RAY BRADBURY

A Portrait of Genius by Norman Eales

A Portrait of Genius
Ray Bradbury
Show Magazine of FIlm and the Arts
Photography: Norman Eales

...eyes on the sixties at devodotcom

MAX PETER HAAS

"When an asymmetrical lady walks in the city asphalt in her skirts she has two strikes against her, but she's still in the game. When an asymmetrical lady walks in the city asphalt in her slacks she has three strikes against her and she's out. Even when lovely, lovely lady becomes a city slacker she stoops to folly. And a lady in slacks should never stoop. Well, hardly ever. Beyond city limits there's method in the madness for a thin-hipped gal who likes to move around. But summer in the city is difficult enough without pant-ing women. There's no philosophy in it. 

And, as a derriere pensee, it don't look good."

It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog

Harper's Bazaar July 1942

Photography: Max Peter Haas

... eyes on the fourties at devodotcom

GEORGE PLATT LYNES - PAUL FLATO 1938

The black crepe cocktail dress, full skirted for the rhumba - Henri Bendel. Gold and diamond cactus leaves from Paul Flato

Harper's Bazaar February 1938

Photography: George Platt Lynes

... eyes on the thirties at devodotcom

THE FASHION ACTIVIST 1970

PEACE

Hotel Costes - Galaxy - Hippie House

What's Funky?

It's a look of exaggerations. It's fun but it displays the mind as well as the body. And it can be a put-on of Fifties clothes fashioned into a parody of their original style. Above; the high-waisted pants topeed off by the layered look. Custom-made pants by L'Uomo, New York. Sweater by Gordonn Gregory. The chicken-print shirt by Ruffin and Hecht.

The Funky Activist

The funky way of strolling down the street involves an orange shirt with a palm tree applique and blue satin pants by Flo Toronto. The New Balance shoes are purple, red and black. The snakeskin scull cap is by Santos Santiago. Europa Sportswear sheepskin coat.

The Hip Activist

Traditional fashion values mean little to the Hip Activist. Not only is he completely open to new ideas, but he's less interested in function than a Look. Dress is anything but a sometime thing with him, as clearly evidenced by his uninhibited fashion outlook. Wherever he goes, his look goes with him. This put-together, a supple suede casual outfit by Robert Lewis. The shirt, side-vented and chest-and-back-yoked. The flared-bottom pants tucked into mid-calf boots and completed with a shoulder-strapped carry-all bag.

The Fashion Activist

Directness indicative of the Fashion Activist's revolutionary approach to dress. Suede vest with leather patch pockets by Stitching Horse, New York, over a Sebring mini-patterned cotton knit shirt, and bleached-look jeans by Landlubber. The all-important accessories; a wire neck ring, brass-studded cowhide Bechelli belt and Renegade high boots, complete the look.

Just a Great Jacket 
Then - Or Now

Boldly plaided wool sport coat by Tarra. The pants are double-knit and pleated. By Knit Britches.

Two kinds of suits are wardrobe candidates these days, one along more familiar lines, and one a freer,  more casual version.  The Contemporary Activist's decision of which to wear depends not on the occasion or place - or blind adherence to antiquated dress rules - but on his own whim. He might want European-inspired elegance like this vested suit by Dmitri of Italy, worn with a geometric weave shirt by Giovannelli plus a wide tie by Oleg Cassini.

The Campus Counter-Culture

Tank top worn atop a long-sleeve polo. Both by Limbo, with blue jeans, of course.

true grit, campus-style

DD. Dominick, N.Y. sweater. Leather vest, Stitching Horse, N.Y.

The Contemporary Fashion Activist

Wears a mid-length, belted, leather jacket with a big, curly lamb collar to appeal to his sense of fun without being outlandish. The speckled-look flared pants are by UFO.

Rugged practicality prevails in the Contemporary Activist's outerwear choices.  A pigskin trenchcoat in the longest length his fashion direction allows. By Chrome Cuir-Paris for Rafael. Worn with a Rafael broad-brimmed hat and high Renegade boots.

The Maxi-coat

Vital to the Activist's wardrobe. This belted, simulated leather maxi, by Faret-France for Rafael, has a hefty fake curly lamb collar and a high centre vent. Underneath, wide cuffed pants by UFO.

Hip

A jungle suede coat lined in sheepskin and closed with toggle buckles by Chrome Cuir-Paris for Rafael. Non-wale corduroy bell-bottoms by UFO bring this uninhibited dresser's outfit to a point just this side of funky.

The Contemporary Activist

The Contemporary Activist equates knits with casual endeavours. Their versatility, they've taken on looks that are far afield from the bulky sweater of yesterday - and their easy character - from both a comfort and visual standpoint - prompt the key role they play in his fashion life-style.

getting your head together

by the staff at Paul McGregor's Hair House on St. Mark's Place in the East Village. McGregor's opened two years ago and now includes a school of groovy haircutting.

More Hip

The casual suit worm by the Hip Activist seldom, if ever, follow familiar lines. Part of his fun depends on how he looks - and when he looks up-to-the-second his fun increases accordingly. This diamond argyle plaid outfit, with a zippered front and four buttoned-flap patch-pockets is by Sabre.

When the Hip Activist actually does "dress-up," his outfit generally takes an about-face away from the common-place to something like this vest-suit by Fox Ron.

This Gino Paoli one-piece wool jumpsuit, lightweight and snug- fitting, is belted at the waist and zipped with an industrial zipper riding all the way up to form a turtleneck.

The Hip Activist's view of fashion includes the acceptability of casual wear for more occasions than not. The restriction of a coat and tie , no matter how slight or psychological, is something he tends to disavow - especially when he has other things on his mind. Here, the total freedom of a cotton dimensional-weave sweater by Madonna, worn wIth a complementary striped pant by UFO.

