Author Archives: Clare

Enthusiasms: Designs for New Women

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Clare

At a time when the innovative designs of Coco Chanel are on display at the V&A Museum, it’s important to recognise the ways in which fashion design not only reflects but creates new social norms. Chanel has been feted for … Continue reading →

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Enthusiasms: Romper suits for modern babies

Posted on May 13, 2021 by Clare

Whar makes babies modern? Bringing up babies is a practice which has always been part of human societies, but is constantly being rethought and redefined, It can be a site of conflict between older generations who rely on tried and … Continue reading →

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Enthusiasms: Handbags and Modernity

Posted on January 5, 2021 by Clare

What is modern about the handbag? It’s a tricky question to answer, as both terms are so slippery. Is modernity a concept tied to the latest innovations of the 21st Century, with everything that went before past and dead? Or … Continue reading →

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Museums: The Art of the Purse at the Musée de la Monnaie, Paris

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Clare

An exhibition of purses and wallets at the Musée de la Monnaie, Paris provides a detailed look at some unusual objects and techniques but leaves some wider questions unanswered. Based on a private collection, the emphasis is on pieces of … Continue reading →

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Enthusiasms: Natalia Goncharova

Posted on June 21, 2019 by Clare

The exhibition of the work of Natalia Goncharova (1881- 1962) at Tate Modern raises some key issues for the history – and the future – of art. Goncharova is presented here as a forgotten pioneer, key to the development of … Continue reading →

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Fashion in World War I: Christmas 1918

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Clare

The Christmas 1918 issue of Les Modes seems like an appropriate point at which to end this four-year investigation of French fashion during World War I. This issue was one of the first produced since the Armistice, and included several … Continue reading →

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Fashion in World War I: December 1918

Posted on December 7, 2018 by Clare

The December 1918 issues of Vogue carried an unsettling mixture of features. Several articles prepared before the Armistice reported on the lasting effects of the war effort on the bodies of both civilian war workers and servicemen. A piece promoting … Continue reading →

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Fashion in World War I: November 1918

Posted on November 4, 2018 by Clare

In early November 1918, French couture was in a state of limbo – looking forward to the imminent end of the war, but not sure when it would arrive, and still facing shortages and disruptions. New York Vogue reflected this … Continue reading →

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Fashion in World War I: October 1918

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Clare

By the end of September 1918 the German bombardment of Paris had ceased, as the allies had started to push the German army out of France. The changing mood in France as a victorious end to the war seemed in … Continue reading →

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Fashion in World War I: September 1918

Posted on September 2, 2018 by Clare

The September 1918 issues of Vogue included a feature on the style icon Irene Castle, famous as a dance performer and teacher who had popularized the fox-trot, tango and many other dances. However the fashions she was modelling were for … Continue reading →

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