The Assemblies’ dresses in the Georgian England

Posted on 20 November, 2014 by María López Linares

The title of the show says everything: “Georgian, Dresses for polite society”. Although “polite” is not the term I’d use, to be honest… I’d use “reach” more likely!

If the city of Bath is beautiful by itself, this exhibition makes it even more likely to be visited. There’s no excuse anymore!

For those of you who are not from the UK, Bath is a city situated in the South West of England, in Somerset and its origins are from the Roman period (43 B.C), when a Roman bath and a temple were built in the valley of the Avon River. However the Georgian period did this city really popular. That is exactly the time many of us imagine when we think of the medieval times: sumptuous dresses and wonderful jewelry worn by those who happened to be born within the High Society.

Across Bath walked the Assemblies on their way to those famous local meetings that were popularize in the 18^th century. But don’t think their events had something in common with our current Assemblies, since their meetings were huge parties to chat, show gallantry, play and over all, to dance. And then, their elegance dresses were crucial to show off how well positioned they were on society.

In 1771 the city – thanks to the quick grow in popularity – was worth housing a huge Assembly Room, today turned into the worldwide well-known Fashion Museum.

In total you’ll see 30 original gowns from the 18^th century, each one worth admiring closely because of their distinguished fabrics. These clothes were made when George III was the King of England (his first years as the King) and show the most significant features of the High Society along two decades (1750 and 1760’s).

If you have the chance to pay a visit, you’ll be lucky enough to closely admire the richly patterned woven silks and the hand-made embroidered coats and waistcoats.

The exhibition will show you in the last months how that old fashion has influenced in some way out current trends. Designers like Anna Sui, Meadham Kirchhoff, Vivienne Westwood, Stephen Jones or Alexander McQueen will complete the show with their 18^th century-inspired men clothes.

The exhibition will be open until the first of January of 2016, so you have enough time to plan a luxurious visit to this dreamy city.

Source and images: http://www.museumofcostume.co.uk/

Marie Curie: Shining in a world for men

Posted on 18 November, 2014 by María López Linares

She was born in Poland within a very humble family. However it was France the country that crossed her way to make her have a life worth being study, not only because of the science but of the sacrifice and bravery Marie Curie showed during her complicated life.

Born in 1867, she was explorer in so many different fields that it would be impossible to name them all. That was the glory of this woman, the first to obtain not one but two Nobel prizes; the first woman to be graduated in Science in La Soborna, the first woman who had a professorship and being buried thanks to her own achievements in the Mausoleum for Illustred Men in Paris.

A fascinating and wonderful person who fought to get her own path in a time when women were not allowed to have it. She lived in a society where intellectual and public responsabilities belonged to men and only men. However that wasn’t an issue: She fought to show the world her value with such patience that she seemed to know she was going to be successful some day.

Marya Skłodowska, Marie Curie, beyond the austere and cold look was a passionate both for science and her husband Pierre Curie.

She met him when she was 27, after getting the bacherlor’s degree at Physics as the first in the promotion and she was already being called Marie. She found her half in him, a partner on sicence and love who she had two daughters with. Their career together however was tragically cut short when a horse carriage run over him and killed him after 11 years of marriage.

Both were scientists but also humanists. Two persons totally convinced of the social situation around. Marie fell into a deep grief although she knew how to live beyond the pain and knew how to reinvent herself.

She educated her daughters so well that Irène, the older, won a Nobel Prize at Chemistry although she ended up dying young (59 years old) due to all the radiations she got during her professional life.

The same way Marie Curie suffered from a full life dedicated to physics. She knew she would pay the price and for decades she felt a huge fatigue. When she was 60 she was already a very weak woman.

In despite of being an expert in the field, neither she nor her husband saw the danger they faced every day with the experiments. A danger that caused the death to Marie Curie in 1934, when she was 67 years old.

She left for posterity her discoveries, awards and over all her headstrong spirit. The spirit of a woman who knew how to go further in a society that wasn’t ready nor willing to let her be. A woman who never was afraid of limits. A woman who deserves being remembered both for her contribution to science but also for her bravery.

Artículo escrito por @Esther Ginés

Photographys

@MaríaVintagePhotography

@Pinterest

Mary Dayton Richards; A bride from the end of the 19th century

Posted on 13 November, 2014 by María López Linares

Mary Dayton Richards (1842-1921) and Milton Brayton Graff (1840-1877) were married in 1869 in Manhattan. By that time, the wedding gowns were long and with a elliptical skirt. However the trend for brides was about to change.

She – who was very thin – decided to wear a beautiful dress in pure white made in a kind of shiffon. Nowadays it’s not common anymore for brides to wear such a white dress but other tonalities of white like cream or ivory.

The sort of shiffon she used was origin from India and it was very similar to muslin but with a thinner weave and a rigid consistency.

Glendale-ohio-1860-Mary-Richards---Una-novia-del-siglo-XIX--Vintage-By-Lopez-Linares

Mary’s dress was a very common model back in the 19th century: it was modest with a demure style like the fashion rules dictated in the time. It had a cute bodice with round neckline and central set of buttons, with a little arpon made of flounces in the same fabric that the rest of the dress. Of course, since the fabric was so transparent, it had a cotton lining to show consistency.

The sleeves were semi transparent as they didn’t get the cotton lining below from the elbow down.

The superb skirt was made by a couple of overskirts (one shorter than the other) resting over a petticoat, with an undulating ending in the same fabric. The drawing was actually a bit modern for the time.

Mary and Milton were married in Manhattan, where she was born, although the couple got back to the groom’s home – Cincinnati – right after the ceremony. He was working there as a psychologist.

