In June 1941, Operation Barbarossa began, setting off a bloodbath that was supposed to bring the Soviet Union to its knees. Yet when Adolf Hitler turned
Madeleine Vionnet (22 June 1876, Chilleurs-aux-Bois – 2 March 1975, Paris), one of the greatest, most innovative, most influential fashion designers of all time. Referred to as the "queen of the bias cut" and the "architect among dressmakers", she is best known for the simple elegance of her classically-inspired designs and for popularizing the bias cut; aided by the enthusiastic embrace of Hollywood, the bias cut became the look of the Thirties. Born into a poor family, and with hardly any education, she began her apprenticeship as a seamstress at the age of twelve. After a brief marriage at eighteen and the loss of a child, she left her husband and went to London to work as a seamstress in a hospital. There, she began working as a fitter for the dressmaker Kate Reily, but eventually returned to Paris where she worked for six years at the fashion house of Callot Sœurs as a toile maker. (A toile is a designer's test garment; in the United States it is usually referred to as a "muslin".) Her own tastes were at odds with the often elaborately decorated Callot house style, but Vionnet always noted the importance of her years there, saying, "without the example of the Callot Sœurs, I would have continued to make Fords. It is because of them that I have been able to make Rolls Royces." She went on to design for Jacques Doucet between 1907 and 1911, and in 1912 she opened her own house, only to close it two years later at the advent of World War I. But she re-established the house in 1923, opening new premises on the Avenue Montaigne. Only a few years after that she opened premises in New York. Her work was hugely influential, especially during the early Thirties. She was highly regarded by her fellow couturiers, and she led the fight for copyright laws in fashion. She also employed what were considered revolutionary labor practices at the time: paid holidays, maternity leave, day-care, a dining hall, and a resident doctor and dentist. She was forced to close her house once more, at the coming of World War II in 1939, and retired the next year. She lived for thirty-five more years, passing away at the age of ninety-eight. Unlike her great contemporary Chanel, Vionnet had no taste for self-promotion, and that, combined with her early retirement, has had the result that her name is not as generally well known as it should be. But like Chanel, her designs have a timelessness that ensures that the particulars of line and drape and ornamentation that she created continue to reappear - again and again, year after year - in the work of her design successors; which of the gowns shown here would be wrong today, on any lovely, celebrated woman on any red carpet? These designs are from some of her last collections. I love the subtle variations in the garments pictured - a particular skirt will have two different bodices - and the changing but consistently imagined ornamentation; there is sort of mutation in some of the patterning from dress to dress. (And I'm so glad we have access to some of the original photographic documentation, as the ugly mannequins and the flattened, wrinkled state of the surviving garments, in the more recent images here, most definitely do not show the dresses at they ought to be seen.) The same dress as above, but looking quite a bit less fresh....
Elle prévoit d'ajouter une deuxième chambre et une serre.
The British government defers the sale of eleven rare Vionnet dresses
A place for things horror, art and folklore in Japan! Manga! Movies! Anime! Pop Culture!
“January 10th, 2014″ — the lead single from The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die’s sophomore album, Harmlessness — extrapolates two mythologies. The first: Diana Hunter Of Bus Drivers, the true story of a lone individual taking action in response to decades of sexual violence on the woman […]
His interests include eating pizza and taking over the world.
According to a recent study, the U.S. market for self-improvement is $9.9 billion. Despite that, many therapists think that self-help books are useless. Gregg Williams, for example, says that change is hard, improvements happen unevenly, involve many steps and take a lot of time. Nothing even remotely close to what the self-help reads are preaching. Luckily, Johan Deckmann has something that's way better. By day, Deckmann analyzes the human behavior; by night, he writes down his observations as titles for fictional self-help publications. Using books found in antique shops as a canvas, the practicing psychotherapist transforms their boring covers into witty jokes. Even though most of his pieces balance between the hilarious and the poignant, their faded color and worn texture take the readers on an emotional journey of self-reflection and soul-searching.
Primavera, 1894, Mikhail Vrubel Medium: watercolor,paper
How to take portraits and photos of objects with the help of prisms?
Explore skinnyjeangirl's 408 photos on Flickr!
The mission of the Free Library of Philadelphia is to advance literacy, guide learning, and inspire curiosity.
Crochet is a great way to join together knitted strips or squares, as in this rainbow bedspread. It's less stretchy than knitting, which means that it will give your blanket more structure and less sag. To join knitted garter stitch squares or strips together, insert crochet hook into a stitch at edge of each strip, pass yarn over hook and draw it through the first two loops on hook, pass yarn over and draw it through the other two loops. Repeat along the edge of the strips. You'll have a created a strong crochet seam - the perfect finishing touch for your knitting.
Need some funny quotes to impress your friends? Check out these 22 irresistibly funny quotes that you can use at your next social gathering!
Joni Mitchell, Blue, the original cover photo by Tim Considine. Released June 22, 1971. +++ I’ve gotten a lot of questions about this photo, which came from the photographer’s own website, with the...
I take requests
It’s not just you - that bench in your city is designed to be uncomfortable on purpose. Armed with a loose definition of what it means to ‘loiter,’ intentionally hostile and sometimes downright sadistic urban design prioritizes separating ‘undesirables’ from city residents deemed more deserving. But these designs aren’t just inhumane - they have a
"It’s more than just a backache."
My classic, spicy, traditional whole leaf napa cabbage kimchi recipe that I've been using for years and years. Spicy, fermented, and delicious.
Merab Abramishvili "Black Panther"
His interests include eating pizza and taking over the world.
FEMAIL has rounded up the 15 worst sexual apology cakes ever made. Several apologise to the recipient for having slept with one of their parents.
Mar 28, 2018
Frou Frou
Painting by Jung, 4 January 1920 – Watering Hades. Inscription reads: “This the holy caster of water. The Cabiri grow out of the flowers which spring from the body of the dragon. Above …
The Year's BEST Animal Photos
ocio m. (plural ocios) 1. leisure, recreation, spare time 2. diversion Etymology - from Italian occhio, from Latin oculus. Noun - ocio (m) 1. eye
“Ninety-seven is an age to which you don’t congratulate. You shouldn’t become older than ninety at all!“ Else said, when photographer Hanna Lenz met her for the first time, a few days after her 97. Birthday. “Today Else is 100 years old. She has been living in her two-room apartment in Aarhus, Denmark for 58 […]
