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CSA E-News 
Volume 2  No. 9
July 15, 2003 Edition
Costume Society of America
http://www.costumesocietyamerica.com
 

CONTENTS:
 
1.   London Travels
2.   Travel Grant Deadline
3.   News From Members
4    New Textile Books & Projects
5.   Virtual Antonio!
6.   Research In California
7.   Nominating Committee
8.   More On Bonnie Cashin
9.   Bookstore News & Reviews
10.  It Takes A Village
11.  Membership Survey Winner
12.  Birth of the Blues
13.  Patron Members Recognized
 
 
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1. LONDON TRAVELS
 
A. In conjunction with the exhibition "Art Deco, 1910-1939"
at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (closing this
month), a sell-out crowd enjoyed a lecture by Region V
member, Louise Coffey-Webb, entitled "Costumes for the
Silver Screen, 1910-1930."   Kaye Spilker of LACMA attended
the May event and reports that Louise's lecture placed
"Golden Age" Hollywood film costume design in context with
an overview of early technological advances in the movie
industry and a summary of its history at the first part of
the century.  According to Kaye, Louise's engaging delivery,
accompanied by some rare slides, delighted the audience and
Louise has been asked to return in May, 2004.

B. Did you watch Wimbledon? According to the July issue of
"W," when Venus Williams (losing to younger sister Serena in
the finals) stepped onto the tennis court, "she debuted what
is believed to be the first three-way fashion collaboration
between a professional athlete, a designer and an athletic
label.  As part of her Reebok endorsement, Venus wore two
white dresses, one with a corset-inspired back and another
with an underwire top and pleated skirt, designed with her
input by Diane Von Furstenberg."

C. In October, student member Lara Rayburn is moving to
London to begin her masters degree at the Courtauld
Institute of Art for the year-long program on the History of
Dress.  Last fall she interned at the Victoria & Albert
Museum in the Textiles and Fashion Department where she
worked with other CSA members including Lucy Johnston and
Susan North, former graduate of the Courtauld's History of
Dress program. Lara is originally from Indian Harbor Beach,
FL and will be obtaining a BFA in August from Florida State
University where she majored in Theatre Design and
Technology with an emphasis in Costume.

 
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2. TRAVEL GRANT DEADLINE
 
Martha Grimm, chair of the Travel Research Grants, reminds
us that September 1, 2003 is the application deadline for
this year's CSA Travel Research Grant. Up to two grants of
$1500 each will be awarded. The grant can help a non-student
member travel to any collection or site (archive, library,
museum, etc.) to further an ongoing research project. It is
hoped the winner(s) will make a presentation at the regional
or national meetings.

See the CSA website for other eligibility requirements and
application information:
http://www.costumesocietyamerica.com/GrantsAwards/csatravelgrant.html
or call the National Office at 1 800 CSA 9447.

 
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3. NEWS FROM MEMBERS
 
A. Doris Darnell was interviewed and had her Century of
Elegance show taped by The Voice of America-Chinese Branch
earlier this year. This was part of their Cultural Odyssey
program which interviews "interesting Americans with
out-of-the-ordinary careers" and is to be shown in November.
Doris and the program were featured in the March, 2003 issue
of the Chinese News Agency magazine, "The Globe." Doris'
website is http://www.webtechnet.com/centuryofelegance/.

B. Kristy Davis, member from the Art and Performing Arts
Librarianship School at Indiana University in Bloomington,
will be interning for six weeks this summer at the New York
Public Library in both the Humanities Library in the Art
Department and in the Billy Rose Theater Collection at the
Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center.

C. Kate Johnson of Graphics/Fine Arts Press of Excelsior
Springs, MO has been making an extensive study of portrait
miniatures, and is working on publishing a booklet as well
as painting them on commission. Kate is the editor,
illustrator and publisher of "Whatever Shall I Wear, A Guide
To Assembling A Woman's Basic Eighteenth-Century Wardrobe"
by Mara Riley. See http://www.cathyjohnson.info and
http://www.epsi.net/graphic/.

D. Denise Winter moved from California to Colorado last year
and has been getting her custom clothing design and
reproduction company, Denise Nadine Design, up and running.
She has been volunteering at the Pioneers Museum in Colorado
Springs assisting with dating garments. Denise wants to
connect with local CSA members and can be reached at
mailto:dnw1@delphia.net or 719 592 1648. Visit her website
at http://www.denisenadinedesign.com.

E. Marlene Breu, associate professor of Textiles and Apparel
Studies at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, is on
sabbatical for a year in Turkey.  She has a Fulbright senior
lecturing position at the Izmir Economic University and
reports that she will work on several projects with Dr.
Emine Ercan who was a visiting professor in Marlene's
department at WMU last year. Marlene, no stranger to Turkey,
has been doing research there for about ten years.

