Plates Serve Up Fashion

If you have been following my posts I mention re-purposing or combining various pieces of patterns or textiles to get the finished result I am looking for. I was browsing for ideas for my blog today and I came across someone else's blog and it immediately brought back childhood memories and perhaps the inspiration for my sewing projects.

I don't exactly remember if I got the Fashion Plates toy as a birthday present or Christmas present but nonetheless it was a present I used for a very long time.

I must have been around 10 when these plates came out on the market but I do remember "playing" with them through my high school years. If you are not familiar with this toy; it comes with several different sized plates of different pieces of one outfit, a set of colored pencils and a frame and onion paper.

After you choose your plates to make your outfit you lay them in the frame, cover with the paper secure the top frame over the plates and use the pencils to color in the design. I made some of the craziest outfits with this toy. I think it would still be cool to have one of these around.

Fashion plates are not a modern means of clothing design. They were used a lot in the late 1900's and early 20th century as pictures in magazines, catalogs and advertising to depict the current fashion to the public. The pictures were not rudimentary but they did have a generic look. They were also used a lot in book illustrating. From my research, before fashion plate illustrations were available to show off the current trend; the outfits were sewn, completed with the desired colors and trim and offered on dolls called berlines. It is said that this is how Marie Antoinette chose her various gowns.

(example fashion plate illustration c1900)

To Buy Or Not To Buy...Another Purse. That Is The Question!

June 14, 2010

I need another purse like I need a hole in my head. I can’t help it; it is one of my fashion weaknesses. I justify my purse shopping all of the time. My argument; purses are versatile, functional and people are always commenting on them; “Omigod! I LOVE your purse!” or asking, “Where did you get it? It’s F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!”

According to some quirky purse forum on the internet; the average woman owns six (6) handbags. I have that many just sitting on top of my dresser! So, let’s discuss purses. Sure, they are practical and serve a purpose. Some historians say men were the more common carriers of purses until the early 19th century. Society exchanged coin money back then and since men were the keepers of the money- well, they carried it…in purses…let’s move on. Now, don’t misunderstand; women carried “purses” too but they were not fashionable. Women’s purses were rather small and not very useful and the need for one was much less than the need of one by a man. During the 19th century it did become fashionable for a young lady to create her own purse; usually a drawstring type. These purses were handmade with intricate beading or needlepoint designs. Years later the beading and needlepoint designs of purses became more and more intricate and more and more popular. It was in the late 19th century that handbags were being designed and sold for women through retail establishments.

Purses come in all sizes, shapes, colors, designs, yada-yada-yada. A few years back, I was shuffling through a pile of junk items. They were of no particular value or consequence; and I picked up a cigar box. Without thinking, I opened the box and put something small into just like I would put something into a small purse or coin purse. Et voila! I was inspired! I had to create cigar box purses! I began collecting boxes of all shapes, sizes and materials from tobacconists and friends. Some of the more decorative cardboard boxes were pretty to look at but not very sturdy for everyday use. I fashioned handles out of wire and Murano beads, I tore apart old purses for the fasteners and findings, I was going to be the next Tom Ford in balsa wood purse history.

At first, I made a purse or two for myself. I considered them edgy; an extension of my personality and attire. And, as mentioned before, people began commenting on them and asking me “Where did you get that?” So, I had another inspiration; I will create OOAK cigar box purses to sell. I found a market for this type of purse and every purse I created I was able to sell. However, the same time that this new found venture was blossoming, I was working 50 hours a week in a demanding legal position and my need to pay homeowner’s insurance and buy groceries outweighed my need to create purses. My art was put on the back burner. Things are different today.

Transforming a cigar box into a purse is a creative way to show off your individuality. The design, though limited to a square box with a hinged lid, can be very artistic. My favorite cigar box purse is adorned with a vintage Bakelite handle, a photocopy of Andy Warhol’s “Marilyn” lacquered on one side of the box and tied to the handle is part of a hot pink feather boa I used to wear while hanging out in the French Quarter. I haven’t used that purse in years but it makes me happy just knowing that it is there- with the other umpteen number of purses I own!

Ode to Malcolm's Fashion Sense

It has been five days since I heard the news that Malcolm McLaren passed away. When I heard the news I felt ambivalent. I didn’t want to do a “happy” dance or shed a tear. *shrug*. Whatever…So why am I blogging about this? Reflection tends to come with death; any death, and Malcolm’s death has made me pause and reflect upon my fashion influences.

I vividly remember trying to recreate the looks that were depicted in the film “The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle”. I saw the beautiful and the vulgar coexisting and that concept excited me! This was the first time I ever heard the name Malcolm McLaren and it was also during this time that I was most excited about clothing. I started to read all the fashion rags including the imported “Vogue” magazines from London and Paris. I thought I was so chic.

The 80’s were a great time for me to mix and match and have fun with clothes. Vintage clothing seemed to be teeming from every thrift store and parents of friends were giving it away to me in truckloads! I would put together the most hideous outfits, wear them, knowing I might be put to ridicule but damn it, I was proud of my creations. I ponder what my wardrobe would have been like all these years if I had never seen video clips of Adam Ant on music shows prior to Mtv.

Today, I still have fun mixing and matching styles, designs, colors and textures. Now I take cues from Betsey Johnson and designers on Etsy. I’m not hard to miss sporting a Joan Jett haircut, wearing Chuck Taylors and a Max Azria dress while carrying one of Betsey’s signature bags.

Malcolm didn’t put his name on a label, and there are those of you out there to dispute just what he DID contribute to fashion; but acknowledging he was in the middle of an explosive time of fashion is without a doubt.