One Man’s Trash

Guy Bourdin’s ad campaigns for Charles Jourdan would often feature a pair of disembodied legs clad in little but a pair of Charles Jourdan shoes. Bourdin’s titillating images have been a source of inspiration for countless photographers, particularly Terry Richardson. Photographer Tim Gutt seems to have also looked to Bourdin’s work in

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Arm of Mutton

The gigot sleeve, also called the leg-of-mutton sleeve, experienced two waves of popularity in the 19th century, much like the bustle. The voluminous sleeves first came into popularity in the late 1820s-early 1830s, placed directly below a sloped shoulder. The resurgence of Le Gigot occurred in the 1890s with the expanse of the sleeve

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Sartorial Satire

Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton’s tumultuous romance developed when the couple met on set of the film Cleopatra in 1962. The suspicions and eventual discovery of the love affair was documented by the Italian paparazzi and splashed across the pages of tabloids around the globe, consuming popular culture. In response to the widespread coverage

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McQueen Elizabeth

Sarah Burton’s brief (the designer only showed 10 looks due to her taking time off for her pregnancy) yet exquisite show for Alexander McQueen FW 2013 was laden with historical elements of costume and symbolism. In keeping with the design house’s tendency to draw upon historical inspiration, Burton looked to ecclesiastical garb, the Ballets

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Post-Raphaelite

As one of the three founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, John Everett Millais, would create some of the most well known imagery of the Pre-Raphaelites, including Christ In The House Of His Parents and Ophelia. The reform movement looked to Quattrocento or 15th-century Italian art, producing narrative historical painting which typically featured a female protagonist, referred to as

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