Costume Meltdown

Olivia and I spend a lot of time watching movies and TV together, and sometimes we get sucked in to some pretty ridiculous, trashy, stupid stuff. I'd say I'm embarrassed about it, but I'm not really. I mean, this summer I've basically told everyone who would listen that Magic Mike XXL is amazing and they should run out to the theater to see it right now.

Seriously you guys, it is so good

On the other end of the spectrum is the Hallmark channel show When Calls the Heart which we discovered on Netflix. It is cheesy, chaste, "heartwarming" television at its shlocky best. It takes place in 1910s Canada, and follows a rich young woman who comes to a small mining town to be a teacher. We decided to give it a try because the promo picture prominently featured this:

Hot Mountie? Sure. 

Once we finished Season 1 on Netflix, we discovered that Season 2 had just aired and it was super easy to hunt down on YouTube. Now the costumes in Season 1 had been questionable at times, but about what you would expect from a television cheesefest with a limited budget.

Sort of like a movie musical version of the 1910s

I'm not the kind of fashion historian who can't bear to watch inaccurate costumes. I reserve the right to make fun of them, but can also make allowances for limited funds and artistic interpretation. No costuming is ever going to be 100% accurate and I am capable of chilling out about it.

So believe me when I say that the costumes for this show have a full on historical accuracy meltdown in Season 2. Bizarrely, it appears to coincide with an increase in the show's budget. It is like half the accuracy for twice the money and a huge dose of WHO EVEN KNOWS.

First off, they just decide that all women wear their hair down all the time:

Sometimes with messy side ponytails:

A whole bunch of inexplicable coats show up:

Really? Blue fleece?!?

Then men all start dressing like they are models for L.L. Bean:

I mean, it's a good look, and technically jeans, henleys, and wool plaid shirts all existed in this time period. BUT NOT STYLED LIKE THIS AND WORN AROUND TOWN JUST HANGING OUT.

Most hilariously, Jack the mountie (why are hot historical cops always named Jack?) has this hipster shoulder bag and they DON'T EVEN BOTHER TO CUT OFF THE STRAP PADDING THINGY. 

If I just showed you this picture out of context, would you know this show is set 100 years ago?

But perhaps most ridiculous are all the "fancy" clothes we get when Elizabeth goes home to visit her family. Sometimes costumers do this thing where they fudge a little (or a lot) and try to pick psedo-period styles that align with contemporary aesthetics to appeal to the modern viewer. That's definitely what they were going for with the hair and the menswear, but the "rich lady" clothes look recent but outdated-- like mall prom dresses from 2000 with extra crap glued on. 

The 1910s were all about silver belts and plastic beaded trim, apparently.

Sort of hard to tell here, but this skirt has a high slit and a sheer black overlay. Why???

And SHRUGS! So many shrugs. 

SHINY SHRUGS

The most horrendous looks appear when everyone is dressed up for the evening: 

They bought these dresses off the rack, right?

Maybe the brown one from the JC Penny Mother of the Bride Collection?

And the blue one from...some store...in 1999?

And then I have literally no idea what is happening here:

Estate Sales and Home Visits

Last weekend Olivia and I were walking around our neighborhood and saw a series of signs about an ESTATE SALE just a few blocks away. It was a nice day and we didn't have much to do, so we followed the arrows and ended up at an old Capitol Hill mansion with a long line of people waiting outside. Our interest had only barely carried us far enough to walk to the house, so when we saw that waiting was involved we decided to just go home.

I mean, we left the house when there was still Kimmy Schmidt to binge watch

YOU CAN'T EXPECT MORE FROM US

But I kept thinking about that giant house and what could be inside, and so later in the afternoon I went back on my own. It was just one hour before they closed for the day and there was STILL a line. I heard people around me talking about how they had heard it was "amazing" and "worth the wait" and how the house had to be 7,000 square feet at least. When I finally made it inside...

I was reminded that giant houses full of stuff are never quite as fun as they sound.

And I should know.

At the museum we sometimes get calls from potential donors who don't have one specific thing they want to donate, but are cleaning out their grandma's/parents'/beloved neighbor's house and want the museum to come and take whatever they want. On paper, this sounds AWESOME. Room after room of stuff for the taking!!! But having gone on a few home visits, and I gotta say, it's not all it is cracked up to be. Here is why:

#1: It is overwhelming

We all own too much stuff. I share a two bedroom apartment and wherever there is space I have filled it with stuff. If I lived in a 7,000 square foot house I would fill it with stuff. Some people have the energy to hunt through mountains of stuff to uncover that one awesome find (these people are usually expert thrift store shoppers) but I am not one of them. I loose energy really fast when faced with sorting through piles of stuff to find that "gem."

