My View: Green-Wood Cemetery

Yesterday my husband and I took a lovely Autumn stroll through the nearby Green-Wood Cemetery here in Brooklyn. Founded in 1838, Green-Wood quickly became the place to be buried and to visit in Victorian era New York City. As the New York Times wrote in 1866, "It is the ambitions of the New Yorker to live upon Fifth Avenue, to take his airings in the (Central) Park, and to sleep with his fathers in Green-Wood."

It really is a beautiful place to visit with ornate monuments, peaceful hills, and views of Manhattan. Enjoy my shots below. 

Images property of  Bobbins And Bombshells.

Fashionable History: Veils

I've always been fascinated with vintage hats with veils and the glamorous mysterious effect they have. After making many veiled headband fascinators last week and posting a tutorial on how to make them, I began to wonder about how wearing veils came about. Certainly there are many religious origins to the veil, think Catholic Nuns and Muslim Burqas. There is also the wedding ritual where brides wear veils ( like the gorgeous one above) to represent their virginity, a tradition that still carries on with meaning or not. There is also the somewhat old fashioned use of black veils at funerals worn by widows and those in high mourning. But where does that leave us in the fashion world where wearing a veil is a choice not a societal standard?

Let's have a look:

In Victorian and Edwardian times, large veiled hats were popular to keep sun off of the face and dust out of your eyes while riding in an automobile. Practical and pragmatic.

Bette Davis in the 1940's. Veils are worn by glamorous women. They define a lady's space and separate them from the common woman.

In the 1950's a lady never went out without a hat and her gloves.

Veils attached to fancy cocktail hats were an option for formal occasions.

Another image from the 1950's when wearing fashion veils peaked.

Sophisticated, mysterious, refined, and very lady like.

Modern times.

Veils make a come back for a glamorous night out.

Drew Barrymore is stunning in her birdcage veil at the Grey Gardens premiere.

Retro Looks In The Modern World: Yinka Shonibare MBE

Fashion stylists and designers aren't the only ones that borrow from the past. Artists do as well. For this edition of Retro Looks in the Modern World, I am featuring an artist that does it very well, Yinka Shonibare MBE. I went to his exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum yesterday and was very intrigued and delighted by the installations, videos, and photographs by this British-Nigerian conceptual artist.

The installations feature headless mannequins that are clothed in colorful Dutch wax print fabric in elaborate costumes from either the Victorian era or the Pre-French Revolution era. Dutch wax fabric is typically known as a West African fabric but is actually made in Dutch and English factories for the West African market and inspired by the traditional Indonesian batik technique. While the gorgeous prints suggest an African identity, they are strongly connected and reliant on the Europeans. Showing these European costumes from the time of colonization in these fabric connect the viewer to the complex connection between cultures on a racial, economic, political, and sexual level. I was left with the feeling that the idea of modern globalization is not all that modern. We are in effect all connected and dependent in one way or another and always have been.

If you are in Brooklyn, run don't walk to see this exhibit! It closes September 20th.

Photos via brooklynmuseum.com

Mid-Week Inspiration:Chanel Resort 2010

I'm loving the French sailor looks from Chanel's Ready to Wear Resort 2010 collection. The whole collection has a sort of silent movie look to it with the hairstyles and dark eye makeup. The catwalk is a Venice Lido boardwalk, a favorite destination of Coco Chanel's. The looks range from Victorian seaside wear to 1920's cocktail dresses. There were even some parasols! As always, Karl Lagerfeld is spot on.

Photos via style.com

Fashionable History: Swimwear By Decade- 1900's

For the summer my Fashionabale History segment will be about bathing suits and swimwear by decade. The early 1900's, Victorian/Edwardian, is going to start off the season. Seaside vacations became very popular in the early 1900's. Typical swimwear was often burdensome and heavy for our standards but for the time it must have felt light and alluring. Wool dresses were the norm worn with black tights, lace up booties, and puffy caps. Imagine swimming in that! But as you can see in the delightful photos below, the girls seem to be having fun.

Love the stripes!

This one above is atypical. She is showing a lot of skin. Notice the strange beach accessories....victorian boots and muff! Don't leave home without them. She is lovely though.

Ready to dive! This is adorable but a bit fussy for the beach.