Fashion

With our constant fascination with dress, observation of fabric, and the manner of its use, drawing inspiration from the world of fashion into the world of interior design unsurprisingly remains a constant.

I recently discovered a newly published book titled Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style. This wonderful book has been produced in association with the Smithsonian Institution and forwarded by Susan Brown.

The book is brimming with design inspirations, detailing the history of fashion design from ancient times to the 21st century for both men and women.

Here is a glimpse of the wealth of information and the visual history this book provides.

The elegant male 1930-1940

The elegant cocktail dresses and the couture gowns of the fifties

Courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution
Photo 1 jacket image : Corbis : Condé Nast Archive
Photos 2,3,4 my apologies for not  being able to identify the exact source

Beyond the Exquisite at Hillwood Museum

The Hillwood Museum’s new exhibition Prêt-à-Papier is now on view until December 30 of this year. For the first time in Washington D.C., the Belgian artist Isabelle De Borchgrave displays her paper fashion collection derived from the history of fashion.

Inspired by European painting and fashion, the exhibition starts by highlighting the materials, methods, tools, and techniques used by the skillful hands of the artist and her team. By using the method of trompe l’oeil, opulent gowns, shoes, and dresses from the early twentieth century were created.

Yes...It's paper!

Isabelle De Borchgrave’s fascination with the dress and her interpretations of it are remarkable- she creates such delicate pieces that simultaneously have a powerful impact.

Some of the gowns are on view in the Adirondack building and exhibited in different rooms around the mansion.

Photos 1,2 photography by Alain Speltdoorn, courtesy of Hillwood Museum

The Mona Lisa Framed

As the New Year begins, I would like to extend my thanks and offer my gratitude to all the readers who have followed Picture of Elegance, where pictures that tell a story are showcased.

Courtesy of the Smithsonian Channel, I would like to share this video titled The Many Layers of the Mona Lisa.

To protect and enhance any painting there is always the relationship between art and its frame. In an old issue of House & Garden, there was an article that highlighted the famed Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo Da Vinci; it was shown in different European frames.

The framing process usually starts by knowing the period, the country and region of the painting. All the frames above were available during the era when the Mona Lisa was created.

I love the simplicity of the neoclassical style, which is the gold French frame of Louis XVI (last image), it adds more emphasis on the painting itself.

Photo courtesy of House & Garden June 1998, photography by Charles Masters

Something of Splendor:

Decorative Arts from the White House

A new exhibition opened yesterday at the Renwick Gallery, which is part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

The exhibit is filled with amazing collections of decorative arts and historic furnishings that tell the stories of the White House past, highlighting periods of the American interior design at the White House.

Some of the Blue Room’s seating was on display. I especially loved the side chair, which is painted birch from 1902, was made by L. Marcotte & Company of New York.

It was part of a set that originally had cane back, but was later upholstered in the mid 1920’s

 Painting of the Blue Room showcasing the chairs, by Charles Bittinger, oil on canvas, 1903. The painting is on display in the exhibit

Photos  courtesy of The White House Historical Association

Designing Tomorrow

Designing Tomorrow is the title of one of the current exhibitions at the National Building Museum in Washington. The exhibit highlights six world fairs in the United States between 1933 and 1940, which was attended by millions of visitors.

I took the exhibit tour yesterday and the presentation by the docent was fascinating and very engaging. The tour covered many topics, which only scratched the surface of the abundance of ideas, innovations, and products that were introduced at the fairs of the 30’s.

At the exhibit, you’ll see images and examples of furniture, technologies, and residential designs (which leaned more toward open floor plans), all intertwined to present how the future will look like.

Vanity and ottoman designed by Gilbert Rohde in 1933 on view

According to one of the fair guidebooks then, it stated that the architects, engineers, and designers were “the true poets of the twentieth century,” since they brought a hopeful vision of the modern world filled with new ideas.

Photo 1 courtesy of NBM,The Charles Rand Penney Collection

Photo 2 courtesy of Yale University Art Gallery

Glamour at the Museum

I frequently love to visit the National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. The building has three levels of exhibits that capture fascinating stories from the past.

One of the exhibits that constantly intrigues, and where you will always find lines, is the First Ladies exhibit. There, you’ll find stories of the first ladies told through their gowns.

One of my favorite gowns on display is Jacqueline Kennedy’s off-white gown that she wore to the 1961 inaugural ball. The gown is sleeveless with silk chiffon over silver embroidered peau d’ange. Ethel Frankau of Bergdorf custom salon designed this gown based on Jacqueline’s suggestions. The gown is delicate, simple, and chic, which reflected Jackie’s choice of the polished style. Her fashion choices proved to be influential to this day.

Unfortunately, the matching cape seen in the picture was not displayed

I love the subtle flow of the dress... (photo taken without flash)

Photography by Amal for Picture of Elegance Blog

Art By The Yard

The impact of World War II brought changes into the post-war design world. Since color, materials, and patterns were limited during the war until the early fifties, the door was opened to artists and designers who were inspired by growing modernism to create an optimistic atmosphere through their work.