#2: There is too much pressure

Estate sales foster impulse buys and competitive shopping--you had better grab that thing and commit to it before anyone else does. For museum home visits the person hosting you wants you to commit to taking as many things as possible, and taking it quick. We don't say yes to every offered home visit because we often don't have the staff resources to do it within the timeframe they need ("everything has to be gone by Friday!"). They are usually experiencing a mix of grief and stress: facing the loss or declining health of someone they love and just wanting this damn house cleaned out already. You taking armloads of stuff assists with both problems: they can be comforted knowing that the legacy of their loved one will be preserved by a museum, and you will be reducing the number of things they have to get deal with themselves. You want to make them happy, but you aren't excited about taking tons of stuff because...

#3: It is mostly things that you don't want and/or have too much of already

Table and bed linens, dishes, well-used polyester clothes, MORE DISHES. There are always so many dishes. Dishes can be cool and interesting but the Seattle Art Museum has already won the prize in this town for doing an amazing display of dishes and there just isn't a need for MOHAI to go there.

I ended up not buying anything at the estate sale. But I have taken things during museum home visits that I was genuinely excited about. So I can't pretend that I am immune to the siren call of "a house full of stuff."

Amazing future museum artifacts are out there...waiting...perhaps just beyond that wall of monogrammed towels...

Holiday Celebrations

I went a whole week without mentioning Miss Fisher on this blog, but that drought is about to end.

While watching the entire series for a second time, Olivia and I were reminded that Phryne's birthday is December 21st--"Summer Solstice" since the show takes place in Australia. And since Melbourne is 18 hours ahead of Seattle, Saturday was the perfect day to celebrate.  We drank champagne, ate multiple kinds of cheese, and settled in for four episodes of Miss Fisher and the movie Cold Comfort Farm.

Good times.

Sunday we celebrated Hanukkah by making/eating piles of latkes at Olivia's parents' house, and then singing a bunch of old timey Christmas carols at at party at my parents' house. (Like, Renaissance/Medieval old timey).

WHO REQUESTED JINGLE BELLS?!?!

Speaking of Christmas, I found this strange ad for a menswear store in the Seattle Times from 1920:

Employing the time-honored marketing tool of obnoxious screaming men...

...and the puzzled women who love them.

Nothing like a desperate plea for underwear to put you in the Christmas spirit

So however you celebrate this season of holidays, may joy and blessings be with you.

Miss Fisher's FIC Mysteries

Once again, I skipped a week blogging and feel I need to offer an excuse. But that assumes that all of you dear readers hang on my every word and eagerly check each week for a post, and are lost and devastated when one doesn't appear (since there is very little to read or watch on the internet, so when one blogger drops the ball, the entertainment void is felt by all).

Fortunately I have a really good excuse. I spent all of last weekend watching Netflix.

Last week Olivia and I decided to try a new show which looked like it might be good: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. It quickly became clear that this wasn't just a "good" show, it was 100% up our alley in every way. Sassy, independent female lead, period setting with amazing costumes, attractive men in suits, and an ensemble of characters that are continuously delightful.

Not the least of which are Communist-leaning cab drivers, Burt & Cec

I realize this is going to sound like hyperbole (especially since I know MULTIPLE people who became parents this week) but there is nothing in this life quite like the supreme joy of discovering a new piece of entertainment--be it book/movie/TV show/play/music--that you love so much that you can feel your life getting tangibly better because of it.

Phyrne Fisher is just the role model we need with St. Catherine's Day right around the corner. She is fearless, fabulous, and sharp. In a strange way, I feel like she guided me into all kinds of awesome things this week.

First of all, I spent some time trying to figure out which 1920s pieces from our collection will be on display next year during the run of American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition. This "looking for pretty dresses" part of my job is unfairly awesome, but was made even better because I felt like I was riffling through Miss Fisher's wardrobe.

I mean, I feel like she may actually own this coat:

And at the end of the week, I saw some long-term detective work of my own finally come to fruition. Fortunately I am not researching murders (although could be persuaded if a handsome, suit-wearing detective was part of the deal) but FICs. 

If only I had this team to help with all those mystery socks

MOHAI has a collection of hats from Chicago milliner Benjamin Green-Field, or Bes-Ben as his brand was called. Our first record of them is a handwritten note from the early 90s saying that they had been dropped off anonymously "many years ago." They were "discovered" again in 2007 and given an FIC number. 

Bes-Ben hats are wacky and fun. Google the name and you'll see what I'm talking about. MOHAI's set includes one with painted chicken legs. 

