Helen Uffner Vintage Clothing

THE CULINARY HISTORY DETECTIVE: Triscuits, Cookies and the UNEEDA Biscuit Boy

2010-12-24T15:36:00.001-05:00

In the world of advertising, the Uneeda " Biscuit Boy" became the symbol for the very first national advertising campaign EVER for ANY product. The single most famous advertising trademark in the world at the beginning of the century, he was the icon for the National Biscuit Company since 1901.

We recently listed the scruffy yet sweet souvenir letter opener at right on ETSY and decided to do a little research.

We go to the beginning…………

It can be said that NBC (as the National Biscuit Company was then called)began as early as 1792 with the opening of “Pearson & Sons Bakery”, specializing in what they called “pilot bread”, a sturdy, durable biscuit that sailors took with them on long voyages.

In 1801, a company called “Josiah Bent Bakery” began selling what they called “crackers,” named for the crunchy sound this new discovery made when someone bit into them.

By the turn-of-the-century, bakers sold unbranded crackers packed loosely in large barrels and sent them to grocery stores. A mother would often send her child to the grocers with a paper bag to fill up to consume later. Alas, nothing protected the goodies from moisture so they would often end up being stale or soggy.

In 1889, entrepreneur William Moore decided he could improve the efficiency of all the existing bakeries by uniting Pearson, Bent, and six others, merging them into one large company to be called the “New York Biscuit Company”.

In another part of the country in1890, a Chicago business man named Adolphus Green acquired forty Midwest bakeries in the Midwest to form the “American Biscuit and Manufacturing Company” and in 1898, Green and Moore decided to combine their two companies.

This mega-merger ultimately combined 114 bakeries across the United States. Lawyer Adolphus Green was named president of this new company, and under his direction the company grew to become the biggest manufacturer of cookies in the United States.

Right at the outset Green decided the National Biscuit Company needed a new idea to grab the public’s attention. When his employees created the Uneeda biscuit, new flakier and lighter cracker than any of their competitors’ versions, Green wanted to find a way to seal the new product in order to extend its freshness to be free of moisture.

In 1898 Green was the first to use the newly-created, very first, pre-packaged biscuit invention called the “In-Er Seal” - a combination of inter-folded layers of wax paper and cardboard to seal in the freshness of the product. The innovation literally revolutionized the cracker and biscuit business!

The slogan was “ Lest you forget, we say it yet, Uneeda Biscuit”.

Green decided that new packaging wasn’t quite enough - he wanted to go even further! He had the foresight to become of the first companies of the time to think of creating an actual advertising campaign and hired Philadelphia advertising agency N.W. Ayer and Son to promote the product.

The agency created an illustration of a wholesome little boy holding a box of Uneeda Biscuits, wearing a rain slicker, rain hat and rain boots to demonstrate the moisture-proof nature of the package. The UNEEDA Boy thus became one of the first early American trademarks .

At the beginning of the 20th century the company focused on the expansion of its line of cookies and in 1902, created the famous Barnum's Animal Crackers. Ten years later Lorna Doones and Oreos were created, the latter quickly becoming the world’s best-selling cookie.

When Green passed away in 1917, the new president, Roy E. Tomilson had to deal with World War I’s rationing of products using sugar and wheat flour. This meant that cookies weren’t as sweet as they used to be and the crackers now had to be made with corn meal and rye. Advertisements of the time depicted Uncle Sam holding the NBC products with the patriotic caption of “made as he says.”

In the 1920s, NBC expanding its product line to include breakfast cereal, ice cream cones, and pretzels. The Great Depression slowed the company down but they managed to introduce new dog biscuits and Ritz Crackers as the new prestige item.

the original oil painting

In 1941, the word Nabisco officially replaced the letters NBC, undoubtedly to reduce confusion with the recently established National Broadcasting Company, popularly also referred to as NBC.

During World War II, Nabisco again had to deal with the rationing of flour, sugar, butter, and oil and had to alter and substitute ingredients. Interestingly, they were also commissioned to develop an emergency field ration (K-Rations) for American troops and even supplied the military’s canine corps with dog biscuits.

Sadly, 100 years later in 2009 Nabisco discontinued the Uneeda biscuit because they were losing profits.

I KNOW what you are thinking......where did the image of the little boy COME from?

At left, this small original oil painting on board by a commercial artist named Fredric Stanley sold for $ 8,812.50 in 2007. He was a cover artist for the Saturday Evening Post and is said to have been a mentor of Norman Rockwell. It was believed to have been the ONLY painting ever commissioned for the original ad campaign.

If you look closely at the painting, the biscuit box is actually a removable die-cut mock-up of the actual box. This allowed the advertising department to insert any of the company’s products in the Uneeda Boy’s arms for future ads.

What is not well-known is that the image of the "Uneeda Boy" was actually based on a real person named Gordon Stille, who was the five-year old nephew of an advertising agency executive working on the campaign at the time.

In 1900, he was photographed wearing the raincoat, hat and boots holding the biscuits, for which he received $100, a considerable amount at the time! That photograph was then used to create the famous Uneeda boy symbol.

When came time to re-extend the expired copywrite in 1948, the law stated that the company needed the consent of a living person if the image of a still living person were to be registered as a trademark.

By now, Mr. Stille was a grown man in poor health. He felt that the company had cheated him and he had not been adequately compensated for the use of his imagine so long ago. He refused to sign a consent form and a legal battle ensued. Alas, Mt. Stille passed away without the issue ever being resolved.

But, WAIT!!!! Let us not forget about the history of another of The National Biscuit Company’s popular acquisitions, TRISCUITS!

In the early 1890’s, Denver native Henry D. Perky noticed a diner eating a bowl of boiled whole wheat broken up with a spoon, which the diner explained gave him strength and was easy to digest. Perky felt most people wouldn’t want to go to the trouble of breaking up the wheat themselves and discovered that by both shredding the cooked wheat and toasting it, the flavor and texture became more palatable.

Perky took this idea to his machinist friend Willliam Ford in Watertown, NY., who developed a machine process that drew the cooked wheat into shreds, formed the shreds into loaves and baked them in coal ovens.

Perky’s original intention was to sell the machine rather than the biscuits, and he returned to Denver selling biscuits from horse-drawn wagons to popularize the concept, forming “The Cereal Machine Company”.

Alas, the biscuits became more popular than the machines, so Perky moved back East to open his first bakeries in Boston and Wooster in 1895, retaining the original name “The Cereal Machine Company” but also adding the name “The Shredded Wheat Company”.

In 1898 Perky got a patent for a “new and original design for wafers”, a cracker-like biscuit.

In 1901, Perky was drawn to the idea of a new inexpensive form of power as well as the draw of the popular tourist attraction and he moved his company to Niagara Falls, NY. where the company became known as “The Natural Food Conservatory”. and the new factory was actually called "The Palace of Light," , white-tiled and well-lit.

In 1901, he received two more patents for a “cracker of filamentous or shredded wheat” featuring a waffle-like texture. He named the wafer TRISCUIT and production began in 1903 in Niagara Falls, NY. The packaging claimed “ Baked by Electricity”. For the next 21 years the wafer measured 4” x 2 ¼” and when the ovens were modernized and improved, the cracker became 2” square.

In 1908 the company became known once again as “The Shredded Wheat Company” and more factories were built in 1911 in Niagara Falls, Ontario (The Canadian Shredded Wheat Company) and 1915 in California (The Pacific Coast Shredded Wheat Company) and finally in 1926, a factory in England, outside London.

In December 1928, the company was sold to The National Biscuit Company which in 1933 put its name on the packaging as “National Biscuit Shredded Wheat" instead of the original “Home of Shredded Wheat” . In 1941 it changed to “Nabisco Shredded Wheat”

In 1954, that last original plant, the "Palace of Light" was shut down.

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At the close of 2010, the Uffner Vintage staff wants to take the opportunity of wishing all our faithful readers a very happy , healthy and a very peaceful New Year! ( Helen is Santa, of course!)

COINCIDENCES: The Tale of a Journey of a 1950's Pair of Earrings!

2010-12-09T14:38:00.001-05:00

the "double-decker" earrings we sold to Laura

In the “believe it or not” category, picture this:

We list a pair of amazing hand-painted 1950’s porcelain earrings for sale that has even has its original manufacturer’s sticker on the back.

Immediately, we get an email from someone in California who is floating on a cloud because she collects these apparent rare examples of “Milvern Originals” earrings.

And WHY does she collect them? Because her mother was one of the original artists who painted them back in the 1950’s! ! What are the chances?

She wrote :

“Hello!! I woke up this morning to no water because the pipes froze overnight. But these earrings instantly warmed ME up! My mother created this design when she worked for Milvern Originals of Beverly Hills back in the 1950s. They produced very few because Vern, the boss, said they were too labor intensive to be selling for $1. Yes, $1. Can you believe that?? I have collected over 300 pairs of Milvern earrings, but only 3 pairs of these "double-deckers". You don't know how happy I am to get them. “

Interesting, we could find absolutely no research on this short-lived company on the web aside from a brief mention: “There is very little information available about this company and their pieces are very difficult to come by”.

Happily, the designer’s daughter Laura shared what little she learned after questioning her mother.

Apparently, the Milvern Originals jewelry company was founded by Mildred and Vern Schervem in 1954 in Beverly Hills.

Vern Schervem rented out part of his building to a manufacturer of plastic bubble bath bottles that were shaped like cartoon characters,. They occasionally show up in antique stores but though they also have the Milvern name on them, they were not connected to the jewelry business.

a pendant and earring set

The company made earrings, cufflinks and pins and rarely, a pendant. No two sets of earrings were ever alike, even if it was just an added decorative dot of gold.

Since hand-painting was costly, towards the end of the “Malvern Original” reign the company started using a repetitive feather gold edge in lieu of the costlier hand-painted patterns.

There were “single” piece earrings and “double-pieced” rarer earrings, with two porcelain pieces attached on top of each other (which was what we sold to Laura). In her vast collection, Laura only had 2 doubles, so she was delighted to buy ours to add to the others!

above and below, examples of the double earrings Laura had already in her collection - notice how those and the ones she bought from us are so similar!

The pieces were made by pouring the slip into molds. Without exception, the molds were always slightly concave - no matter what the shape, they were never flat. Sometimes the piece was turned over so the finished jewelry piece was convex. Pressurized air was used to get the pieces out of the molds.

another earring and pendant set

Since they were still somewhat soft when they came out of their molds, Laura’s Mom claimed that they threw many pieces away because they didn’t always retain their shapes.

They were dried, and after a powdered color was sprinkled on the top they were fired. The painters on staff then painted unique designs on each piece after they came out of the kiln.

the back of the earring

The most popular shape, by far, was round with the edges "pinched up" to resemble a square or triangle (like the pictured pair we sold). There were squares, rectangles, quarter moons (these were rarer), painter's palettes, leaves, teardrops, dishes, diamonds (like the second part of ours), amongst others.

All the clips, pins, screwbacks, or cufflink attachments were then glued on, a little Milvern sticker was put on the back and the pieces were put on cards.

It was Laura’s Mom who took the idea of making cufflinks to Vern, but the boss answered that no man would wear such feminine cufflinks!

So…….her mom took a pair of earrings, painted beer mugs on them, took them to the bar next door where the co-workers congregated and asked if anyone thought people would buy them if they were cufflinks! Oh, yeah!

They turned out to be such a big hit that they put those into production, and it turned out that business women were even greatly attracted to them!

Laura has about 25 sets of cufflinks in her collection, but they were not nearly as popular as the other pieces.

Her Mom had kept only 3 pairs of her handiwork all those years ago and Laura initially thought these were the only ones that survived, but about 20 years ago they started surfacing every now and then in antique stores and online sites. Laura’s theory is that the women who bought them on the 50’s are now sadly passing away and their offspring are selling their possessions.

Should you come across any to sell, Laura would love to hear from you to add to her collection and honor her Mom's work! You can email her at pharmanimal@volcano.net.

