I Had a Favorite Dress: dear mama can make it work

Growing up I thought my mother was magical because she could sew. I remember her sewing me a red dress with red roses in the first grade. She seemed to make it overnight…in fact, I think she did! It was my favorite dress when I was six.

When my friend Margot was four, she remembers her dad bringing back a soft green dress from Italy with stitchery in the front and lace at the bottom edge. When she grew out of it, her mom altered it for her baby doll to wear.

My daughter has several favorite pieces that she’s outgrown. I often wish I was a savvy D.I.Y. (do it yourself) kind of mom who could be like Mary Poppins and magically (as Boni Ashburn says) “make a molehill out of a mountain.”

I think most of us have a few items of clothing that we are so in love with that when we wear them out, we are heartbroken!

The little girl in Boni Ashburn’s I Had a Favorite Dress is so lucky to have a mom who can make alterations that keep her daughter smiling. I very much want to do this for my daughter; I think it teaches resourcefulness.

I love how the mom’s boho-chic style influences her daughter’s appearance in what looks to be like a trendy Greenwich Village neighborhood.

As the girl grows, her salmon colored favorite dress is transformed into a shirt, tank top, skirt, scarf, socks, and hair bow.  The mom keeps saving the day by using her creativity to solve a problem every time her daughter says, “Mama dear…”  and there’s nothing to worry about when mama smiles and does a, “SNIP, SNIP, sew, sew… New shirt, hello!”

Julia Denos

The young girl understands that nothing lasts forever and that’s okay because favorite things can be changed and used again in other ways. She dances into the days of the week as the seasons change.

Julia Denos, the illustrator of I Had a Favorite Dress, has a fresh whimsical style that is childlike with an old fashioned 1950’s feel. She is also the illustrator of another book I adore, Just Being Audrey.  

I would like to decorate my daughter’s room with Julia’s illustrations from both of these books.

I Had a Favorite Dress reminds me of a book I read to my second graders, Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. Joseph has an overcoat that he really likes and it becomes old and worn, but instead of throwing it away, it is altered into a jacket.  The same thing happens to the jacket and he makes a vest, then scarf, necktie, handkerchief, and finally a button. The message is that it’s always good to make something out of nothing or “make a molehill out of a mountain.”

This is such a good lesson to teach to children. As a teacher, I immediately thought about lessons I could teach comparing the two books.

I have already recommended I Had a Favorite Dress to our school librarian. It will be one of those books that never has a chance to be "checked-in!"

All it takes is a little inspiration from Etsy or Pinterest to get creative these days. Making alterations is the perfect answer to keeping hold of your favorite memories. Fashionistas can be green too and reduce, reuse, recycle their favorite items.

I plan to reuse my husband’s old neckties from the 80’s and 90’s and make them into bracelets like I found on Pinterest.

I haven’t yet decided how I will reuse some of my daughter’s favorite dresses but I imagine she’s probably going to think of it on her own sense we read I Had a Favorite Dress almost every night! I may be calling my “Mama dear” for the sewing! In the meantime, I hope to impart to my children and others the philosophy that although both things and people may appear to be used and spent, they may just be waiting for the energy and optimism of creative ideas to fill an old sail with fresh air.

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk in Dallas

Jean Paul Gaultier has always had an open-minded view of society; exploring and investigating ideas with a grand sense of humor.

Gaultier started his career in 1970 at age 18 as an assistant to Pierre Cardin, and more recently he has been the creative director of Hermès from 2003 to 2010. Gaultier is known for using unconventional models for his exhibitions like full-figured, older women, and tattooed models as well as conventional models. This is partly why he’s so recognizable and popular as a designer. He has said, “In life, I like the blemishes, scars, emotions of the skin, of the flesh, of movement—everything that is human.” I think he has a special eye to view the beauty of life. He has also said, “Women become beautiful once they become forty.”

Walking slowly through the Dallas Museum of Art I could hear the soundtrack of Gaultier’s life playing through his six themed rooms: “The Odyssey of Jean Paul Gaultier,” “Boudoir,” “Skindeep,” “Punk Cancan,” “Urban Jungle,” and “Metropolis.” These six rooms feature approximately 130 ensembles from his couture collections.