Even though the Seattle connection was unknown, the hats were displayed a few times and in 2011 they were featured as a "Thursday Hidden Treasure" on the MOHAI blog. What followed was amazing affirmation of why it is important for museums to use the internet to make their collections more public. A few months after that post, I was contacted by a woman from Chicago who wanted to know more about our Bes-Ben hats. I had to reluctantly tell her that I didn't have any information about the donor. She got excited about the mystery, and since she was looking at the business ledgers and records as part of her research, offered to help me. Over the next few years, as she had time and I had time, we exchanged information about the hats. Using the chicken feet as a starting point (shockingly, it was not a top seller) she was able to connect nearly all of the hats to a single Seattle-based client.

I spent time researching this likely donor and attempted to find contact information for her family. About a month ago I sent a letter to someone I hoped was her son. And YESTERDAY I got back a signed deed of gift. As I had hoped, he had shared the information and the images with his sister, so both children were on board with making the donation official. The sister even wrote a note saying that she recognized the hats as belonging to her mother. I literally bounded down the hallway when I opened the letter. This is the museum equivalent of solving a cold case murder. 

TRULY A ST. CATHERINE'S DAY MIRACLE

I have to admit, the woman in Chicago did most of the work so she may be the Phryne of this partnership. I guess that makes me Jack-- generally useful but mostly standing around looking great in a suit. Hmm...that analogy may have gotten away from me. What was I saying? Something about Jack looking good in a suit? 

YES.

And speaking of hats...if you are an archivist, educator, milliner, couture house worker, or unrepentant spinster, don't forget to celebrate St. Catherine's Day on the 25th! 

Music for Work: Brahms and Beyoncé

When I'm away from my desk, working on some organizational task in the textile room or the conservation lab, I like to listen to music. If I'm in earlier than anyone else, or back in a corner by myself, sometimes I lip-sync along or even dance around if I feel inspired.

But I always listen with headphones or turn it down when someone comes into the room.  My taste is eclectic and wouldn't pass most tests of coolness. Basically, at work I am usually either listening to classical music (mostly choral pieces that I have sung or am about to sing), or dance-y pop music. It's Lady Gaga and Martin Lauridsen, 'Nsync and Nunc Dimittis .

AW YEAH NICO MUHLY

Lately, my faves have been Johannes Brahms and Beyoncé.

I've been listening to a lot of Brahms because last weekend my parents had a big Brahms Requiem "sing along" party. (You know, typical American Labor day fun.) They had a conductor, two soloists,  the orchestration played by a duo on the piano, and about 30 singers at their house. We rehearsed in the afternoon, took a break for dinner, and then ran the whole thing in the evening.  I had never sung the Brahms Requiem before and when I wasn't completely botching the notes, I was finding myself deeply moved by many of the passages.

Then, on Sunday, I picked up some items waiting for me at the library, including Beyoncé's latest album which comes with a DVD of music videos for every song on the album. Olivia and I put it on, thinking that we could talk and get other stuff done while watching, but instead sat totally transfixed and silent for almost the entire seventy minutes.

If you know me, you know I talk A LOT. Olivia also likes to talk. One reason we like watching trashy reality TV shows is that we can talk over them and never really miss anything important (because, let's be honest, nothing legitimately important is ever happening, ever). When we watch something like Sherlock it takes focus and a lot more silence, so we just have to make sure we are both in the mental space to do that. So it is a big deal for us to plan to talk over something and be rendered totally speechless.

Even when it wasn't a song I loved, the visuals and the performances were POWERFUL. And in "Flawless" when she samples Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Ted Talk about feminism...

PREACH.

(You might be surprised to know that there are more Beyoncé gifs than Brahms ones on the internet)

Wait…I found one...

***Flawless

ANYWAY, two weeks ago it was all Brahms all the time and this last week I was listening almost exclusively to Beyoncé as I put away dresses. 

Knowing that I am in a choir, one of my coworkers once asked why I don't sing more at work. I hope the above information clarifies why. If I did sing it would either be an out-of-context vocal part from a choral arrangement or a rendition of "Partition" so cringe-worthy that people in nearby buildings would feel the shame. 

In conclusion:

This week I'm thinking John Rutter and Robyn. 

Major Life Milestone

Once again I let a week lapse without blogging. Sorry about that. For those yearning for more fashion history kernels of knowledge from yours truly, I should also suggest the MOHAI tumblr page. I've been making an effort to to send more content to the social media manager and most of it has been ending up there. Check it out: http://mohai.tumblr.com

My two favorite things up right now are a pair of shoes we found during the inventory and a picture comparison I made between a dress in the collection and a famous red carpet look.

First up: Who Wore It Best?

mohai.tumblr.com

On the left is a late 1880s bustle dress that was recently dressed on a mannequin and put on display. On the right is a very pregnant Kimberly Kardashian at the Met Costume Gala last year, in a dress that famously made her look like a couch. I am no big fan of Miss K's, but I did feel sorry for her as a woman in the public eye during her pregnancy. You know how they say some women "glow" and become even more beautiful while pregnant? Well that was not the case for Kim. She looked sweaty and exhausted and gigantic and the tabloids were vicious about it. But while I would like to give her the sympathy vote in this case, the mannequin is clearly winning this round.

