Make A Point
From 1300-1450, the Poulaine style shoe, which featured an exaggerated caricature-like point, was in vogue for nearly 150 years. The extreme tips were often stuffed with miscellaneous findings in order to maintain a shaped point, which extended far beyond the end of the wearer’s foot. The Poulaine shoe would fall out of fashion by the
Body Art
Vogue’s June 1st, 1940 issue, dedicated to swimwear styles of the season, featured model Lisa Fonssagrives dressed for the beach and positioning her body to form the letter “V” for Vogue. Photographed by German photographer Horst P. Horst, the image incorporates elements of surrealism and dadaism, both movements which had a significant impact
Out to Lunch
Originally titled Le Bain, Edouard Manet’s Le déjeuner sur l’herbe or Luncheon on the Grass, was debuted in 1863 to rather mixed reviews ranging from laughter to outrage. Although Manet’s titillating picnic scene was in reference to Titian’s 16th-century painting Concert champêtre, which featured a similar composition of nude females amongst dressed men, Manet’s figures where not represented
Under the Table
While on assignment in Lima, Peru, Irving Penn would photograph model Jean Patchett on her first Vogue assignment for the editorial, “Flying Down to Lima.” Penn’s well-known image of the then 22-year-old model was reportedly taken candidly, as Patchett awaited the next scene, unknowing of the camera upon her. In 2009, Steven Meisel would
Sour Grapes
Patron to designer Charles James, heiress Millicent Rogers would often commission pieces by James, however, many of these pieces were more collaboration than commission as the socialite was known to request specific fabrics, colors and silhouettes from the master designer. In 1944, the two worked together to create an off-white silk chiffon gown featuring