I imagine his playlist might include some Boy George, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Amy Winehouse, the soundtrack to Nine and some Cole Porter Anything Goes.

Porter’s lyrics to Anything Goes couldn’t be more parfait for Gaultier!

In olden days a glimpse of stocking
Was looked on as something shocking,
But now, God knows,
Anything Goes.

Entering the energetic atmosphere there are thirty life-like mannequins to great you in first room “The Odyssey of Jean Paul Gaultier” including a mannequin of the “bad boy sailor” Gaultier himself speaking, “Hello, welcome, I am Jean Paul Gaultier. I am very happy to receive you here in the Dallas Museum of Art. Enjoy the show.

I love his choice of real everyday looking women with unusual faces for his cutting edge talking mannequins. He wants for people to see everyone’s beauty. He thinks of fashion as a game and does not call his work “art.” He says, “My job is to make clothes that have to be worn.” I think Gaultier is being humble to not call his couture creations “art”…oui, bien sûr it’s art!

It is such a pleasant treat that more and more museums are welcoming fashion. Dallas has been in the lime light twice now. It was just a few years ago that SMU welcomed Spanish designer Balenciaga. In 2008, New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted the Chanel exhibition and more recently the MET also featured Alexander McQueen’s designs.

Although Gaultier says he doesn’t think about a certain time period for his inspiration, he can make you feel like you just stepped back in time or into the future like he did in  The Fifth Element movie.

Museum visitors feels like they could be in the Belle Époque period about to run into Toulouse Lautrec painting Jane Avril doing the cancan. Then he takes the audience to Amsterdam’s red light district in the “Boudoir” room. A cigarette seemed an appropriate thing to have after being in the “Boudoir” and “Skindeep” rooms… et voila, many of the mannequins were holding cigarettes in the next room smoking for the audience on a moving runway oval platform. It’s as if he wanted us to feel the experience and I can just imagine him saying in his French accent, you just had some naughty fun in Amsterdam and now I’m bringing you the 80s London punk scene and then onward to the "Urban Jungle."

My Ukrainian friend found herself drawn to a dress that was a Tribute to Ukraine. The stunning dress took 242 hours to create.

After seeing The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk  it is certain that Gaultier speaks to all kinds of women. His attitude is that fashion is for everyone. He is playful, whimsical, provocative and imaginative.

What I love about Jean Paul Gaultier is that, like a Picasso, he is easily distinguishable . His style is unapologetic, has good humor, and combines couture with culture.

His artsy, chic, and fashion forward grandmère was his first muse. He played in her closet and was fascinated with the discovery of the corset and wearing underwear as outerwear. He would watch his eclectic grandmother sip vinegar to make herself gasp and contract her stomach muscles and then cinch her corset tighter.

He has been inspired by the streets of London punk music scene, Paris, Folies Beregere, but it was the 40s movie Falbalas that made him want to become a designer. Old movies and showgirls also evoked his passion for fashion.

My mom sent me his first corset bottle perfume when I was in college in 1993 at the University of Alabama. My sorority sisters in the Bible belt couldn’t believe I had such a naughty bottle in my room. The bottle oozed sex! That’s what I mean about Gaultier being unapologetic; his style is “in your face” unique with a side of sex.

He’s had many a famous muse throughout his career: Catherine Deneuve, Helen Mirren, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Madonna, Charlotte Rampling…to name a few.

Madonna’s costumes for the 1990 “Blond Ambition" tour was one of the highlights of the exhibition.

Gaultier has always had a thing for sailor stripes; the stripes portray his bad boy “enfant terrible” image perfectly. A name he earned in the 70s for his first fashion show because of his tendency in challenging the then common views of fashion by reworking them exhaling into them the breath of his own ideas.

He’s inspired by movement and does a lot of design for ballet. Most recently he designed costumes for Angelin Preljocaj’s Snow White ballet and his motivation from the movie The Black Swan can be identified in his pieces in the Fall 2011 couture collection.

Dallas has much to be proud of and we have been extremely lucky to debut Gaultier’s show as one of only two U.S. A. stops. After the show ends in Dallas (February 12th), it will travel to San Francisco.  


