Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Ancient Egyptian Influence

With the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter, styles of ancient Egypt swept over the fashion world. Women not only rimmed their eyes with kohl (eye pencils became available later), but hints of Egypt were suffused in evening and day wear, as well. I looked through some books about 20th century fashion, and found some examples of its influence on fashion for the rest of the decade:

From a book entitled In Vogue, by Georgina Howell, which includes photos from over 60 years of British Vogue. Left to right, top, designs by Jenny, Doucet, Drecoll. Bottom left, Cathleen Nesbitt in an Egyptian brocade gown "with a Nile green georgette underskirt." Bottom right, a blouse with hieroglyphic-inspired patterns.



An advertisement from October 1929, British Vogue.



A scarab brooch; German silver and cloissone.



Egyptian-inspired accessories: combs, compact, cigarette case, pendant.



This flowing, pleated gown seemed Egyptian-inspired to me, but I was wrong. Actually, it's supposed to be Greek-inspired. This is a blue-gray satin gown by Mariano Fortuny. Anyhow, it's ancient-inspired!

1 comment:

  1. Very cool, this gives me something to talk about with my students today. :D

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