Thursday, December 24, 2015

FABULOUS FORTIES FASHION






Day-with-the-grandson costume by Fred Greenberg - feather toque, long gloves, sables, cultured pearls.

Photography: Norman Parkinson










wrap it up!



Dior's mink fullness, sharply belted












Paris: The bulky coat

Desses' immense black fox, crossed stole collar; peaked velvet hat












Sheila-Lynn cape-collared coat dress ...Harold Rubin black fox muff, ropes of cultured pearls with ropes of pseudo pearls all by La Tausca









In The Plot: The Blonde Bag
by Nettie Rosenstein











The Beautiful Accessory: The Long Glove










The Devil's In The Details


Important dress; important colour - one of the deep definite reds that have helped build many a beauty's reputation as a beauty. Made to order in Couturier No. 525 photographed by Norman Parkinson at the Terrace Room, Hotel Plaza










Spectacular: The bold, bare, short evening dress with pailletted bodice, tulle tunic, vamp skirt. Worn with a hat and chandelier earrings. Jacques Fath, winner of the 1949 Neiman Marcus fashion award.










Paris


Long, a tradition - Balmain, Desses, Lanvin - pale and sweeping for a ball










The Ball Dress - Long and Blue






Vogue September 1949
Autumn Fashions
New York, Paris


the forties at devodotcom

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Saturday, October 31, 2015

SUMMER 1947




The shoulder takes a curve
the long fitted body sweep, the typoical Dior box-pleated skirt.
bonnet - hattie carnegie
simulated pearls by miriam haskell
photo louise dahl-wolfe








thin white rayon dress by clare potter










































the coolest dress in the world is chiffon by Ceil Chapman
coro simulated pearls
jerro sandals







Maud et Nano's "nursery maid" hat, a white Milan straw cloche, with crown and streamers of gray and white polka-dotted crepe.





black straw cloche, the short brim hung with lilacs to give the look of a wig of flowers.
made to order bergdorf goodman






"the dream" balthus





principessa helen wolkonsky

donna marella caracciolo dei Principi di castagneto

roman women are beautiful
photographs leslie gill






veronica lake



Oval shoulders, like those of an exquisite ming princess, trace a new line in Castillo's long, close coat of dark satin. It is worn by Veronica Lake, soon to star in Paramount's "Saigon".

Photograph Richard Avedon
Harper's Bazaar July 1947

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

WALKER EVANS: THE UNPOSED PORTRAIT




















The crashing non-euphoria of New York subway life may someday be recorded by a modern Dickens or Daumier. The setting is a sociological gold mine awaiting a major artist. Meanwhile it can be the dream 'location' for any portrait photographer weary of the studio and of the horrors of vanity. Down in the swaying sweatbox he finds a parade of unselfconscious captive sitters, the selection of which is automatically destined by raw chance. 

The portraits on these pages were caught by a hidden camera, in the hands of a penitent spy and an apologetic voyeur. But the rude and impudent invasion involved has been carefully softened and partially mitigated by a planned passage of time. These pictures were made twenty years ago, and deliberately preserved from publication.

As it happens, you don't see among them the face of a judge or a senator or a bank president. What you do see is at once sobering, startling and obvious: these are the ladies and gentlemen of the jury.

Walker Evans






















The guard is down and the mask is off: even more than when in lone bedrooms ( where there are mirrors ),  people's faces are in naked repose down in the subway.  To test and examine this special state, Walker Evans spent weeks underground,  strapped to a Leica.


































































His hunt there for true portraiture netted a sizeable stack of remarkable prints: eight are produced here.







Evans' most comprehensive book, 'American Photographs', appears next month in a new edition published by the Museum of Modern Art and Doubleday.




Walker Evans: The Unposed Portrait
Harper's Bazaar March 1962
Photography: Walker Evans

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

DOVIMA AND AVEDON - PARIS 1950










Fath's reversible red satin evening dress, flaring below the knee. The cape is in green - the reverse side of the satin - and held by two cufflike bands of mink











Dior's steel gray ottoman with taffeta panels in lighter grays










Chaumont's white tulle with bias skirt











Chaumont's silk sheath in olive satin











Balenciaga's gold-embroidered sheath, with a chiffon jacket












Gres's arum lily - white satin over lemon jersey
Fath's huge stole over beige faille
Gres's red faille showing white jersey in front
Balenciaga's satin basque, heavily jewelled, over pale pink tulle 












Balenciaga's white satin dress with a tight bodice embroidered with rubies and pearls.






The Evening Fashion at the Paris Openings
Harper's Bazaar September 1950
Photography: Richard Avedon
Model: Dovima



... eyes on the fifties at devodotcom

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

PARIS OPENINGS FALL 1950



Balenciaga's Vingt-Trois










Fath's under-a-coat dress
Balenciaga's cocktail suit dress











Balenciaga's Barrel Coat










Gres ... Dior
Piguet ... Molyneux
Gres ... Gres










Balenciaga









Griffe ... Dior
Desses ... Dior
Schiaparelli ... Molyneux









Dior









Desses ... Dior
Balenciaga ... Dior






Carmel Snow's Report on the Paris Openings
Harper's Bazaar September 1950
Photography: Richard Avedon



... eyes on the fifties at devodotcom