Jean Paul Gaultier has definitely made his mark on what fashion is today. The Dallas Museum of Art honors him with a tribute to life. C'est Magnifique!     

Scent of a Woman: Diane

Perfume has power; an alluring scent makes a lasting impression. A woman’s fragrance is like a DVF dress, it’s about the way you feel when you put it on…sexy, confident, and classic; and like a DVF dress, perfume should keep speaking even if no one is talking.

Women have been seducing men for hundreds of years with their scent. It has been said that Cleopatra conquered the Romans with her perfume. This is the power of fragrance. Christian Dior said, “Long after one has forgotten what a woman wore, the memory of her perfume lingers.” I’m sure King Solomon couldn’t remember what Cleopatra was wearing because he was hypnotized by her scent.

Diane von Furstenberg was in Dallas last Tuesday to launch her new fragrance Diane at Sephora in North Park. Watching Diane on Good Morning Texas I was tickled to hear her say, “Dallas has the most beautiful women in the world...Dallas is special.” 

Diane von Furstenberg’s new fragrance Diane has musky notes of patchouli, frangipani and violet flowers. It is seductive, mysterious and impossible to forget. Sephora describes it beautifully, “Built up like one of her dresses: it wraps up a woman’s body and stays with her all day long.” Her slogan for the fragrance is “Be the woman you want to be.”  

The beautiful ice sculpture bottle was inspired by the golden links of her sutra bracelets she wears. Carved into her bracelets are Diane’s mantras "love, laughter, freedom, harmony, truth, confidence and life.” I think you can sense the powerful aroma of her fragrance in her mantras.

 

Diane von Furstenberg, the Belgian-American designer was born the same year as my dad. Diane has said, “Beauty is perfect in its imperfections, so you just have to go with the imperfections.” I love the fact that the designer, who is sixty-four, has never had any plastic surgery and doesn’t plan to.

Diane has had a fascinating life! She married a prince in 1969. Her company was founded in 1972. She is most well known for her iconic wrap dress and her signature prints. All this time, Diane has been hobnobbing with the glamorous glitterati and has been photographed more than any designer.

Mario Testino who has photographed Diane told her to always smile big so she looks joyful in every shot and she truly does; she has a definite sense of self and exudes confidence.

Her fashion empire includes: clothing, shoes, bags, jewelry, luggage, tableware, bedding, and now fragrance. Diane is actually her second fragrance following Tatiana.

The DVF legacy is similar to Coco Chanel’s. They each invented their own feminine and modern style that has remained relevant for decades.

She likes the fact that her customers are so young; it makes her feel current. Her customers range in age from eighteen to eighty-eight.

I can’t help but think of Diane as I read Elaine Sciolino’s La Seduction. Even though she isn’t French, she has that obvious joie de vivre and a soft feminine power that only a woman can command. I believe Diane has the art of seduction down pretty well, in fact I can smell it!

If I were a celebrity, creating a fragrance would be first on my list of things I would do. There are very few designer fragrances I love. Sarah Jessica Parker’s Lovely and Stella McCartney’s Stella are two of my favorites. Fragrance is so personal; it envelopes you as a person but also takes on the environment you’re in. As Diane says, “fragrance is about addiction and memory.” Diane has that je ne sais quoi that you don’t forget.

I wore Diane to a local fashion show and dinner out with my girlfriends this past Friday. After leaving a crowded night spot, I could still smell Diane in my hair (not the smoke). I like a fragrance that can stay with you through the variable elements of life. I imagine Diane thought about this from her Studio 54 nights.

When sampling scents at a counter at Neiman Marcus recently, the salesclerk had me smell a few different perfumes. When I told her which scent I preferred, she replied, “Aww…I can tell you are a good girl!” There is a definite yin and yang in fragrances, contrasting flowers just like the many personalities we wear. I may be a good girl, but I might like for some people to catch a whiff of something mysterious that leads them to ponder whether I’m always good! With fragrance, I think we can all be like Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman” because it simply depends on how we want to smell.

Le Chignon

The chignon hairstyle is a classic, timeless “up-do”, yet it still manages to be modern. Any age can wear a chignon and feel instantly classy and coquettish; just add some red lipstick, perfume and you’re elegant and ready for any occasion.

