Stepping out of the feminine closet
In fashion I am not into contemporary trends. I'm out of the age where I'm interested in current or future fashion. Rather, I take a look backwards and lean towards nostalgic contemplations that, even in my youthful days, almost belonged to what is now called
"Vintage".
For several years now, I have been experimenting with fashion from the forties and fifties & later, especially with regard to hair wear. Cribbed from the film classics and what has stuck in my mind from the countless fashion magazines and pin-ups, as well as video-tutorials on the net, I toyed with my own wardrobe of clothes, and sometimes even go out with it. Much of what I show is self-sewn. By now quite a respectable collection of trousers, skirts, pullovers and tops.
The middle picture of the title shows me with a pair of jeans for which I took some making photographs.
I don't buy new fabrics very often, preferring to tailor my wardrobe from second-hand garments. To do this, I unravel the old pieces and then cut them completely new. For this trousers, however, I bought a denim fabric with a very slight amount of stretch. It was the very first pair that I sewed with the help of a pattern and that was actually wearable. They sit very high on the hips, are tightly cut at the top and fall out in a wide flap at the bottom.
On the left, you see me with a pair of thrifted suede trousers, as well as a blouse, both of which I consider to be from the 70s. Strictly tied back chignon at the bottom of the head and a centre parting remind me of the hairdo of the older Romy Schneider.
I like the smell of mothballs in those stores.
Scarfs were used widely between the 40s and 60s as a fashion object. Later, the scarfs were often sewn onto the blouses, like in this picture
When you dress in the style of other eras,
you notice the great effort women made to acquire their looks and status for the day.
There is a certain comfort and appreciation in consciously performing the slow ritual of dressing and make-up. The costuming - how one presents oneself to the outside world - takes on a greater awareness. At least, that's how I see it from my perspective today.
A look I call "Billy of the Hills".
If you have beer in the fridge, get it. For whatever reason, it makes me think of James Dean and the beautiful cars from that era. All you have to do is pile the fringes up really high and then pin them on top. I have lots of hair, so this works very well.
The grey long skirt - to the right - is the result of re-purposing an ankle length wool dress (size S!) that had become too small, stored from about 30 years ago, which I cut apart and sewed together to make a governess skirt.
The wollen blazer is a purchased piece, don't know from when, but be certain that all I am presenting here is minimum more then two decades old. Note, that the ladies from back then used belts to give their fashion the right curves.
A check mini, with an outrageous shortness (!) which I had never worn and which also had to spend many years in obscurity, was exploited for the waistband. Sorry skirt, but no legs were shown off down under.
For the inside of the skirt I chose extra large pockets, in a different, less thick fabric. They go all the way where the belly sits and serve as a belly cover. Above the skirt pattern you can already see the satin fabric for the underskirt, as this is not only ladylike and, appropriate to the era (not sewn to the skirt, but to be put on separately) but also protects against the scratchy wool.
Sometimes I need sweets when sewing.
If you don't care at all about confectionary modesty, your mouth will surely water at the sight of these delicacies. Once again, the Italian way of life gets a reflection here.
Elegant waves
If you look really close, in the picture on the left, you can even see the hairstyle from behind, as I photographed myself backwards in the mirror.
I went to great lengths to achieve a result that the women of the past times showed: no curls, but waves. This is done by carefully brushing the unorderly curls in a semicircle with a hairbrush over the thumb and then gently shaping them into a wave. The curls remain in the rollers either overnight or for several hours. Curling is done in dry, not in damp hair, only the tips are slightly moistened.
For the nostalgic effect, I edited the photographs, framed them and went for the sepia look.
Speaking of gone things:
Hamburg's Smallest Warehouse - now only a memory
The many tablecloths and fabrics come from a jumble and antique shop called "The Smallest Warehouse", which unfortunately closed two years ago. I went there very often to browse and breathe in the smells of the second-hand goods.
A few days before it closed, I bought some haberdashery and sewing paraphernalia and took some last photos of the shelves and narrow aisles. I also got the magazine from the 1930s that you see here from the store.
The owners of the shop answered my question why they wanted to give up their business: "We don't want to buy a new cash register, these electronic devices are very expensive and we don't fancy the modern stuff."
The same skirt, but this time in the style of the 20s,
both in terms of the shape of the hair and the comfortable jumper and a loosely tied fabric belt. The less glamorous lady of the house in her sporty wardrobe. Variations are the fun of costuming, aren't they?
The wardrobe is never authentic if the hair design doesn't play along with it. It took me some practice to learn the techniques and do my hair on my own. Since my head wears a massive hair amount, it gives me some trouble to keep my arms up for so long, sometimes I would need more than two hands.
Above you can see many intertwined sections of hair arranged into a complete structure. I went to work with it. The arrangement stands up quite well to wind and weather. However, there are lots of hairpins hidden in it. The evening ritual of removing all the pins again and undoing the hairstyle is fairly easily carried out.
From left to right: A designer costume jacket for the fabulous price of 30 euros. My very unusual dressing cabinet, reminiscent of the vanishing chamber at Hogwarts, a dress from the 70s with narrow sleeves (unfortunately polyester!), a view into the aforementioned closet, a folklore blouse like you see in Hungary
The instant of a photograph sets up an illusion
My mother's fate was that she and her family were on the run for a long time, first it was the Bolshevists who drove my grandfather off his land and the flourishing mill business, later it was the Russians who took Russian-German prisoners and deported them deep into Siberia. Fortunately, they all survived these difficult times.
But I enjoyed playing with the materials I have at hand. Costuming gives me the opportunity to empathise with other perspectives and express my love of theatre, the small arts and personal human destinies.
I close the journal with some photographs and in memory of my relatives.
On the top left you see my uncle, next to him my mother with a friend, below is my father and my aunt, all deceased. (Uncle: ca. 1995, father: 1991, mother: 2016, aunt: ca. 1999).
This is very rare footage and I never saw my parents themselves in those young years. They were all simple labourers and worked for the first half of their lives as farmers in self-sufficiency as well as by supplementary income in agricultural enterprises. The fancy hairstyles belied the fact that they did not care for glitz and glamour and had only occasionally been up for dancing and going out.
All of these things are very pleasing and in the pursuit of creating something pleasant to the eye, I know that it is the contrast with these impressions that makes the difference. Is there beauty in ugliness?
Images
I am the copyright owner of all the images used. They have been taken over the years and I have carefully selected and edited them for the purpose of this journal.