Happy Holiday

Two grandsons...4 and 6 years old..what fun!

Silhouettes in fabric design

Last week I talked about 100 years of changing silhouettes in fashion. Today...100 years in textile design. The silhouette of a 'fern' to the left from the c. 1830 Dargate book (French) is a discharged chrome orange.

This silhouette of a flower and once again a 'ferny' branch is from my Turn of the 20th Century day book (American). The delicate lavender and sage coloration is from pigment. The actual date it was printed is Sept 13, 1900.

These samples are from an American company...Spring 1939.
The simple red,white and blue colors are classic for the War Years  for America (1941-45).


Notice the change in delicacy and coloration of the silhouettes over 100 years

Etienne de Silhouette

A silhouette is a likeness cut from dark material and mounted on a light background..or the opposite.The term originated with Etienne de Silhouette, the French finance minster during a period of financial austerity brought on by the Seven Years War (1756-1763).  Due to his severe economic policies, his name became synonymous with anything done or made cheaply. A profile cut from black paper is an inexpensive portrait.

Silhouette is a term often used to describe a fashion. I am currently working on a lesson plan for my students about the fashion cycle. Today the beginning/ending of a 'fashion' is about 18-24 months. I want them to also be aware of the 'long view'...say 100 years (1810-1910). The female fashion silhouette (basically 3 shapes:bell, bouffant and straight) has changed from

Empire style with stays (Napoleon was trying to create a French empire)

to the bell shape of American Civil War dresses supported by hoops

by the late century...it was a bouffant style with bustle 

Each of these styles had distinctive undergarments.The Flapper discarded all corseting and returned to the straight silhouette.

Document pieces

for my newest line...Little Pink Stars II printed by Newcastle Fabrics.

A classic Indigo and white.

Chocolate and Pink

Bette's Favorite Pink

My favorite....

See the entire Little Pink Stars line.