historical fashion

Designer spotlight: Ann Lowe designed Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress

 in General Fashion / Weddings  tagged ann lowe / historical fashion / jackie kennedy / wedding trends by

Ann Lowe is one of the most iconic American fashion designers. Lowe designed one of the most famous wedding dresses in the 1900’s; the wedding dress of Jacqueline Bouvier for her marriage to John F. Kennedy in 1953. The wedding dress was made from ivory taffeta and inspired brides across the country to mimic her style for the next several years. In addition to the wedding dress, Lowe designed the ten pink bridesmaids dresses.

Ann Lowe, who was born in 1898 in Clayton, Alabama, was the great granddaughter of a slave and plantation owner. Lowe was also daughter and granddaughter to dress makers in Alabama society. Ann Lowe was able to overcome the many obstacles she faced in life including discrimination. Lowe was ambitious and she faced two uphill battles in the fight to reach her dreams; she was a woman and she was African-American. Fortunately, Lowe did not let the cultural climate of the day deter her from living the life she wanted to live. Ann Lowe had learned about dress making from her mother and grandmother. It was her dream to design dresses as well, so in 1917 Lowe enrolled in the S.T. Taylor Design School in New York City.

Fashion school in New York was difficult when it came to social matters for Lowe. The white students ignored her so she worked hard to ignore the social atmosphere and concentrate on her studies. After graduating from fashion school, Ann Lowe moved to Tampa, Florida where she opened a salon. In 1928 she decided to move back to New York to pursue her dream of fashion design. Upon her return to New York, Ann Lowe worked in retail clothing stores on commission and continued to work on her design career while not on the company clock. Lowe began designing for top design houses in New York and her name was kept a secret due to her color. Her hard work paid off in 1946 when a dress she designed was worn by Olivia de Havilland at the Academy Awards. Olivia de Havilland accepted her Academy Award for Best Actress while wearing Lowe’s design for her part in “To Each His Own.” The name on the dress was Sonia Rosenberg.

Ann Lowe continued designing dresses and her name slowly became known. Her designs were preferred by society women in New York such as the Rockefellers and the DuPonts; the most well known being Jackie Kennedy. Ann Lowe was considered New York society’s “best kept secret.” Women did not readily admit they were wearing a dress designed by an African-American; but no-one could deny her natural talent and eye for design.

Unfortunately Ann Lowe’s health deteriorated over the years and she lost an eye to glaucoma. This did not stop her from designing dresses. She continued to work for Madeline Couture in New York and then tried her hand at her own label, Ann Lowe Originals for a short time on Madison Avenue in New York. In 1968, Ann Lowe won an award for her designs; “Couturier of the Year” and her name was listed in the Social Directory.

Ann Lowe designs can be seen in present day at the Costume institute of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, Washington D.C. Black Fashion Museum and the Smithsonian.

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Jackie Kennedy on her wedding day. Photo: WikiCommons

90’s Minimalism is Back!

 in General Fashion / Trends  tagged 1990s / fall 2010 / historical fashion / minimalism / vintage styles by

The minimalist 1990’s were all over the Fall 2010 runways! After the decadent 1980’s where hair, earrings and shoulders were larger than life, there was a need for a break. In the 1990’s designers focused on subtle colors, softer patterns, clean lines and barely there jewelry. The Fall 2010 runways in Milan, Paris and New York looked strangely familiar. Models strutted down the runway in garments free of fuss. Hair was either neatly pulled back or smooth with waves dangling below the shoulder. Shoes showed cleaner lines with both flat soles and platforms. Handbags were boxy with less hardware than designers have shown in recent years. The one shock on the runway was the noticeable lack of jewelry!

In the 1990’s fashionistas in the bay area wore small hoops, tiny dangles and small post earrings. Necklaces were simple with a small pendant. The only jewelry that took on any life during the decade was the bracelet. There were beaded bracelets in the mid-1990’s and stacked gold bangles as we neared Y2K. The cuff made a few appearances throughout the decade as well as beaded mineral bracelets with healing powers.

There were a few glimpses of jewelry on the runway for Fall 2010. Marni showed a sixteen inch silver and gemstone chocker worn over a camel coat. Marni also previewed an intricate layered necklace look with mixture of gemstones in varying shapes and sizes worn with a simple deep-V frock. Oscar de la Renta put a large, red and bronze medieval necklace over white fur paired with a red leather and crocodile belt. Dolce & Gabbana had a model donning a simple gold heart on a thin eighteen inch chain worn with a simple black blazer and lace camisole.

Since the minimalism of the 90’s has returned for Fall 2010, fashionistas in the bay area have the perfect opportunity to stock up on classic items such as camel coats, black blazers and classic handbags with clean lines. This is also the perfect season to shop your closet! We know there is a little bit of the 90’s in there somewhere  So pull out your little black dress, black pumps and camel coat; because that is all you really need to get started for Fall. Happy shopping and stay fabulous.

Torn Denim Trend: Fabulous or Faux-Pas?

 in Bay Area Fashion / General Fashion / Trends  tagged 1980s / 1990s / denim / historical fashion / spring 2010 / vintage styles by

It is hard to believe that roughly twenty years ago torn denim  was a mainstay in San Francisco Bay Area fashion. Everyone had holes, rips and cuts in at least one spot of their jeans. From elementary age children through to adults torn jeans were the only casual pants of choice. If anyone dared to leave the house without so much as a string hanging from his/her jeans, that person was destined for embarrassment. Many fashionistas in the bay area would buy a great pair of Levi’s, Guess jeans or even Bongo jeans and take a large pair of scissors to the knees and the bottom of the derrière. To buy the jeans already torn was considered, well, unfashionable!

Fashionistas in the late 1980s and early 1990s began to get very creative with their torn jeans. Many people wanted to have the most severe rips possible, and in order to achieve this the pants no longer kept certain parts covered. In order to wear these severe cuts, many creative fashionistas went down to the fabric store and found interesting remnants that could be used to cover the holes of the jeans around the parts that needed covering; the derrière! Patches were sewn inside the jeans in order to ensure that all of the strings from the cuts could still be seen from the outside. Women opted for small florals and medium sized paisley’s while men preferred solid colors or handkerchiefs. As the early-nineties approached, jeans barely looked like pants anymore, and as a result, there was a backlash. Denim pants, once again, enjoyed the rest of the decade in one piece; free of cuts.

Denim has been whole ever since the torn trend ceased, but, Spring 2010 and Fall 2010 have challenged denim fabric once again. The runways for Spring 2010 showed cuts, rips and tears with hanging string around the knees on denim pants. Fall 2010 runways displayed a full-blown torn denim trend; a clear throwback to the late 1980s and early 1990s. This time around, it seems that torn denim is already on store bought jeans. Will we see a revival of hand-made cuts? Much like the tie-dye trend, the torn denim trend is one that can be done at home. All a fashionista on a budget needs is a pair of jeans and a pair of scissors. After the cuts have strategically been made, wash the jeans. Voilà! Denim that is right on trend.

Although torn denim is appearing all over the runways and has made it onto store shelves at The Gap, Diesel and major departments stores, does this mean it is catching on? Will the next decade be filled with ripped jeans? If you wore torn jeans as a teen, will you wear them again? The big question still remains; Are torn or ripped jeans fashion fabulous or fashion train wreck?