Posts in the Object post category

Installation, Elegance in an Age of Crisis: Fashions of the 1930s, 2014 | copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Installation, Elegance in an Age of Crisis: Fashions of the 1930s, 2014 | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

Elegance in an Age of Crisis has closed (the last day was April 19, 2014), but you can still read the accompanying book and visit the online version of the exhibition. Below is the label text that was displayed in our gallery, featuring hats from the 1930s:

Hats were vital to the well-dressed woman’s wardrobe during the 1930s, and therefore received more editorial coverage than any other type of accessory. Millinery was a relatively inexpensive way to update an ensemble, and a simple change of hat could transform the formality of an outfit. A woman’s choice of hat was also thought to be an indicator of her personality.

The smart hat styles of the 1930s evolved from the closely-fitted cloche of the previous decade. Some of the most sophisticated examples—based on men’s hats—were worn angled over the face. Although their construction was often complex, their streamlined appearance complemented bias-cut clothing.

To showcase the wonderful examples of 1930s millinery from Elegance in an Age of Crisis, we bring you excerpts from Colleen Hill‘s (MFIT associate curator of accessories) essay in the accompanying book—”Great Chic from Little Details Grows: Women’s Accessories in the 1930s”:

During a time of severe economic depression, accessories were perceived as relatively inexpensive items that could be used to update and sustain an existing wardrobe. Vogue heralded 1931 as the “Great Hat Year” – not just because millinery styles were novel and interesting, but also because they “were a considerable factor in stemming the tide of depression that was another phenomenon of that momentous year.”

Hill goes on to describe the hat pictured below:

In the February 15, 1932, issue of Vogue, a short editorial was devoted to the trend for “diagonalistic” gowns – asymmetrical sheaths of silk by Mirande, Régny, and Worth that spiraled gracefully around the body. Similarly, many hats were designed to evoke movement in the ways they angled over the face and head. Rather than framing the face as closely as possible, these hats were cut to reveal the forehead, and were also meant to showcase longer hair. A cocktail hat of around 1933 from MFIT, sold at Henri Bendel, exemplifies this idea: a shallow, rounded brim sweeps down over the right eye, while a high, curving crown extends dramatically upward. The brim and crown are then topstitched and stuffed using a trapunto technique, the diagonal lines of which reinforce the hat’s angled silhouette.

…This design is expressive but relatively simple; it relies on a juxtaposition of materials (straw and silk jersey), and highlights construction (using the aforementioned topstitching) over applied surface decoration. While trimmings such as flowers and feathers had returned to some millinery designs after their near-disappearance in the latter half of the 1920s, they were markedly simpler than the elaborate embellishments seen on hats prior to World War I.

Henri Bendel silk jersey and straw cocktail hat, circa 1935, New York, gift of Mrs. E.L. Cournand | copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Henri Bendel silk jersey and straw cocktail hat, circa 1935, New York, gift of Mrs. E.L. Cournand | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

By the early 1930s, newly “masculine” hat styles began to make regular appearances in fashion editorials. Sometimes resembling a man’s bowler, other times paying closer homage to the fedora, they shared a quality of casual elegance, and could be paired with almost any daytime ensemble. The origin of this trend, like so many in fashion, cannot be traced to a single initiator. With the sudden ubiquity of the cloche in the 1920s, however, a number of men’s hat makers, already experts in producing felt hats, began to produce styles for women also. Greta Garbo (who worked as a model and a milliner’s assistant prior to embarking on her film career) also influenced women’s fashion with her taste for slouched felt hats. Rarely were any of these hats mere copies of menswear styles, however. Although not as severely modern as the cloche, their intricate folds, tucks, and stitching techniques were fresh and subtly complex. A 1933 advertisement for women’s hats by Stetson perhaps best summarized the style: “They look casual,” it asserted, but “considerable artistry is involved in achieving the spirited simplicity that is the secret of the new hats.”

Purple felt and brown grosgrain hat, maker unknown, circa 1936, possibly New York, gift of Mrs. Janet Chatfield-Taylor | copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Purple felt and brown grosgrain hat, maker unknown, circa 1936, possibly New York, gift of Mrs. Janet Chatfield-Taylor | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

Also dating to the mid-1930s, a hat in dark green felt showcases the decorative topstitching commonly used on later examples of masculine-inspired hats [below]. Rows of minute stitches pucker the felt, forming narrow ridges in geometric patterns. The brim of the hat is also stitched to the crown at the sides and back, giving it its unique silhouette.

