While you won’t find me in the audience for The Great Gatsby I would still like to share this with you!

‘If you’re seriously committed to getting the look, then we have the ultimate investment piece:Tiffany & Co’s headpiece ($200,000) was crafted exclusively for The Great Gatsby.’

c. 1902

Met

The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity.  ~Walt Whitman

The Answer by Reggianini 

Above left is a Straw bonnet with silk pleated lining, circa 1830, from the Old Sturbridge Village collection.

I love this behind the scenes photo.

The gown is said to be worn on a hoop with a 190” circumference.

Charles James (American, born Great Britain, 1906–1978)
c.1954
Oh my goodness you guys the colour!

The Met says: Charles James produced some of the most memorable garments ever made. He began his design career in the 1930s. It peaked between the late 1940s and mid- 1950s, when his scarce and highly original gowns were sought after by society’s most prominent women. Personally draping and constructing the garments that bear his label, he is considered to be the only American to work in the true couture tradition. James saw himself as an artist and sculptor of dress rather than a dressmaker. He manipulated fabrics into dramatic shapes using complex seaming and sometimes complicated understructures to create his singular vision of timeless elegance. A master of the relationship between form, color and texture, he often heightened the drama of his evening wear by combining several like fabrics of different colors, or different fabrics in like colors but with different light reflective qualities. Also a perfectionist, he worked for years on refining certain seam lines, shapes and constructs that particularly expressed his vision of artistry through rigorous engineering. Many of his pieces are conceived asymmetrically and possess a sense of movement and vitality that is a signature characteristic of his work. Many historical references in shapes and construction, especially the drapery forms of the 1870s and early teens, are also prevalent throughout his work.

Tomb effigy of Elizabeth I

Tomb effigy of Elizabeth I. The large marble monument was by Maximilian Colt, assisted by John de Critz, and dates to early seventeenth century (during the reign of James I, Elizabeth’s successor). The jewellery and regalia on the effigy are modern pieces, dating to the 1970s. The tomb, which cost £1,485, is situated in Henry VII’s Lady Chapel in Westminster Abbey.

The monument also marks the grave of Mary I, England’s first crowned Queen Regent (Elizabeth’s coffin rests on top of Mary’s). Mary and Elizabeth were both the daughters of Henry VIII and traditionally both are portrayed as representing opposing sides of the religious schism that dominated English affairs throughout the sixteenth century. Modern assessments, particularly those focusing on Mary, have questioned such longstanding perceptions.

The Met words it better than I could: The robe de style, which is often associated with Lanvin, is characterized by its dropped waist and wide skirts designed to resemble court dresses of the 18th century. The style safely hid the figure, which made it comfortable for clients of any age and shape. This particular robe de style’s uncomplicated bold decoration and sculptural silhouette is unmistakably iconic of the 1920s haute couture style of Lanvin.

omgthatdress:

Fetish boots ca. 1900-1920 via The Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

*insert pervy comment here*