F. Returning CSA member Denise Oakey of Bethlehem, PA is
starting to research what graduate degree programs are
available "in commuting range for one like myself with a
life-long interest in clothing history, textiles,
construction, and ethnography, but with a 35-year-old
undergraduate degree in Spanish." She asks is there a
recommended source for such information? Denise can be
reached at mailto:d1066ok@rcn.com.

 
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4. NEW TEXTILE BOOKS & PROJECTS
 
Lynne Bassett is working as a consulting editor with Piper
Publications of Easton, CT. Together, they are reproducing
nineteenth-century textile-related books from Lynne's
personal library. "Miss Lambert's Hand-Book of Needlework"
from 1846 and Butterick Publishing Company's "The Art of
Knitting" from 1892 are now available.  "The Hand-Book of
Needlework" includes a foreword written by Lynne, while "The
Art of Knitting" has a foreword with a translation of
knitting terms written by CSA member Susan Jerome.

Susan is developing knitting classes based on projects in
"The Art of Knitting." Contact her at 860 536 0228 or
mailto:amrosssj@aol.com if you are interested in scheduling
a workshop in your area.

Future projects for Lynne with Piper Publishing include a
CD-ROM of "Cole's Dictionary of Dry Goods" from the 1890s,
as well as reprints of selected early nineteenth-century
reminiscences which are valuable for their costume and
textile descriptions. Lynne is also working to develop
bibliographies of textile subjects, including costume,
quilts, conservation, textile reference works and period
needlework manuals which will be available at no cost from
Piper Publishing.

For more information or to place an order, contact Piper
Publishing LLC at 203 445 2999 or
http://www.piperpublishing.com.

 
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5. VIRTUAL ANTONIO!
 
Puerto Ricans Antonio Lopez and Juan Ramos, two of the most
influential fashion illustrators and trendsetters of the
1960s & 1970s, are celebrated in a new online exhibition,
"Antonio: 25 Years of Creative Collaboration." The Latino
Virtual Gallery, part of the Smithsonian Center for Latino
Initiatives, is available at your fingertips at
http://latino.si.edu/virtualgallery/ant_intro.htm. Together
under the signature "Antonio," the two men created a dynamic
new vision that defined the late 20th century concept of
beauty in art and fashion.

The exhibition reminded Cornelia Powell of the time she was
a fashion assistant at "Vogue" magazine in the early 1970s
when the legendary Polly Mellen, in her best "breathy"
fashion editor's voice, spoke often of working with
"Antonio" as a highlight of her fashion shoots in Paris.

 
 
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6. RESEARCH IN CALIFORNIA

The Doris Stein Research Center for Costume and Textiles at
the Los Angeles County Museum of Art comprises primary and
secondary materials related to the history of costume and
textiles which are available for research. Holdings include:
original textile designs; sketches from fashion, theatre and
film designers; period fashion plates; drawings, engravings
and manuscripts dating from the sixteenth century to the
present; an extensive library of books; lengthy runs of
journals and magazines such as "Vogue" and "Harper's
Bazaar"; photographs and slides; an extensive costume study
collection dating from the eighteenth century onwards; and
several major archives including the James Galanos, Mr. John
and Commercial Pattern archives. The Center is open Monday
through Friday, by appointment. For more details, go to
www.lacma.org/educate/stein/stein.htm or call 323 857 6085
to make a reservation.


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7. NOMINATING COMMITTEE

A new Nominating Committee was elected at the Board of
Directors meeting in June at the Charleston Annual Meeting &
Symposium. They would like to encourage our members to
consider being nominated for either the Board of Directors
or the Executive Committee. The following members are your
Nominating Committee for the coming year: co-chairs, Claudia
Iannuccilli and David Newell; members are Jean Druesedow,
Kristina Haugland, JoAnn Stabb, Anita Stamper, and Laurel
Wilson; alternates are Colleen Callahan and Connie
Frisbee-Houde.

Thanks to each member for serving in this important role! We
will be hearing from them with more information.


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8. MORE ON BONNIE CASHIN

Stephanie Day Iverson, curator of the "Bonnie Cashin: An
Elegant Solution" exhibitions, begins work this month as
curator of the Bonnie Cashin Archive at UCLA (housed within
UCLA Special Collections). "I have brokered a nearly $2
million deal with them to house the archive, create a
website and establish a number of lecture programs in
Bonnie's name," Stephanie informs us.

Other Bonnie Cashin news from Stephanie:
*The traveling retrospective will continue with a large show
opening in 2005 in Los Angeles. (As previously reported, the
current show runs through September 7, 2003 at the
University of Minnesota's Goldstein Museum.)

