The Ornamented Being
Ornamented: -verb: Adorn; beautify. Be·ing: -noun: Fulfillment of possibilities; essential completeness.
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KTA: A rare Rudi Gernreich `Japanese Schoolboy’ ensemble, American, Autumn-Winter, 1967, labelled Rudi Gernreich for Harmon Knitwear, comprising belted black wool Eton-style tunic with scarlet bow to neck and cream collar, matching shorts, knee-socks and a hat with large turned-up brim labelled `Layne Nielson for Rudi Gernreich’, chest 97cm, 38in, waist 53cm, 21in; and a picture of Peggy Moffitt wearing a similar ensemble, (6) The sixties obsession with youth is reflected in Gernreichs nostaligic take on children’s clothing for this cute, gamine ensemble. cf `The Rudi Gernreich Book’, p.131 for a picture of Peggy Moffitt wearing an identical ensemble.
(Source: invaluable.com)
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c. 1967, Met
C.I.68.20.1a–h
… I kind of really want this outfit if only to appease my inner Madeline!
(Source: metmuseum.org)
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French Underwear, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1916
For the next theme post would you rather see Victorian-Edwardian ladies déshabillé or clothing in La couleur noire?
(Source: metmuseum.org)
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Dress, Evening
Madeleine Vionnet (French, 1876–1975)
Fall/Winter 1938-39
Met
I don’t normally force a lot of text on everyone but this is a must read: “In Jungian psychology, the appearance of black birds in dreams is considered a bad omen and allied to fear of misfortune. For the Romantics, they hovered over battlefields to feast on the bodies of the slain. As a chilling prelude to war, the birds on this dress swarm around the body of the wearer like ominous raptors. At the same time, they serve as criticism of the vanity and ostentation of le beau monde. Like the bird who cries cras, cras (tomorrow, tomorrow), the black bird symbolizes those who are caught up in worldly pleasures.”
I loved this gown but now I love it all the more for the symbolism threaded onto each fold.
(Source: metmuseum.org)
