If you love learning about the history of design and advertising like I do then you'll dig this episode from The Memory Palace podcast about the first ever Electric Illuminate Billboard. This 1892 billboard was located on the wall of the NYC Cumberland Hotel. The part of the episode where Nate DiMeo describes people seeing it for the first time gave me full on goose bumps.
Fashion & Disabilities: Options For Everyone
This weeks episode of The Seams is fantastic, it focuses on how the fashion world is treating individuals with disabilities. I love the idea of fashion being made inclusive to everyone. Inclusive fashion for me means people not just having to wear clothing that sort of works for them. We all deserve to wear clothing the meets our needs and makes us feel great. Like the the episode states fashion should include options for everyone!
Image Source & Credit: The Seams
History Nerd: The History Of The Opening Titles
I was recently watching the 1960 film The Apartment which is one of my favourite Hollywood Classic flicks and while their opening credits are nothing really special they still had me wondering about how opening titles were created pre the advent of the computer. So I did a little search online and came across a mini -documentary called The Film before The Film. While I still have many questions about the process of creating opening titles during the past up period of graphic design I still found the documentary very interesting. I loved seeing how the design and purpose of the open titles changed over time. Oh and I also learned that the 1978 open titles to Superman were the first computer generated opening titles created for a film.
Supermans Opening Titles - The First Ever To Be Digitally Generated in 1978
The Apartments Opening Titles (one of my fav 1960's NYC Hollywood Flicks)
Design Nerd: How Pantone Ink is Made
Swoon, a romantic look how how Pantone inks are made.....
Fashion History: The Breton Stripe (Happy Bastille Day!)
Happy Bastille Day! Here’s a little Parisian fashion history to help celebrate….
French Sailor's uniforms from the late 1850’s have everything to do with the history of the Breton Stripe. Inspired by the stripe fashion designer Coco Chanel introduced it to the Fashion World through her 1917 Nautical Collection. In the 1950’s & 60’s the stripe was made popular again by the Beat Generation.
Over the decades that followed the Breton Stripes 1917 debut it was made famous by a variety of celebrities; Marilyn Monroe, Pablo Picasso, Brigitte Bardot, Andy Warhol, Edie Sedgwick, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Audrey Hepburn,James Dean and Jean Seberg.
To this day, the Breton Stripe still embodies Chic Parisian Style and is a staple piece in many a person's wardrobes.
Font Snob
For all my font snob friends this is hilarious!
1915 - 2015: 100 Years of Men's Fashion
Okay, gent's let's agree to pretend 1975 - 2005 NEVER happened, well at least fashion wise. I'm so happy that men's fashion is continuing to head back towards it's dapper beginnings. All the looks between 1915 - 1965 are stellar and 2015's look embodies a more modern version of those decades. A well dress man is the Bees Knees.
I'm Celebrating: Instagram
I'm celebrating 600 follows on instagram with photo's of vegan food, vegan fashion, Toronto and cats. If you're interested in any of those things you should head on over to my account and give me a follow!
100 Years of Style: Russia
As much as I love the video about 100 Years of Beauty in Russia, I kind of dig the video about the research into the history behind the video more. As a self proclaimed history and fashion nerd that there would be my dream job, it's the perfect combo of fashion and history.
I Style: Home Sweet Home
I just created this cruelty free Polyvore Set dedicated to my Home Sweet Home. The Kensington Market raglan tee is from local Toronto company The Neighbourhood Project. You can score a tee that represents your Toronto hood over on their website. It also features vegan pieces from Insecta Shoes, The Base Project, KeepCup, Lauren B Beauty, Zulu Lux, Black Crystals Jewelry and more.....
Have A Listen: The Seams Podcast
Great episode this week from fashion podcast The Seams about gender fluidity, textiles, pakour, consignment and entrepreneurship.
Image Source & Credit: The Seams Instagram (Designer: Chantal Galipeau @prattfashion @prattinstitute Designs from the 2015 Look Book!)
Just For Fun: Annie Golden aka (Mute) Norma
Did you guys know that Annie Golden who plays the mute Norma on Orange Is The New Black use to play at CBGB in the 1970's (The Golden Age of Punk!) with her band The Shirts!? She also did a little diddy for the 1980's classic flick Sixteen Candles called Hang Up The Phone. The video for the song is a 100% 1980's cliché which, of course, is super awesome.