*Stephanie is at work on completion of her doctorate at The
Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts,
Design and Culture in New York City with Bonnie as her
subject.

*A book scheduled for release this month, "The Parker Grey
Show" by Kristen Buckley, features Bonnie as the lead
character's source of inspiration.  Kate Hudson has signed
on as the lead in the film version.

*Liz Goldwyn's documentary on burlesque, "Pretty Things,"
features costume fittings shot in the Cashin archive in NY,
filmed by Albert Maysles.  It is slated to appear at
Sundance next year.

 
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9. BOOKSTORE NEWS & REVIEWS
 
A.  Don't forget the CSA Bookstore contest: you can win a free
membership by shopping at the Amazon.com Bookstore!  See the website
for details:
http://costumesocietyamerica.com/Bookstore/bookstorepages/contest.htm.

B. Check the Bookstore for the featured "book of the month"
review (Linda Baumgarten's "What Clothes Reveal: The
Language of Clothing in Colonial and Federal America") and
see the new "top ten" best sellers of costume books! Go to:
http://www.costumesocietyamerica.com/Bookstore/index.html.

C. Send in your recommendations for the "book of the month"
and tell us if you are willing to do reviews or volunteer to
assist on the Bookstore Team. Send to Bookstore Manager,
Sally Queen, mailto:SAQUEEN@aol.com.

 
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10. IT TAKES A VILLAGE
 
There is a need for seamstresses and other accomplished
sewers to volunteer as teachers for Malawi Children's
Village (MCV), an assistance center formed in 1998 by former
Peace Corps workers to improve life for 3,200 AIDS orphans
in 38 Malawi villages in southeastern Africa. Friends of
Malawi, as the group is known, works to improve the general
economic level of the entire 38 communities. See
http://www.friendsofmalawi.org/.

Volunteers would teach beginning and advanced sewing to
women and older AIDS orphans. By early fall, MCV will open a
small production facility for the manufacture of student
uniforms, factory work clothes, and items for sale to the
general public.  Volunteers might also provide management
consulting to the staff of this clothing manufacturing
facility.

All contributions and travel expenses are tax deductible.
For more information, contact Diane Brockett at 202 546 0598
or mailto:d.warrendiane@verizon.net.

A recently published article on the sewing project,
"Sometimes It Takes A Needle to Mend A Village," can be seen
at
http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20030621-020304-1329r.html.

 
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11. MEMBERSHIP SURVEY WINNER
 
After completing the CSA Membership Survey, 437 people
entered their names into the drawing for the Amazon.com $25
gift certificate. Monica Phillippe McMurry won. She is a
professor in the Fashion Department at Stephens College in
Columbia, MO and curator of the Stephens Costume Research
Library. The mission of this Library is to focus on American
designer and mass-produced dress. The collection was started
in 1958 and now showcases over 12,000 items of vernacular
and better dress. Monica tells us that the collection will
be moving to state-of-the-art facilities in the spring of
2004. See http://www.stephens.edu. Items from the collection
are featured in the 2004 Historical Fashion Calendar Series,
"The Wedding Dress."

Congratulations to Monica who is using her gift certificate
to "help with the purchase of a very expensive qualitative
data analysis book I need to add to my library." And thanks
to everyone who participated in the survey. Look for key
findings from the survey starting this fall.
 
 
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12. BIRTH OF THE BLUES
 
"I wish I had invented blue jeans," mused Yves Saint Laurent
in 1983. "They have sex appeal and simplicity, everything
that I could want for the clothes I design." This year Levi
Strauss & Co. celebrates its 150th anniversary, as well as
the 130-year mark of Levi Strauss, the young Bavarian
immigrant's most lasting contribution to American as well as
global culture: blue jeans. This excerpt from the July issue
of "W": In the next few months, Levi's in-house historian,
Lynn Downey, will be touring their stores in the U.S.,
Europe and Asia with archival pieces, including jeans
believed to be the oldest in existence. [Editor's note: They
haven't seen some of the jeans in my brother's closet!]
Downey won the pair, circa 1880's, on eBay two years ago
with a bid of $46,532. She has also issued an open
invitation for Levi's lovers to bring in their old jeans for
appraisal, "just like 'Antiques Roadshow,'" she says, "but
for denim."

See the Levi Strauss website for an interesting historical
culture tour: http://www.levistrauss.com/.

 
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13. PATRON MEMBERS RECOGNIZED
 
CSA appreciates *all* of its members! The E-News wants to
especially recognize our patron members, Individual Patrons
and Corporate Patrons. They are:

Anne Hollander of New York, NY
Dena K. Dickson of Houston, TX
Disneyland of Gardena, CA
 
Thanks to all members for your interest, support and
participation in CSA activities!