Archival Garb for Women

It was great to see this article in the New York Times about the emerging trend of tailored, masculine clothing for women.  I've been championing the production of heritage style menswear sized for women since the earliest days of the Archival blog.  Of course, Japan, per usual, is ahead of the curve in this area.  Beams Boys regularly features snaps of of female customers sporting menswear inspired ensembles.  Here are a few of my favorite snaps from the Beams flickr feed:

 

 

Archival Napping

With the advent of Fall, I'm happily adding archival layers to my wardrobe, but I'm also looking back with nostalgia on the warmer, sun weary days of August.  Boston Public Library posted photos of city dwellers from the 1930s napping in public parks - a communal practice that has sadly disappeared in the last seven or so decades.  As someone who shuns tank tops and ostensibly summerweight clothing, I love that most of the nappers, despite the swelter, are fully clothed, wearing long sleeved shirts, long pants and lace up shoes. 

 

  

 

 

 

Archival Utensils

I've been shopping from Cornell library's Human Ecology Historical Photograph collection for new utensil sets. I love the elegant presentation and the grouping of tools by function. Each photograph reminds me of the first frame of an Eadweard Muybridge motion study. I'm waiting for a pair of hands to enter the frame and activate each items use value.

Camping dishes should be light, strong and effective

Strainers of all kinds from a wire basket for blanching to puree strainer for pulping.

Canning: Knives and sharpener, spoons and lifters, Funnels and ladles - all invaluable in preserving and pickling.

Camping: A hunting knife well-sheathed, the not-to-be-forgotten screw driver and pliers, a compass to guide you, with matches protected from the water and even the corkscrew.

Glass ovenware

Equipment - general

Cake and mold pans

From the archives - Dave Falconer/DOCUMERICA

Check out the Documerica - Dave Falconer set on the National Archives flickr photostream. Falconer photographed the impact of the 1970s energy crisis on communities in Washington and Oregon state. It's hard to imagine a time when business dimmed neon lights during the day or school children rode bikes to field trips because there was not enough gas for school buses. Visit flickr Commons to review the full set and read the photographer's detailed captions.

Criminal Faces of North Shields

The fellow above is wearing a fine Guernsey.

Posted from the male and female sets with kind permission from the Tyne and Wear Archives. If you, like me, hadn't heard of Tyne and Wear, it's the unusual name of a county way up in northeastern England.

Archival Handkerchiefs

As documented, Archival loves kerchiefs. My preference is for discharge printed, polkadot models from Japan and the UK. To diversify my collection, I'm going to shop for a few vintage kerchiefs from Cornell University's Political Americana Collection. When knotted, the rhetorical content reverts back to pleasing patterns and scrambled text.

Cleveland-Thurman Handkerchief

Benjamin Harrison Handkerchief, 1888

Theodore Roosevelt "Progressive Battle Flag" textile portrait

Benjamin Harrison Handkerchief, 1888

Benjamin Harrison-Morton Handkerchief, 1888

Garfield-Arthur Portrait Textile, ca 1880

Cleveland-Stevenson "Our Candidates 1892 " Portrait

Taft Tariff Reform handkerchief

Benjamin Harrison-Morton handkerchief, ca 1888

Centennial Celebration by Manhattan Lodge, I.O.B.B.