THE SET N' STAY PILLOW SLIP - Homage to Larry Matthews

2010-08-12T14:24:00.001-04:00

A hair fashion revelation!!!!!

Helen came across a dated 1968 "Set n" Stay" Pillow Slip (in its original packaging) to list on ETSY on our Vintagepickle site.

The packaging read "New from Larry Mathews", and was a special sleep pillow that would maintain your then intricate beehive hairdo and protect your hair "all night long" , claiming it was perspiration resistant, allowed your hair to breathe and unlike regular pillows that flattened your hair, you would wake up with every hair still in place! Wonder of wonders!!!

So, you may wonder...who was this Larry Matthews who created this marvel? Well, we've done the research!

Most of what else we found out about Larry Mathew’s life was from his August 5^{th, 2007} New York Times obituary, where his quirky quotes credit his sense of humor! The obit is excerpted below:

“Larry Mathews... earned a reputation as New York's most wide-awake hairdresser by opening …the city's first 24-hour beauty parlor to serve insomniacs, talk-show guests, showgirls and other working women.

Mr. Mathews served the nocturnal need of those seeking teasing, frosting, cutting, waxing, eyebrow enhancement, nail coloring, blow-drying and more. Clients -- who he said included Jacqueline Susann, Eleanor Roosevelt and Marilyn Monroe -- were invited to play backgammon or sip a cocktail as their appearances became more pleasing.

'I'm sort of like a surgeon' he said in an interview with The New York Times in 1976. 'Not looking good is like a cancer. There's a lot of pain in not being beautiful.'

At his peak in the early 1970s, Mr. Mathews had expanded his after-hours cosmetology concept across the nation to 131 salons, from Miami to Las Vegas to Hollywood (and) sold the chain in 1974.

His commitment to convenience was shown by regularly sending a limousine to pick up a woman's wig in the morning so his staff could set it and comb it, then deliver it in time for an evening engagement.

By accident, when Mr. Mathews was trying to build a machine that would not burn women during waxing, he developed a cream for painless depilation. Called Hair Off, it became a staple in beauty parlors and later was sold for home use.

Mr. Mathews could wax eloquent on the subject of body hair.

'Women shouldn't shave,' he said to The Times. 'You shave and you're growing a beard all over your body. You're making stubble for yourself.'

Hair Off, by contrast, left only baby fuzz, he promised.

Mr. Mathews learned some photography in the Army and after his discharge set up shop as a studio photographer, specializing in publicity stills for aspiring starlets. Before he snapped the photographs, he liked to work on their eyes and mouths, which led him into theatrical makeup and cosmetics.

His clientele was showgirls at the Copacabana and the Latin Quarter, so a 24-hour beauty salon seemed a logical step.

He opened his first in 1953 in the Great Northern Hotel on West 57th Street near Carnegie Hall, enabling him to cater to show-business people. He reasoned that a hotel was a nice location for all-night beauty parlors because there was someone protective in the lobby.

All his stylists were men who specialized in the exotic coiffures the Broadway-type customers requested. Free makeup consultations were available on the first visit if women wanted them.

Despite having many well-off customers, Mr. Mathews was provocatively populist when it came to the sacred cows of the beauty business.

'No haircut is worth $50,' he told The Times. ' Every month you have to have it cut again. It's ridiculous to spend $35 to have your legs waxed. It's even more ridiculous to spend $100 for an ounce of perfume.'

His solution to the perfume question was his line of copies of French fragrances (such as Chanel and Joy) developed in Switzerland (which he) sold for $10 an ounce. (The perfume industry sued and lost.)

As for hair, he said in an interview with The Times in 1961 that wearing wigs could cut a woman's beauty bill by 40 percent. He said they remained set for as long as three months.

Asked who would buy them, he answered, ''About half the regulars at the Copacabana.''

As an interesting aside, Gloria Steinem's bio talks about her going undercover to become a Playboy bunny for a reporting assignment. Even before studying the “Bunny Bible” she was told to report to Larry Mathew’s New York salon for a make-up class , where she was fitted for false eyelashes and paid $8.14 for the eyelashes and cake rouge (with her Bunny discount, of course!)

METAMORPHOSIS : The Making of a Book Cover - or Portrait of the Artist as a ...Young Photographer

2010-08-02T15:51:00.004-04:00

You buy a book. It has an amazing illustrated or photographic cover with period detailing. Ever wonder where the artist’s inspiration for those costumes or accessories comes from?

If you are clever, you might sense that WE are that “secret source”! (Yes!)

....But if you haven't a clue, here is a little interesting narrative explaining the “process” a book cover takes from start to finish.

In this blog, we highlight the work of artist Marc Yankus (marcyankus.com).

This particular project shown on the left was a book about a midwife in the mid-to-late 1800’s who yearned to become a doctor, not a very welcoming profession for women of that century.

In Marc’s words: “I hired a model, rented the dress and bag from Helen and photographed the model in my workspace.

Using a software program, I changed the color of the dress, added the building and added textures to give the piece a feeling of the time”

Picture #1

Marc initially came by to pick out some of our vintage clothing showroom's 19th century clothes and accessories. He then began photographing his model: first from the back, then a side view, then eventually a version of the final

cover that Marc envisioned.

Picture #2

Picture #3

Once Marc zeroed in on the concept, he experimented with different color palettes until he reached the one he would use for the book cover.

Et voila!!!!! A work of genius!

First coloration Final coloration

We will soon highlight other book covers we have worked on, but as an added bonus, here is yet another cover Marc worked with us on...perhaps an obscure little book you may have heard of ?

and the book......

MAD MONEY For Mad Men (or Women)....the original of the phrase

2010-07-28T10:24:00.006-04:00

We were listing this 1950’s “Mad Money Case” on Vintagepickle.etsy.com (our online sales page) when we started wondering what the origin of that term could be, in addition to speculating about the amount of items you could actually BUY with your mad money coins in the 1950’s!

“Mad money” seems to be interchangeable with the phrase “pin money”, so Helen went to work researching.

Both phrases seemed somewhat sexist in origin, referring to the allowance that a husband gave his wife for stereotypical “feminine” expenses such as pins to secure their clothing.

The phrase “pin money” is said to have originated in the Middle Ages in England, when pins, handmade at the time, were scarce and quite expensive. Credited with popularizing French-made pins in the mid-1500’s was Henry VIII’s 5^th wife Catherine Howard, who was eventually beheaded.

To prevent the upper class from hoarding these “luxury” items, England ultimately passed a law allowing pin makers to sell their wares only on specific days of the year. This allowed women of all classes to save up enough “pin money” to afford to buy perhaps at least one pin when these scarce items next came to market.

When the Industrial Revolution introduced a plethora of available pins, the price dropped and “pin money” became then known as a wife’s pocket money regardless of its intended use, later to imply any type of incidental expenses.

The first documented printed use of the phrase “pin money” was credited in 1697 to British architect Sir John Vanbrugh (known for designing famous Blenheim Palace after a brief imprisonment at the Bastille when accused of being a spy!)

“Mad money”, the American version of this British idiom seems to have been coined much later.

In a 1922 article on Bryn Mawr slang, Howard J. Savage defined ”mad money” as “money a girl carries in case she has a row with her escort and wishes to go home alone.'" Since it was almost unheard in those days for a young lady to not to have a gentleman escort her home, perhaps the terms meant that she was mad, or angry at the young man for perhaps an indecent advance, and used the money to get herself home alone.

In 1946, C.M. Woodard re-defined “mad money” to include “…Also money used by a girl or woman for small purchases.”

Webster’s 3rd Dictionary (1961) was the first to record this term with both the meanings: “carfare carried by a girl on a date to provide a means of escaping her escort in the event of unwanted familiarities; broadly: a small sum carried by a woman for emergency use” and Random House Dictionary listed ‘mad money” as “a small sum of money carried by a woman on a date to enable her to reach home alone in case she and her escort quarrel and separate.”

Currently, the phrase seems to translate to “money spent foolishly or frivolously on the spur of the moment for something you don’t really need”…..intimating that the woman’s state of mind is “mad” as she frivolously spends her cache. Hmmm…

TAKE A POWDER - The Sad Tale of Louis XIV's Mistress

2010-06-02T16:02:00.004-04:00

You know how sometimes you are heading in one direction, something strikes you and you end up going off on a tangent?

Helen was recently about to list the item on the left on our ETSY site (Vintagepickle) when the name struck her. She decided to do a bit or research, keep the Talc (for now!) and introduce her latest historical research foray into who "La Vallierre Vera Violet Talcum Powder" was most probably named after.

First, some interesting information culled from the metal container:

It is dated 1906 and its use reads: "A perfect antiseptic powder gives immediate relief for chafed skin, prickly heat, sunburn and sore feet...excellent to use after shaving"...which makes one think: who this flowery art nouveau-patterned bottle meant for, men or women? (did women shave themselves at the turn of the century?)

Anyway, back to the point. It turns out that Louise de La Vallierre was a French noblewoman who was a mistress of Louis XIV. It is interesting to note that the name for a jewelled pendant, lavalier (lavallière in French), actually descends from her name.

Her story is a sad one.

Born in 1644 in Tours, France, her widowed mother married into nobility and Louise de La Valliere (above, at left) was introduced at Versailles at the tender age of 16. Through a distant relative, Louise was appointed maid-of-honor to Henrietta of England (above, at right), a young woman her own age who had just married Louis XIV’s brother.

Henrietta was said to be so fetching that when she joined the court at Fontainebleau in 1661 she became, shall we say, “friendly” with her brother-in-law the king, resulting in scandal and rumors of romance.

To avoid increasing royal scandal, the King (Louis XIV) and Henrietta decided that the King’s passion should be redirected elsewhere as a “blind” to hide their affair, and Henrietta set before him 3 young ladies as possibilities, One of those young women was 17-year old Louise, an innocent and quite religious young girl (Louise, still innocent, at right)

. At the time, the Abbé de Choise reported that the seventeen-year-old innocent " had an exquisite complexion, blond hair, blue eyes, a sweet smile . . . [and] an expression [at] once tender and modest." She was purported to be so lovely that famous French writers such as LaFontaine and Racine wrote her praises. As an interesting aside, one of her legs was shorter than the other and Louise wore specially made heels.

Naively, Louise promptly fell in love with the king (Louis the Voracious Womanizer at left). Though she knew it to be wrong, she became his mistress in 1661 at the tender age of 17. Over the proceeding years, she battled with her conscience and left the king twice to seek refuge in a convent, but the King dragged her back both times and she remained his mistress from 1661 to 1667.

When her liaison reached the angry ears of Louis’s Queen (Maria Teresa of Spain) (scorned Queen at right), Louise was removed from the palace and banished to a smaller building. There, between 1962 and 1966 she became pregnant 4 times with 4 sons who all died in infancy or from a miscarriage. A daughter was born in 1666, who survived and was publicly recognized by the king , in turn making Louise a duchess in 1667.

In October of the same year she bore another son (the king kept her busy!), but the King’s affections had by that time roamed elsewhere. While both she and the King’s wife were pregnant at the same time, the king took himself another mistress, Françoise-Athénaïs, Marquise de Montespan, (the new favored mistress below) a trusted friend of both her and the Queen.

Louise’s title as the King’s “official Mistress” remained, but she was forced to share the new mistress’s Tuillerie living quarters in Paris, this time serving as the Marquise’s blind decoy to prevent court gossip and any legal maneuvers of the Marquise’s husband, who wanted her back.

In 1674, she left the king for good and took the veil in a Carmelite convent under the name Sister Louise of the Misercord . The day she left, she threw herself at the feet of the Queen, begging forgiveness: "My crimes were public, my repentance must be public, too” . When Louise took her final vows a year later, the Queen, who used to come to the convent for spiritual rest,

personally presented her with the black veil.

Upon the death of her surviving son in 1683, Louise was still so obsessed with the sin of her affair with the king that she lamented: “I ought to weep for his birth far more than [for] his death”

Though she had such royal visitors such as Queen Maria Teresa and the Duchess of Orleans, she spent the rest of her life in seclusion, engaging in charity work. In 1690 she wrote book entitled “ Reflections on the Mercy of God, by a Penitent Woman” .

