When I was on my recent walk and landed at the Museum, I couldn't resist going into this little cultural gem in our community. They bring in and create wonderful exhibits but I didn't expect to find two that fit me so well! (See the Chinese quilting post HERE.)
The exhibit focused on the jazz age with an emphasis on that wonderful hat, the cloche.
I can never wear the cloche. My head is too big and I have too much hair. It is not a good look. But the Downton women pulled it off so well! (I'm much better with a bit of a brim like the hats from this catalogue of the times.)
I loved the gowns that were featured, too -- lovely beaded creations with great details.
Can't you see Mary or Edith making an entrance in this one?
Accessories were on display and so, too, was a small dressing table that gave a flavor of the period.
Several theatre seats were placed in front of a small screen offering clips from silent movies, including the "scandalous" "Flaming Youth."
And of course you couldn't have a silent film without featuring the Charleston!
We learned a bit about Clara Bow, the "It" girl and one of the hit shows of the period, "Good News."
The description on the museum's website explains that the American "flapper" rejected tradition and embraced more body concious styles, wearing "her newly won freedom to vote, earn and learn on her body: short dresses and clear stockings, bobbed hair, and a head-hugging cloche.
"The cloche -- a bell-shaped hat considered 'clever and smart' -- framed the face with fashionable Art Deco panache."
I confess, I would have walked out with the large Vogue panels showing Deco-period models. They were featured throughout the exhibit giving a greater sense of the fashion of the time.
A special piece that touched my ephemera-crazy heart was a scrapbook from the period created by a woman who attended Michigan State University.
It featured photos from the J-Hop, movie star photos and ticket stubs and even a souvenir bunco card!
Every detail, down to the books on the dressing table, fit the period.
So, if you're in the mid-Michigan area and in mood to find your inner flapper or a fashion throwback,
check out this fun exhibit.
It continues through October at Michigan State University.
And as for me... these words say it all!
This post is linked to Talk of the Town, to "Thoughts of Home on Thursday" and "Share Your Cup," where you can find other fun links to stimulate your imagination, creativity and sense of home, beauty and spring!
