SPRING GOSSIP - What we have been up to!!!

Admittedly, we have been so absorbed in publishing the “Hose Me Down” series that we have neglected to let you know about some of our projects in the past few months!

Here are some of the highlights,..and MORE to follow!

FILM:

. Contemporary film “Henry’s Crime” came in to rent Victorian clothes for a “Cherry Orchard” play-within-a-film in which we dressed Keanu Reeves and Vera Farmiga.

(at right, costume designer Melissa Toth looks through our Victorian capelets for the above movie)

. Spanning the 1940’s through the 1980’s, “Mr. Tambourine Man”, is a film we worked on about an autistic young man who is saved through the healing power of music.  Based on a true story, it stars Lou Taylor Pucci.

. “Bill Wilson and the History of Alcoholics Anonymous” spent two days at our place doing actor fittings, renting men’s and women’s clothes from periods as diverse as Edwardian, 1920’s, 1930’s and 1950’s.

(At left, costume designer Terese Wadden chooses her picks for the above film)

. We continue to hold principal items for “Bolden!”, hoping that it will be an amazing smash when it finally gets released!

TV:

. We are excited that among the many period 1930’s items we rented and sold to HBO mini-series “Mildred Pierce” (yep, THAT one with Joan Crawford!) its star, Kate Winslet will AGAIN be wearing our clothes.  (We have her in our costumes in “Revolutionary Road” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” too!)

. Masha and Kristen have continued to use their styling expertise to help costume the PBS series “God In America”, pulling Victorian for characters such as Abraham Lincoln, Isaac Wise, Charles Briggs, A.A. Hodge, female ice-skaters, students and 1920’s for Clarence Darrow and Williams Jennings Bryan.

. We seem to have an affinity for “Mad Men”: we did two “Saturday Night Live” segments, one hosted by January Jones (“Jekyll and Hyde“ and “A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette” sketches) and another by John Hamm.

(At left, our wonderful Winter intern Hannah helped Saturday Night Live's brilliant designer Tom Broecker look for men's suits)

. “Law and Order: Criminal Intent”, we rented  a lot of menswear for an episode about a serial killer, and an elderly Holocaust survivor is interviewed wearing our vintage men’s 1930’s suit complete with suspenders, tie, pocketwatch and chain.

(At right, our terrific new intern Caroline (sitting down) helps the Law & Order CI design crew find just the right period collars!)

THEATER:

. A woman’s 1940’s robe for "All my Sons" at the Huntington Theater In Boston.

. For “Oh, Those Beautiful Weimar Girls” at the New Stage Theatre Company in NYC we dressed the MC, complete in a 1920’s man’s suit, suspenders, hat, bowtie and boots.

. 1960’s men’s suits for “Barefoot in the Park” at the Two River Theater Company in Red Bank, NJ.

. 1940’s period menswear for the University of Delaware’s “Death of a Salesman”.

. Lots of 1930’s men’s and women’s clothes for the Encore Series production of “Fanny” at City Center in NYC.

 . 1930’s and 1940’s women’s dresses for “Black Pearl Sings” at the Merrimack Repertory Theater in Lowell, MA.

 

. Currently on Broadway, “The Glass Menagerie” starring Judith Ivey, rented women’s and men’s 1920’s and 1930’s clothes and hats (through May 30th). ( at right, its hunky talented designer, Marty Pakledinaz!)

. Victorian clothes for the lead character in “Footsteps from Before”, a play produced by Our Firefighter’s Children Foundation performed especially for children at Queens College in NYC, about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.  Alas, one performance was cancelled due to one of New York’s huge snowstorms, so the production hopes to reschedule another performance in the future.

. A 1930’s evening gown for “Yank”, the musical about young men in love in WWII, at the York Theater in NYC (orirginally through March 23rd, it has just been extended for 2 weeks!). (at left, Yank assistant designer Becky Laskey shows off her inner diva!)

. A 1940’s man’s suit for “The Pride”, at NYC’s MCC Theater, about the relationship between two gay men in the 1940’s (through March 20th).

. Along THAT note, we are happy that the new production of “The Boys in the Band” playing at the Transport Group Theatre Group in NYC has gotten such rave reviews that the run has been extended!  We rented them 1970’s suits and an Edwardian dressing-gown (through March 28th). (At right, costume designer Kathryn Rohe tries on a dressing gown they might rent)

. We rented 1940’s men’s clothes for “Remembering Mr. Maugham”, a play about Somerset Maugham at the Clurman Theatre in NYC (through March 14th).

