On the 1st of December 1952, the headlines on the front page of the New York Daily read: “Ex-GI Becomes Blonde Beauty: Operations Transform Bronx Youth”. They were announcing the ‘sex change’ of Christine Jorgensen (born George William Jorgensen, Jr.), the first ever person in the United States to have undergone sex reassignment surgery. The […]
Category Archives: Lifestyle
November
30
Folies Bergère: Populist Cosmopolitan Hub
posted by ArtLark
On the 30th of November 1886, The Folies Bergère staged its first revue in Paris. Located at 32 rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, and called Folies Trévise back then, it was finished as an opera house by the architect Plumeret in 1869. The venue was at the height of its popularity from the 1890’s […]
October
23
Christian Dior – Architect or Fashion Designer?
posted by ArtLark
On the 23rd of October 1957, Christian Dior died in Montecatini, Italy. His death was as sudden as his entry into the world of haute couture ten years earlier. At the beginning of 1947, Dior’s first collection changed the entire fashion world. After years of war asceticism, scarcity and rationing this collection brought hope for […]
September
24
Gay Georgian London: Horace Walpole Amongst the ‘Finger-Twirlers’
posted by ArtLark
On the 24th of September 1717, Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician, was born in London. Although the son of the first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, he is largely remembered in our times for Strawberry Hill, the home he built in Twickenham, south-west London, where he […]
September
18
Franco Moschino: Anti-Elitist Haute Couture?
posted by ArtLark
On the 18th of September 1994, Italian fashion designer Franco Moschino died in Annone di Brianza, Italy. He is still seen as “the irreverent enfant terrible of the fashion industry who poked fun at the excesses of the 1980s with his “tongue in chic” designs, most memorably creating suits festooned with cutlery, jackets with faucet handles […]
June
13
Lucile, Lady Duff-Gordon: Inventor of the Modern Fashion Show
posted by ArtLark
On the 13th of June 1863, Lucy Christiana, Lady Duff-Gordon (née Sutherland), best known as ‘Lucile’, was born in London, England. She gained recognition as a leading fashion designer in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century. After being abandoned by her first husband, James Stuart Wallace, who left her practically penniless, she set […]
June
07
Beau Brummell: The Dandy as Social Revolutionary
posted by ArtLark
On the 7th of June 1778, the most famous dandy in Regency England Beau Brummell was born in Downing Street, London. Despite his middleclass background, he studied at Eton and Oxford, where he quickly gained popularity among his school friends and tutors, always challenging the official dress codes with his reinvented looks. His wit, originality and […]
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