She died alone in 1710 in Paris, and was immortalized in Alexander Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers” Volume 5”

A STAR IS BORN........

2010-04-30T20:07:00.000-04:00

Just a quickie to let you in on a Broadway Debut!

Gabriel Ebert, a recent Julliard graduate, is going to step into Eddie Redmayne's shoes in Broadway's "RED", when Eddie leaves for the weekend to attend his brother's wedding.

Red is the engrossing Broadway show that stars Alfred Molina as painter Mark Rothko.

Gabriel will be performing on May 1 and May 2, so go and support him!!!

He is a great guy and we are delighted to have made his acquaintance!

Here he is trying on his outfit for the show at our place!!!

Is he excited about it??????? Well, in his words:

" I am totally stoked!!!!!!"

SPRING GOSSIP - What we have been up to!!!

2010-03-19T17:52:00.012-04:00

Admittedly, we have been so absorbed in publishing the “Hose Me Down” series that we have neglected to let you know about some of our projects in the past few months!

Here are some of the highlights,..and MORE to follow!

FILM:

. Contemporary film “Henry’s Crime” came in to rent Victorian clothes for a “Cherry Orchard” play-within-a-film in which we dressed Keanu Reeves and Vera Farmiga.

(at right, costume designer Melissa Toth looks through our Victorian capelets for the above movie)

. Spanning the 1940’s through the 1980’s, “Mr. Tambourine Man”, is a film we worked on about an autistic young man who is saved through the healing power of music. Based on a true story, it stars Lou Taylor Pucci.

. “Bill Wilson and the History of Alcoholics Anonymous” spent two days at our place doing actor fittings, renting men’s and women’s clothes from periods as diverse as Edwardian, 1920’s, 1930’s and 1950’s.

(At left, costume designer Terese Wadden chooses her picks for the above film)

. We continue to hold principal items for “Bolden!”, hoping that it will be an amazing smash when it finally gets released!

TV:

. We are excited that among the many period 1930’s items we rented and sold to HBO mini-series “Mildred Pierce” (yep, THAT one with Joan Crawford!) its star, Kate Winslet will AGAIN be wearing our clothes. (We have her in our costumes in “Revolutionary Road” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” too!)

. Masha and Kristen have continued to use their styling expertise to help costume the PBS series “God In America”, pulling Victorian for characters such as Abraham Lincoln, Isaac Wise, Charles Briggs, A.A. Hodge, female ice-skaters, students and 1920’s for Clarence Darrow and Williams Jennings Bryan.

. We seem to have an affinity for “Mad Men”: we did two “Saturday Night Live” segments, one hosted by January Jones (“Jekyll and Hyde“ and “A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette” sketches) and another by John Hamm.

(At left, our wonderful Winter intern Hannah helped Saturday Night Live's brilliant designer Tom Broecker look for men's suits)

. “Law and Order: Criminal Intent”, we rented a lot of menswear for an episode about a serial killer, and an elderly Holocaust survivor is interviewed wearing our vintage men’s 1930’s suit complete with suspenders, tie, pocketwatch and chain.

(At right, our terrific new intern Caroline (sitting down) helps the Law & Order CI design crew find just the right period collars!)

THEATER:

. A woman’s 1940’s robe for "All my Sons" at the Huntington Theater In Boston.

. For “Oh, Those Beautiful Weimar Girls” at the New Stage Theatre Company in NYC we dressed the MC, complete in a 1920’s man’s suit, suspenders, hat, bowtie and boots.

. 1960’s men’s suits for “Barefoot in the Park” at the Two River Theater Company in Red Bank, NJ.

. 1940’s period menswear for the University of Delaware’s “Death of a Salesman”.

. Lots of 1930’s men’s and women’s clothes for the Encore Series production of “Fanny” at City Center in NYC.

. 1930’s and 1940’s women’s dresses for “Black Pearl Sings” at the Merrimack Repertory Theater in Lowell, MA.

. Currently on Broadway, “The Glass Menagerie” starring Judith Ivey, rented women’s and men’s 1920’s and 1930’s clothes and hats (through May 30th). ( at right, its hunky talented designer, Marty Pakledinaz!)

. Victorian clothes for the lead character in “Footsteps from Before”, a play produced by Our Firefighter’s Children Foundation performed especially for children at Queens College in NYC, about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. Alas, one performance was cancelled due to one of New York’s huge snowstorms, so the production hopes to reschedule another performance in the future.

. A 1930’s evening gown for “Yank”, the musical about young men in love in WWII, at the York Theater in NYC (orirginally through March 23rd, it has just been extended for 2 weeks!). (at left, Yank assistant designer Becky Laskey shows off her inner diva!)

. A 1940’s man’s suit for “The Pride”, at NYC’s MCC Theater, about the relationship between two gay men in the 1940’s (through March 20th).

. Along THAT note, we are happy that the new production of “The Boys in the Band” playing at the Transport Group Theatre Group in NYC has gotten such rave reviews that the run has been extended! We rented them 1970’s suits and an Edwardian dressing-gown (through March 28th). (At right, costume designer Kathryn Rohe tries on a dressing gown they might rent)

. We rented 1940’s men’s clothes for “Remembering Mr. Maugham”, a play about Somerset Maugham at the Clurman Theatre in NYC (through March 14th).

. 1940’s menswear (again!) for a more modern production of “Measure for Measure” at Theatre for a New Audience in NYC (through March 14th).

(at left, asst. designer Jacob Climer drops by to go through our men's suits)

ADVERTISING:

. Most of you stare at the beautiful models in the Vanity Fair lingerie ads, but check out the model in antique 1940’s bra, tap pants and shoes to replicate a pin-up of the past!

. The latest New York Lottery commercial will have little children dressed up as adults…the miniature “bag lady” is ours!

. An Australian commercial for Tooheys Beer: a scene with “underground rockers” wearing everything of ours from men’s Victorian coats, capes, army jackets, shirts, undershirts, to top hats, bowlers and fedoras, AND 1960’s glitzy clothes that we sold, rather than rented, to the commercial. (We DO have sales racks!)

(Above, the beer commercial's design team Susana Gilboe (l) and head designer Kasia Maimone (r) choose items for the Aussie TV )

. We did a “spec commercial” for Arm and Hammer Toothpaste in which we rented a period dental smock.

. A little girl’s 1950’s dress for a Timex commercial.

MAGAZINES:

. We are ALL over “L’Uomo Vogue”! The issues haven’t been published yet, but the end of December we did a fun shoot with Alec Baldwin in which he dressed in a cross between a Victorian chimney sweep and a Charles Dickens ragamuffin character and in January, we dressed Tyra Banks in a fantasy photo shoot of clothes and accessories from all periods.

SPECIAL EVENTS:

. An entire “Old West” cowboy accessories and Victorian undergarment display for the trend forecasting “Fashion Snoops” trade show display for “The Magic Show” in Las Vegas, sponsored by Women’s Wear Daily.

CATALOGS:

. A 1950’s bathing cap for a 2010 “Anthropologie Catalog”, featuring their new bathing suit line.

. 1940’s and 1950’s playwear and parasols for a “Bace Incorporated” catalogue.

(To the right, producer Nahoko Hayashi and her assistant model our accessories they will use for the catalog.)

...in closing, we especially want to give a big shout-out of "CONGRATULATIONS!" to our Fall intern Jennifer ( who visited us recently, below) on her recent engagement!!!!

..and a big welcome to our Spring intern Caroline, who is realizing, along with senior staffers Kristen and Masha, what is important in our life....DESSERT!

HOSE ME DOWN: THE SEAMLESS TRANSITION - Part 5 (Final Installment)

2010-02-12T16:30:00.001-05:00

THE CREATION OF ARTIFICIAL SILK…

Eventually, technological advances made stockings more affordable for the masses and by the 1880’s there even existed a circular machine that could manufacture a stocking in the shape of a complete tube with a closed heel and toe.

Cotton and wool were the abundant fabrics of the time. Stockings made from silk were, of course, the most desirable fabric, but they were expensive and out of the range of most people. So, what to do?

As early as 1855, a Swiss chemist named Georges Audemars invented the very first manufactured fiber developed from wood and cotton pulp as a kind of artificial silk. He created this new fabric by dipping a needle into liquid mulberry bark pulp and gummy rubber to make threads. Alas, this method was painfully slow and deemed too cumbersome to be practical.

In 1884, the Comte de Chardonnay, a French chemist, patented a cellulose-based fabric that became known as “Chardonnay silk”, another artificial silk. Alas for him, it was deemed too flammable and was removed from the market.

In 1891, "artificial silk" was said to be first successfully made from a solution of cellulose in France but in 1894, three British inventors patented an even safer way of making this “artificial silk”, which would eventually come to be known as viscose rayon.

After being patented in the United States, the first American plant began production of this new fabric in 1910. By 1912, rayon stockings were mass marketed as "artificial" silk and provided a more affordable alternative to silk hosiery.

In 1915, there was an unusual court case. Department store B. Altman’s protested against paying customs duty for imported “clocked silk hose”, but was ruled against when the courts decided that “clocking” was the same as “embroidered silk wearing apparel” according to the Tariff act of 1913, even though the United States Court claimed:

“…we understand the merchandise to consist of silk hose…have the usual character and style of clocking-that is to say, having on either side a fancy stripe or stripes in plain or colored threads, terminating at the top in an arrowhead or similarly shaped design…there is nothing in the record tending to show that clocking is not in fact embroidery…and if the clocking on stockings constitutes embroidery, as has heretofore been held, then clocked silk stockings would be dutiable under this provision.”

The protest was overruled.

Women’s fashion at the time became alarmingly risqué!!

Women’s arms were bared not only for evening, but also for day. Feet, ankles and calves, formerly hidden and encased in black stockings that young women wore until the end of World War I, were suddenly on display! Legs were often covered in beige and flesh-colored stockings visible to the knee which gave an overall more naked look than ever before.

In 1924 this new artificial silk fiber that people were also calling “art silk” became officially known as rayon, and stockings (as well as undergarments) made of rayon became popular as an inexpensive alternative to real silk.

These new rayon stockings were often very shiny, so women powdered their legs to dull them before venturing out.

Manufacturers named their stocking colors with such romantic names as Honey Beige, Teatime, Rose Morn, Boulevard and Spanish Brown. Patterned stockings became the rage. Not only were they embellished with embroidery but an article in 1920 said that it was common for women to have photos of their beaus transferred to their knees!

Between the years of 1920-1939, seamless “fully fashioned” stockings were available: stockings which were knitted flat, then sewn together with a back seam. Unfortunately, this led to bunching and baggy ankles.

In 1928, DuPont opened a research lab for development of artificial materials- an unusual path for a company to follow at the time. Acclaimed Harvard professor Wallace Carothers left academia to head up the research division. Alas, he was as troubled as he was brilliant, once claiming that he could recite all the famous chemists who had committed suicide. As a macabre climax, in 1937 he consumed a ration of cyanide that it was said he always carried with him and killed himself.

Julian Hill was one of the group of researchers headed by the manic-depressive Carothers. Looking for a silk substitute, Hill one day discovered that by pulling a heated rod from a mixture of coal tar, water and alcohol he could create a filament that was strong, sheer, and silk-like in appearance. Further research led to the first synthetic fiber which came to be known first as “Polymer 6.6”.

Two years later, in 1937, DuPont patented the discovery. In honor of the clinically depressed Carothers who committed suicide that year, DuPont decided that he- rather than Hill- should be hailed as the inventor of Polymer 6.6 as a tribute to his work. A legend was born.

First used for fishing line and surgical sutures, DuPont’s new fiber was touted as being "as strong as steel, as fine as a spider's web”, when it first announced and demonstrated nylon and nylon stockings to the American public at the 1939 New York World's Fair.

