16 Mar Fashion as Cure

Madeleine Vionnet gown, ivory silk organza with black lace insets, 1937, France. Collection of Beverley Birks.

While the Great Depression may have brought much hardship to American life, it certainly did not deflate the fashion industry. The Fashion Institute of Technology’s current museum exhibition Elegance in an Age of Crisis: Fashions of the 1930’s brings to light a decade that emerged from the Jazz Age and culminated with the onset of World War II.

Gardner and Wooley LTD smoking jacket, green velvet, satin, 1936, London. Collection of Alan Bennett, Davies and Son.

Modern clothing was created and the news vividly spread through magazine and media coverage in addition to the buoyant American cinema working tirelessly to lift the American spirit.

This beautifully curated collection of period clothing and costume is a pleasure to experience and is equally balanced between women’s and men’s wear. My favorite point of interest is a collection of Fred Astaire’s shoes, both from his personal wardrobe as well as his classic films.

The exhibition shows that dressing well can inspire your mood and give you the confidence to rise above any obstacle! See the show before it closes on April 19 at The Museum at FIT.

From neckline to hemline (this exhibition) pays homage to the great men and women who created styles that live on to this day as the ideal of beauty and modernity. Patricia Mears, deputy director for The Museum at FIT

Special Note: Feature Image for this blog post also courtesy of The Museum at FIT.