. 1940’s menswear (again!) for a more modern production of “Measure for Measure” at Theatre for a New Audience in NYC (through March 14th).

(at left, asst. designer Jacob Climer drops by to go through our men's suits) 

ADVERTISING:

. Most of you stare at the beautiful models in the Vanity Fair lingerie ads, but check out the model in antique 1940’s bra, tap pants and shoes to replicate a pin-up of the past!

. The latest New York Lottery commercial will have little children dressed up as adults…the miniature “bag lady” is ours!

. An Australian commercial for Tooheys Beer: a scene with “underground rockers” wearing everything of ours from men’s Victorian coats, capes, army jackets, shirts, undershirts, to top hats, bowlers and fedoras, AND 1960’s glitzy clothes that we sold, rather than rented, to the commercial.  (We DO have sales racks!)

(Above, the beer commercial's design team Susana Gilboe (l) and head designer Kasia Maimone (r) choose items for the Aussie TV )

. We did a “spec commercial” for Arm and Hammer Toothpaste in which we rented a period dental smock.

. A little girl’s 1950’s dress for a Timex commercial.

MAGAZINES:

. We are ALL over “L’Uomo Vogue”!  The issues haven’t been published yet, but the end of December we did a fun shoot with Alec Baldwin in which he dressed in a cross between a Victorian chimney sweep and a Charles Dickens ragamuffin character and in January, we dressed Tyra Banks in a fantasy photo shoot of clothes and accessories from all periods.

SPECIAL EVENTS:

. An entire “Old West” cowboy accessories and Victorian undergarment display for the trend forecasting “Fashion Snoops” trade show display for  “The Magic Show” in Las Vegas, sponsored by Women’s Wear Daily.

CATALOGS:

. A 1950’s bathing cap for a 2010 “Anthropologie Catalog”, featuring their new bathing suit line.

. 1940’s and 1950’s playwear and parasols for a “Bace Incorporated” catalogue.

(To the right,  producer Nahoko Hayashi and her assistant model our accessories they will use for the catalog.)

...in closing, we especially want to give a big shout-out of "CONGRATULATIONS!" to our Fall intern Jennifer ( who visited us recently, below) on her recent engagement!!!!

..and a big welcome to our Spring intern  Caroline, who is realizing, along with senior staffers Kristen and Masha, what is important in our life....DESSERT!

HOSE ME DOWN: THE SEAMLESS TRANSITION - Part 5 (Final Installment)

 

THE CREATION OF ARTIFICIAL SILK…

Eventually, technological advances made stockings more affordable for the masses and by the 1880’s  there even existed a circular machine that could manufacture a stocking in the shape of a complete tube with a closed heel and toe.

Cotton and wool were the abundant fabrics of the time.  Stockings made from silk were, of course, the most desirable fabric, but they were expensive and out of the range of most people.  So, what to do?

As early as 1855, a Swiss chemist named Georges Audemars invented the very first manufactured fiber developed from wood and cotton pulp as a kind of artificial silk.  He created this new fabric by dipping a needle into liquid mulberry bark pulp and gummy rubber to make threads.  Alas, this method was painfully slow and deemed too cumbersome to be practical.

In 1884, the Comte de Chardonnay, a French chemist, patented a cellulose-based fabric that became known as “Chardonnay silk”, another artificial silk.  Alas for him, it was deemed too flammable and was removed from the market.  

In 1891, "artificial silk" was said to be first successfully made from a solution of cellulose in France but  in 1894, three British inventors patented an even safer way of making this “artificial silk”,  which would eventually come to be known as viscose rayon. 

After being patented in the United States, the first American plant began production of this new fabric in 1910.  By 1912, rayon stockings were mass marketed as "artificial" silk and provided a more affordable alternative to silk hosiery.

In 1915, there was an unusual court case.  Department store B. Altman’s protested against paying customs duty for imported “clocked silk hose”, but was ruled against when the courts decided that “clocking” was the same as “embroidered silk wearing apparel” according to the Tariff act of 1913, even though the United States Court claimed:

“…we understand the merchandise to consist of silk hose…have the usual character and style of clocking-that is to say, having on either side a fancy stripe or stripes in plain or colored threads, terminating at the top in an arrowhead or similarly shaped design…there is nothing in the record tending to show that clocking is not in fact embroidery…and if the clocking on stockings constitutes embroidery, as has heretofore been held, then clocked silk stockings would be dutiable under this provision.”