It is said that DuPont unveiled this new synthetic fabric to 3,000 women’s club members at the World’s Fair’s New York Herald Tribune’s “Forum on Current Problems” as part of “World of Tomorrow”, the Fair’s official theme.

Though officially the name Nylon is a version of “No-Run” (the name originally tagged for this new fabric), some stories claim that when this new synthetic fiber was first publically presented at the 1939 NY World's Fair, the NY was taken from the city's initials and the “LON” from London- thus the fiber became known as "nylon".

DuPont’s first full-scale plant was built in Delaware and began commercial production in 1939.

Interestingly, the company chose NOT to register “nylon” as a trademark, but instead allowed it to become part of American vocabulary as a synonym for “stockings”.

The first nylon stockings appeared in New York stores on May 15, 1940 and 72,000 pairs were sold in the first day alone!

So crazed was the demand that four million were sold in the first 4 days and the Japanese silk market collapsed almost overnight. By the end of 1940, DuPont had sold 64 million pairs of stockings and manufacturing could not keep up with the demand.

That year, nylon even appeared for the first time in movie: it was used in “The Wizard of Oz” to create the tornado that whisked Dorothy to the Emerald City!

World War II broke out. By the end of 1941, both nylon and silk were lost to the war effort. Nylon manufacturing was switched into tents, parachutes, ropes and tires for the military forces.

Known as the "miracle fiber", it was so critical to the war effort that drives were held to collect worn-out nylons to be recycled for military use and even what little silk was available was used to make powder sacks for the military because it left no residue inside gun barrels.

The stocking shortage led to both the popularity of women wearing folded-over cotton socks and the nutty trend of applying eyebrow pencil to the back of the leg to simulate the illusion of seams!

After the war, the craze for nylon stockings returned with a vengeance as manufacturing for the mass market resumed as demand sky rocketed. In New York, Macy's sold out of its entire stock of 50,000 pairs of nylons in six hours. One San Francisco store, mobbed by 10,000 shoppers, was forced to stop stocking sales in exasperation.

In the 1940’s and 1950’s nylon stockings were “fully-fashioned”, as opposed to most modern stockings, which are “one-size”. Fully fashioned stockings were tailored to the shape of the leg, and were seamed up the back. The seam was an essential part of the stocking's construction, as it held it together.

The 1950’s introduced the seamless stocking. Because it appeared as if the woman was bare-legged, it was first thought to be unladylike, but soon surpassed the seamed stocking in popularity.

In quick succession, 1959 introduced lycra, the 60’s introduced the seam-free stocking, and with the introduction of the mini skirt by designer Mary Quant in the 60’s, stockings and garter-belts gave way to the "all-in-one" pantyhose. In 1965, Glen Raven Mills developed a seamless pantyhose version that coincided with the introduction of the miniskirt.

Here’s a fun fact: former “Catwoman” (from the “Batman” TV series) actress Julie Newmar even patented an ultra-snug pantyhose called Nudemar: patent numbers 3,914,799 and 4,003,094 which read, in part, “Pantyhose with Shaping Band for Cheeky Derriere Relief". They have elastic back seam that separates the buttocks.

The February 14, 1977 issue of “People” quotes her stating: “They make your derriere look like an apple instead of a ham sandwich… It's a simple improvement. I just gathered the back seam. But it gives a woman the firm fanny of a 12-year-old."

..and what to do if you find that rare, early pair of royal stockings in your attic?

Well, in 2008, an elderly English woman found a pair of stockings that had been in a box in her attic for decades and had no idea how her family came to have them. They were judged to be an authentic pair of Queens Victoria’s black and white silk hose circa 1870’s and were sold at auction for $16,000.

HOSE ME DOWN : SO, WHERE ARE MY GARTERS? - (Stocking History Part 4 )

2010-01-15T16:12:00.004-05:00

THE COLOR OF MEN’S AND WOMEN’S STOCKINGS

While society continued to highlight this new fashion accessory, the color of stockings was also often influenced by social mores of the times.

Until about 1730, the color usually complemented what dress or suit one was wearing, but after 1730, the styles shifted from colored stockings to wearing only white stockings with formal dress. (Below, men's c.1670's linen hose embroidered with silk)

By the 1790’s, fancy striped stockings become fashionable and at the very end of the 18^th century, ribbed stockings became the rage.

Beginning in the early 1800’s, court shoes were low in order to display the stockings’ openwork lace fronts and colors.

In the scandalous Regency times of c. 1812-1830(which officially began when the Prince of Wales became Regent of England after his father, George III, was declared insane), fashion was classically influenced, modeled on the ideals of the Greek and Roman worlds. Not only did women dampen their Grecian-looking thin gowns to show off their bodies, but pink and flesh-colored stockings became fashionable, worn to give an impression of nudity. By the mid-1820s, fashionable people again wore shoes and stockings to match their dress.

France

, these scant styles were aped and precipitated by the French Revolution and its "democratic" tenets. All classes dressed alike and silks gave way to light muslins, clinging lines, high waistlines, and arm-baring sleeves. In 1829, a dress code decreed by Carl VII of

France

notes:

"It has been presented to the king that no other nation in the world is so degenerated, so changeable, so excessive and fickle in regard to clothing as

France

is. The standing and rank of individuals can no longer be distinguished by the clothing - whether they are princes or noblemen, bourgeois or craftsmen - because it is accepted that everyone dresses according to their wishes, man and woman alike, in gold of silver fabrics, in silk or wool, with no regard to their class."

With the stability of the new aniline dyes of the late 1850’s and 60’s, brightly colored stockings became popular, but by the mid-1880s, the trend of both shoes and stockings matching the dress began yet again.

Due to the wearing of leather footwear, larger, dirtier towns and more reliable dyes, black became the most common color in the early 1900’s, when 19 out of every 20 pairs sold were black.

(At left, black silk stockings hand-embroidered with a skull and crossed bones - from the Uffner Vintage Archive Collection)

…HOW DO I KEEP THESE STOCKINGS FROM FALLING DOWN?

Because knit hose of the 16th century never had the elasticity of modern sock ans stockings, they fell - unless supported either by garters or other means of attachment to the upperstocks. Most commonly, garters (strips of fabric or ribbon) tied just below the knee to support the hose.

Yet another style of support was “cross-gartering”, in which ribbons wrapped above and below the knee and crossed behind the knees. (see above example)

Interestingly, cross-gartering is mentioned 9 times in Shakespeare's “Twelfth Night” in relation to the character Malvolio, such as the following in Act II Scene 5:

“…my lady loves me. She did commend my yellow stockings of late, she did praise my leg being cross-garter'd…”

Both garters and cross-garters were often made of costly materials and were highly decorated w. embroidery and fringe.

Though men continued to wear knee-length breeches, stockings and boots, the doublet began to disappear late in the 17th century in favor of the new fashion of wearing a waistcoat (what we now call a vest) worn with a looser form of doublet, a “jacket” that was left unbuttoned so that the long vest could be seen.

As the 18^th century began, the doublet permanently fell out of fashion to evolve into a long frock coat with a shorter waistcoat and tight breeches, setting the stage for what later evolved into menswear staple of the future, the “3-piece suit”. (At right, painting of frock coat and vest from The National Gallery)

At the time, a three-piece matching suit (especially for formal dress) was called a “suit in ditto”, though it was equally fashionable to have a contrasting waistcoat.

Stockings were usually pulled over the hem of the breeches, worn with shoes with square toes, high heels, high front flaps and small, functional buckles. By the late 1870’s the men's heels were finally at more contemporary height.

Until about 1800, stockings were not particularly decorative. Common hose colors were black, white, brown, grey and surprisingly, blue among the working classes. Stockings were patched, had the feet replaced or, re-dyed to extend their lives.

When men and women started wearing shoes rather than boots and the clocked seams on the ankle area became more visible, decorating them became even more fashionable. (to the left, the

fashionably embroidered ankles of the Earl Of Dorset)

Eventually, embellished embroidery and contrasting colors transformed the stocking from a utilitarian purpose to a fashion statement, and decoration of hose took several forms for both men and women.

Though not always on commoners’ stockings, clocks were decorated on both sides of the ankle rather than just one.

Knit hose sometimes had their decor knitted in, with embellishment clustered around the tops of hose and their clocks (the area around the outside of the ankle).

Embroidery, on the other hand, was done with wool, silk, or metal thread. Decorative open lacework and embroidered embellishment became the mark of the highest luxury. The most elaborate embroidery, in gold, silver, and colored threads of the finest quality, was still done by hand. (Above, hand-embroidered black silk stockings appliqued with tiny silver sequins - from the Uffner Vintage Archive Collection)

Queen Elizabeth's accounts include payment for:

“fyve peire of silke knitt Hose carnacion in graine & other colours wrought at the clockes with venice golde & silver” and “ two peire of garnesey knitt Hose wrought at the clockes with silke”

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... ADDITIONALLY, A VERY SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT THIS WEEK!!!

Helen Uffner Vintage Clothing has a FABULOUS 4-page color pictorial and interview this month in SPOT ON, an English-language German magazine for 20-somethings!!!

**A few movie stills in this online version were eliminated for copyright purposes, but the feature is STILL terrific and you get to see behind-the-scenes at HUVC and meet and learn about our individual staff members! Just follow the link below, and then click on "making old cool". ENJOY!

http://www.spoton.de/spoton/making-old-cool

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Next week, look for the FINAL INSTALLMENT of "HOSE ME DOWN"

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all, from all of us at HUVC!

2009-12-30T18:25:00.001-05:00

I know we have been remiss (mea culpa).. but be assured that the conclusion of HOSE ME DOWN will be out next week and you will find it as entertaining as the rest of the series has been!

We have two pieces of exciting news:
First, Helen has been spending the month of December beginning our newest venture, a web presence on ETSY, (a craft and vintage website) to sell our eclectic and immense collection of items ( ever-growing!) from decades of buying and hoarding (smile)!!!

We have been listing every fun category imaginable including greeting cards, artwork, quirky decor and home accessories, books, jewelry, old items in their original gift boxes, trim, ephemera, collars and cuffs, china, ...and of course, clothing will be coming soon in a big way!

You can find us at vintagepickle.etsy.com

Our second bit of news is that Helen's half-hour interview on the New York City cable show "Something to Offer" will air this coming Saturday, January 2 (also on February 6) at 7:30 PM on Channel 56 (Time Warner) and Channel 83/84 (RCN).

If you live out of New York, you can also access the show via video-stream at the same, exact time through www.mnn.org ( go to "programs" or "channel" and find the show "Something to Offer" at 7:30 PM)

Until we communicate again with you next year, we wish you a peaceful and happy 2010, and invite you to join us, Helen, Masha, Kristen and Allyn, at our holiday lunch cum gift exchange we had at year's end!!!!

HOSE ME DOWN : THE MEN - or - Why I Love My Cod Piece ( part III)

2009-11-17T14:29:00.007-05:00

Now back to the men………

Pants were actually not a men’s fashion staple until after the 18^th century, developing from the hose and breeches that men wore in the 15^th through 18^th centuries and even before that, tunics.

12^th century tunics were about knee-length, and men often wore loose-fitting above-knee cloth hose underneath that fastened to drawers or were held in place by leg bands. By about 1350, the hose became progressively tighter and even more fitted, and rose in length as the tunic shortened in length (!) (see tunic at left)

(Below right, men's earlier longer-length tunics)

The shortened tunic eventually rose all the way to become the snug-fitting buttoned jacket called a doublet that was worn from the late 14th century to the mid 17th century. Like many of today’s fashions, doublets were originally considered an undergarment: in Medieval times they were worn UNDER a tunic, only to ultimately become outerwear, not unlike many contemporary fashion trends!

Re-capping parts of our first “Hose me Down” installment:

. during the early Medieval period, “breeches” meant drawers, hose or underpants.

. up to the 16^th century, the word "breeches” evolved into referring to both the outer garments AND undergarments.