The Textile Museum in Washington D.C. is currently highlighting this optimism by displaying the work of British textile designers Lucienne Day, Jacqueline Groag, and Marian Mahler. These designers used abstract design, musical notes, bold colors, and flower motifs as an inspiration and created fabrics that certainly had a visual impact on mid-century interiors.

The Textile Museum located in Kalorama neighborhood

Herb Anthony 1956 designed by Lucienne Day in different colorways

Paper Dolls 1967 Jacqueline Groag was inspired by her own collection of dolls when she designed this pattern

The sophisticated patterns of Marian Mahler ca. 1952 , untitled

Photo 1 photography by Amal for Picture of  Elegance Blog

Photos 2,3,4 Women Design Mid- Century Britain, curated by Shanna Shelby, selected work from the collection of Jill A.Wiltse and H. Kirk browm III

Escape to 18th Century, France!

Yesterday I attended the French festival at the Hillwood Estate and Museum in Washington D.C. The festival celebrated Marjorie Merriweather Post’s passion for the eighteenth-century French decorative arts.

The day was filled with activities for people of different ages: music, dancing, and tours of the gardens and estate. My favorite part was a dance performed by New York Baroque Dance Company at the French parterre, where a young lady meets a gentleman who teaches her how to dance properly. Lute music was played during the performance which created a magical atmosphere!

The French parterre, the formal gardens of the eighteenth- century where the walls of English ivy surround the low plantings, and footpaths. The garden is faced by the sculpture of Diana, the goddess of the hunt

An Amusing Interlude

Photography by Amal for Picture of Elegance Blog

A Day at the Museum

I would like to share with you some photos I took during my last visit to The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC two weeks ago.

The museum officially opened to the public in 1941, and consisted of only one building, now known as the west building, designed by architect John Russell Pope. I mainly toured the west building, which houses treasures of American and European art and sculpture.

Enjoy the clear photos, as many of the other photos I took were unfortunately unfocused!
If you are in the area check out the current exhibition, From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection.

The East Garden Court

Sculpture Hall

The great Rotunda on the main floor

Madame Bergeret

Photo 1 courtesy of The National Gallery of Art
 

Drawing Toward Home

National Building Museum

If you are in the Washington DC area and love architectural drawings, check out the new exhibit Drawing Toward Home at the National Building Museum.

The exhibit showcases one hundred drawings, plans, and elevations of home architecture found throughout New England. The collection includes drawings of family houses, cottages, and estate houses.

I visited the museum today and saw that some of the hand-drawn architectural drawings displayed date back to 1790’s. The sketches and final drawings were incredibly detailed and showed artistic sophistication.

Photography by Amal for Picture of Elegance Blog

The Love Letter

In this hurried digital age, with BlackBerry phones, texting, and emails, the art of writing letters got lost somehow.

Nothing can replace the ritual of opening a love letter, from noticing the beautiful penmanship of the writer and reading the heartfelt words to keeping the treasured letter in a safe place. That is why many of the old masters sought to express and capture this moment in paintings.

Today I’ll leave you with various romantic portraits titled The Love Letter.
Wishing you a wonderful Valentine’s Day with your loved ones.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Jacob Ochtervelt

Francois Boucher

Carl Spitzweg

Johannes Vermeer

A Notable Grace At The MET

As promised, today I am going to share with you the photos that I took during my last visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. My plan was to specifically visit the Wrightsman Galleries for French Decorative Arts.

Recently the galleries have undergone renovations to better highlight their collection of French furniture and other decorative arts, which had royal reference.

You see examples of eighteenth-century French salons with the period rooms - which represent the Rococo with its ornate style - in addition to Louis XVI style, which I personally prefer.

Louis XVI chairs with the fluted legs,notice the parquet floors with it's geometric designs and marquetry which was popular during that period

The lighting in the period rooms was subdued - as if it was candle lit – in order to recreate an atmosphere, and to show the reflections in the surfaces of the mirrors, chandeliers and the gold leafed elements.
While standing in the middle of the rooms, I felt as if I was transported in a time machine just to have a glimpse of how life was during that period. The aura was simply amazing.

A Rococo commode

Photography by Amal for Picture of Elegance Blog

Hillwood Estate: A Sparkled Home

One of the great pleasures of living in the Washington D.C. area is having access to the wealth of museums the city has to offer.

Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens is one of the most romantic and magnificent museums of the city. The museum presents a premier art collector’s personal collection, including eighteen and nineteenth century French and European decorative arts, as well as an extensive collection of Russian imperial art.

The Japanese garden

The estate was the home of Marjorie Merriweather Post, the cereal heiress who found joy in art, particularly pieces that had a royal elements to them. The estate was eventually endowed to the public, and was once a part of the Smithsonian Institution.

If you are in the DC area, plan to visit. I personally visit the museum several times a year. It never ceases to amaze me.

Mrs. Merriweather Post 's breakfast room surrounded by mirrored gilt treillage, the table setting was Sevres china that was made for the French Prince Louis de Rohan in 1792

Photography 1, 2 by  Amal for Picture of Elegance Blog
Photo 3 Sixty Years of Interior Design
Photograph courtesy of Horst