The protest was overruled.

 Women’s fashion at the time became alarmingly risqué!!

Women’s arms were bared not only for evening, but also for day.  Feet, ankles and calves, formerly hidden and encased in black stockings that young women wore until the end of World War I, were suddenly on display!  Legs were often covered in beige and flesh-colored stockings visible to the knee which gave an overall more naked look than ever before.  

In 1924 this new artificial silk fiber that people were also calling “art silk” became officially known as rayon, and stockings (as well as undergarments) made of rayon became popular as an inexpensive alternative to real silk.

These new rayon stockings were often very shiny, so women powdered their legs to dull them before venturing out. 

Manufacturers named their stocking colors with such romantic names as Honey Beige, Teatime, Rose Morn, Boulevard and Spanish Brown.  Patterned stockings became the rage.  Not only were they embellished with embroidery but an article in 1920 said that it was common for women to have photos of their beaus transferred to their knees!

Between the years of 1920-1939, seamless “fully fashioned” stockings were available: stockings which were knitted flat, then sewn together with a back seam.  Unfortunately, this led to bunching and baggy ankles. 

In 1928, DuPont opened a research lab for development of artificial materials- an unusual path for a company to follow at the time.  Acclaimed Harvard professor Wallace Carothers left academia to head up the research division.  Alas, he was as troubled as he was brilliant, once claiming that he could recite all the famous chemists who had committed suicide.  As a macabre climax, in 1937 he consumed a ration of cyanide that it was said he always carried with him and killed himself.

Julian Hill was one of the group of researchers headed by the manic-depressive Carothers.  Looking for a silk substitute, Hill one day discovered that by pulling a heated rod from a mixture of coal tar, water and alcohol he could create a filament that was strong, sheer, and silk-like in appearance.   Further research led to the first synthetic fiber which came to be known first as “Polymer 6.6”.

Two years later, in 1937, DuPont patented the discovery.  In honor of the clinically depressed Carothers who committed suicide that year, DuPont decided that he- rather than Hill- should be hailed as the inventor of Polymer 6.6 as a tribute to his work.  A legend was born.

First used for fishing line and surgical sutures, DuPont’s new fiber was touted as being "as strong as steel, as fine as a spider's web”, when it first announced and demonstrated nylon and nylon stockings to the American public at the 1939 New York World's Fair.

It is said that DuPont unveiled this new synthetic fabric to 3,000 women’s club members at the World’s Fair’s New York Herald Tribune’s “Forum on Current Problems” as part of  “World of Tomorrow”, the Fair’s official theme.

Though officially the name Nylon is a version of “No-Run” (the name originally tagged for this new fabric), some stories  claim that when this new synthetic fiber was first publically presented at the 1939 NY World's Fair, the NY was taken from the city's initials and the “LON” from London- thus the fiber became known as "nylon".

DuPont’s first full-scale plant was built in Delaware and began commercial production in 1939. 

Interestingly, the company chose NOT to register “nylon” as a trademark, but instead allowed it to become part of American vocabulary as a synonym for “stockings”.

The first nylon stockings appeared in New York stores on May 15, 1940 and 72,000 pairs were sold in the first day alone!

So crazed was the demand that four million were sold in the first 4 days and the Japanese silk market collapsed almost overnight.  By the end of 1940, DuPont had sold 64 million pairs of stockings and manufacturing could not keep up with the demand.

That year, nylon even appeared for the first time in movie: it was used in “The Wizard of Oz” to create the tornado that whisked Dorothy to the Emerald City!

World War II broke out.  By the end of  1941, both nylon and silk were lost to the war effort.  Nylon manufacturing was switched into tents, parachutes, ropes and tires for the military forces.

Known as the "miracle fiber", it was so critical to the war effort that drives were held to collect worn-out nylons to be recycled for military use and even what little silk was available was used to make powder sacks for the military because it left no residue inside gun barrels.

The stocking shortage led to both the popularity of women wearing folded-over cotton socks and the nutty trend of applying eyebrow pencil to the back of the leg to simulate the illusion of seams!

After the war, the craze for nylon stockings returned with a vengeance as manufacturing for the mass market resumed as demand sky rocketed.  In New York, Macy's sold out of its entire stock of 50,000 pairs of nylons in six hours.  One San Francisco store, mobbed by 10,000 shoppers, was forced to stop stocking sales in exasperation.