. finally in the 16^th century, the word “ hose”, (or “hosen”) separated into two garments: upper hose or breeches and nether hose or stockings - thus “ breeches” finally came to describe the knee-length outer garments worn by men. Again, a reflection of how inner garments became fashionable outer garments!

The doublet (seen at right) was a padded garment for the upper body that narrowed at the waist, often had matching sleeves tied at the shoulders by points and often flared at the hips to accentuate the man’s “ideal figure” at the time (hips were “IN!”). They attached by ties to breeches (which extended beyond the knee) and trunk hose (only as high as the mid-thigh).

In the 15^th century, gentlemen could not catch even a glimpse of ladies' stockings but ladies happily had an unobstructed view of men’s hosed legs up to the top of their thigh, so men had to make their legs as attractive as possible. Doublets became shorter and tighter, and hose grew so much longer and higher that they ultimately had to be refitted for modesty by the attachment of a codpiece (see below left)

By the end of the 15^th century, the long, tightly-worn hose became slightly puffed above the knee: they were stuffed with hair, rags or bran - padded and ballooned in size in order to stand puffed outward, like pumpkins. (see example below, worn with a flared doublet) Shorter versions of men’s hose were also padded, since not only hips but GIRTH was fashionably de rigeur at the time.

Even codpieces, which started out as a flap of fabric, grew in size to more “stylishly grander proportions” as the 16^th century progressed.

Henry VIII of England began padding his own codpiece, which caused a spiraling trend of larger and larger codpieces that only ended by the end of the 16th century.

Legend has it that men of greater rank needed extra bleachers in the House of Parliament to accommodate the lords’ increasingly fashionable girth!

Henry VIII was THE sartorial animal, in 1519 said to be the best dressed sovereign in the world according to Sebastiano Guistinian , the Venetian ambassador at the time. Records show that he was a compulsive buyer, who constantly changed his attire. (below, Henry VIII, with his royal codpiece)

In 1516 alone, he bought 175 pairs of satin shoes, velvet slippers, and leather boots, wooing his women with his purple and crimson stockings made for him of yard-wide silk taffeta. Alas, woven silk had far less stretch than woven wool or knit, thus conformed less to the leg and were less comfortable to wear.

At the time, the finest needles were being produced in

Spain

and

Italy

, allowing for more elegantly detailed work. Stocking importer and founder of the Royal Exchange, Sir Thomas Greshman, presented Henry VIII a "payre of long Spanish silke stockings, a luxurious article of raiment." as a gift. At the time, this was a gift as worthy of a monarch’s acceptance as a monarch being given a jeweled crown today. Henry VIII became the first sovereign of England ever to wear a pair of knitted silk stockings.

Women, of course, became positively mad for silk stockings! In Erondell's 1605 book The French Garden “for English Ladyes and Gentlewomen” written in dialogue form, Lady Ri-Melaine calls
"where be my stockens? Give me some clean sockes, I will have no woorsted hosen, showe me my Carnation silk stockins"

Stockings were even buried with their royal owners: 1562, Eleanora of Toledo’s (see her at right) stockings were buried with her in her in her tomb and in 1603, two pair of stockings were found in the tomb of Duke Barnium XII of Brandenburg, Germany.

One of the writers of the pamphlets commonly distributed in 16^th century

England

was a Londoner named Philip Stubbes (1555-1610). He was a Oxford and Cambridge-educated strict Puritan who castigated social practices of the time that were unfit for “true Christians”. His 1580's periodical “ Anatomie of Abuses” was critical of the Elizabethan fashions, habits and sexual mores of the time, and included a tart tirade against what he considered the shameful and costly craze of buying increasingly sheer and fancy stockings.

"the time hath beene when one might have clothed all his body well for lesse then a pair of these neither-stocks wil cost."

...and then continued his tirade against the folly of silk hose:

"…then have they nether-stocks to these gay hosen, not of cloth (though never so fine) for that is thought to (be) base, but of …silk thred, and such like”

Castigating the women in particular, his periodical raved:

"… yes, they are not ashamed to wear hose of all kinds of changeable colours, as green, red, white, russet, tawny, and else what not. These thin delicate hosen must be cunningly knit and curiously indented in every point with quirks, clocks, open seams, and everything else accordingly."

...next installment of Hose Me Down coming soon!

..and in the meantime, below is a typical meal at Uffner Vintage (featuring Allyn and Helen): lobster (courtesy of a thankful client), anything having to do with chocolate (a gift from a fan of HUVC...thanks, Joe!!!!), flowers (yet another gift from same fan) and a great sunset (a gift from nature)!

A Brief Respite From "HOSE ME DOWN": We play "catch-up" on our current projects

2009-11-06T17:28:00.007-05:00

We are taking a break in our 4-part "HOSE ME DOWN" series to let you know what we have been up to recently!

The Web’s DFR (Daily Fashion Report) for Thursday, October 29, 2009 mentions the uber-dry-cleaner “Madame Paulette” with its recent window exhibition of vintage designer couture and a photo of, YES, you guessed it….OUR Pierre Balmain evening gown, right in front! Above, a close-up photo of the magnificent hand-work!

In our project news:

THEATER:
. In the spirit of Halloween, did you catch “The Happy Embalmer”, part of the NY Musical Theater Festival?

To the left are Kristen and the show’s designer, Paul Carey, trying on their chapeaux!

. Another interesting project was supplying 1960’s and 1970’s men’s and women’s clothes for a 45-minute excerpt of James Lapine’s musical “Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing” for pre-Broadway grand opening of the new AT & T Performing Arts Center in Dallas, Texas.

. We sold antique victorian lace to use in creating Angela Lansbury’s dress for the Broadway-bound “A Little Night Music” . To the right, assistant designer Tracy Christianson.

. Florencia and Sigfus came in to rent Victorian camisoles, corsets, bustles and a jacket for a very special “Works in Progress” series at the Guggenheim Museum. Obie Award winner Birgit Huppach stars in “Miss St.’s Hieroglyphic Suffering” on November 15th and 16th. At left, they are studying the bustle they will take.

BOOK COVERS:

. 1950’s clothes for “Wide Awake Princess”, a young adult book.

. “My Name is Mary Sutter”, a wonderful story about a 1860’s young woman with aspirations

to become a physician.

. 1920’s and 30’s evening clothes for a series of teen book covers for Alloy Entertainment.

Wide Awake Princess Art Director Donna poses to the right

INTERNET:
. Comedy troupe Sidecar came in for a late 1950’s MAD MEN spoof they filmed for Atom.com, Comedy Central's internet site called MILK MAN!!!!

Catch it NOW on http://www.atom.com/funny_videos/milk_men_trailer/

To the left, actors try on their 1950's lady-like clothes and below, the comedy crew poses...see if you recognize the actors and clothes in the skit!!! It is a dead-on spoof of Mad Men!

COMMERCIALS:
. Below, Rabiah picks dresses for Cointreau web commercials made up of short films taking place in various years: We provided clothes for the 1923 & 1948 segments!

. We did another web commercial for NJCAREERDOOR.com, a site that helps direct school seniors & college freshmen with their career options as they continue their education.

. Another large, fun project was a print ad for the History Channel: we costumed turn-of-the-century laborers pictured working on the Statue of Liberty. Can’t wait to see it!

FILM:

. Kevin Jordan came to pick out some Victorian menswear for Danny Aiello and Jerry Stiller for a film he wants to raise interest for called “Flickerbox”. Our own Kristen was on set to dress the actors! Kristen and Kevin at right

. We also rented 50’s and 60’s items for “White Irish Drinkers”, an indie film currently filming in New York City.

TELEVISION:
. Masha and Kristen took charge of pulling clothes for Abe Lincoln, Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan, among others, for “God in America”, a PBS series filming in Massachusetts. Our staff often independently pulls for the designers (for a fee)when the design team can’t come to New York themselves.

MUSIC VIDEO:
. We rented Victorian to 1930’s girdles, blouses and menswear (hmmmmmm!) for a video for “Mother Says”

Small jobs, sales and single rentals are treated as courteously as big-ticket films:

. a 40’s blouse rented to “How to Make it in America”, a new HBO series about young people
in NYC who obviously are hip enough to occasionally dress in vintage

. early spectacles rented to a PBS Nova show called “The Pluto Files”

. sold items and rented Edwardian clothes for copying for “The Three Sisters” at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park

One of the perks of our business is to be invited to the many shows we work on! The staff all enjoyed being invited to the dress rehearsal of “Brighton Beach Memoirs” (which sadly closed) and a preview of “After Miss Julie” ( Helen went to opening night!)…we loved both productions!

The next blog with be a return installment of "HOSE ME DOWN."....wait until you read Henry VIII's shopping list...what a peacock!!!!

HOSE ME DOWN - Queens Elizabeth poo-poos the knitting machine (part II)

2009-10-28T15:28:00.005-04:00

The first ”stocking machine” was invented around 1589 by a English clergyman, William Lee of Nottinghamshire.

Legend tells us that Lee had fallen in love with a young village lady who sadly didn’t return his affections, SO consumed was she with teaching students the womanly art of knitting worsted stockings. He became determined to invent a machine that could knit, thereby making her obsession passé and her free time only devoted to him.

(at left, an example from the Uffner hose archives: early cotton hose w. partially-finished hand embroidery on a stamped pattern)

He left his curacy to devote years towards creating this new “stocking frame” machine and promptly sought the patronage of Queen Elizabeth. Alas, she turned down Lee’s invention, stating that she was not only upset at the rough results (the machine could only knit 8 loops to the inch - too coarse for silk) but its use would deprive the poor hand-knitters of their occupation and might add to the growing hordes of unemployed.

To the right, a sample from the Uffner hose archives: hand-made cotton stockings with beaded (yes, beaded!) initials!

Though the Queen still maintained her love of silk stockings, by 1577 she switched to wearing only knit worsted hose to support the local Norwich knitters.The Queen wrote to a lord of the realm:

"Had Mr. Lee made a machine that would have made silk stockings, I should, I think, have been somewhat justified in granting him a patent for that monopoly, which would have effected only a small number of my subjects, but to enjoy the exclusive privilege of making stockings for the whole of my subjects, is too important to be granted to any individual."

The Reverend Lee continued to tinker with his machine and 9 years later, was AGAIN turned down by the Queen. Five years after the Queen’s death, he presented the new King of England, James VI of

Scotland

, with his latest samples - this time, silk stockings. Remember: James was from Scotland, which invented knitting! He took no interest - after all, his own mother

( pictured above) Mary Stuart wore hand-knit stockings to her execution:

“Jersey hose white under socks of worsted watchett (sea blue) clocked with solver, edged at the tops with silver; both knitted."

In 1605, The Duke of Sully, Henri IV of France’s astute minister, took a look at the invention and suggested Lee take his creation to France, where he was personally welcomed by the King.

He set up shop in Rouen with his brother, 8 workmen and 8 machines but alas, more bad luck ensued. It is said that the day he was to receive his patent, the King was stabbed to death by a fanatic religious Catholic and Lee’s patronage was immediately withdrawn.

Spain at the time was already providing the second wife of Henri IV, Marie de' Medici, with exquisitely crafted purple, red and orange (her favorite colors) silk stockings decorated with the French lilies or the Medici coat of arms. She withdrew Lee’s protection. (at right, Henry IV)

Lee eventually died in extreme poverty, alone, in Paris. His burial place is unknown.

His brother continued Lee’s quest back in England and eventually the use of looms gradually increased until the manufacturing of stockings became a thriving national industry and England became the hosiery center of the world.

Several decades after Clergyman Lee was turned down by Queen Elizabeth, the Framework Knitter’s Company succeeded in its petition to Cromwell for charter rights as "the promoter and inventor of the art and mystery or Trade of Frame-work knitting or making of silk stockings or other work in a frame or engine." and in 1663, the Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters was granted a Royal Charter and continues to exist to this day.

Above, it is said that William Lee is remembered, pictured together with the object of his affections ( thought to have become his wife) and a knitting frame on the coat of arms of the Worshipful Company of Frame-Work-Knitters.

