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Packing List Series, Part 2: An Artist’s Illustrated Guide
Adolf Konrad’s sketched packing list, December 16, 1963. When German-born but New Jersey-bred artist Adolf Konrad (1915-2003) traveled through Rome and Egypt in 1962 and 1963, he made himself a visual...
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Stocking Series, Part 1: Wartime Rationing and Nylon Riots
Women making hosiery at Minnesac Mills, Philadelphia. (Photo by Lewis Hine, 1936-37.) Women want men, career, money, children, friends, luxury, comfort, independence, freedom, respect, love and cheap...
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Yayoi Kusama, High Priestess of Polka Dots
Collection of the artist. © Yayoi Kusama. Image courtesy Yayoi Kusama Studio Inc. Artist Yayoi Kusama established the Church of Self-Obliteration and appointed herself the “High Priestess of Polka...
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This 105-Year-Old Made Marilyn Monroe’s Earrings
By now, I’m sure Threaded readers know that I derive great satisfaction – or some might say, nerd out – uncovering the social and historical context of clothing. One of my projects, Worn Stories, does...
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Stocking Series, Part 4: The Rebellious Roll Garters
Bold women in their bathing suits and rolled stockings. Note the uniformed officials in the background who don’t look pleased. Date unknown. It’s time to bring back rolled stockings. This isn’t...
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Taking a Closer Look at an Odd Pair of Very, Very Old Socks
Socks from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. I can’t stop staring at these socks. A pair of very, very old socks made in Egypt sometime between A.D. 250 and A.D. 420. While putting together...
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12 Creepy Kids in Halloween Masks
Pumpkinhead and cat(?), date unknown. It wouldn’t be Halloween without masks. Jokers, scary clowns, gorillas and, when the presidential election converges with Halloween, tricker-or-treaters in...
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Election Special: Wear Your Presidential Candidate on Your Back
It’s hard to believe—especially as the East Coast reels in the aftermath of Sandy—that the election is just a few days away. While the candidates crisscross battleground states in last-ditch efforts to...
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Favorites From the Cooper-Hewitt’s New Online Collection
Matchbook in the shape of a folded men’s shirt, with incised checkerboard-patterned weave, cuffs and bib, smiling child’s head peering out from opening at collar. Reverse inscribed “New York Clothing...
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5 Essential James Bond Accessories
Desmond Llewelyn as Q in License to Kill showing Bond (Timothy Dalton) the camera gun that, when put together, became a sniper rifle. James Bond’s accessories are never what they seem, thanks to the...
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The History of the Flapper, Part 3: The Rectangular Silhouette
Woman’s Institute of Domestic Arts & Sciences, 1925-1926. If a woman in the 1920s had a boyish figure and was naturally skinny, she was all set to slip on a slim sheath, a signature look of the...
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The History of the Flapper, Part 4: Emboldened by the Bob
Actress Louise Brooks with bob and bee-stung lips, 1920s. On May 1, 1920, the Saturday Evening Post published F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” a short story about a sweet yet socially...
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The Aughts: When People Wore Their Causes on Their Sleeves, Literally
John Kerry at a campaign rally, showing off his wristbands. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert At every stump speech, meet and greet, and town hall gathering during the 2004 presidential campaign, John Kerry...
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The Perils of Wearing Clothes
High, high heels. Courtesy of Wikicommons Last month, Chinese school uniforms made the news. Studies had shown that possibly as many as 25,000 children in Shanghai, China, were wearing mandated...
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Where’d You Get Those Creepers?
Typical creepers. In modern slang, a “creeper” is that odd, socially awkward guy you know from the office, dorm, neighborhood, local restaurant. You can also call him a creep. A couple of years ago,...
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