 In the 1940’s and 1950’s nylon stockings were “fully-fashioned”, as opposed to most modern stockings, which are “one-size”.  Fully fashioned stockings were tailored to the shape of the leg, and were seamed up the back.  The seam was an essential part of the stocking's construction, as it held it together.

 

The 1950’s introduced the seamless stocking. Because it appeared as if the woman was bare-legged, it was first thought to be unladylike, but soon surpassed the seamed stocking in popularity. 

In quick succession, 1959 introduced lycra, the 60’s introduced the seam-free stocking, and with the introduction of the mini skirt by designer Mary Quant in the 60’s, stockings and garter-belts gave way to the "all-in-one" pantyhose.  In 1965, Glen Raven Mills developed a seamless pantyhose version that coincided with the introduction of the miniskirt.  

Here’s a fun fact: former “Catwoman” (from the “Batman” TV series) actress Julie Newmar even patented an ultra-snug pantyhose called Nudemar: patent numbers 3,914,799 and 4,003,094 which read, in part, “Pantyhose with Shaping Band for Cheeky Derriere Relief".  They have elastic back seam that separates the buttocks.

The February 14, 1977 issue of “People” quotes her stating: “They make your derriere look like an apple instead of a ham sandwich…  It's a simple improvement.  I just gathered the back seam.  But it gives a woman the firm fanny of a 12-year-old."

..and what to do if you find that rare, early pair of royal stockings in your attic?

Well, in 2008, an elderly English woman found a pair of stockings that had been in a box in her attic for decades and had no idea how her family came to have them. They were judged to be an authentic pair of Queens Victoria’s black and white silk hose circa 1870’s and were sold at auction for $16,000.

HOSE ME DOWN : SO, WHERE ARE MY GARTERS? - (Stocking History Part 4 )

THE COLOR OF MEN’S AND WOMEN’S STOCKINGS

While society continued to highlight this new fashion accessory, the color of stockings was also often influenced by social mores of the times.

Until about 1730, the color usually complemented what dress or suit one was wearing, but after 1730, the styles shifted from colored stockings to wearing only white stockings with formal dress. (Below, men's c.1670's linen hose embroidered with silk)

By the  1790’s, fancy striped stockings become fashionable and at the very end of the 18^th century, ribbed stockings became the rage.

Beginning in the early 1800’s, court shoes were low in order to display the stockings’  openwork lace fronts and colors.

In the scandalous Regency times of c. 1812-1830(which officially began when the Prince of Wales became Regent of England after his father, George III, was declared insane), fashion was classically influenced, modeled on the ideals of the Greek and Roman worlds.  Not only did women dampen their Grecian-looking thin gowns to show off their bodies, but  pink and flesh-colored stockings became fashionable, worn to give an impression of nudity. By the  mid-1820s, fashionable people again wore shoes and stockings to match their dress.

In France, these scant styles were aped and  precipitated by the French Revolution and its "democratic" tenets. All classes dressed alike and silks gave way to light muslins, clinging lines, high waistlines, and arm-baring sleeves. In 1829, a dress code decreed by Carl VII of France notes: 

"It has been presented to the king that no other nation in the world is so degenerated, so changeable, so excessive and fickle in regard to clothing as France is. The standing and rank of individuals can no longer be distinguished by the clothing - whether they are princes or noblemen, bourgeois or craftsmen - because it is accepted that everyone dresses according to their wishes, man and woman alike, in gold of silver fabrics, in silk or wool, with no regard to their class."

With the stability of the new aniline dyes of the late 1850’s and 60’s, brightly colored stockings became popular, but by the mid-1880s, the trend of both shoes and stockings matching the dress began yet again. 

Due to the wearing of leather footwear, larger, dirtier towns and more reliable dyes, black became the most common color in the early 1900’s, when 19 out of every 20 pairs sold were black.

(At left, black silk stockings hand-embroidered with a skull and crossed bones - from the Uffner Vintage Archive Collection)

…HOW DO I KEEP THESE STOCKINGS FROM FALLING DOWN?

Because knit hose of the 16th century never had the elasticity of modern sock ans stockings, they fell - unless supported either by garters or other means of attachment to the upperstocks.  Most commonly, garters (strips of fabric or ribbon) tied just below the knee to support the hose.