The technology was so guarded by England that by 1696, it was actually illegal to export a stocking-making loom and anyone caught was fined 40 pounds (an immense sum at that time!) and had their equipment confiscated.

...TO BE CONTINUED

HOSE ME DOWN! A Stocking History - Part I

2009-10-23T15:28:00.004-04:00

Men’s socks were originally made of two pieces of woven wool cut on the bias for flexibility.

Initially separate legs held up by garters, they began to be seamed up the center-back and became known as “hose” (or “hosen”): close-fitting leggings made of cloth worn by both men and women.

Up to the 15th century, women's hose came only to the knee, but men's extended to the thigh, or even waist, as you will read later in this series of blogs. Women's hose tended to be hidden by their clothing because upper class women didn’t allow their undergarments to be painted in the 1500’s, so most painting references we have of that period are of the working class.

By the 16^th century, EVERYBODY wore hose except the poorest of the poor, who are depicted in paintings wearing rags around their feet or are even barefoot.

It is chronicled in a British journal called “Wriothesley’s” that when Henry VIII’s marriage to Jane became public, he met 2 beautiful sisters who made him sigh and say he was "sorry that he had not seen them before he was married".

One of the sisters was Anne Basset, who became lady-in-waiting to Henry’s wife Jane (and rumored to later become one of the King’s many mistresses).

In 1536, Anne wrote to her mother Lady Honor Lisle "Madame, I would beseech you to send me …some pairs of hosen, and a little money for my devotions."

Her mother replies: "I send you by the bearer money… hose-cloths, because the hosier here knoweth not the bigness of your leg."

Men’s hose, of course, were completely visible and were either tied to a doublet (a snug-fitting buttoned jacket) or to the points of white linen underpants (called “braies”) shaped like long, baggy diapers that over time became shorter.

Early braies had a high waist that was rolled down over a drawstring waist. Hose were secured to the braies by points, which were cords or ties with metal tips which often attached to a belt within the braies (see illustration at right)

Before the 16^thcentury, the word “breeches” applied to both outer garments AND undergarments but by the late 16^th century, hose separated into 2 garments: men’s stockings covering the lower half of the leg were called "netherstocks" or “nether hose” and what we now think of as pants became "upperstocks", known now as breeches or trunk hose (very short breeches just covering the trunk of the body with full-length hose was worn beneath them).

Below: Truck hose and doublet

In 1564, Englishman William Rider accidentally saw a pair of knitted worsted (yarn spun from wool, combed to lay the fibers smooth & parallel) imported stockings at the home of an Italian merchant from Mantua. He borrowed them, copied them and presented the Earl of Pembroke the first worsted stockings ever made in

England

The word “worsted” is said to be derived from the village of WORSTEAD in the English countryside of Norfolk, where Flemish weavers migrated to since the Conquest. Though worsted knit stockings were actually "invented" in Scotland in the 15^th century, the art then moved to the continent before being “re-discovered” in England.

By the time Elizabeth I took the throne in 1558, knitting by hand had become a widespread craft practiced by all social classes in England and cloth stockings disappeared as thousands of young women all over Europe took up spinning worsted yarn and knitting stockings.

By the late 16^th century, rather than made out of cloth, most hose were knit by hand in linen, cotton or wool.

Around 1560, Queen Elizabeth’s “silk lady” Mistress Montegue presented her with black silk knit stockings and thus began the Queen’s known love of knitted silk stockings. Elizabeth wore white woven stockings underneath her silk ones to protect them from wear and perspiration.

The following conversation was recorded in Stowe’s Chronicle when the Queen asked where the gift of silk hose came from:

Mistress Montague answered “I made them very carefully of purpose only for your Majesty, and seeing these please you so well, I will presently get more in hand."

"Do so," said the Queen, "for indeed I like silk stockings so well, because they are pleasant, fine and delicate, that henceforth I will wear no more cloth stockings."

Queen Elizabeth liked hose of sarsenet, a thin silk, and in her archived records is a purchase from 1597 that reads "… seaven payre of newe silke hose of diverse colours".

Men’s silk stockings were also popular and much more expensive than their wool counterparts.

Among the records for the Earl of Leicester is a purchase of “ one pair of knit hose for your lordship: 53 shillings, 4 pence.”, as opposed to the much cheaper wool knit pair he ordered that cost “Item, for 2 pair of knit hose for your lordship: 4 shillings, 8 pence.”

TO BE CONTINUED.............

"STAR FOR A DAY"... and MORE!!!

2009-09-22T17:21:00.006-04:00

We were excited last Monday to be interviewed for a 3-4 page spread in the English-language German teen magazine “Spot On”. The article is expected to come out in their January 2010 issue. Each of us was interviewed and we all posed for pictures, even getting the interviewer/editor-in-chief Judy Gilbert to pose in three "leading lady" outfits worn by famous actresses in recent films... Can you guess them? (Can't be too hard if you have been following our blogs and Facebook fan pages!!!)

Delighted to welcome our new intern Allyn to our HUVC family! On her first day with us she was already photographed and interviewed for a magazine! How cool is that? Here is Allyn posing in front of our "wall of shame" (a.k.a. "Fame"!)

If you are anything like us, you wait for film credits to roll and read playbills to the end, appreciating the behind-the-scenes people involved in production. We like to post pictures of designers, directors and other production people who we might read about but never see, and hope you get a kick out of them too.

This month, legendary Broadway/film designer (and Yale professor!) Jane Greenwood came by- she is shopping for “Broadway Bound” and “Brighton Beach Memoirs”,

which will be playing in repertory. We coincidentally happened to have also worked on the original 1983 “BBM” as well as the 1986 film version! Previews begin October 2nd at the Nederlander Theater on Broadway. At right, Jane and assistant Jen Moeller pick out dresses to purchase for "Brighton Beach Memoirs", and below, Helen and Jane.

Cherie Cunningham came by looking for a tailcoat for the new vampire musical “The Cure”, running for 6 performances as part of the greater New York Musical Theater Festival, (Sept. 28 - Oct. 18). It’s a rock n’ roll fable in which two friends stumble across the world's last surviving vampires. The show is actually teaming up with the Broadway Blood Drive on Sunday, September 20^th. Get it? A vampire musical sponsoring a blood drive! Brilliant marketing ploy!

Noted writer/director/actor and 3 time Obie-winner Ain Gordon and Tony-nominated (“Company”) actress Veanne Cox came in to look for a costume for his new piece “A Disaster Begins”. Alas, the Victorian suit she has on was too large for her! This new one-woman play is a young woman’s account of being witness to the worst natural disaster in American history: the Galveston, Texas hurricane in 1900 which took 6,000 lives. The show will run in Texas and also in New York at the Here Arts Theater from October 9-17. (http://www.here.org)

Another project coming to us was a short film, “Until the End of the World”. Actor Christopher Wright tried on a uniform that fit him perfectly while costume designer Lauren Bates Jaffe looks on and continued to look through our men's racks.

Other projects we recently worked on:

MOVIES:

. 1930’s gowns for Emily Blunt’s character in the contemporary film “The Adjustment Bureau”

. men’s 1940’s items for the science fiction film “Recreator”

THEATER:

. “Playboy of the Western World” at the Pearl Theater in NY

. “Three Days of Rain” playing in Fort Worth, Texas

COMMERCIALS:

. After renting 1930’s little boys’ clothes for a Wisk commercial, we then did a Woolite commercial for which we rented 1950’s women’s dresses and aprons (can’t wait to see them!)

. 1940’s and 1950’s children's and adult clothes for a print ad for the dementia medication Exelon

. 1930’s wool mittens for a commercial for Glade

CATALOGUES:

. Victorian and 1930’s undergarments for the next “Victoria’s Secret” catalogue.. Hmmmmmmm… At right, stylist Grace Koo models a silk chiffon ruffled 1930's bed jacket.

TV:

. fabulous 1920’s flapper dresses to “Gossip Girl” for a segment not yet shown on TV

. another rental to the new, contemporary USA network series “White Collar”, this time 1970’s items as opposed to the previous rental of 1930’s items!

INTERNET:

. we rented clothes to the web’s “Onion News Network” for one of their faux news pieces

OPERA:

…and for the 4^th time this year (!!!), another “Don Giovanni”, this time reset in the 1920’s at New York’s famed NY City Opera.

OH, THAT ITCHY BATHINGSUIT...and Georgia O' Keeffe

2009-09-17T15:53:00.035-04:00

Ah, the end of a rainy summer with barely one or two respectable beach days!

We recently ran a contest on our Facebook page asking readers to try and date bathing suits from our collection, and we were queried " Where did the bikini get its name?" and "What possessed people to wear those weird wool bathing suits?"

You ask, we deliver.

The earliest women’s bathing suits looked almost like street clothes. Your typical lady’s bathing outfit in the early 19th century would have been a heavy wool bathing dress with a corset underneath. If you went into the water, imagine how heavy your suit would become, not to mention that you might have increased the weight even further by sewing weights into the hems of the skirts to prevent them from floating to the surface! What woman could possibly swim in these clothes? They didn’t.

Men, on the other hand, were more able to swim- though the early men’s wool bathing suits designed by Jantzen weighed 9 pounds!

Women began wearing a more daring bathing costume after the mid-1800’s: a 3-piece outfit

made of a shirt, belted dress (though STILL made of heavy wool), knee-length bloomers, dark stockings and bathing slippers.

After 1900, the sleeves shortened progressively to the point that women could soon wear sleeveless bathing dresses, though still demure.

In 1907, an Australian competitive swimmer named Annette Kellerman caused quite a scandal, insisting on appearing in bathing suit of her own design for her competitions. For modesty, she attached black stockings to her bathing suit but nevertheless she was arrested on a Massachusetts beach for indecent exposure for appearing in a knee-length, sleeveless one-piece bathing suit. Her own line of daring swimwear became known as “Annette Kellermans”, the first step towards modern swimwear for women.

Ever a woman ahead of her time, she became an actress and was the first woman, in 1916, to do a nude scene in a film called “A Daughter of the Gods”, the first million-dollar budget film ever made. Alas, no copies now exist.

The Esther Williams of her day, she continued to act in mostly aquatic films (in one, she dove 92 feet into a pool of crocodiles). As a matter of fact, Esther Williams later portrayed her in the film“Million Dollar Mermaid”. Kellerman has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Men’s wool bathing suits became more streamlined after 1900 but even they had restrictions.

In 1915 they could be cut no lower on the chest than the armpits and the bathing bottoms had to be no shorter than 4 inches above the knees. It was illegal in most places for men to expose their chest and their bathing suits had to have a “modesty skirt”, a kind of loose skirt effect to cover their genitals.

Though regulations on many public beaches required men and women to wear lightweight un-tucked tops and skirts or skirt-like covers over the fitted shorts, the short apron skirt slowly disappeared in the 1920’s, as did stockings for females. Men's and women's swimsuits actually began resembling each other. Both covered the torso and were sleeveless and formfitting.

It was during that time that Jantzen Knitting Mills patented their rubberized rib-stitched fabric suits for men & women in 1921 with the slogan "The suit that changed bathing into swimming".

It wasn’t until the 1930’s that men’s fashions really began to change. In 1933, a man’s bathing suit called the “topper” was invented with a removable zippered tank top that exposed a man’s chest, even though topless men were banned from most beaches or or arrested for indecency.

A 1936 protest movement called the “No Shirt Movement” demonstrated against the chest-covering requirements and finally, in 1937, it became legal for men to expose their chests in their swimwear.

…And the bikini?

In 1954 The United States dropped an atomic bomb in the Pacific Ocean and the designer of this new abbreviated bathing suit thought to name it after the site of the bomb blast-...Bikini Atoll.

By the way, the handsome actor wearing the early wool bathing suit on the beach is Tom Wisdom, rehearsing for his role in the movie "The Lightkeepers", filmed this past spring in Nantucket. If you are a blog follower, you might remember the "behind the scenes at a movie shoot" segment!

Here he is with Helen in our costume loft, after coming over with the rest of the actors for fittings. He traveled a century in the blink

of an eye!!!