Green felt creased-crown hat with stitched geometric design, maker unknown,  circa 1934, possibly New York, gift of Mr. Harry Haas | copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Green felt creased-crown hat with stitched geometric design, maker unknown,
circa 1934, possibly New York, gift of Mr. Harry Haas | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

By 1936, however, many of the simple, masculine hats were being replaced by designs of a dramatically different silhouette. Styles with exaggerated crowns, in particular, began to dominate fashion editorials. Some were quite elaborate, made from draped swags of fabric, or heavily trimmed, while others seemed to combine the streamlined look of earlier styles with the new silhouette. A brown felt hat from the collection of MFIT demonstrates the mix of old and new ideas, featuring a folded brim and a high, peaked crown that is highlighted by glove stitches in heavy white thread [below]. It was made by Florence Reichman, a New York milliner who specialized in “not too extreme millinery.” The hat’s donor, Janet Chatfield-Taylor, was a fashion editor at Vogue and thus would have been especially attuned to the ever-evolving trends in headwear.

Florence Reichman brown felt hat with turn-down front, circa 1936, New York, gift of Mrs. Janet Chatfield-Taylor | copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Florence Reichman brown felt hat with turn-down front, circa 1936, New York, gift of Mrs. Janet Chatfield-Taylor | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

You can read more about these “chic little details” from the 1930s, including handbags and shoes, in the book Elegance in an Age of Crisis, from Yale University Press.

Installation, Elegance in an Age of Crisis: Fashions of the 1930s, 2014 | copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Installation, Elegance in an Age of Crisis: Fashions of the 1930s, 2014 | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

Tweet us your thoughts on 1930s accessories with #1930sFashion, and if you haven’t made it in to see Trend-ology, the exhibition is still on through April 30, 2014!

–MM

Madeleine Vionnet: Virtuoso

This label, direct from our Special Exhibitions gallery, describes the incredible work of Madeleine Vionnet:

Some of the most awe-inspiring garments of the interwar years were created in the hand-sewing ateliers of Madeleine Vionnet. Under the guidance of Georgette Petit, former premiere for Coco Chanel, the Vionnet workrooms pushed the limits of technical design. Two outstanding examples are dresses whose gossamer surfaces are ornamented with minute pin tucks. Vionnet and her staff had to precisely calculate the amount of fabric needed, as there was no seam allowance for alterations. This complex blend of patternmaking and surface ornamentation has rarely been surpassed.

Detail, Madeleine Vionnet ivory silk georgette evening dress with pintucks, 1930, Paris, museum purchase, copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Detail, Madeleine Vionnet ivory silk georgette evening dress with pintucks, 1930, Paris, museum purchase | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

In the book accompanying our exhibition, Patricia Mears describes the meticulous, breathtaking handwork of the ivory silk georgette Vionnet dress on view in Elegance in an Age of Crisis:

Dating to the spring of 1930, the ivory chiffon dress subtly illustrates Vionnet’s excellence at manipulating a garment’s ground fabric in order to create surface ornamentation. At first glance, it is difficult to see that the roses on the bodice were created entirely of tiny, hand-rendered pintucks. The bodice is made from four pieces of fabric – its bottom half is one piece, cut on the straight grain and laid horizontally across the lower torso, while the top half is two panels, one front and one back, with an extra piece of material attached to extend the self-scarf in back. (The scarf panel in front is cut from the front bodice.) The V-shaped neckline was created by slashing the ground fabric in front and back, while tiny gathers at the shoulders shape the top above the bust line. The overall width of the front panel is precisely calculated so that there is enough fabric allowance to make the roses. The double circle skirt is made from four pieces of fabric cut on the straight grain, then sewn together on the sides with greater fullness in front than in back. This use of quadrants is a remarkable Vionnet innovation that came about only because the couturier draped all her own designs and worked out this precise form of construction.

