to the Imperial Court and she was designated as “Supplier of the Court of Her Imperial Majesty” with her designs being worn by the ladies of the Court and the Empress herself.  Finally,  starting around 1901, Lamanova also designed costumes for theatrical productions.1Unfortunately, there’s not a lot about her in English so we’ve gleaned some of the basic biographical details from a variety of sources.

Надежда_Петровна_Ламанова

Early portrait of Nadezhda Lamanova, date unknown.

Nadezhda_Lamanova_by_Valentin_Serov_1911

Nadezhda Lamanova, portrait by Valentin Serov, 1911.

However, it’s after the Russian Revolution where Lamanova’s career became even more interesting. Arrested in 1919 by the Bolshevik Government (having been an officially designated designer for the Imperial Court could easily have been her death warrant), she was freed by the intervention of the writer Maxim Gorky after spending about 2 1/2 months in prison. Afterwards, she focused on designing theatrical costumes (presumably rehabilitating herself in the eyes of the Bolshevik regime in the process).

The Bolshevik Revolution- Big changes were coming to Russia…

By early 1920s, Lamanova had started designing clothing aimed at the masses, drawing upon traditional Russian dress and even some of her designs were incorporated in an official graphic “how-to” booklet called “Art in Everyday Life” in the form of simple clothing patterns. Below are two samples:

During the 1920s and 1930s, Lamonova’s designs were successfully displayed in various exhibitions outside of Russian and at the same time she continued to design costumes for both the theater and film. Below are just a few examples of her work (one can definitely get a Paul Poiret vibe looking at these):

Outfit by Nadezhda Lamanova inspired by traditional costumes of northern peoples, 1923; modeled by the actress Alexandra Hohlova.

Actress Alexandra Hohlova modelling another dress design by Lamanova, 1924.

Lilichka Brik (seated) with her sister Elsa Triolet in folk-inspired dresses by Lamanova, 1925.

Lamanova fashions from the 1920s.

So, what dress is it that got us travelling down this unusual path? Well, here is is, a ballgown that belonged to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna:

Nadezhda Lamanova, Ballgown, Early 1900s; State Hermitage Museum (ЭРТ-8619)

Close-up of Bodice

Close-Up of the Dress

This is a ballgown that was created in the early 1900s. Unfortunately, specific details (in English, at least) are scanty but based on the dress style, we are probably looking at the 1900-1906 time frame. The dress is constructed from white/ivory-colored silk satin underskirt combined with a white/ivory tulle decorated in sequins, beading and appliques using a floral design motif.  As with any of these dresses, the hours of hand-labor put into the embroidery and attaching the sequins is simply mind-numbing.

This ballgown is stunning and it epitomizes the luxury of the Russian Court. At the same time, know some about the designer, it’s amazing that  Nadezhda Lamanova was able to successfully reinvent herself at a time when anyone with an association to the Ancien Regime, no mater how remote, was suspect and oftentimes a one-way ticket to the firing squad. In the next installment, we will look at some more of Lamanova’s work prior to 1917.

To Be Continued…