Up next: "Barbie" heels we found in the collection

mohai.tumblr.com

On tumblr I wrote an interesting tidbit about the donor, but what really made me chuckle about these shoes was the way they were described in the database. When I pulled up the record they were described as "light red." Oh honey no. The word you are looking for is PINK. Those are, in fact, the pinkest shoes that ever pinked.

And speaking of couches and the color pink, roommate Olivia and I just went through a major life milestone. MAJOR. The kind of life step that puts weddings and pregnancies to shame. 

WE BOUGHT A COUCH. 

You probably assume that Olivia and I live in a glamorous, magazine-worthy domicile, but actually neither of us are very interior decoration oriented. Our style is still a little college-y. Pictures taped to the mirrors and free furniture we cobbled together from various sources. 

One day we woke up and realized, despite being made of a fabulous pink nylon, our couch was actually saggy and old. 

So we decided to be grown ups and buy a couch. But then the weight of that decision pressed on us and for months we couldn't be decisive enough to go through with it. How much should we spend? What kind of fabric? What shape? Then, last Saturday we were going out for dinner and walked past a furniture store that was having a liquidation sale. Thirty minutes later we were high-fiving our purchase over whiskey gingers and a plate of fried pickles.

BOOM

Wait. It seems like something is missing. 

Much better. One recent critique I got is that this blog doesn't feature enough Olivia. For those Olivia fans out there, I'm giving her her own tag so you can jump right to any posts about her and our single girl adventures. 

We broke the couch in by watching the last three episodes of Pride and Prejudice while eating cottage cheese and cold pizza. Obviously it was fantastic. 

Inventory Progress, Successful Human Interactions and SPMWDH

I had it pretty good this week.

On Monday I got to put up a very exciting sign:

BOOM! The inventory project is on a ROLL.

Later that day I had a bit of a reality check. A former volunteer (who is moving back to the East Coast- *sob*) had brought her husband in to show where she had been working all this time. She asked about the inventory and I gleefully walked her back…into this giant room…past rows and rows of tall shelving bays….to point out…ONE tiny shelf.

Well, it's a start.

On Tuesday I got to be the collections representative at a meeting about a future exhibit in the Community Gallery-- a partnership with the Washington State Jewish Historical Society. The registrar Kristin (who usually gets recruited for meetings like that) was happy to hand over the reins but also rather apprehensive. As a longtime museum employee, she has mastered the art of the diplomatic "no." I have not. I think she was a little worried that my enthusiasm and inexperience would result in me somehow agreeing to plan, organize, and install the entire show.

Fortunately I kept my mouth shut for most of the meeting (a major feat for a chatterbox like me) which accomplished both my goals of 1) not signing on for projects I have no business doing and 2) not going off on a tangent about Joanna Eckstein and her couture wardrobe WHICH WE HAVE IN THE MOHAI COLLECTION

The week was a bit rougher for my roommate Olivia, who was housebound and miserable due to her broken ankle. Each evening I would come home and try to cheer her up and pick something silly to watch. When we discovered that the new Thor movie was coming out on DVD this week, I actually went to the video store and put my name on the wait list so that we could spend the evening having out lives brightened by Tom Hiddleston. 

(Yes, there is an actual independent video store in our neighborhood and it is totally intimidating to ask the super-cool hipster clerks for things like "Thor" and "Miss Congeniality." When I managed to talk to one of them and somehow come across as funny and normal, I totally felt like:

)

Anyway, we watched Thor 2 and decided that it was basically a gibberish movie except when Tom Hiddleston was on screen. 

It was all like BLAH BLAH BLAH evil guys with braids BLAH guys with swords BLAH also spaceships and lasers somehow BLAH BLAH BLAH Natalie Portman kissing some magical dude on a fantasy planet thinking "Wasn't I already in this movie? It was called Star Wars and it was also kind of bad" BLAH BLAH BLAH Subtitles for weird fake elf language BLAH BLAH BLAH Is that Idris Elba? Why would you put someone so aggressively good looking in a costume where you can barely see his face?!?!?! BLAH BLAH BLAH EXPLOSIONS

And then Loki has a scene and it is like you are watching some sort of nuanced Shakespearean drama.

Other than museum work, fashion, and Seattle, I'm realizing one of the sub-themes emerging on this blog is Sassy Pale Men With Dark Hair. In fact, I think I am going to make that a tag right now. That way you can have easy access to all my posts which mention Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock, skating fashion plate Johnny Weir, and Dmitry Sholokhov from Project Runway.

(The fact that all of the above are either fashionable gay men or emotionally unavailable sociopaths makes me think that tag is going to get used a lot with "single life.")