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Meeting Edith Head
Readers, As Cynthia and I were walking toward the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio late Sunday afternoon, I overheard a woman exclaim to her companions, “I had no idea it would be so awesome!” Both...
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Field Trip: The Alley Vintage and Costume, Columbus, Ohio
Readers, What do you get when a master costumer in the International Costumers’ Guild and her professional makeup artist husband open a store following 30 years in the theater costume business? Why,...
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Buying Buttons in Salzburg
Readers, On a day trip from Hart, Germany to Salzburg, Austria yesterday Jack and I happened upon a button shop: Jos. Mayer, on Rathausplatz 1. I daresay it’s the oldest button shop I will ever go...
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Buying Buttons in Berlin: Knopf Paul
Readers, What could possibly be better than a wall of buttons? How about two walls of buttons–plus trays, boxes, and display cases of buttons? That’s what Jack and I found yesterday when we made our...
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A Couple More Button Places in Berlin
Readers, Before Jack and I leave Berlin tomorrow morning for Cambridge I wanted to mention two other places I looked at for buttons. One was recommended recently by Helen on her sewing blog, Button...
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Kenton Trimmings, London
Readers, Ever since I took the Savile Row tailoring class at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London last year I wanted to check out a tailors’ supplier our teacher, Victoria Townsend, recommended....
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Taylors Buttons, London
Readers, When I did the research while living in London for two months in 2011 for my article “Sewing Destination: London, England,” (Threads magazine, June-July 2012), I tried to be as comprehensive...
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Field Trip: “Riviera Style: Resort & Swimwear Since 1900,” Fashion and...
Readers, I am no swimmer. Growing up, I never advanced beyond the shallow end of the pool. As an adult I summoned the courage–twice!–to take beginner swimming classes but chickened out after the first...
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London Miscellany
Readers, To round off my recent series of London posts, a roundup of news items and observations: I loved The Imperial War Museum’s show “Fashion on the Ration: 1940s Street Style.” My souvenir from...
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A Perfect Vintage Jacket
Readers, Last week I brought home a very special souvenir of Jack’s and my visit to Portland, Oregon: a vintage jacket with a mysterious past. It came from a lovely little shop, Living Threads Vintage,...
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Paron Fabrics, NYC: A Scrapbook
Readers, Thursday evening I found myself saying “Nooooooo…!” to the computer screen as I read the news on Peter Lappin’s blog, Male Pattern Boldness, that Paron Fabrics in New York’s Garment District...
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Field Trip: “Dressing Downton,” Taft Museum, Cincinnati
Readers, Last month I got to see three dozen costumes from Downton Abbey up close in the show “Dressing Downton: Changing Fashion for Changing Times” at the beautiful Taft Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio....
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Takeaways from New York
Readers, Jack and I returned last Thursday from our week in New York. It was an all-you-can-eat buffet of museum-visiting, Garment District-shopping, and long-distance walking. Here’s a day-by-day...
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Buying Buttons in Berlin: Knopf Paul
Readers, What could possibly be better than a wall of buttons? How about two walls of buttons–plus trays, boxes, and display cases of buttons? That’s what Jack and I found yesterday when we made our...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Couple More Button Places in Berlin
Readers, Before Jack and I leave Berlin tomorrow morning for Cambridge I wanted to mention two other places I looked at for buttons. One was recommended recently by Helen on her sewing blog, Button...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kenton Trimmings, London
Readers, Ever since I took the Savile Row tailoring class at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London last year I wanted to check out a tailors’ supplier our teacher, Victoria Townsend, recommended....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Taylors Buttons, London
Readers, When I did the research while living in London for two months in 2011 for my article “Sewing Destination: London, England,” (Threads magazine, June-July 2012), I tried to be as comprehensive...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Field Trip: “Riviera Style: Resort & Swimwear Since 1900,” Fashion and...
Readers, I am no swimmer. Growing up, I never advanced beyond the shallow end of the pool. As an adult I summoned the courage–twice!–to take beginner swimming classes but chickened out after the first...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tailoring with Savile Row Tailors: Day 2
Readers, Today’s post could be subtitled “The Secret Language of Menswear.” Hayward My classmates’ and my mission today was to crack the code of lapels, pockets, buttons, fit, and shoulder shaping to...
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Tailoring with Savile Row Tailors, Day 5: An Album
Readers, Two days ago our class was taken on a whirlwind tour of four London tailoring companies: Henry Poole & Co., Huntsman, Anderson and Sheppard, and Gieves & Hawkes. The home of bespoke...
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