Oskar Schlemmer

1888 - 1943

Most people probably have never heard of this man, unless you're a German theater enthusiast or have an extensive knowledge about costume design. It is the latter which brought me to my discovery of him (although the extent of my costume design knowledge isn't as broad as I'd like it to one day be!) by way of research for a scenography assessment. Oskar Schlemmer was a German theater designer and key player in the Bauhas movement in the 1920's. The Bauhaus School (literally translating to "building house") is famous for it's influence in modern design - particularly architecture and interior design - as it focused on combining art and industry; it especially concentrated on the machine aesthetic, industrialization, and the simplification of visuals in design. It was quite experimental and futuristic, which the images below will illustrate. Schlemmer's work with the Bauhaus embodies and represents their ideas perfectly, especially with his creation called The Triadic Ballet which he is best known for. In this ballet, the costumes wear the dancers, the line of the clothes dictate the movement as they reconstruct the silhouette and form of a human body, and the design of each environment dictates the pattern of the dance. It is bizarre and interesting and brilliant to watch, and it wholly evokes the Bauhaus and Schlemmer's theories of design. He is a great and inspiring figure for me as he proves just how important the presence of a costume can be and how much it can fill a space. Hopefully by exploring the images below, you'll be able to understand the weight and the essence of his ideas and be inspired by their abstract nature.
*all photos from this post were found on the websites below or Google images

Bauhaus:

Schlemmer:

If you'd like to do some more digging...

http://www.thinkingform.com/2011/09/04/thinking-oskar-schlemmer-09-04-1888/
http://designhistory.org/Bauhaus3.html
http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=5219

Bathing Beauties

So far this summer has been a hot one, and as we all know there's no better way of escaping the sweaty wrath of Mr. Golden Sun than by fleeing to the nearest body of water.  Since we're in the thick of the heat right now, I thought I'd dig up some of my family's old beach photos to see the way previous generations have rocked it out in their summer gear (plus I had an excuse to dive into piles of photo albums in the air conditioning). Have fun perusing through some summer memories and take note of all the awesome bathing suits!

my grandmother Estelle, left, 1950's

Estelle and my Poppop Jack, right, with family 1960's. I particularly  noticed the bathing caps which are 

definitely a thing of the past, and Poppop Jack's awesome Ray Bans

LOVE Estelle's white one-piece on the far left 

Notice how put together her hair and makeup is, even on the beach!

My mum Julie, 1970's at her home in Hertfordshire, England

Amazing pin stripes...

The details on this modest two-piece are so beautiful, plus the original 1970's-style giant sunglasses

Estelle and her best friend Shirley in Florida, early 1960's

Once again with the bathing cap - only this one appears to be way less practical!

A lovely example of the 1960's sun bathing experience... 

Compliments of Bain de Soleil Orange Gelee (they still make this stuff).

Uncle Alan, Uncle Josh, and my dad Neil, respectively, in matching pin-striped swim shorts

Mum sunbathing, 1990... this suit is one of my favorites.

Closer look at the lace detail at the top and the texture of the material. 

My parents honeymooning, 1987... nice short shorts dad! Mum rocking a great 80's style black and gold high cut bikini.

Plastic aviators, headphones, more short shorts... looks like it was a good day at the beach.

And for laughs... me, age 2, on a purple day!

We Can Do It!

Before Ms. Beyonce Knowles started empowering all the single ladies, there was little miss Rosie the Riveter bearing her muscles and taking one for the team during World War II. She's strong. She's iconic. She's beautiful. All things that women today still appreciate and many strive to be, but during WWII this came with much more difficulty and many more burdens as it was the women maintaining the economy. Clothes were rationed, tights were no where to be seen, and all those single ladies were stichin' themselves new dresses out of old curtains. So on this note (and seeing as I've racked up all of this information from the term paper I just finished), here comes a long list of reasons why we should keep looking up to Rosie and the other ladies who have earned the right to call themselves the original reccesionistas.
*all photos from this post were found from various other sources

Make Do and Mend: a scheme created by Vogue for the English in response to the Utility Clothing Scheme imposed at the end of 1941, a strategy to control and regulate the amount of available resources and limited income by essentially creating a civilian uniform. This pamphlet taught women how to make anything out of anything!

Great examples of wartime fashion. Plain, boxy, respectful, put together. 

Hats were a popular way to spice up an outfit as their production was not regulated 

since they used so few materials. During this period the hats were pretty wild. 

Since there were no stocking available, women would paint their legs to make it appear as though they were wearing tights! Leg makeup came on the market and eye liner could be used to draw on the seams. 

Women sitting in the entrance to a bomb shelter, wearing protective masks 

for shrapnel and debris... Photograph taken by the famous Lee Miller

Lee Miller herself in Hitler's bathtub on the day his suicide was announced. Such an 

interesting topic, and woman... if interested definitely look into her (see citation below).

Gallagher, Jean. “Vision, Violence, and Vogue: War and Correspondence in Lee Miller’s

Photography.” The World Wars Through the Female Gaze. USA: 1998. Print. 

What a clever way to take advantage of the lack of resources... men. 

Poster from the American version of the rationing/recycling schemes, Sew and Save. 

An advertisement for patterns encouraging women to 

cut up their old clothes in order to create new styles. 

Girl power. 'Nuf said.