Week 12: The Last Post

I can't believe the shopping sabbatical is over. It's been a wild ride but in all seriousness I learned a lot through this experience. 

I buy a lot of things and most of my purchases are impulse purchases. With that being said, most of those impulse purchases don't cost too much. This journey has opened my eyes to quantity vs quality. Do I really need another pair of average jeans or should I save my money for a pair of high cost jeans that are more durable and flatter my body better. 

Also how many items of clothing that I purchase do I actually wear? Honestly I don't wear half my closet. 

The sabbatical has spurred a lot of thought, it has also motivated me to create a little challenge for myself this summer. 

My goal this summer is to either buy from thrift stores or save to purchase something of higher quality. I think it will beneficial for many reasons, for example I will be helping the environment, I won't be supporting fast fashion chains that exploit their workers, and I will learn the power of saving for a specific item of clothing. 

Yes, the shopping sabbatical for this class is over but the sabbatical continues on for me and for everyone else whether we acknowledge it or not. 

Beaton's Last Years

  This is the last blog post on the amazing Cecil Beaton. A couple of important facts about the last years of his life...

 In 1954 Cecil Beaton published a book called The Glass of Fashion. Which covered his viewpoint of the last 50 years of changing fashion. 

He remained the royal photographer too, photographing all the Queen's babies and the coronation in 1953.

Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton, 2 June 1953. Museum no. PH.311-1987
 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

In 1974 he suffered from a stroke and then on January 18th 1980 he passed away, four days after his 76th birthday.

Cecil Beaton took my photographs throughout his life. It would take many years to analyze the importance of all of them. 

I have posted some of his most famous photographs below. It has been a journey and treat getting to know more about Cecil Beaton. 

Princess Elizabeth and Prince Charles by Cecil Beaton,
Gelatin silver print, December 1948, Buckingham Palace.
Museum no. PH.218-1987, © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Queen Elizabeth II by Cecil Beaton, Gelatin silver print, Buckingham Palace, 1968.
 Museum no. PH.318-1987, © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Marlene Dietrich, 1930. Cecil Beaton
NY Mag

Marilyn Monore 1956 Cecil Beaton
NY Mag 

Elizabeth Taylor, 1957 Cecil Beaton
NY Mag 

Aubrey Hepburn, My Fair Lady 1963 Cecil Beaton
NY Mag 

Pablo Picasso at his home, 1965 Cecil Beaton
NY Mag 

Mick Jagger 1967 Cecil Beaton
NY Mag

Diana Vreeland 1978 Cecil Beaton
NY Mag

Beaton, C., & Vickers, H.  (2003). The unexpurgated Beaton: the Cecile Beaton diaries as he wrote them, 1970-1980. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

Stoller, N. (2014, Oct 16). Everything you need to know about Cecil Beaton. The Cut. http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/10/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cecil-beaton.html

Pollock and Beaton

One of Cecil Beaton's biggest contributions is the merging of art and fashion. Beaton used Jackson Pollock's paintings as a background for his photographs in a three page spread published in Vogue titled American Fashion: The New Soft Look.

Cecil Beaton, The New Look. 1951 by Conde Nast Publications 

Cecil Beaton The New Soft Look. 1951 Conde Nast Publications 

The paintings and clothes create a striking contrast. The photographs show how closely fashion and art are linked together. Anne Soll (2009) throughly evaluates the photographs,

“The light falls diagonally onto the models from above, so that their shadows are thrown in the direction of the viewer, making sections of the painting directly behind the women appear brighter and out of focus. The female figures are the focal point of the photos, the color drippings of the paintings by contrast amalgamate to a soft, blurry surface, pushing the women all the more into the foreground. Yet the women are not entirely distinct from the background: Irene’s slightly transparent silk skirt allows the canvas to shine through, the feather boa on her skirt imitates the softened surface of the canvas; Sophie’s tulle stole blurs her outline, so that through the materiality of her clothing her bodiless is partially blended with the surface of the paintings.”

The photographs not only show how fashion and art are combinable but also help to shape America's new cultural identity. With the war cutting off European influence it was time for America to shape themselves as a country. The photographs show a longing for desire, rawness, creativity and a new American society. 

Bueren, M. (2015). Beaton & Pollock: The new soft look 1951. MLVB. Retrieved from:    http://www.marjoleinlammertsvanbueren.com/beaton-pollock-the-new-soft-look1951/

Soll, A. (2009). “Pollock in Vogue: American fashion and avant-garde art in Cecil Beaton’s 1951 photographs. Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture,13(1), 29-50.