Last but by no means least, we want to give you the heads up on a wonderful television film, "GEORGIA O'KEEFFE" premiering on Lifetime this Saturday, September 19 at 9 PM (and continuing to show other days during the week). It stars Tony Award winners Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons as the famed artist and her husband, photographer Alfred Steiglitz.The film is written by Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cristofer and directed by Bob Balaban.

At right, costume designer Michael Dennison, Joan Allen and assistant Franny Vega pose to say good-bye after fittings at our place. Below, Michael and Franny go through the racks of our vintage clothes, organizing what they chose for Joan Allen when she arrives for her fittings.

copyright © 2009 by helen uffner

MOVIES, THEATER, TV et al (August projects!)

2009-08-19T16:34:00.021-04:00

It’s been a busy time for us. Some movies we worked on are finally opening this month! Catch “Julie and Julia”, "My One and Only" and “ I Sell the Dead” (we are NOTHING if not versatile!) “My One and Only” is NOT related to the oh-so-long-ago 1983 Broadway show of the same name, which we also happened to work on. Helen (of course, she was only a child then!) even personally styled Twiggy in the promo pictures… wearing our clothes, of course!

The film takes place in the 1950’s and stars Renee Zellweger, who came to our place for fittings (a lovely, sweet woman). The premise of the movie is actually based on a true childhood experience of actor George Hamilton, about a beautiful and eccentric Mom tooling around country looking for a rich husband for her and her sons.

Above, Renee Zellweger in one of our many dresses that she wears in the picture!

We are also working on the world premiere of “The Retributionists” (by Daniel Goldfarb) at Playwrights Horizon, which opens for previews on Friday, August 21 with an Opening Night set for Tuesday, September 15 at 7PM. The limited engagement will run through Sunday, September 27 at the Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

Set in spring 1946, the play is daring, new romantic thriller inspired by actual events. A band of young Jewish freedom fighters attempts to avenge a society's wrongs with a simple plan: a German for every Jew - if only they can keep from tearing each other apart in the process.

On the left, fittings at our place with actress Margarita Levieva and the design team lead by the delightful (and always fabulously-dressed!) Susan Hilferty (costume designer for the Broadway show “Wicked”) . On the right, Margarita and Susan.

Another project we are beginning to work on is a modern feature film, but the lead actress will be wearing vintage touches, so the costume designer came to chose outfits for the actress fittings. More on the movie (and the mystery actress) at a later time.

In other news, we seem to be doing a real mélange of projects this month:

. An opera, “Hotel Casablanca” for the Seagle Music Colony’s 94^th season in the Adirondacks

. A short film re-enacting a newsboy scene from the early 1900’s for a “Marine Museum” exhibit

. An HBO documentary about the Barnes Museum - we dressed the elder Mr. Barnes, played by Robert Downey Sr. (yes, you DO know who his son is!)

. A commercial for U.S.Bank

. A forthcoming ESPN documentary about “Jimmy the Greek” to air November 3

. A “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” episode (can anyone stay up late enough to see our knit 1920’s men’s bathingsuits?)

. A break-out music video for Russian singer Nastassiya

On the right, stylist/costume designer Beth Anne Kelleher finding items for the Nastassiya music video

. A WISK DETERGENT TV commercial starring a little boy in period garb

. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” at the Sage Theater in Times Square , running the end of August.

. A nutty British 1970’s sci-fi movie called “L.V.J.”, or as the movie site puts it “ Starsky and Hutch meets Independence Day with a touch of the X-Files”. We are even on their production blog with a picture: http://lvjmovie.wordpress.com/ Check it out!

On the left, the director, Chris; the art director, Reynaldo and the producer. Mark. By the way, Chris and Mark each wear MANY different hats in this labor-of-love film: actor, animator, composer- you name it!

. A vintage scene in a documentary about basketball called “On the Shoulders of Giants”, which also happens to be the name of the book by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Coincidence?

. A few pieces for two productions at the Roundabout Theater: “After Miss Julie” and “ Present Laughter”

( below at our place: "After Miss Julie" designer Michael Krass with assistant Tracy Christensen)

. A contemporary TV show called “White Collar”, providing some 1930’s flashback clothes.

Projects that have ended for us are “Blithe Spirit” on Broadway, and “Freud’s Last Session” at Barrington Stage Company about a hypothetical meeting between Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis. Though closing, the play will be re-mounted next month.

On a personal note, our summer internship program is drawing to a close so we regretfully say good-bye to Tracy and Jennifer, though we hope to see them again and perhaps even have them back this coming year.

(L)Tracy working on her hat project

(R) Jennifer sizing dresses

Our interns become part of our large extended family, so we also recently said a sad good-bye to Kim, who interned with us last summer and fall semester.. She dropped in to have lunch with us before she leaves New York for good and returns to San Diego.

On the left: Jennifer, Tracy, Kristen and Kim. On the right: Kim and Kristen

HE'S SEW FINE: THE STORY OF THE NOTORIOUS ISAAC SINGER AND THE INVENTION OF THE SEWING MACHINE

2009-08-06T17:29:00.026-04:00

Surprised to find out that many Victorian garments seem to be machine-stitched rather than
made by hand? Well, believe it or not, the sewing machine as we know it has been around since the mid-1800's.

The first sewing needles were made of animal bone and the first thread from animal sinew. In the 14th century, iron needles were introduced and in the 15th century, the eye-needle we know today was first used.

In 1755, a German immigrant living on London, Charles Weisenthal, was issued a patent for only the idea of combining a needle to be used for mechanical sewing, but no machine to go with it was ever mentioned

In 1790, English cabinetmaker Thomas Saint was issued a patent for what was called an "awl"; a machine that punched holes in leather and passed a needle through the hole. We don't know if the patent was only for an idea or if the actual machine was ever built.

In 1804, a French patent was granted to Thomas Stone and James Henderson for a sewing machine to "emulate" hand sewing. The invention failed.

Around 1810. German Balthasar Krems developed a machine for sewing caps, but it was never patented.

In 1814, Austrian tailor Josef Madersperger received a patent after producing a series of machine prototypes that he continually worked on until 1839, aided by grants from the Austrian government. Unfortunately, he failed to create a working machine and died a pauper.

In 1818, the first American sewing machine was invented by Vermont churchman John Doge and his partner John Knowles, but it only sewed a small length of fabric at a time and malfunctioned so often that it was deemed unreliable.

BARTHELEMY THIMONNIER

Finally in 1830, the first functional sewing machine was invented by French tailor Barthelemy Thimonnier which used thread and a hooked needle made mostly of wood that made the same chain stitch used with embroidery. With a factory that had 80 machines, he was given a contract to sew uniforms for the French Army.

Alas, Thimonnier was almost killed by an enraged group of fellow French tailors who stormed and burned down his factory, destroying every machine, causing Thimonnier to flee for his life. They feared that as a result of his new invention, unemployment would put craftsmen tailors out of work. Thimonnier started up again with a new partner, producing a new, improved machine but the tailors attacked yet again! He fled to England where alas, he died in the poorhouse in 1857.

In 1834, influenced by Thimmonier, American Quaker Walter Hunt built the first American machine that could sew straight seams and was reliable. Unfortunately, Hunt never patented the machine because he was also afraid that his invention might lead to American tailors’ and seamstresses’ unemployment.

In about 1843, American John Greenough produced a working machine and a model was made but he couldn’t raise enough capital to have it manufactured.

In 1844, Englishman John Fisher invented a lace-making machine that was essentially a sewing machine, but due to a misfiling in the patent office, the invention was eventually overlooked in the coming Singer-Howe legal battle.

In 1846, the first American patent was issued to Massachusetts farmer Elias Howe for a machine that did something no other past machine had done: it had a needle with an eye at the point that used thread from 2 different sources, which would push through fabric to create a loop on the other side. A shuttle on a track slipped a second thread through the loop, creating what we call the “lockstitch”.

He struggled to generate interest in the machine, even creating competitions between his machine and the finest hand-sewers in the land, but in spite of the fact that his machines always won hands-down, after months of such demonstrations he STILL hadn’t sold even one machine.

ELIAS HOWE

Desperate and in debt, he sent his brother to England to try and create interest in his invention but found only one backer, a corset maker named William Thomas who arranged for Howe to come to England to perfect

his invention.

The arrangement did not work out and a penniless Elias Howe returned to America, only to find out that not only had the sewing machine finally caught on, but stealing his idea was entrepreneurial upstart Isaac Merritt Singer, known as much for his reputation as a scandalous womanizer as he was as an ambitious inventor. NY Times writer Michael Pollak recently described him as “a foulmouthed, cantankerous polygamist who acknowledged 25 children in his will, only 8 of them born of marriage”.

Isaac Singer was a 6’4” unconventionally outrageous character who initially wanted to become an actor. Born in 1811 in upstate New York, he married Catherine Haley in 1830 and was working in a machine shop near Cooperstown when he first met New York lawyer Edward C. Clark, his future partner. He tinkered with inventions, even getting a rock-drilling patent in 1839.

After having a first child with Catherine, the acting bug bit him and he joined a troupe of traveling players and ended up in Baltimore, where he fell in love with 18-year old Mary Ann Sponslet and proposed to her (even though he was still married). Mary Ann and his wife Catherine each ended up bearing his children the following year. He went on to found his own acting troupe called “Merritt Players” and began performing as Isaac Merritt and his mistress Mary Ann worked under the name “Mrs. Merritt”.

Singer never claimed to have invented the sewing machine, but he improved upon it, making it more practical. He got his own patent in 1851, forming the “Jenny Lind Sewing Machine Company”(named after the famous Swedish opera singer who was all the rage) and later formed “I.M. Singer & Company” with Edward C. Clark.

JENNY LIND

Within 2 years of aggressive marketing, Singer became the leading manufacturer and marketer of sewing machines in the United States.

By 1853, Singer sewing machines were being manufactured in New York and were

sold for about $100-125, a huge amount of money at the time. In 1855 the machine

was awarded 1st Prize at the World's Fair in Paris and by 1870, 170,000 machines

a year were being sold.

One brilliant marketing concept Singer pioneered was the hire-purchase system, which offered monthly installments with a down payment of only $5, at which time you could take the machine home immediately and start sewing.

Singer’s version of the sewing machine was wildly successful, and though Singer had added new features such as a foot-pedal operated machine rather than the earlier hand-cranked version, Howe sued him for patent infringement for using the same lockstitch that he had originally invented.

Howe won the dispute in 1854. For the rest of Howe's life, he earned royalties on every Singer machine sold and his income jumped from $300 to more than $200,000 a year, becoming a millionaire. It is interesting to point out that a great portion of his royalties were contributed to equip an infantry regiment of the Union Army during the Civil War, in which he served as a private for 3 years. He died at 48 in 1867, the year his patent expired.

Singer also became a millionaire, and his machine came to be known as the“Singer Sewing Machine”. In 1889 a machine was created for home use and an electrically-powered machine was created in 1905.

The now-wealthy Singer lived in a mansion on Fifth Avenue from the 1850’s through the 1860’s, resuming his scandalous life: still married to Catherine; living with his mistress Mary Ann (and ultimately, their 10 children); having yet another child with a 3^rd woman, Mary Eastwood (who lived in lower Manhattan and later adopted the name “Merritt”) and becoming romantically involved with one of his employees, Mary McGonigal, secretly setting up house with her in yet ANOTHER home, calling themselves the Matthews Family (and having 5 MORE children with her!). Mary Anne never had a clue about Singer's "double household" until she saw Singer and Mary McGonigal driving together in an open carriage. She became enraged and had him arrested for bigamy, though she wasn’t technically married to him (yet she called herself Mrs. I.M. Singer).

Amazingly, it was not until 1860 that he divorced his first wife Catherine on the grounds of, believe it or not, HER adultery, with one Stephen Kent!!!

