#augusta auctions
Left: Blue kite printed dress ca. late 19th century sold by Augusta Auctions.
Right: Dress from Batsheva’s Fall 2018 collection
Poetry in Motion from 1930 at Augusta Auctions
Houndstooth is a little out of its wheelhouse on an evening gown, as it is a woven pattern best known in woolen tweeds for tailored suits and coats. Yet it makes for harmony as it becomes panels of glimmering pinwheels in this brocaded silk chiffon number. As the image indicates, it offers two kinds of flaring at the hemline, first circular flounces on the dress itself and then tiered circular hem flounces on the silk crepe underdress.
The ornate ornamentation on flat panels of the tubular silhouette was popular in 1920s, but these flounces shatter the tube and create poetry in motion. Imagine a woman wearing this as she spun across the dance floor, the metallic threads catching the light as they lifted and fell with her steps. These flounces with their rounded hemlines are the sophisticated version of our “handkerchief” hems which are usually only squares tilted to the bias which creates sharp corner. This makes them easier to make, but not as pretty when they move.
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1950s Swimsuit Glamor from Augusta Auctions
Were Fifties swimsuits glamorous or what? Yes, that is a white swim suit embroidered with gold lamé stems, and with gold lame straps. Another one with black lace overlay sprinkled with rhinestones, a more daring lingerie look. They really look more like something a chorus girl would dance in, but they were swimsuits.
True, it seems unlikely that gold lamé and rhinestones are really likely to survive a lot of time in the pool, but these were probably not made for meant for swimming laps. Can’t you image two women wearing them pool side, drinking tropical cocktails, looking flirty, and then announcing it was just too hot and dipping into the pool to cool off?
Augusta Auctions tells us the white one is made of a cotton/rubber/acetate blend and the black one, more vaguely, was synthetic. There are zippers along the center backs as designers did not have spandex to make them extra stretchy, so they needed some way to get you into a fitted garment. These suits cover far more than suits would later and were easier to wear as a result, but they do show off as much of the figure as anything that came later.
They were made by “Deweese Design, Swim & Sun Fashions Los Angeles California" according to the label. California had a post-war fashion cachet as the war industry had brought so many more people out west. Designers catered to the region’s longer seasons of sunshine which meant more people were spending time in outdoor living, including poolside. Postwar prosperity mean more people had the time and money to relax in the outdoors too. Yet, even sportswear, as you can see, could be fancy.
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