The Contemporary Activist

Putting together compatible items with the aim of creating a "suit" is right in line with the Contemporary Activist's thinking. Above;

the total sweater look,  achieved with a geometric design, mid-length knit top and wrinkle-shredding knit pants with a button-through fly , both by Forum.

Very Contemporary

This wool-blend casual suit by Sebring, is for the increasingly frequent times the Contemporary Activist lets his inhibitions off the leash for a while. It's encircled by a double-buckle belt by Lord Buxton.

The Fashion  Activist who opts for the Contemporary route is tradition oriented, but more than open to current looks - as long as they're sensible, functional, comfortable and can reflect his receptive attitude (to all things) without shouting it. He puts together outfits, not costumes - decorative, but never overdone. Like this jaquard wire-weave suit by Darren Fashions. Worn with a sleeveless pullover by Prince Igor and open-neck shirt in a chain- link design by Giovanelli.

Karl Mann's the man
alone in my playhouse with my toys

Advertising

Julian Bond has cut off his afro

... but he hasn't stopped fighting

The Fashion Activist

The Campus Counter-Culture

Gentlemen's Quarterly September 1970

Photography: 

Peter Levy
Leonard Nones

Mark Patiky

... eyes on the seventies at devodotcom

BUCKLED UP - 70'S

"The belt has, in the past, been a strictly functional item - necessary but dull, varying only in width from decade to decade.

It has now has become a decorative accessory that may be used to hold up your pants, but not necessarily. The belt is now worn for its own sake - like the chain or the scarf of recent seasons - or as an accent to whatever look you're creating, be it gritty, classy or whatever. A belt is chosen for its own merits, a clear entity, and not just an adjunct to trousers."

Mustard -colored Leather with leather patches riveted all around with nail-head studs by Buckroe Country

Natural bamboo and black beads form a circle fastened by a lion's-head medallion clamp buckle by Wm. DeLillo

Double-circle buckle holds down a brown leather cowhide belt by Paris

studded-and-riveted gold-toned soft-leather belt by Village Crafts

Sueded cowhide style with a brass buckle by Paris

Double pronged with strips of brown, beige and black leather by Miller Belts

Studded black cowhide with diamond cutouts and a hefty buckle by Bechelli

Casual brown leather edged with natural-coloured braided rope by Royal London.

Belts Make it On Their Own

Gentlemen's Quarterly September 1970

Photography: Leonard Nones

... eyes on the seventies at devodotcom

BAZAAR'S CHILDREN OF ST. CROIX - SAUL LEITER

Bazaar's Children of St. Croix

Harper's Bazaar 1969

Photography: Saul Leiter

... eyes on the sixties at devodotcom

THE MAGICAL PHOTOGRAPHY OF DIANE ARBUS - MADAME GRES

"In 1932, Madame Gres, who was then known as Alix, came to the attention of the fashionable world. She has never since lost that attention. Thirty-two years later, she continues at the top of French couture, a unique talent - her timeless, draped silk jersey dresses, prized possessions of their owners. One of the few true dressmakers left (charming witness of her profession, the worn little pincushion that swings from her waist as she works), she cuts material directly without pattern or drawing, using in one dress from twenty to seventy yards of fabric. Paradoxically, Madame Gres is a woman famed, but little known. Shy, tiny, with the elegant bones of a mandarin, she is both a designer and a sculptor. Her hands hold a length of cloth or sculptor's tools with the same touch that '"knows,"' that feels, without grasping, the essence of what is held. Everything about her speaks an awareness of what lies beneath, the irreducible, the bones of life, excess and detail pared away - her Paris apartment, strong-to-stark, filled but not cluttered with marvelous antique Chinese rugs and Gothic statuary; her taste for the muted blessings of gray and beige, and, of course, her designs, miracles of draping that could have graced a Venus in ancient Greece. Her own manner of dressing is always simple - a sweater and skirt for work, a gray squirrel pullover for a city stroll; for evening, the perfection of a white silk velvet tunic dress swathed in a toss of white fox and, night or day, the tight-drawn turban. The gift so apparent in all she designs is and only could be the result of a disciplined, unsparing effort toward perfection which she, as nearly as it is possible, achieves."
Diane Arbus

Madame Gres wears her camel coloured coat with mandarin collar and an asymmetrical closing



madame gres:
a unique talent
Harper's Bazaar February 1964
Photography: Diane Arbus

...eyes on Arbus at devodotcom

FROM THE ARCHIVE

devodotcom posts on Diane Arbus

8/23/14 The Magical Photography of Diane Arbus

12/29/13 Happy New Year From Our house To Your House!

4/29/13 The Magical Photography of Diane Arbus

4/12/13 Harper’s Bazaar Year 101

4/19/12 The Magical Photography of Diane Arbus

3/22/12 The Simplicity of Thought

3/21/12 Have A Great Day!

1/25/12 The Vertical Journey

12/31/11 Happy New Year

11/24/11 The Young Heiresses

8/14/11 Bill Blass Designs For Little Ones

7/12/11 The Full Circle:Prince Robert de Rohan Courtenay

5/17/11 As You Desire Me

4/25/11 The Full Circle: Max Maxwell Landar

2/14/11 The Couple

1/30/11 She's As Mae West As Ever: Mae West

10/16/10 The Full Circle: William Mack

9/25/10 Mrs. T. Charlton Henry

9/05/10 Fashion Independents On Marriage

8/20/10 The Real Miss Cora Pratt

8/20/10 Miss Cora Pratt

7/29/10 The Full Circle: Jack Dracula

7/27/10 Thank Heaven For Little Girls

7/26/10 Petal Pink For Little Parties

5/24/10 Tokyo Rose