Madeleine Vionnet ivory silk georgette evening dress with pintucks, 1930, Paris, museum purchase, copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Madeleine Vionnet ivory silk georgette evening dress with pintucks, 1930, Paris, museum purchase | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

Madeleine Vionnet black chiffon dress with pintucks, circa 1930, Paris, lent by Beverley Birks, copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Madeleine Vionnet black chiffon dress with pintucks, circa 1930, Paris, lent by Beverley Birks | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

Mears goes on to describe the Vionnet dress pictured above:

Like the ivory version, the black chiffon dress, circa 1930 is a mind-boggling example of how a garment’s ground fabric can be engineered to create ornamentation. However, unlike the lyrical rose pattern on the ivory dress, the minuscule pintucks of the black dress are lined up in long, parallel rows along the straight grain. The fabric is draped on the bias so that the rows encase the torso in a diagonal swirl. The rows then turn at sharp angles across the grain. The resulting linear pattern is mitered, but quite unlike the bold and graphic look used by other designers, Vionnet’s mitering has the ephemeral quality of cobwebs.

Betty Kirke, a costume historian who, from 1979-1991, served as senior conservator at the Museum at FIT and professor in the FIT graduate fashion & textile studies program, published an extraordinary study of Vionnet’s work, including patterns constructed from detailed studies of actual dresses from the couturier’s collections. In this article for Threads Magazine, Ms. Kirke recounts part of her journey to know Vionnet’s designs on a fundamental level, a dedication that spans over twenty years.

Kirke sought to understand Vionnet from the very basis of her craft: innovative patternmaking and sewing techniques. Rather than seeing geometry as an escape into abstraction, Vionnet used geometric principles to enhance and elevate the human body. Her geometric lines do not deny, or seek to dictate or curb, the curvilinear form of the human body; rather they coalesce in dresses which comfortably envelop the body in elegantly flowing tracery. As Kirke notes, Vionnet united principles of shape, fit, cut, design, and decoration into “one cohesive unit.”

From the book Madeleine Vionnet, Ms. Kirke:

As [Vionnet] said, ‘the body doesn’t have seams.’ … Vionnet thought more of concave and convex areas rather than sides and parts. For example, she switched fronts with backs, inserted gussets for fit, and extended one part to the next at a common side. This gave her much freedom in draping. The result for the wearer of a Vionnet dress was that the dress fit well, moved well, and possessed aesthetic elegance beyond its two-dimensional form.

Detail, Madeleine Vionnet orange cotton cutwork dress, circa 1932, Paris, gift of Genia Graves | copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Detail, Madeleine Vionnet orange cotton cutwork dress, circa 1932, Paris, gift of Genia Graves | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

In the exhibition’s accompanying book, Patricia Mears details the magnificent crafting of this cutwork dress by Vionnet, on view now in our exhibition:

The simplicity of this dress’s square neckline, papillon sleeves, and full skirt belie its complexity. It seems likely that Vionnet would have cut the simple skirt – two half circles in which the bottoms of both halves have had extra material added for length – from a single piece of fabric had the material been wide enough. Vionnet’s co-designer, Chaumont did not always use extraordinarily wide widths of fabric because they were not readily available (although some silk crepes, such as Bianchini-Férier’s celebrated crepe romain, were available in widths of one-point-four and two meters).

Each tiny ovoid hole is overcast with minuscule, evenly calibrated stitches. Even though the dress is refreshingly modern, the scope of workmanship in this single garment is almost unthinkable today. While the lace-like fabric, rendered completely by hand, makes this garment a tour de force, its construction has a breezy restraint similar to that of the gowns by Chanel and Mainbocher.

Madeleine Vionnet orange cotton cutwork dress, circa 1932, Paris, gift of Genia Graves | copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Madeleine Vionnet orange cotton cutwork dress, circa 1932, Paris, gift of Genia Graves | Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

And with that, we’ll conclude with words from the beloved virtuoso herself:


“The couturier should be a geometrician, for the human body makes
geometrical figures to which the materials should correspond.”

“If a woman smiles, her dress must also smile.”

–Madeleine Vionnet


For more Vionnet at MFIT, visit our online collections. Until next time, tweet about the exhibition with #1930sFashion.

–MM

A woman can be overdressed, never over-elegant. ~ Coco Chanel

Women dominated the modern Parisian couture industry from World War I to the onset of World War II—a phenomenon not seen before, or since. One such example is Ana de Pombo, who was hired in 1937 as the chief designer at Paquin, the venerated maison de couture that flourished during the Belle Époque. A native of Spain, de Pombo studied the piano and danced flamenco before becoming a clothing designer. Her theatrical style is reflected in this richly embroidered linen gown with corselet and bolero.