Sometimes known as a French twist, the Chignon is a classic bun with a bit of a twist.

This hairdo is extremely popular because it can be worn numerous ways: to the side, slightly messy, and sometimes decorated with flowers or even chopsticks. 

The word “chignon” comes from the French phrase “chignon du cou,” which means nape of the neck.  It is still synonymous with French sophistication. Chignon (pronounced: "shin-yawn ") resembles a beautiful, smooth, low knot or bun. The most elegant women don the chignon. Perhaps this is so because, as it was said to me as a young girl, the nape of a female neck may be simultaneously both the clearest and most subtle pronouncement of femininity in a woman’s appearance.

The hair is first brushed straight and gathered at the back in the hands.  The ponytail is then twisted to tighten the hair, and the twisted ponytail piled on the back of the head and secured with pins to give a very attractive bun. A messy bun can add some character to the look.

The chignon can be traced back to Ancient Greece, where Athenian women commonly wore the style with gold or ivory handcrafted hairpins.  They fastened their chignons with a hair pin clasp of "golden grasshoppers," according to "The History of the Peloponnesian War". The chignon’s popularity peaked again in the 1940’s when many women wore the bun with a headscarf while working in factories to support the war effort during World War II.

This hairstyle is also identified with ballerinas. Ballet dancers often use hairnets and bobby pins to make their bun as tight and neat as possible. Most ballerinas have long hair because it adds femininity to the stereotype of a ballet dancer. There are more ballerinas today breaking that mold. Nonconformists like City Ballet dancers Ashley Bouder and Jenifer Ringer cut their hair to feel a bit more like a regular person. They wear hair pieces when performing.

For feminine women who have long hair a chignon is perfect for rainy weather or when you’re running late; instead of spending time blow-drying and straightening your hair, just pull it back into a bun and you’ve got an instant chic do.

With the flexibility of styles from elegance on one end to casual comfortability on the other, the chignon may inspire a healthy and attractive approach to daily living.  Many say that a new or different hat may change not only a woman’s appearance, but also her attitude and feelings about herself. The same may be true of this simple, nape clearing “up do.”  From Classic to Modern - with a twist - a Chignon can work for everyone! 

Back to School: Fashions, Backbacks, and Bento boxes

 

There’s nothing like back to school shopping to put you in the mood for fall. This time of year is almost as busy as the holidays. It’s like there is something crisp in the air that gives off a fresh new energy. I love it.

With the autumn season rapidly approaching I am reminded of the movie You’ve Got Mail.  I loved what Tom Hanks says about back to school smells and the fall season, It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. I also love the scene when Meg Ryan comes into her shop and picks up a roll of Scotch tape and says, Can you beat that?



I loved the dress I wore the first day of first grade.



Walking into my classroom I’m excited about the smell of new crayons but also the visual display of first day of school outfits. I remember what I wore the first day of school every year. The pictures my mom took on that first day show the excitement and anticipation of that moment; I always felt good about that first day outfit. It’s part of making a great first impression and having an outfit you feel happy in.

This is a special year for me because my daughter will be joining me at school (my work) . She is starting Kindergarten; and as an elementary teacher, I’m thrilled that we will be going to school together.

Fashion has always stimulated me and I’m tickled to see my daughter developing her own opinion on colors and textures. She’s picked out three first day outfits and loves to try them on to play fashion show. It is my hope that this year she will dress herself and feel good about what she’s wearing.

I’m always impressed with mothers who encourage their children to dress themselves. If your child has an opinion about what they like to wear then they’re probably capable of choosing their own outfit.

Not long ago, I had the pleasure of teaching a little girl named Isabelle. I loved seeing her explore her fashion sense; she would come to school with multiple patterns, glittery scarves, and hair accessories all in one day. The scarf might turn into a belt at recess and the fancy shoes might be changed to sneakers but she was so proud of her style. Her look  worked because she had confidence and her mom had given her enough direction and freedom to explore her fashion-sense; that resulted in choices that were all weather-appropriate, tasteful, and fit her body.

