Not a costume...

...instead, a nephew!

Azad Ahluwalia Gohn, born Saturday, October 22, 2011

Downton Fever

I'm finally catching up season 2 of Downton Abbey now that a friend has directed me to website that streams it (I won't give away my sources here, but if you want to know, feel free to send me a message on facebook). In fact, I decided to do this blog post because I used up my 72 minutes of streaming and I have to be patient for an hour - I am not good at that.

I'm very excited that season 2 is set two years after the end of season 1, as WWI is one of my (many) favorite costume eras. I feel like it's often overlooked as it was just a few short years occuring between the famous Edwardian Period and the Roaring Twenties. The Lavinia Swire has worn some of my favorite gowns, with the waistline dropped back to the natural waistline from the early teens and fuller skirts - the Crawley sisters still seem to be wearing the slimmer late Edwardian styles. Unfortunately, I could find any images of these online, but here are a couple similar styles from the pinterest boards:

c. 1915 dress

c. 1915 dress, Cincinnati Art Museum

Man, that's gorgeous. So, have you caught Downton fever? If you have, is the second season living up to your expectations? (I know that this is opening Pandora's Box, but I must ask) Are you on Team Mary or Team Edith? I have the less popular stance of pro-Edith.

In unrelated news, my sister-in-law is currently giving birth, so this blog will feature some baby pictures soon!

UPDATE: Here's an email from my brother: "Azad Ahluwalia Gohn was born at 2:35am on Saturday, 7 pounds 11 ounces, 20-3/4" long. Mom and baby are both healthy and doing well, and mom and dad are endlessly happy. Photos to come in a few days." YAY!!

Funny Face

If you ever need some fifties fashion inspiration, may I recommend "Funny Face."

Les Poupees des Modes

Here's an interesting tidbit of information from Caroline Weber's "Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution":

"To showcase their wares, the fashion purveyors often relied on jointed wooden or plaster poupees des modes, or "fashion dolls" - precursors to both the store mannequin and the runway model - outfitted in doll-sized versions of the latest Parisian styles. Commonly known as Pandoras ("little Pandora" modeled morning and informal garb, while "big Pandora" was draped in ceremonial and evening wear).... According to historian Daniel Roache, 'in times of war, the poupees enjoyed diplomatic immunity and were even given cavalry escorts to ensure their safe arrival.'"

NB: There is an acute accent on the first "e" in "poupee" (I lack the techincal know-how to get blogger to do this for me.)

Gloves part 6

I've finally managed to get my act together and retake the pictures of the last pairs of the gloves that I lost previously. At least one of these pairs belonged to my mother before she was married (the ones with K. Krafft written on the inside). There is another pair with just "Gohn" written on the inside, which could belong to my mother after she was married, but she was only married in 1988 (and the 80's and 90's are not known for glove-wearing), and I believe the gloves are too small for my mom's hands, so they're probably my paternal grandmother's, Lucille Gohn (aka "Mammaw").

This knit pair definitely belonged to my mother.

For embellishment the seams from the outside of the index finger and pinkie continue down the length of the glove.

There is a seam in each gusset with the allowances turned in, while the allowances of the gussets are turned out.

You guys know what to expect now; this glove is pretty basic.

Detail of the scalloping

This knit pair probably belonged to my paternal grandmother.

It seems to have gotton pretty dirty on the left hand.

It looks like the original seam in the gussets ripped and was later mended by hand.

I think that this pair is so cute with its embroidery and scalloped edge.

Gloves postponed...but some other exciting things instead!

While photographing the last of the vintage glove collection I discovered that some of them had the name "K. Krafft" written inside, meaning that they belonged to my very own mama! (Or possibly my aunt-by-marriage - there are many Kathys in my family, but since they were in the house where my mom lives, I think it's safe to assume that they're mom's gloves.)

Then I uploaded the photos to my computer, erased them from my camera and rearranged my photo folders because it was all a little crazy. Unfortunately, in this suffle I managed to lose the pictures I had just taken, so I'll have to retake them. To make up for this, I have a) an announcement and b) other pictures

Announcement: inspired by Beth of V is for Vintage, I got a Pinterest account!



Right now I've got boards on every decade from 1770s through 1950s (unfortunately the early 19th century is still a bit skimpy) and a couple of theme boards.

Alternate pictures: To satisfy your photo lust, here are some of the photos (mostly featuring clothing) that I took in Japan last January.

Some posters for the Bunraku (puppet) theater in Osaka:

An adorable little girl in a kimono on the island of Miyajima:

Miyajima is also the home to small deer who will eat just about anything (a paper box here):

A statue of a conductor a Bugaku orchestra:

A lovely dusting of snow on the mountains by Kyoto:

An example of "house slippers" (in Japan all outdoor shoes are left just inside the door and replaced with these):

One of the lovely kimono that Jonni (who kindly let my mother and I stay with him) had acquired during his time in the suburbs of Kyoto. This one is embroidered, although there are several methods for decorating kimono:

Koto players and a flower arranger at Gion Corner, Kyoto:

A real Bugaku conductor:

Two adorable maiko (geisha in training):

A promo poster for a Kabuki play (those are all men):

The mascot of the Kyoto Prefecture, an aristocratic silk worm larva, or as I like to call him, my new best friend:

Some cosplayers in Kobe:

January 15th is "Coming of Age Day" when all the people are who turning 20 that year (including me!) officially become adults. Most people celebrate by dressing up and going to Shinto shrines. I didn't get many photos because I felt a bit creepy taking pictures of random people:

Mama and I did get to a Kabuki (which was possibly the best thing ever - let me just say one of the characters is an Evil Flying Earth Spider Courtesan). I obviously couldn't take photos of the performance, so here is the poster:

Some amazing Chinese acrobats in Ueno Park, Tokyo:

Some Kabuki costumes in a museum:

And now the grand finale: a Kimono Fashion Show at a textile museum/factory in Kyoto (where I could oggle kimono and not feel creepy at all!)