Ana de Pombo for Paquin

Ana de Pombo for Paquin, ivory linen evening dress and bolero, 1939, Paris. MFIT, Gift of Mr. Rodman A. Heeren.

 

Of note is that this ensemble was made for one of the era’s best dressed women of style, Aimée de Heeren (1903-2006). Brazilian-born Mrs. De Heeren was among an elite group of Latin American women who inspired fashion trends around the world. Patricia Mears discusses in her essay The Arc of Modernity: Part Two (from the exhibition’s accompanying publication) that Latin America was one of a number of important fashion localities that existed outside of Paris. Others included London, New York, Hollywood, and Shanghai.

Aimée de Sá Sottomaior

Aimée de Sá Sottomaior wears Christian Dior for Piguet, spring 1939, at the Circus Ball reception for Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe) at Villa Trianon

 

The Brazilian Aimée de Heeren moved to New York in the late 1930s and quickly became a fixture in the city’s high-society circles. Patricia Mears elaborates:

Noted for her charm and beauty, she married Rodman Arturo de Heeren, an heir to the Wanamaker department store fortune, in 1941, the same year she was named on the International Best Dressed List. Even before attaining such recognition, Aimée de Heeren had been a leading couture client – of Vionnet, Alix, and Augustabernard.

 

Elegance in an Age of Crisis features a number of garments owned by De Heeren.

de-heeren-70.57.65

Augustabernard, black crêpe and lamé V-back gown, 1933, France, The Museum at FIT, 70.57.65, gift of Mr. Rodman A. Heeren

 

Balenciaga-72.112.144

Balenciaga, full-length dress, ivory and black pinstriped cotton dress, 1938, France, The Museum at FIT, 72.112.144, gift of Mr. Rodman A. Heeren

 

de-heeren-68.151.5

Monsieur Dobias for Knize, red and cream wool checked tweed jacket and culottes, 1936, France, The Museum at FIT, 68.151.5, gift of Mr. Rodman A. Heeren

Mrs. de Heeren also patronized the noted Viennese tailoring house of Knize, which had a branch in Paris. Her Knize suit (above), made of tweed, is not only a rare example from this noted firm, it is also an extremely fine example of sports clothing (the culottes are made for hiking) that, with its scalloped collar and pockets, is also feminine and charming.

Until next time, join us in conversation on Twitter with #1930sFashion.

—TS


UPDATE 06/04/15:

The original sketch of this evening dress, designed by Ana de Pombo for the house of Paquin, is in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum. Thank you to Daniel Milford-Cottam for sharing the sketch with us!
See the original sketch online at the V&A’s online collections.

—MM

Left: Ana de Pombo for Paquin, ivory linen evening dress and bolero, 1939, Paris. MFIT, Gift of Mr. Rodman A. Heeren, 70.57.50A-B. Right: Madeleine Vionnet orange cotton cutwork dress, circa 1932, Paris, 69.159.2, gift of Genia Graves, 69.159.2.

Left: Ana de Pombo for Paquin, ivory linen evening dress and bolero, 1939, Paris. MFIT, Gift of Mr. Rodman A. Heeren, 70.57.50A-B.
Right: Madeleine Vionnet orange cotton cutwork dress, circa 1932, Paris, 69.159.2, gift of Genia Graves, 69.159.2.

Jean Patou: Innovator

Jean Patou brown cotton tulle evening gown, circa 1932, Paris, lent by Beverley Birks. Copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Jean Patou brown cotton tulle evening gown, circa 1932, Paris, lent by Beverley Birks. Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

Straight from our Special Exhibitions gallery, here is the object label text displayed next to this stunning Jean Patou evening dress:

Jean Patou was one of the great innovators of the interwar years. He is credited with leading the seismic shift from the short and boxy 1920s chemise to the long and languorous gowns of the 1930s. Like his rivals, Chanel and Lucien Lelong, Patou was a master stylist who successfully pioneered sportif clothing for women. Although Chanel is often viewed as fashion’s great modernist, Patou may have been better as both a designer and an innovator.