I recently cleaned out my children’s drawers in preparation for back to school shopping; you could say I went shopping in their closets first! This way I was able to do an inventory and organize what they already have that still works. Naturally you should do this for yourself too; but it’s always easier to do for someone else isn’t it?!

When my daughter came downstairs from getting dressed I could tell she had fun picking out her clothes because she had forgotten about the many adorable clothes she had hiding behind her favorite Hello Kitty shirts. She was so excited and proud of her fashion selection.

The tricky part of going back to school is that it’s still summer and here in Texas we won’t be ready to pack up our summer clothes for a while. This is why I love layers; they allow you to mix and match until the seasons really do change then you can add more layers.

I think it’s fun to play with patterns…stripes, stars, and polka dots all together? Sure, a child can own that look and it can make you long for your Punky Brewster days! Think bright colors and happy patterns that can still work with the favorite Hello Kitty shirts!

I’ve never been one to just buy from a single store; like my daughter, I like to mix and match! I have many favorite stores when shopping for my children. I love to have that European feel mixed with classic American staples. This fall, I coveted Janie and Jack (for classics), Hannah Andersson (basics), Mini Boden (undergarments, especially tights), H&M kids (inexpensive tops) and Garnet Hill (backpacks and lunch totes).

You know the saying, If you look good, you feel good? Happy colors and patterns with pizzazz will add zip to everyone’s step and truly make you and those around you feel good.

As a teacher, I know how observant children are to each other!  Just think of how good it feels when someone compliments you on your outfit; children are more comfortable to freely complement each other and do it often. If your child dressed themselves AND received compliments, you can feel good knowing that you have a confident child who is comfortable with their decisions and are not afraid to express themselves through fashion AND in the classroom.

Besides clothes, other fun things on the list to shop for are lunch and backpack gear. Garnett Hill’s patterns have always been some of my favorite. My daughter studied the backpacks as seriously as if she were picking out her Halloween costume. They also come with a complimentary lunch bag.

What you place inside the lunch bag is just as important. The Japanese are whizzes at making whimsical joyful characters that are usually animals. Bento boxes are all the rage; not only are they adorable with frogs, pandas, bunnies, and even Hello Kitty characters but they make for smart food choices in a neatly presented way and encourage children to eat a variety of foods.

This fall when you’re doing your back to school shopping, involve your kids in the planning and have fun together! Helping children learn to make decisions about their clothing pays dividends for other decisions they must learn to make later.

 

Audrey Hepburn: Just Do Your Thing

We could all learn a lot about how to navigate life from the tasteful and classy lips of Audrey Hepburn. She once remarked, For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.

Audrey Hepburn had that je ne sais quoi that is still very much relevant and important today; her legacy is for all ages to treasure.

Just Being Audrey by Margaret Cardillo is a beautiful book to introduce to children so they can learn to know and appreciate the generous and kind spirit and character that was the resonating soul of Audrey Hepburn. I had the pleasure of meeting Manolo Blahnik last year and I remember him saying how sad he was that more young people don’t know who Audrey Hepburn was. Cardillo is changing that.

The theme throughout Cardillo’s Just Being Audrey is what Audrey’s baroness mother taught her from early on, to be kind above all. This is such an important message for children as they struggle with bullies throughout their school career. I cannot think of a better message for a child than to be kind to others and be happy with who they are. Like Audrey used to say, I just do my thing. Even adults can benefit from this message.

Audrey said, If I'm honest, I have to tell you I still read fairy tales, and I like those best of all.  

I love that she kept a bit of “little girl” in her as she grew older. Another treasure she made besides her many movies was an audio theatre called Audrey Hepburn’s Enchanted Tales.  I have the CD in my car and my children and I love to listen to her read fairy tales like: The Sleeping Princess, Tom Thumb, Laideronette, Empress of the Pagodas, and Beauty and the Beast. Listening to her read I can watch my children drifting into the stories being hypnotized by her voice, they use their imagination to paint pictures in their heads. It is magical!

Audrey Hepburn has always been an important idol for me, since I was an early teen watching her movies. I still want to be like Audrey, from her style, work ethic, but most of all her kind heart. 

I remember watching her movies over and over again (I still do). I think I mentally recreated the scene from Breakfast at Tiffany’s when she sang Moon River countless times. She loved culture and knew five languages. She had aspirations of being a ballerina, and a zest for life, a joie de vivre that you could see in her twinkling eyes.

