Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715-2015

 

"Reigning Men" exhibit at LACMA

 

Karen and I attended a fascinating members-only lecture about men's fashion at the LA County Museum of Art (LACMA), Monday night. We learned about the Macaronis—as in, Yankee Doodle "stuck a feather in his cap and called it 'Macaroni'"—who were young British dandies, who toured Italy in the 1800s and loved eating pasta so much that they called themselves "Macaroni"! Their signature fashion statement included colorful garb and mile-high hair. Who knew?

We also heard about LACMA's 5-year search for an authentic zoot suit, which they were finally able to purchase for a record-breaking $78,000 (yikes!) through a New York auction. You can read more about it here.

Following the lecture, we were given after-hours access to the "Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715-2015" exhibition, which ends August 21. At first, LACMA curators thought they would have to include some women's fashion to add color and spice. But no need. As you can see below, the exhibit is fabulous as is. (Click on images to enlarge.) Highly recommended.

A Macaroni, sporting colorful waistcoat,

boutonniere, and tall hair 

 

Modern version of a colorful jacket

and vest

 

Dandies from the 1960s, 1800s, and today

 

Remember the '60s?

 

Broad-legged pants

 

The famous zoot suit: more

broad-legged pants

 

Incredible robes

 

Loungewear

 

Hugh Hefner, anyone?

 

Amazing Hawaiian shirts from the 1950s

 

Wool suits--dig the crazy horn hat! 

 

Tapestry suit

 

Who says men's clothing is boring?!

 

Coat of many colors!

 

Amazing jacket

 

Men about town

 

Hip cats

 

Waistcoat

 

Covered in mother-of-pearl buttons

 

Camouflage and what our lecturer 

called "anti-camouflage"

 

Did you know that men used to cinch 

their waists also?

 

An array of swimwear (or not!)

 

And, of course, no wardrobe is complete without 

some fancy kicks

Heritage Square Fashion Show and Tea

 

Period dressers and Natalie Meyer (right), 

who created most of the show costumes

 

In 1969, the L.A. Cultural Heritage Board created Heritage Square, a living history and architecture museum, where local Victorian-era houses and other buildings are collected and preserved. Visible from the Arroyo Seco (110) freeway, the colorful two-story homes are hard to miss as you're driving from downtown L.A. to Pasadena.

As attractive as Heritage Square is, I had never been. So when I got an email about a fashion show happening there yesterday, I contacted my friends Karen and Vicki, who had also never been, and bought tickets.

Sponsored by the Costumer's Guild West, the show featured fashions from the 17th up to the mid-20th centuries. Most of the outfits were created by Natalie Meyer, costumer for the Heritage Square Museum. Many audience members also dressed-up, making for quite a festive day. Tea and scones followed the show, before we toured two of the museum's restored homes. A third house, currently undergoing renovation, was stripped down to its slat walls and wood floors—fascinating to see.

Heritage Square Museum is open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and most holiday Mondays, 11:30AM-4:30PM. Highly recommended if you're interested in L.A. history and/or late 19th-century architecture.

The day's fashions:

The homes:

 Mt. Pleasant house (1876)

Hale house (1887)

Lincoln Ave. Methodist Church (1897)

John J. Ford house (1887)

ALA in SF

The backside of the Golden Gate Bridge, en route to

the Legion of Honor Museum (click on image to enlarge)

 

What a wonderful weekend. Not only was it the annual American Library Association (ALA) conference, but on Friday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that gay couples have the same right to marry as everyone else. And the perfect place to hear such glorious news? Why, San Francisco, of course, which was also hosting its annual Gay Pride celebration this weekend. Rainbow flags were flying everywhere and librarians gave gay rights lawyer Roberta Kaplan, who was already scheduled to give the ALA opening session keynote address, not one but two standing ovations. I doubt there was a dry eye in the place. Everyone was jubilant. We all had reasons to be proud this weekend.

As for ALA conference: lots of good professional networking and some interesting, but fun presentations. I saw the Today Show’s Al Roker, who keynoted breakfast on Saturday—a highly entertaining speaker. Tim and I sneak-previewed the new Martin Scorsese documentary, called The 50 Year Argument, about the New York Review of Books (excellent!). Plus I heard a fascinating talk about early 1900s librarians in Redondo Beach.

On Saturday afternoon, we played hooky and schlepped out to the Legion of Honor Museum to see the fabulous “High Style” fashion exhibit, on loan from the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Me, in my favorite Mary Blair skirt, in

front of a 1961 Arnold Scaasi evening

ensemble—as if! (A girl can dream,

can't she?) 

And Tim took in a Giants game on Sunday. 

Giants stadium: the view from Tim's seat

Everyone else was either attending the conference or cheering wildly at the Gay Pride Parade, which lasted the entire day. By the way, if you need to get across Market Street during the parade, go under at the BART stations. Otherwise, put on a crazy costume and join in the fun, because there’s no way to avoid the festivities!

Journey of a Dress

DVF's motto

I've never been a big fan of the wrap dress—far too much fabric over my decidedly fleshy Mediterranean hips. But I do love fashion, especially from the mid-20th century to the early 1970s, so, of course, I wanted to see the Diane Von Furstenberg (DVF) exhibit at the former Wilshire May Co. building. My friend Karen L. and I went today before "Journey of a Dress" closes later this week.

A wall of Andy Warhols

DVF's timeless wrap dress, which she designed 40 years ago, is still being worn today. As the brief bio accompanying the exhibit says, the dress "went straight from the office out to dinner" and, in the spirit of the women's liberation, could be removed in less than two minutes, because there was no zipper or "hard-to-reach hooks and eyes."

Newsweek cover and Salem cigarette ad

FLOTUS wearing DVF

Amy Adams and Christian Bale in American Hustle

The exhibit starts with walls of photos of famous women wearing various incarnations of the wrap dress, before opening into a grand gallery, featuring hundreds of barefoot mannequins. Who knew there were so many versions of Von Furstenberg's simple little dress? Enjoy!

Lips fabric

Our favorite dress: front

and

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