Jean Patou is not as well-known today as many of his contemporaries, such as Chanel. In the book Elegance in an Age of Crisis Patricia Mears, MFIT Deputy Director and co-curator of the exhibition, writes:

[Patou] was among the great talents of the inter-war years, but he is not well remembered today. An obsessively private man, Patou was a notorious womanizer and gambler who had the misfortune to die in 1936 at a relatively early age. He likely suffered from devastating psychological issues that arose after his military service during World War I…Despite his personal challenges, he also designed evening wear that synthesized the elegance of the era.
…Meredith Etherington-Smith stated succinctly that Patou was likely the more innovative creator when compared to Chanel as “every time a striped V-necked sweater is pulled down over a pleated skirt, every time real sports clothes are used as an inspiration for fashion design, Patou survives. It is no bad legacy.”

Detail, Jean Patou brown cotton tulle evening gown, circa 1932, Paris, lent by Beverley Birks. Copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Detail, Jean Patou brown cotton tulle evening gown, circa 1932, Paris, lent by Beverley Birks. Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

Patou also created a line of activewear, discussed in MFIT Assistant Curator Ariele Elia’s essay in the book:

Inspired by the active woman, the French couturier Jean Patou was compelled to
create collections for this emerging new lifestyle. He debuted his first sport collection
in the summer of 1922. Meredith Etherington-Smith said that Patou’s clients
were “always adventurous with notations of being sporty or at least looked like they
played tennis or golf, even if they didn’t.” Patou, an athlete himself, understood the
needs of an activewear garment. He carefully studied sports and built construction
details into his garments designed to aid the athlete in her performance.

Patou designed a strikingly new athletic ensemble for French tennis star Suzanne Lenglen, known as “La Divine” in the French press. Ariele Elia:

In 1921, [Lenglen] shocked the Wimbledon crowds when she debuted her custom ensemble by Patou, complete with a white, pleated, knee-length skirt, a white, sleeveless cardigan, and a vibrant orange headband. The length of the skirt alone was considered socially unacceptable; it was not until 1924 that skirts in general rose to the knee. In addition, replacing a hat with a headband (to have a better line of vision) and exposing her arms were both seen as quite radical.

Suzanne Lenglen in a Patou tennis ensemble, circa 1920 | PD-US

Suzanne Lenglen in a Patou tennis ensemble, circa 1920 | PD-US

 Suzanne Lenglen at the French Championships | PD-US

Suzanne Lenglen at the French Championships | Bibliothèque nationale de France, PD / PD-US

Suzanne Lenglen and Bill Tilden | PD-US

Suzanne Lenglen and Bill Tilden | George Grantham Bain Collection, PD-US

Suzanne Lenglen was an entirely different kind of tennis player. One of the first players to openly show personality and passion on the court, her presence was charismatic and ran counter to prior “feminine” values of restraint and propriety. As style.com notes: “She’d sip brandy between sets, break down in tears during a bad game and take to her bed with various illnesses in the off season. But before her death from pernicious anemia at 39, Lenglen not only changed the game for every woman who followed her; she won Wimbledon and the French Open six times each—records that remained untouched for almost fifty years.” Lenglen fully embodied the idea of the liberated, active woman, and her fashion choices were a visible extension of her spirit and tenacity, on and off the court.

And who better to design for her than Jean Patou? The designer was particularly attuned to the idea of the femme moderne and committed himself to crafting clothes which were not only elegant but true to this newly realized athleticism and sport.

French fashion designer Jean Patou (1880-1936), via Library of Congress

French fashion designer Jean Patou (1880-1936), via Library of Congress, George Grantham Bain Collection, PD-US

In striking accord with our last post on 1930s athletic and Olympic style, here is a photo of Suzanne Lenglen and Sonja Henie, gold medalist in singles’ figure skating at Lake Placid Winter Olympics III, together in Paris, 1932.

French tennis player Suzanne Lenglen with Norwegian figure skater and film star Sonja Henie in Paris in 1932. Bibliothèque nationale de France, PD, PD-US

French tennis player Suzanne Lenglen with Norwegian figure skater and film star Sonja Henie in Paris in 1932. Bibliothèque nationale de France, PD / PD-US

Until next time, join us in conversation on Twitter with #1930sFashion.

