1950s

Dior: The Day the Hem Stood Out

by Frankie Lopez. Published June 29, 2018, as a Facebook note. Post World War II, Europe and America were still reeling from devastation. Cars, clothes, rubber, and other consumables continued to be monitored and rationed. On either side of the Atlantic, wearing clothing that squandered fabric was considered unpatriotic and wasteful. Fashion was of secondary concern, and the style at […]

DETAIL

Turning Circles: how to draft a circle skirt pattern to your measurements

by Cybele A. Baker. Published in the September/October 2016 issue of Finery. The circle skirt has very little fabric at the waist and flares out to a full circle at the hemline.  It can be any length you want but varies from person to person as it is reliant on your specific measurements. This is why you don’t see many […]

DETAIL

There’s No Crying in Baseball

by Lynne Taylor.  Published in the January/February 2015 issue of Finery. Just about everyone has seen the 1992 movie “A League of Their Own.” It stars Tom Hanks as a former professional baseball player, who becomes the coach for a women’s professional baseball team. The movie is entertaining and contains a mix of history and fancy that served to expose […]

DETAIL

Beatnik Fashion

Not every member of the Beat Generation wore a beret by Kali Pappas, First published for the September/October 2014 issue of Finery As any fan of the Beat Generation writers will tell you, there’s a chasmic difference between the beret-wearing, bongo-beating “beatnik” of popular imagination and the people who created and lived the Beat philosophy in the 1940s, 50s, and […]

DETAIL

Book Reviews: Vintage Hairstyling and Retro Makeup by Lauren Rennells

by George McQuary, First published for the July/August 2012 issue of Finery Lauren Rennells’ book Vintage Hairstyling: Retro Styles with Step-by-Step Techniques, 2nd Edition can be used in two ways: First, as a look book. Take it to your favorite hair stylist, point at a picture, and say “Make my hair do this for tonight”. Or you can take the […]

DETAIL

Red Lips and Cat Eyes

by Ariyana Kylstram, First published for the November/December 2011 issue of Finery What do Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly have in common? They were all different faces of beauty during the 1950s, and each used two common techniques to give herself the hallmarks of 1950’s beauty: red lips and cat eye liner. Elizabeth Taylor was the […]

DETAIL

Fashion and Non-fashion and the Beat Generation

by Sally Norton, First published for the March/April 2006 issue of Finery The 1950s Beat Movement in San Francisco was a non-fashion moment. Clothing was of minimal importance to the San Francisco writers, poets and musicians in North Beach. Words, music and ideas mattered. Clothing was practical, necessary and of little aesthetic value. You would see people wearing ordinary, everyday […]

DETAIL