The Limited

 I love The Limited. Their clothes are so chic and so are their displays.

The Limited really went all out for this display. The white background helps to focus the attention on the mannequins. Emphasis on the accessories is created through the spotlights and the columns.

The signage says "Effortless" and all of the mannequins and their outfits give off that vibe. 

The window is easy for walk by traffic to see. Proportion and scale was played with in order to grab attention. 

Express II

This is the second time I have evaluated Express's window.  I am always drawn to the simplicity and straightforwardness of their displays. 

The signage was very applicable with summer right around the corner. It would make a passerby think about the upcoming season and maybe prompt them to go inside the store to purchase an item. 

The emphasis is on the poster in the background. The lights focus on it bringing the customer's attention to it. The balance in the display is asymmetrical but it works! 

The window is filled with mannequins creating proportion. 

This display definitely got me in the mood for summer! 

Revival 119

My third stop on the Iowa adventure was Revival 119. 

I love how this display created an entire little nook using merchandise that is for sale. The display gives off the vibe that you are inside of your closet. 

The emphasis was on the shoes. The decor on the wall helps to catch the customer's eye while slowly bringing the attention to the shoes on the lower level. This display had great unity, there was harmony and uniformity of the design principles. 

I am surprised I walked out of there without buying any shoes! 

Revival

Revival is one of my favorite stores in Iowa City. Its a boutique with a mix of new and vintage. 

I liked this little corner inside of the store. I think the shelf with the fabric background is really unique. They filled it with merchandise that fits the character of the store. 

The display is a random mix of things but that's what makes it work. It could have been cleaned up a little better but overall the display had nice proportion. When walking by it was easy to see what was displayed. The items were distributed in such a way that balance was created. 

The emphasis was the shelf. A customer's eyes were drawn there because of the sheet hanging in the background. 

The White Rabbit

The second store I stopped at was The White Rabbit.

I loved all of their products and I especially loved this display. They used their own merchandise to create a display. 

 

The display is asymmetrical. The emphasis is on the hanging plants, the eye is naturally drawn there because it's not sitting on the table and the triangle helps pull in the attention. 

There is a lot of merchandise on the table but proportion is maintained. 

The displayed maintained the store's cute and unique personality.  

AKAR

This weekend I was in Iowa City. It is such an adorable campus town with tons of cute shops! 

The first store I stopped at was AKAR.

I loved the way they displayed their jewelry.  Their jewelry was displayed with balance.  The equality of visual weight in the display is distributed evenly.

The jewelry is evenly placed so it's easy to see everything in the case. On top of the case there is jewelry featured and a mirror so someone can see what the jewelry might look like on. 

The display created great unity and the simplicity makes it easy for a consumer to see all of their options. 

Love of Stage

After the war ended Beaton started working on his first love, theatrical productions. One well known production was Lady Windermere's Fan in 1945. "Beaton lavished color and style to serve as a tonic for post war Britain." (Beaton, & Vickers 6). 

Cecil Beaton (1946)
On the set of Lady Windermere's Fan
National Portrait Gallery 

He took part in many other productions like The School for Scandal and Quadrille. The most famous Beaton production though is My Fair Lady (1956). 

Cecil's famous Ascot costume 

Beaton designed the ascot dress and hat for Audrey Hepburn to wear in the movie. The dress was the most memorable costume from the production. Beaton looked back to his childhood to create the costumes for this movie. His Aunt Jessie served as one of the main sources of inspiration. He remembered people dressing like this, and knew Black Ascot because when he was a little boy it was in the papers which Beaton loved to look at. 

Cecil Beaton's sketch for My Fair Lady

The costume design was very different for the era. Beaton said "For me, coming out of punk and the New Romantics, Ascot was a little like sleeping with the enemy. However much I might balk at conservative society, that was always balanced by the Ascot scene from My Fair Lady which was genius." (The Independent)

Scene from My Fair Lady
The Independent 

 Beaton, C., & Vickers, H.  (2003). The unexpurgated Beaton: the Cecile Beaton diaries as he wrote them, 1970-1980. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

"On the set of Lady Windermere's fan". (2015). National Portrait Gallery. from http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw67894/On-the-set-of-Lady-Windermeres-Fan

Rogers, L. (2014). My Fair Lady costumes. History Room. Retrieved from http://lisawallerrogers.com/tag/my-fair-lady-costumes/

"How to trot: a royal ascot is the ultimate hat parade."(2015). Independent. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/hot-to-trot-royal-ascot-is-the-ultimate-hat-parade-2294616.html?action=gallery&ino=6