Yet another style of support was “cross-gartering”, in which ribbons wrapped above and below the knee and crossed behind the knees. (see above example)

Interestingly, cross-gartering is mentioned 9 times in Shakespeare's “Twelfth Night” in relation to the character Malvolio, such as the following in Act II Scene 5:

“…my lady loves me.  She did commend my yellow stockings of late, she did praise my leg being cross-garter'd…”

Both garters and cross-garters were often made of costly materials and were highly decorated w. embroidery and fringe.

Though men continued to wear knee-length breeches, stockings and boots, the doublet began to disappear late in the 17th century in favor of the new fashion of wearing a waistcoat (what we now call a vest) worn with a looser form of doublet, a “jacket”  that was left unbuttoned so that the long vest could be seen.

As the 18^th century began, the doublet permanently fell out of fashion to evolve into a long frock coat with a shorter waistcoat and tight breeches, setting the stage for what later evolved into menswear staple of the future, the “3-piece suit”.  (At right, painting of frock coat and vest from The National Gallery)

At the time, a three-piece matching suit (especially for formal dress) was called a “suit in ditto”, though it was equally fashionable to have a contrasting waistcoat.

Stockings were usually pulled over the hem of the breeches, worn with shoes with square toes, high heels, high front flaps and small, functional buckles.   By the late 1870’s the men's heels were finally at more contemporary height.

Until about 1800, stockings were not particularly decorative.  Common hose colors were black, white, brown, grey and surprisingly, blue among the working classes.  Stockings were patched, had the feet replaced or, re-dyed to extend their lives.

When men and women started wearing shoes rather than boots and the clocked seams on the ankle area became more visible, decorating them became even more fashionable. (to the left, the

fashionably embroidered ankles of the Earl Of Dorset)

Eventually, embellished embroidery and contrasting colors transformed the stocking from a utilitarian purpose to a fashion statement, and decoration of hose took several forms for both men and women.

Though not always on commoners’ stockings, clocks were decorated on both sides of the ankle rather than just one.

Knit hose sometimes had their decor knitted in, with embellishment clustered around the tops of hose and their clocks (the area around the outside of the ankle).

Embroidery, on the other hand, was done with wool, silk, or metal thread.  Decorative open lacework and embroidered embellishment became the mark of the highest luxury.  The most elaborate embroidery, in gold, silver, and colored threads of the finest quality, was still done by hand. (Above, hand-embroidered black silk stockings appliqued with tiny silver sequins - from the Uffner Vintage Archive Collection)

Queen Elizabeth's accounts include payment for:

“fyve peire of silke knitt Hose carnacion in graine & other colours wrought at the clockes with venice golde & silver” and “ two peire of garnesey knitt Hose wrought at the clockes with silke”

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... ADDITIONALLY, A VERY SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT THIS WEEK!!!

Helen Uffner Vintage Clothing has a FABULOUS 4-page color pictorial and interview this month in SPOT ON, an English-language German magazine for 20-somethings!!!  

**A few movie stills in this online version were eliminated for copyright purposes, but the feature is STILL terrific and you get to see behind-the-scenes at HUVC and meet and learn about our individual staff members! Just follow the link below, and then click on "making old cool". ENJOY!

http://www.spoton.de/spoton/making-old-cool

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Next week, look for the FINAL INSTALLMENT of  "HOSE ME DOWN"

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all, from all of us at HUVC!

I know we have been remiss (mea culpa).. but be assured that the conclusion of  HOSE ME DOWN will be out next week and you will find it as entertaining  as the rest of the series has been!

We have two pieces of exciting news: 
First, Helen has been spending the month of December beginning our newest venture, a web presence on ETSY,  (a craft and vintage website) to sell our eclectic and immense collection of items ( ever-growing!) from decades of  buying and hoarding (smile)!!!

We have been listing  every fun category imaginable including greeting cards, artwork, quirky decor and home accessories, books, jewelry, old items in their original gift boxes, trim, ephemera, collars and cuffs, china, ...and of course, clothing will be coming soon in a big way!

You can find us at vintagepickle.etsy.com


Our second bit of news is that Helen's half-hour interview on the New York City cable show "Something to Offer" will air this coming Saturday, January 2 (also on February 6) at 7:30 PM on Channel 56 (Time Warner) and Channel 83/84 (RCN).

If you live out of New York, you can also access the show via video-stream at the same, exact time through www.mnn.org ( go to "programs" or "channel" and find the show  "Something to Offer" at 7:30 PM)

 Until we communicate again with you next year, we wish you a peaceful and happy 2010, and invite you to join us, Helen, Masha, Kristen and Allyn,  at our holiday lunch cum gift exchange we had at year's end!!!!