Draped & Tailored Garments Throughout History

~Draped Garments~


Imperial Roman toga on Tiberius (reigned 14-37) Louvre, Paris, France
This draped style was adopted by the Romans from the Etruscans. The color worn depended on age, class, and special ceremonial events.


A village woman in Madagascar wearing a traditional lamba. The lamba is made of two parts: the lamba oany goes around the body, and the kisaly is draped around the shoulders or head.


A draped flapper evening gown worn by Louise Brooks in the 1920s film Pandora's Box.
These gowns were beautifully draped in sheer fabric and lots of detailed beading.


A Madeleine Vionnet creation circa 1930
Madeleine Vionnet was the woman who brought the beauty of Greek & Roman drapery into our culture with her draped evening gowns.



Paco Rabanne Haute Couture multi color gown, 1979
This garment is a wonderful example of the beauty of draping. The bright colors really showcase the decade in which it was created.


~Tailored Garments~


Ben Butler, A Civil War soldier.
This image shows the detail that went into creating tailored uniforms for extra coverage and protection against the harshness of the elements.


Lady's tailored jacket, Victorian Era Circa 1880-1900
This black wool and devore velvet jacket is an example of the fine tailoring that was done at the turn of the century in garment construction.


Black & white checked jacket, 1935
A classic tailored lady's suit from the 1930s. Garments became more form fitting rather than the waistless garments of the 20s.


A scene from the move, Lust & Caution. A Chinese woman wearing a tailored dress in the 1950s. This particular dress shows the fusion of Chinese tradition with modern styles.


Two tailored garments from Helena Horstedt's No. 3 Collection, Fall 2007
These two exquisite tailored pieces speak for themselves. The pleating and the constructional details show the true art of tailoring at its finest.

"Six Social Functions of Dress"

Environmental Protection
The Lapps or Lapplanders are a group of indigenous people in Norway. Their traditional clothing reflects the arctic environment. The 19th century styles are made of heavy wool and dyes.




This modern day caftan is inspired by the Moroccan djellaba which was a key garment to surviving in the desert.









Decoration

The Kayan women located in the border mountains between Burma & Thailand wear brass coils around their necks starting at age 5. The brass coil is lengthened as they age. The brass coils confer them a tribal identity, associated with beauty. This form of decoration can also be seen as group membership.





This gown from 1775 is very decorative with embellishments including bows, lace ruffles, and embroidery. Back in the 18th century women were seen as highly ornamental objects in their husband's possession.








Gender Differentiation

This black & white photo from early 1950. Women wore dresses and were expected to stay home while the men always wore the pants/uniform in the family and were the providers.







This photo was taken in France and published in the Daily Mirror on January 24th 1969. This shows the start of unisex clothing. This man and woman have similar hairstyle lengths as well as coordinating form fitting body suits.

Group Membership

On November 18th, 1942 the 1st uniforms for the women employees of the Redstone Ordinance Plant arrived. This was a way of showing their group membership.


These Harajuku girls in Japan show their membership to the famous fashionable group of this highly known fashion district with their over the top colorful, miss matched sense of style.







Ceremonialism

Actress Vilma Banky is shown here in the in a wedding scene from the 1935 film The Dark Angel. American weddings are well known for the bride to wear white and this gown is made of orchid lace over satin, with a complementary corsage of orange blossoms.



This gypsy style shown here is popular amongst tribal bellydance troupes of today. This Bollywood star, Aruna Irani, is wearing typical gypsy dress as Nisha, a gypsy dancer, in a movie from the Sixties about a a band of gypsies moving and living in a caravan. This is a scene depicting a traditional dance at a village festival.











Sexual Enhancement

This image shows a woman from the Victorian era in a corset which creates an overt sexuality by creating the hourglass figure out of the female form. Bustles were also an ornamental way of enhancing the derriere .




Henry VIII is shown in this portrait wearing a codpiece. Which at first was seen as modesty since pants back then were just two separate legs which were tied together at the top and no crotch. This was a way of covering and offering protection to the exposed genitalia. Though gradually the codpieces grew more bulbous and exaggerated. Henry VIII was thought to have enlarged his codpieces to make up for lack of being able to produce male heirs

~Textiles of all Ages~

18th century Empire/Directoire Period

Dress c. 1800

Empire waist dress embroidered with bouquet pattern at bodice front & hem
and made out of cotton gauze.
This more simple style came into being with the coming of the French Revolution. The
new style was greatly influenced by neoclassicism and was the result of modern and
innovative conception of the female body.

Corset
1880s

Corset is made from silk satin; a steel busk; & bone.
The Bust:76 cm. Waist:49 cm.

Distorting the natural form of the body into an hour glass figure of physical
perfection continued up until the beginning of the twentieth century.

Charles Frederick Worth
Label: Worth 7, Rue De La Paix.
Paris
C. 1885

This gown by Worth was made of off-white silk faille; braid trimming
with wooden beads wrapped by silk threads at the front opening,
cuffs and hem; the front opening is fastened by hooks and silk
satin ribbons.

Anonymous
Evening Dress
c. 1913

Dress was made out of white net with embroidery of beads and
pailettes; This dress is full of inspiration that crossed over from Japan
which is apparent with Japanese family crest motifs which were used to construct
this gown.
This dress has a tunic-style double-layered front bodice and a skirt with a train which is
also a part of the Japanese influence on the design.

Madeleine Vionnet
Evening Dress
c. 1922

This dress was made from pink silk voile inset with warp thread of silver
lame. This dress has a tubular silhouette with an over-bodice and kimono
like front and back. Also a bow with beaded embroidery. This shapeless
free formed silhouette with very popular in the Twenties.

Claire McCardell
Day Dress
Label: Claire McCardell clothes by townley
1940s

This is a white, red, and green striped cotton satin and cotton broadcloth dress
with cap sleeves, wing collar, and self-fabric belt.

Christian Dior
Spring/Summer 1956
Label: Christian Dior Paris

This '50s gown by Christian Dior is made out of turquoise-blue silk taffeta with a
wave pattern print. There are folded flounces on the skirt which contains a silk tulle
petticoat. The double-layer silk taffeta with it's tightly woven texture adds volume
to this design.

Yves Saint Laurent
Dress
Label: YVES SAINT LAURENT PARIS
Spring/Summer 1967

This Sixties dress is made from a beige silk organdy base which is embroidered with metallic
threads, beads, and rhinestones. The mesh-like beading is without backing around
the waist.

John Galliano/Christian Dior
Suit & Choker
Label: Christian Dior HAUTE COUTURE PARIS
Autumn/Winter 1997

Jacket and skirt of gray wool tweed; there is padding at the jacket hem.
The skirt also has a train and the choker of 35 rings of two-toned silver is used to set off
the severity of this look.