As we continue to pass our days in the same sweats and sandals (Is that just me? Oh- sorry!), it can be fun to at least consider what we might wear were we to have opportunity and reason.
For those of us who may have lost a bit of creativity in our Zoom-induced stupors, award-winning fashion historian, curator, and journalistKimberly Chrisman-Campbell has crafted a stunning antidote that may be tailor-made for these times.
In her latest book, Worn on This Day: The clothes that made history, Chrisman-Campbell uses her PhD in art history to create a complete calendar of clothing. That warps and woofs its way from Bikinis to Zoot Suits and from New Year’s Eve to Mardi Gras to the holidays. Stitching historical context and significance into every selection, she creates a time-spanning, world-wrapping garment that includes King Henry VIII’s armor, Ali’s “Rumble” robe, Grace Kelly’s wedding gown, performance outfits from Marilyn Monroe and Barbra Streisand, a worn slave collar, a prisoner uniform from Auschvitz, flight suits worn by Lindbergh and Earhart, NASA Chief of Flight Control Gene Kranz’s vest (see “Apollo 13”), and the remains of a space helmet from the Space Shuttle Columbia. Though some of the greatest examples of daily wear come from what people wear daily (e.g., a woman walking her dog in her Easter best and an unidentified mother and daughter wearing gas masks in an image that could sadly be more recent than might be desired), the book also includes such regal robes as Ghana’s Nana Akufo-Addo’s inaugural kente cloth, George Washington’s inaugural suit and First Lady Caroline Harrison’s inaugural gown, Jackie O’s pillbox hat and Pat Nixon’s wool coat, as well as FDR’s cloak, Lincoln’s seldom-seen quilted overcoat, and Gerald Ford’s holiday sweater. Though the images are plentiful a(and beautiful!), many of the iconic items are described rather than depicted, but in ways that elicit imaginary images that may be even more impressive and inspirational than the real things. In any case, the photographs that are offered offer plenty of posh and pizzazz and will surely bring a lot of fashionable fun to the rest of our dreary dressed-down days and beyond!
https://kimberlychrismancampbell.com
– Matt Robinson