-MM

The streamlined silhouettes of the 1930s form much of the foundation of modern dressing as we view it today. Guided by resurgent classical ideals of proportion and the art moderne aesthetic, designers embraced harmony and grace, creating clothes that ran sinuously along the curves of the body. In addition to the long, lean lines created in the form of languorous couture evening gowns, activewear in the 1930s marked a new attitude toward sporting, movement, and the body.

While the scale and scope of the Lake Placid Olympics in 1932 may seem quaint by today’s standards of hyper-performance gear—with teams actively emphasizing the role their attire plays in competition—new technology in the form of synthetic fibers such as Lastex® in 1931 invoked its own emphasis on movement and performance in 1930s sport. The Ski Togs ensemble from Saks Fifth Avenue, on view in Elegance in an Age of Crisis, has ease of movement embedded in its design: vertical darts on the jacket and an elastic band at the waist promote both fit and comfort, principles which, in a marked break from the turn of the century, were no longer antithetical. The 1930s woman was fit and fashionable; she participated in sports such as swimming, skiing, tennis, and golf, often in international competition alongside men. As Assistant Curator of Costume & Textiles Ariele Elia notes in her essay in the book accompanying our exhibition, the “Chamonix” style ski pant, a straight leg trouser with a stirrup, was so-named after the first Winter Olympics held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. The purpose here was to invigorate and celebrate the active body, and nowhere is this purpose more evident than in Olympic competition.

Woman’s ski ensemble, Ski Togs, Sak’s Fifth Avenue circa 1935, New York, 96.69.38, gift of The Dorothea Stephens Wiman Collection. Copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Woman’s ski ensemble, Ski Togs, Sak’s Fifth Avenue
circa 1935, New York, 96.69.38, gift of The Dorothea Stephens Wiman Collection. Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

Lake Placid 1932, opening ceremony. © Olympic.org

Lake Placid 1932, opening ceremony | © Olympic.org

The gold medalist USA bobsled team. via Raleigh DeGeer Amyx Collection

The gold medalist USA bobsled team | via Raleigh DeGeer Amyx Collection

The USA men’s bobsled team, pictured above, certainly look dapper in their woolen, double-breasted ski jackets, worn at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in 1932. One of the 105 originals made is housed in the collection of Raleigh DeGeer Amyx. These jackets bear a striking resemblance to pea coats you might see on the street today, and in 2010 Ralph Lauren cited them as his inspiration for designing the US team’s official opening ceremony uniforms at the 21st Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Ironically, the much-discussed speed skating uniforms of 2014 have perhaps more in common with the bodysuit donned by the charming, stilt-skated performer at the 1932 Lake Placid opening ceremony than they do the speed skaters of ’32.

copyright AP

© AP

The sweaters worn by gold medalist skaters Sonja Henie (Norway) and Karl Schäfer (Austria) embody a brisk combination of sport and design: ribbed knit and modernist Art Deco graphics.

Sonja Henie (Norway) and Karl Schäfer (Austria), gold medalists in ladies' and men's singles figure skating at the 1932 Olympic Games

Sonja Henie (Norway) and Karl Schäfer (Austria), gold medalists in ladies’ and men’s singles figure skating at the 1932 Olympic Games | Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-13104 | CC-BY-SA

Gold medalist Sonja Henie on the podium at the Lake Placid 1932 Olympic Games (© Copyright Press Association Ltd.)

Gold medalist Sonja Henie on the podium at the Lake Placid 1932 Olympic Games | © Copyright Press Association Ltd.

And back to our ski jacket—the practical, even stolid, navy blue of the ski ensemble belies a form of ebullience not visible when worn: a bold color print lining on the inside of the jacket. As a form of intimacy known only to the wearer, the lining is a fitting metaphor for the ethos of the 1930s: if the outer appearance served almost to efface, to show quiet dignity in times of crisis, the lining exudes dynamism and panache—the combination of wit and whimsy required to survive in the face of uncertain times.

Interior of woman’s ski jacket, Ski Togs, Sak’s Fifth Avenue circa 1935, New York, 96.69.38, gift of The Dorothea Stephens Wiman Collection. Copyright MFIT. Photo by Eileen Costa

Interior of woman’s ski jacket, Ski Togs, Sak’s Fifth Avenue, circa 1935, New York, 96.69.38, gift of The Dorothea Stephens Wiman Collection. Photo by Eileen Costa. © MFIT

Until next time, tweet us with #1930sFashion with your thoughts and impressions on the exhibition.

-MM