Arth 1204

Chala Jamison 

April 1, 2020

Exam 1

ARTH 1204

Professor Romano

Midterm Exam 

  1. What can these garments tell us about women’s lives during the respective periods in which they were designed and made? 

These garments tell about women’s lives. The first image is of the Victorian period and it has silk velvet more expensive fabrics. Anything couture is more of a luxury design. The fabric is heavy and more covered for women. This is a modest piece which means that women shouldn’t show their chests and physical shape. Garment one is more fancy and has less room to be comfortable and active . Also it is a day dress so the women are wearing this certain times during the day example they are having tea gathering . In comparison the yellow dress is from the 1920’s modernism era . With fabric knitted  and silk all though silk is expensive it is more casual and affordable than the Victorian period garment . This is more fitted to the body shape and shows more legs which in the 1920’s it is more freedom for women to wear what they like and more comfortable . This fashion garment is designed to allow women to be more active  so it is showing that women can play sports if they want to. 

2. Compare/Contrast: what are the similarities and differences of the two garments pictured, in terms of aesthetics and cultural significance of production and wear? (Think beyond their basic physical characteristics and bring up key themes and wider subjects we’ve discussed in class)

           The garment is a shirtwaist which comes from the same time period of the victorian dress. While the dress was made of expensive fabrics, the shirt on the other hand is not as expensive . More people could afford the shirt in this period. It was made for the low, middle , and high class to wear. This type of clothing was new for this time period. It became acceptable to be able to do more activities in this garment compared to the Victorian dress. In this garment shirt you have more freedom to move around. At this time it was opening up doors for women to do more activities and do what they wanted to do for themselves. 

3. Compare/Contrast: what are the similarities and differences of the two slides, in terms of aesthetics and cultural significance of production and wear?  

The Bar Suit designed by christian dior has silk, is padded with pleated wool and taffeta.  Historicism in the 1950’s .This garment is very business professional and it also shows legs at the bottom as well . The significance of this production is that it looks like women were set up to have power and elegance in business clothing. At this time it was post-war rebirth, so this outfit represents femininity but also in high quality wealth. This also shows soft power as women were dressed femininely but ready to handle business. The similarities between these two garments is that they both have silk inside of the garment.  The Madame Gres dress has more light fabrics and more goddess gowns with pleats that look like a woman would wear to an event to show wealth and beauty. The cultural inspiration looks related to the Greeks who were known for their sophisticated sculpture and architecture. Also a similarity is that it shows the richness and variety being that they are both haute. Both are high end fashion with a lot of time put into each of these garments. They are made from high-quality fabric, they are expensive, and finished by the most experienced and capable sewers. 

4. Compare/Contrast: what are the similarities and differences of the two garments pictured, in terms of aesthetics and cultural significance of production and wear?   

The lady Levi jeans are blue with five pockets, the jeans are fitted but not tight like skinny jeans. This denim is giving a American fashion culture look. These are styled for women looking to vacation at dude ranches. The culture is more of a country style for people who may be inspired by people in the southern states of the United States of America. Historical reproductions of pioneer, mountain man, Civil War, cowboy in the 1940s and 1950s. Western wear was very informal, with a t-shirt and denim jeans forming a basic ensemble, or it may consist of tailored formal garments with western accents. At minimum, western wear generally incorporates a cowboy hat, a leather belt, and cowboy boots. The similarities between both garments is that  they are comfortable, the pants in the second image are larger and not tight fitted. This is more of a change for women because women used to mostly wear dresses and then skirts. Pants are a  huge change and it shows more of the masculine side. The difference is the material in the pants is denim in image one and image two is actual menswear.  The zoot suit garment is wool plain weave and twill .These pants are oversized and the jacket is long with funky stripes. Suit is high waisted wide legged tight cuffs and the long coat with lapels and padded shoulders.  It is more menswear  and more masculine. The culture of this is more hip hop and jazz influenced. These outfits are more of something people may want to wear to jazz clubs or to dance. Historically unable to afford new clothes, many young African Americans wore suits belonging to older relatives, taking them in at the waist, hips, and ankles. Fox and others liked the style because it was snug enough to look cool, yet loose enough to do the latest jazz dances. The new suit style became part of African American jazz culture from New York’s Harlem neighborhood to New Orleans, Louisiana’s French Quarter. It was common jazz slang to put a “z” at the beginning of words, so the suit became a zoot. 

5. Choose one of the below. Discuss the creative philosophy and technique of the designer, in relation to ideas on the wearer’s body.

Elsa Schiaparelli material technique is silk /bias-cut . The techniques of bias and fashion trompe 1’oeil print of rips and tears , like torn flesh ,speaks to surrealisms fixation with the corporeal ,and the violence surrounding WW1. Haute couture is high fashion . This dress has creative colors and it is 3D cut out in pink and white . This looks like a bride in a pink and white it looks like animals all over. The Madeleine Vionnet garment is silk, biased cut fabric flexibility and body movement . Material technique silk , bias cut and pin tuck . The pintuck is a narrow tuck fold / pleat that is sewn in place . Haute Couture is high fashion . The dress is silk and fashionable and very comfortable.

6. Discuss two ways New York sportswear was promoted and marketed in the 1930s-40s.

The New York sportswear was promoted by amazing photography that grabbed a lot of attention. The illusion of a model spontaneously running along the beach and  walking in a busy city with traffic. It was eye grabbing for the people because they were able to see someone in a different background they may want to be on a vacation nice relaxing beach . That promoted sportswear in an amazing way and the best of these things protects. Customers that readymade sportswear allowed women to and feel at ease in modern cities .Martin Munkacsifashion photography in Harper’s Bazaar .It communicated to readers/consumers that readymade sportswear allowed women to navigate and feel at ease in the modern city, even though their presence was problematic. The new york sportswear was promoted by amazing photography that grabbed a lot of attention . 

7. Give two examples of modernism in fashion.

Belief in progress, and utopian visions of human life, in the way that humans have the power to create and improve their environment through scientific knowledge and technology is modernism .An example of modernism  is art deco and also cubism . Art Deco was a movement in fine and decorative arts influenced by the bold, geometric forms of Cubism, bright colors of Fauvism, and Orientalist styles . The modernist fashion piece orientalism is made in silk .Japonisme, Classicism and Chinoiserie in fashion and art. Artists such as coco Chanel had modernist pieces as well. The Ballets Russes, the Paris based dance company led by Sergei Diaghilev (1872-1929) envisioned a new, modern vision of dance that frequently drew inspiration from Ancient World, incorporating Grecian, Roman and Egyptian styles.

8 .Give two examples of fashion that has a dialogue with fine art. This could include a garment example, designer identity, artist-designer collaborations, or visual depictions of clothing.

One example of fashion that was similar to fine art was garments by Sonia Delauncy. Sonia Delauncy worked as a painter originally this is what has a big impact on her fashion design and creativity.  Her painted style was orphic cubism, a mixture of geometric shapes and bright colors. This painting style shows in her Simultaneous Dress. This dress has many different colors, it is made of many shapes such as triangles , rectangles and it doesn’t have a specific pattern.  Another example was Elsa Schiaparelli. Elsa Schiaparelli made things look completely different from what the usual item that you were used to looking at. She made Tear Dress, Lobster Dress, Skeleton Dress, Shoe Hat these things you would not normally guess someone could make. The artists she was inspired by were surrealist artists such as Salvador Dali and Jean Cocteau. These artists make things that are real at the same time are bizarre and not expected. They would add things that were imaginary.