I have always believed that culture is a gift that helps one appreciate and love life to the fullest. There are very few people in this world who have that radiant sparkle that is generated simply by being so extremely beautiful on the inside. Audrey was just that, a true beauty that radiated from the inside out and she lead life with her kind heart.

Audrey is the perfect idol for women of all ages because she was so kind, had good values, integrity, gratitude... She is the kind of woman you want your daughter to have as a role-model. Audrey developed her own style rather than copying someone else’s. Her physical shape was not a typical body type and she accepted hers, creating a truly unique and elegant style by going with what she had and not changing herself to fit another mold. It is very important for young girls to learn to be comfortable with their own bodies.

Audrey was slender, childlike, elegant, charming, and the most eloquent speaker. I love listening to her lovely European accent.  I could listen to her recite poetry all day like she did in Roman Holiday with Keats: Arethusa rose from her couch of snows in the Acroceraunian mountains.

She was born near Brussels on May 4, 1929 and originally named Edda van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston by a Dutch aristocratic baroness mother and an English father.

Educated in London, she began her ballet training at the age of five. During World War II, she and her mother were caught by the Nazis in Holland. Audrey’s family endured much hardship during the occupation; I read she ate tulip bulbs when they ran out of food.

After the war she continued dancing and began to act and model. This lead to her being noticed by the author Colette who placed her in Gigi; from there her acting career took off. She was also noticed by Hubert de Givenchy and became his muse.

She was very much like Cinderella; even the roles she took had a fairy tale charm…Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffany’s each show a magical transformation. In living her life she made the same sort of transformations. Audrey worked hard to make her life better; then when life got better, she wanted to make it better for others.

Hepburn was in dozens of films throughout her life, winning an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a Tony, a Grammy, and an Emmy. She was one of the most celebrated actresses ever. Acting was not her only calling; she was a natural mother. It is completely evident in the photos of Audrey hugging her babies. She had so much love to give to her two sons Sean and Luca. 

Audrey loved children and very much wanted to give all of herself to help them. Having survived the war, she knew all too well the feeling of hunger. Using her celebrity status she raised awareness and worked with UNICEF, traveling to Africa and Latin America. She said, I just decided to do as much as possible in the time that I’m still up to it.

As I reflect on Audrey I enjoy thinking of Lauren Bush using her celebrity status to FEED  children like Audrey.

Through all that she experienced and saw, Audrey never became bitter. She kept her warmth and childlike charm, and her heart continued to grow.

My favorite Audrey Hepburn quote and words to live by: I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.

Illustrations by Julia Denos

Texas Fashion Collection: hosting treasures that are appreciated

You know those times when you anticipate something really exciting that you are about to do? Last week, I had one of those experiences as I walked into the Texas Fashion Collection in Scoular Hall at The University of North Texas; my expectations were exceeded past my wildest dreams. I can’t believe here in Denton, Texas (the city in which I was born and raised) were so many hidden treasures just waiting to be discovered.

Walking into to UNT’s 4,500 square foot space I was astonished of the amount of clothing that looks like it goes on for miles. The 15,000 plus collection is so nicely organized from the earliest pieces (including garments and hats from the late 1700s) to today’s contemporary fashions.  

UNT began housing the collection in 1972 but it actually began in 1938 when Stanley and Edward Marcus began preserving works of fashion that belonged to their Aunt, Carrie Marcus Neiman.  Once the collection got too vast, it moved to UNT and has been overseen by Professor Myra Walker, director and curator since 1987.

In the beginning, designers would send pieces to Stanley Marcus to build his collection. He tried to get very high end couture and eventually ran out of space. His collection was about 1000 pieces before coming to UNT.

The earliest garment, a small blue dress from 1795, looks like it would fit a twelve year old. People were smaller then due to what was typically a more meager diet than we enjoy. In the designer section, most works are represented in alphabetical order. It is fun to see how the changes in silhouette and size reveal what was going on in history.

I felt like a kid in a candy store and my candy was fashion. It felt like I was in Milan, Italy in an important fashion warehouse and every moment BIG names were jumping out at me. I thought of Patricia Field and how she must feel all the time going to work and being surrounded by beautiful things from fashion history.