History Nerd: Hokusai
Are you a fan of the much copied and parodied Japanese art piece "The Wave"? If so then checkout this great podcast^ from Stuff You Missed in History Class about it's artist Hokusai. You can checkout my fav homage to "The Wave" HERE.
Design History: Will Davies
I was so excited to discover Will Davies today on Facebook. Will Davies is a Canadian Mad Men era illustrator that worked during a period of design and advertising history when illustration was King and photography had yet to take both industries by storm. His artwork made a big impact during this time period and on the man artists that would follow in his foot steps. A Kickstarter has been started by Leif Peng to bring his life and work to the public in the form of book. If you're interested you can head on over to the Kickstarter to donate some greens to help bring this book and a part of design/advertising history to life.
History Nerd: Local Toronto History
Yesterday I decided to walk down Brunswick St from college over to Bloor St to checkout thrift shop the Kind Exchange's Annex location. As I was walking down Brunswick St I came across two of these signs (featured above) from the Harbord Village Residents' Association posted on 2 different houses. As soon as I realized that the signs were all about Toronto history I snap a shot of the 2nd sign on my phone and decided that when I got home I'd check out the sign's website. As a history nerd the website did not disappointed, the site was filled with the history of Harbord Village. It contained interviews, photos and stories from people that had lived in the neighbourhood from 1930 - 1980. The signs I stumble on were a part of the sites oral history project. They're called StoryPosts, each StoryPost contains a QR code that will lead you online to a story about the neighbourhood. There are about 24 StoryPosts around the Harbord Village, which will allow you to take a self-guide tour of the neighbourhoods history. You can also head on over to their site and listen to them all at once. I've been listen to them since yesterday and I find them a humbling look into a time period gone by. Since I live in the Kensington Market area my fav StoryPost was of course about Shopping In Kensington, however I also find the stories about Dating, the local Candy Shop and Crowded Homes an intriguing look into the social mores of the time. However as a vegan I'm not sure I can bring myself to listen to the post about Chickens because it's about live animals and the local butcher. I might just have to skip that one. If you're interested in local Toronto history told by the people who lived it I suggest you check this site out.
End of An Era: Mad Men
I'm still waiting for the last 5 episodes of Mad Men to pop up on Netflix, however I could not help but see this awesome scene with Peggy from one of the last episodes. It was all over my social media feeds the day after the episode aired and I'm not one to freak out about a spoiler. I actually kind of love them and I totally love this scene. It really has me excited about binge watching the last 5 episodes. I have no idea where I'll get my fix for 1960's era Manhattan after the show ends. I guess I'll just have to re-watch some of my fav classic flicks that were filmed during that era (The Apartment, Breakfast At Tiffany's, Love With A Proper Strange, Barefoot in The Park etc....). Along with the writing and acting, I'm so going to miss the mid-century sets, fashion, hair, drinks, furniture, gadgets and history. Though many significant society changing events from that decade when not addressed I did love when the show intersected with actual historical events. This history & design nerd will miss this show oh so much....
Design History: The Ghost Army of WW2
Exciting news! They're making a movie about WW2 unit "The Ghost Army". If you remember from my previous post featuring 99% Invisibles podcast about them, The Ghost Army was a WW2 unit made up of artists & designers that used design, sound and instillation pieces to deceive the German Army. As I designer I'm super excited to see a part of design history come to life. Also their unit patch feature above^ is pretty rad.
History Nerd: The Dawn of Radio and Portable Recording
Such a great episode from 99% Invisible about the early days of the radio and portable recording. Tony Schwartz's 30 000's recordings, that he started in recording on the streets of NYC in 1945 are a humbling look back into a simpler time.
1915 - 2015: 100 Years of Fashion
2005, one word> Embarrassing. I do love everything else though and I feel especially nostalgic about 1995. I'm pretty sure I had the same dress in navy and I most definitely had a pair of Doc Martens. I remember dragging my parents out to buy them for me. Oh the memories....
Behind The Scenes: 100 Years of Style
I’m loving these behind the scene looks into all the historical research that goes into one of Cut Videos, 100 Years of Beauty Videos. As a huge fashion, design and history nerd doing the research behind these historical looks is kind of one of my dream jobs.