When he got released on bond, his reputation was ruined and in 1862, he fled to Europe with Mary McGonigal, ending up in Paris. There he met and fell in love with a Frenchwoman Isabelle Boyce, who he actually married in 1865. They had a son named Paris and moved to an estate in England where several of his assorted children lived with them until he died at 63 in 1875. Different sources claim he had between 19-25 children by at least 5 “wives”.

As an aside, it is interesting to note that an Oregon woman, Helen Augusta Blanchard patented the first zig-zag stitch machine in 1873, in addition to 27 other inventions, 22 of them sewing machine-related. She was so admired that she was referred to as “Lady Edison”. That zig-zag machine is now on display at the Museum of American History in Washington D.C

POSTSCRIPT: There has always been a mystery as to the identity of the two people in the bas-relief portraits above the main entrance of famed NYC apartment building The Dakota (known for its most famous tenant, John Lennon).

It is believed that the man is Isaac Merritt Singer and the woman was the last Mrs. Singer, Isabella Bower.

It so happened that Singer’s

business partner, Edward Clark had also been the developer of the Dakota, and though the free-wheeling Singer and patrician Clark detested each other, they DID make each other very rich.

After Singer died in 1875, Isabella Boyer Singer put in a legal claim (which Clark supported) to be his widow and won the case. She moved back to Paris and later married a Duke from Luxembourg.

She was credited by many (including in a recent 1978 biography of one of Singer's daughters, Winnaretta) to have been the model and inspiration in 1878 for Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty. She was 36 at the time.

Some of Singer’s offspring were equally notorious. His son Paris ended up fathering a child by another free spirit, American dancer Isadora Duncan. Sadly, their 3-year old son drowned following a freak 1913 car crash by the Seine.

His 18^th child Winnaretta married a French Prince in 1887, divorced and subsequently married another French Prince in 1893. She became a prominent patroness of avante-garde music, even commissioning Eric Satie in 1918 to compose his “Socrate”. Later, as a lesbian, she became involved romantically with Violet Trefusis in 1923.

ALL ABOUT THE CLOCHE

2009-07-02T13:52:00.024-04:00

Although versions of the cloche hat have been around since the Edwardian period, it became known as THE hat associated with the 1920’s flapper era. Quite a contrast to the constricting fashions of 10 years prior - wearing stifling corsets and juggling 1912 oversize Titanic-era hats - the newly liberated woman of the 1920’s clothed herself in unconstrained, loose dresses and wore this simply-styled hat christened the "cloche" to flatter her new, shorter bobbed hair.
Cloche in French means “bell”, and was so-named for its fitted, bell-shaped form. Typically, they were worn low on the head, with the wearer’s eyes barely visible slightly below the brim.
Caroline Reboux, a French milliner and designer, is often credited with the “discovery” of the cloche. Born in the 1830’s, she was a penniless orphan who moved to Paris, reinvented herself and rose to fame as a milliner at the turn of the century, with shops both in Paris and London. She died in 1927. She is credited not only with the creation of the cloche, but also being the first person to daringly add veils to women’s hats and also to create the first beret for women - bought and made famous by her most faithful fan, Marlene Dietrich.
We are starting to inventory all our hats (thousands!) and will sample a few of the cloches we own on these pages.

Anyone see “The Changeling” with Angelina Jolie? Angelina is wearing one of our very own cloche hats. Here, see both the picture of her wearing it in the movie and as viewed on our “model”.
In other news, just when you think you have done all the productions of "The Glass Menagerie" the summer can bear, we have begun working on our 4^th version within one month - this time in Western New York!
We are also beginning "Sherlock and the Crucifer of Blood"at the Alley Theater and have been asked to hold the principal clothes for "BOLDEN!!", the huge feature about Buddy Bolden, thought to be one of the originators of the music form we know now as "jazz".
On the flip side, this month we are also ending some project rentals: the run of "Cornelia" at the Old Globe in San Diego, about the second wife of notorious Governor George Wallace of Alabama; "The Philanthropist" on Broadway at the Roundabout; the "Farnsworth Invention" at the Alley Theater in Houston; "Freud’s Last Session" at Barrington Stage in Massachusetts; "Trophy Kids", the film about club kids, now filming now in New York: the pilot of "Boardwalk Empire", also filming in New York (Brooklyn) but pretending to be Atlantic City of 1920! They even built a 500 foot pier!

On a happy light note, we finally got to celebrate Masha's 30th birthday! Masha, Helen, Kristen and Tracy all went out to eat at our favorite Turkish restaurant and had a great time! Masha leaves in a few weeks to go back to Russia for a month to work on her amazing sculptural pieces!

Masha blowing out candle w, Russian doll pals
Kristen and Tracy

copyright © 2009 by helen uffner

TONY AWARDS!!!

2009-06-05T12:44:00.005-04:00

The TONYS!!!! Nothing is as exciting for theaterholics like Helen than actually attending the TONYS at Radio City Music Hall (above photo is from last year's show)!

Not only are several of our extended Uffner Vintage family nominated for awards, but we are equally delighted that the Signature Theatre of Arlington, Virginia is receiving the 2009 Best Regional Theater Award: we just completed work on their musical version of GIANT (yes, the Edna Thurber book that was made into James Dean's last 1959 film) !!

Below are the nominees, as photographed at our place are various times (sorry, Michael, though you worked with us for a time, we have no picture of you!!!) Our clients-cum-friends who are nominated (in alphabetical order) are: Best Costume Design of a Play: Jane Greenwood (Waiting for Godot) and Marty Pakledinaz (Blithe Spirit) !!! Best Costume Design of a Musical: Gregory Gale (Rock of Ages), Michael McDonald (Hair) Best Performance by Leading Actress in a Play: Janet McTeer (Mary Stuart), who we dressed for both the movies Tumbleweeds (1999) and Songcatcher (2000)! Helen, below, visited Janet backstage and took this picture with her when they left the theater.

We wish all the nominees the best of success !!!! In other project news, we seem to be on a Glass Menagerie roll, helping to costume the show in quick succession at 3 different theaters : we just finished the run at Columbia University (NY), are currently doing the The Long Wharf production (New Haven) and are in pre-production at the John Drew Theater (East Hampton). Other projects include: a "Stride Gum" commercial, the production of "Bell, Book and Candle" soon to open at the Bay Street Theater (Sag Harbor); a photoshoot for the American Ballet Theater and work on various other small theatrical productions around the country. In the "strange project" category, we are also doing an "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter" book cover! Hmmmmmmm........

PICTURES FROM A MOVIE SET

2009-05-19T15:31:00.013-04:00

We are just about wrapping a 1912 film that the “guess the mystery actresses” (see our earlier blogs) were starring in. We know that a number of you read the blog but left your guesses on our Facebook Page. Results? The actresses are Blythe Danner and Mamie Gummer, along with Richard Dreyfus, Tom Wisdom and cameos by Julie Harris and Bruce Dern. The film is called “The Lightkeepers”. Helen visited the set this past weekend on Cape Cod, where they are shooting all around the island. The costumes look exquisite, but we will publish the pictures we took when the film comes out so we don't spill the beans too early! If you have never been on a movie set, you might find these "inner workings" glimpses interesting. They were taken on a shivering, cold day in which the actors did bathing and boating scenes presumed to be taking place in the warmth of summer. You SO respect what troopers actors are!! Tom did one scene swimming in the even colder water in a summer shirt and pants, Mamie donned a thin summer dress for a rowing scene and both of them wore flimsy bathingsuits in the increasingly brisk weather, doing their lines perfectly while channeling their inner summer weather. On the left, you will see them rehearsing their lines in boots, down coats and shawls - it gives you an idea of how cold it was. When the cameras were ready to roll, they would throw off their warm outer clothes to reveal bathingsuits beneath and proceed stroll casually, speaking their lines gracefully while the rest of us watched, teeth chattering. As soon as they completed their scene, assistants would rush to cover them up until they did another take of the same scene. All is not glam on the set!!! Below is a picture of the gifted costume designer, Mimi Maxmen, blow-drying a pair of shoes that get wet in one scene, preparing them for a re-shoot, with Mamie resting in the background, all bundled up. Below, the inner sanctum of the "Wardrobe Truck" Below, a peek in the "Hair and Make-up" truck. There are mirrored make-up "stations" for the actors to sit in and have their make-up and hair done. Hair is not easily done, especially "period" hair as opposed to modern-day hair. Below is what goes into making a wig - dying and curling different hair samples before creating just the right look.Of course, the favorite time of the day - mealtime!!!!! Below, the crew bringing food from the catering trucks to the tented outdoor dining area, and finally, Helen, sitting and watching the filming, along with one of the producers and the costume designer (in order, Penelope, Mimi and Helen) You can tell the weather by Helen's hair....oh, the humidity!! Bad hair day all-around!

Helen Uffner Vintage Clothing

THE CULINARY HISTORY DETECTIVE: Triscuits, Cookies and the UNEEDA Biscuit Boy

COINCIDENCES: The Tale of a Journey of a 1950's Pair of Earrings!

THE SET N' STAY PILLOW SLIP - Homage to Larry Matthews

METAMORPHOSIS : The Making of a Book Cover - or Portrait of the Artist as a ...Young Photographer

MAD MONEY For Mad Men (or Women)....the original of the phrase

TAKE A POWDER - The Sad Tale of Louis XIV's Mistress

A STAR IS BORN........

SPRING GOSSIP - What we have been up to!!!

HOSE ME DOWN: THE SEAMLESS TRANSITION - Part 5 (Final Installment)

HOSE ME DOWN : SO, WHERE ARE MY GARTERS? - (Stocking History Part 4 )

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all, from all of us at HUVC!

HOSE ME DOWN : THE MEN - or - Why I Love My Cod Piece ( part III)

A Brief Respite From "HOSE ME DOWN": We play "catch-up" on our current projects

HOSE ME DOWN - Queens Elizabeth poo-poos the knitting machine (part II)

HOSE ME DOWN! A Stocking History - Part I

"STAR FOR A DAY"... and MORE!!!

Another project coming to us was a short film, “Until the End of the World”. Actor Christopher Wright tried on a uniform that fit him perfectly while costume designer Lauren Bates Jaffe looks on and continued to look through our men's racks.

Other projects we recently worked on:

MOVIES:

. 1930’s gowns for Emily Blunt’s character in the contemporary film “The Adjustment Bureau”

. men’s 1940’s items for the science fiction film “Recreator”

THEATER:

. “Playboy of the Western World” at the Pearl Theater in NY

. “Three Days of Rain” playing in Fort Worth, Texas

COMMERCIALS:

. After renting 1930’s little boys’ clothes for a Wisk commercial, we then did a Woolite commercial for which we rented 1950’s women’s dresses and aprons (can’t wait to see them!)

. 1940’s and 1950’s children's and adult clothes for a print ad for the dementia medication Exelon

. 1930’s wool mittens for a commercial for Glade

CATALOGUES:

. Victorian and 1930’s undergarments for the next “Victoria’s Secret” catalogue.. Hmmmmmmm… At right, stylist Grace Koo models a silk chiffon ruffled 1930's bed jacket.

TV:

. fabulous 1920’s flapper dresses to “Gossip Girl” for a segment not yet shown on TV

. another rental to the new, contemporary USA network series “White Collar”, this time 1970’s items as opposed to the previous rental of 1930’s items!

INTERNET:

. we rented clothes to the web’s “Onion News Network” for one of their faux news pieces

OPERA:

…and for the 4th time this year (!!!), another “Don Giovanni”, this time reset in the 1920’s at New York’s famed NY City Opera.

OH, THAT ITCHY BATHINGSUIT...and Georgia O' Keeffe

MOVIES, THEATER, TV et al (August projects!)

HE'S SEW FINE: THE STORY OF THE NOTORIOUS ISAAC SINGER AND THE INVENTION OF THE SEWING MACHINE

ALL ABOUT THE CLOCHE

TONY AWARDS!!!

PICTURES FROM A MOVIE SET

…and for the 4^th time this year (!!!), another “Don Giovanni”, this time reset in the 1920’s at New York’s famed NY City Opera.