My favorite piece was an Adele Simpson daytime dress from the 50’s (I would wear it today). Simpson, like Chanel, was part of the post war fashion movement and into more comfortable sportswear. She took French couture and gave it an American lady-like feel.

The Texas Fashion Collection hosts a list of designers that will make you want to stand-up and applaud! Designers like: Chanel, Dior, Scaasi, Cashin, Pucci, Trigere, Balenciaga, Oscar de la Renta, Galanos…it’s enough to make your head spin!  Some stars of the collection include: Chinese bound foot slippers, intricately beaded handbags, 1890s Texas prairie dresses, silk wedding dresses from 1840s-1900s, Japanese kimonos, a blue pregnancy outfit that Jackie Kennedy wore during the campaign…

Clothing carries memories. Think about when you put on something you haven’t worn in a while, you’re clothing and accessories tell a story and they hold the feelings you had the last time you wore it.

Fashion is THE best tool to study the past. When styles change it’s because the times have changed. Sometimes it happens so quickly we don’t even realize that fashion is slowly evolving.

Walking down the aisles of the TFC and observing the racks and racks of changing styles, I was able to see a clearer picture of what was happening during those times and how fashion was influenced.

I specifically think of the 1920’s (one of my favorite time periods) and also the 1960’s (because it was so drastically different from the former periods).

The 1920’s brought along an avant-garde change in fashion. Women were seen wearing bustless, waistless silhouettes. It was the beginning of the flapper style and the popular cloche hat. Coco Chanel popularized the sporty athletic look with the use of jersey knit, clean lines, and outdoor living. One of the TFC highlights includes a gorgeous 1920’s beaded flapper dresses from Paris. I was lucky enough to hold it and can tell you it was extremely heavy AND extremely fabulous!

Walking down the 1950’s rack you suddenly get hit with the drastic change from the 1960’s and can’t help but say, Whoa! Dawn Figueroa (assistant curator of the Texas Fashion Collection) explained that textiles and products from other countries played a key role in fashion. There were restrictions of the dies and fabrics designers used in the 1950’s. During this time the economy was good and TV was culturally influencing designers because people got to view the world through television. When the 1960’s came around there was a radical change; Dawn Figueroa says this about the 60’s, “It’s like you’ve only had a ten-pack of crayons then you get a four-hundred-pack of crayons and the colors go all over the place.”



Carrie Marcus Neiman's squirrel coat



One of the many wonderful things about the TFC is that it is a place to learn. Some of the pieces in the collection are designated for study and can be taken apart and turned inside out, but most of the pieces are museum garments with minimal handling. This is a unique educational fashion museum that enhances our understanding of society through the study of clothing. The archived items serve as teaching and researching tools for students, faculty, and anyone interested in fashion history. The goal of the TFC is to preserve and exhibit its ever expanding collection of clothing and accessories and make materials available for all who want to learn.

The TFC staff has the fun job this summer of opening up boxes that haven’t been opened in years to photograph and catalog the treasures that they find. Can you imagine the excitement every time they open a box?

The Texas Fashion Collection is lucky to have such generous Dallas donors like oil heiress Claudia de Osborne, Mercedes Bass, and Texan turned Parisian ballerina Nita-Carol Miskovitch.

Claudia de Osborne donated 371 pieces to the TFC (many of those were works by Spanish designer Balenciaga). It was her sense of style that put Dallas on the map for fashion in the 1950’s. She once said, “Mr. Marcus can tell you how I love clothes. It is sort of a religion with me. I am terribly happy that these things are in the hands of people who appreciate them.”

The Texas Fashion Collection is VERY special; there’s nothing like it in the entire world! Clothing from every vocation, class, and occupation from socialite, housewife, leisure, nine-to-five…you can sing Chaka Khan’s I’m every woman when you see every woman represented in the Texas Fashion Collection.

As a lover of fashion, I can relate to what Claudia de Osborne said and I wish I could tell her and Carrie Marcus Neiman just how much their clothes and all the 15,000 plus items are being appreciated at UNT’s Texas Fashion Collection.