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Category / Fashion for Dummies

The Dapper Rebels of Los Angeles, 1966

In the summer of 1965, riots broke out in the Watts neighborhood of southern Los Angeles. Over a six-day period, 34 people were killed, 1,032 injured and over 3,438 arrests were made. In 1966, LIFE magazine revisited the site of the worst riots America had ever seen in its history. The photo essay depicting the…

Stepping back in Time to a Jazz Age Lawn Party

Can you imagine anything more delightful than sailing from Manhattan, and heading for an uninhabited island filled with the ghostly remnants of a deserted army base; and once there, to step back in time to an authentic lawn party from the Jazz Age ? To dress in white linens, sip exquisite cocktails, and dance the…

The Secret Code of Beauty Spots

You’re looking at a very rare portrait from 1650 depicting a Black woman and a White woman, both appearing to hold equal status, some 183 years before the abolition of slavery act. Curiously, rather than commenting on the race debate in 17th century Britain via the uncommon pairing, the anonymous artist chose to write an…

Preserved Moments of Historical, Indisputable Black Style

I haven’t done one of these style compendiums in a while, so this is long overdue. And this is also for all those internet retrospectives on vintage style that don’t include a single Black face. It was a hard task narrowing down my favourites from thousands of found snapshots floating around out there on the world…

Indulge in the Underrated Influence of Erté

An artist like Erté was unlikely to go by unnoticed in history with his profound obsession for the arts, spanning from dance to theatre and film to high fashion and beyond. The visual wizard arguably coined the Art Deco aesthetic with a signature style that continues to inspire modern design today and yet, his name…

The Macaroni Club: Fashion History’s Forgotten Drag Subculture?

There’s a famous American song “Yankee Doodle” – you might’ve heard of it – the lyrics go like this: “Yankee Doodle went to town, A-riding on a pony, Stuck a feather in his cap, And called it macaroni.” The familiar patriotic tune was in fact created by the British to mock the Americans during the…

Free the Nipple, says History

Nipple slips must have been a real problem in the 17th century. Or rather, not so much a problem per se, as an everyday practice. If you’ve ever walked around a portrait gallery of Renaissance European art or watched a few period films set around that time when the cup did truly runneth over, you…

True Collectors Know the Secret Charm of Antique Faux Gold

Every Thursday, Spitalfields antique market in London spans a historic covered marketplace that transforms itself into a maze of stalls bearing jewellery, clothing, housewares, and more. At the jewellery stalls, a shrewd buyer can find gold, silver, gemstones, and more. And, if they are lucky, and know what they’re looking for, they can find something…

The 27 Inch Dolls that Saved Fashion in Post-War Paris

Even Hitler couldn’t rob Paris of its style. In 1945, the end of the war was in sight, the French capital had already been liberated of the Nazi occupation and it was time for Paris to relaunch its fashion industry. There was just one problem– the industry couldn’t afford enough fabric to actually create new fashion.…

Forget Louboutin, Step into the World of André Perugia, the True Icon behind Modern Shoe Design

You name an avant-garde brand of note – Saint Laurent, Rick Owens, Moschino, Comme des Garçons, Yohji Yamamoto, Jacquemus – and chances are they’ve been overtly influenced by a shoe designer extraordinaire, André Perugia. Cage heels, no heels, disappearing heels, under-slung heels, corkscrew heels, float-in-the-air heels, needle-thin fetish heels – you name it, if they’re…

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