They lived together with Milton’s parents, Jacob and May Ann Graff in the west of the city. Between 1850 and 1890 the wealthy businessmens built there impressive Italian-style houses and the area started being called “The Walk of the Millionaires”.

Sadly, the marriage was broken in just a few years due to Milton’s death in 1875. After 5 years, Mary built her own house in Glendale (Ohio), in a community only 15 miles away from Cincinnati.

Glendale was the summer house for rich people from Cincinnati, who wanted to scape from the noise and contamination of a big city. Probably was that and the quite surroundings what grabbed Mary’s attention. She lived there with her two children until she died in 1921.

Bibliography:

Wedded Perfection. Cynthia Amnéus.

Springgrove.org

Imágenes:

Wedded Perfection. Cynthia Amnéus.

Google Maps

With “S” for “Sortija” (Ring)

Posted on 11 November, 2014 by María López Linares

A ring is hoop thick or thin that is used as an accessory to decorate fingers. The original name is anellus, coming from Latin.

We have proof that many ancient civilizations already used this piece along the History, like Egyptian, Greek, Persian and Roman. Back in the beginning rings were made of gold, silver, bronze and iron. Nowadays it is more common to use only the two first materials, that is gold and silver. However you’ll find a very especial pieces made in ivory, cristal or even precious stones.

Here are the different types of rings:

Weddign or nuptial ring. The old name came from the word “join” or “alliance”.

Engagement ring: This is the ring a bride-to-be gets the day she is asked to be married. The hand where you should wear it depends on the country. In Spain, for example, is in the left hand. In UK and the US, in the right one.

Marquise ring: This kind of jewel has a squared or rectangular shape and it usually rather is narrow than long.

Seal ring: Those rings you saw in old families with a legacy. It has a seal or engraving with the badge of the family.

Solitaire ring: It only has one unique stone, usually a diamond.

Three-stones rings: It’s exactly what the name indicates: a ring with three stones, usually in the same color and size. The most used pieces are made with diamonds.

“You-and-me” rings: It’s made with two equal stones linked in an asymmetric shape.

Imágenes: María Vintage Photopraphy

A vintage wool factory

Posted on 6 November, 2014 by María López Linares

If you are a vintage lover and happens to come to Spain for a visit, don’t miss within the heart of Pont d’Arsèguel (Alt Urgell, in Lleida) this amazing Wool Factory, founded in 1902 by the actual owner’s great grand parents.

The Factory still works with hydraulic energy and, among other machines, they still use a spectacular spinning machine designed back in the 18th century.

In the beginning of the 20th century, over 20 people worked for this Factory. Currently it has a guided visit system managed by the owner family Isern and in there a tourist can buy typical bootees, mufflers and shepherd blankets that you can purchase on the way.

Highly recommended to go with children since they’ll enjoy it a lot. The visit is not too long and the explanations are very entertaining. The price of the tickets is also reasonable.

And especially for photo lovers, it’s the perfect place to take the most beautiful pictures both in the inside and outside.

Address: Pont, s/n

City: Arsèguel

Postal Code: 25722

Area: L’Alt Urgell

Telephone: 973 384009

Article and pictures by @Sylvia Parés

The jewels witness of the most touching love story in the Renaissance: Margherita Luti

Posted on 4 November, 2014 by María López Linares

According to the legend, Raffaello Sanzio, known as Raphael, fell in love with Margherita Luti while she was washing her feet under the Tiber river. The love he felt was so appasionate that he couldn’t concéntrate while he finished an order from the reach banker Agostino Chigi. The client was so desperate that finally he moved Margherita into a house close to Raphael, in order to let him finish his work.

And then he painted Margherita… And in both paintings appear the Historic Jewels I want to talk you about today: In the impressive “La Veleta” and “La Fornarina”

“La Veleta” was made in 1516 and Margherita poses wearing rich clothes and a veil in silk (apparently) and over her hair she wears an appealing ornament with a pearl and a ruby. It’s almost stuck to her careless hair (a proof of her adulterous life). This piece is very similar to the one whe also wears in “La Fornarina”, under a turban this time (a common accesory by the time). I’d say both jewels are the same.

And here I bring them both to you: One over a thin chiffon and the other one over a rich silk brocade.

But let’s digg deeper into the amazing life Margherita had and the touching love story between she and Raphael…

In 1514 Raphael got engaged with Maria Bibbiena, Cardinal Medici Bibbiena’s niece. But this marriage never was consummated. His mind and heart were with his true love: Margherita Luti, “La Fornarina”. Margherita was Francesco Luti’s daughter, the owner of the bakery Fornaio de Siena. Her humble condition stopped the family from marrying Margherita to Raphael, a very recognized artist in the time. So she had to resign herlself with being his lover.

It’s possible the most reliable proof of this romance was the painting “La Fornarina”, where Margherita poses half naked only covered by a soft and thin silk, holding a breast with her right hand. According to the history, this painting was hidden in his studio and only a few knew about its existance.

Like in the good love stories, this one between Raphael and La Fornarina had a sad engind. After a night together, he fell ill and died 15 days after. The artist left enough money to Margherita to finish her days without any trouble. However her plans were different. The pain was such that she joined the Convent Santa Apolonia in Santa Dorotea where she lived the rest on her life. She never touched the fortune Raphael had left her.

This is one of the most beautiful love stories in Rome during the Renaissance, linked to a jewel that already is in our Historic Jewels Collection.

Bibliografía:

Amantedeldelirio.blogspot.com.es

Slate.com

Mozzarellamamma.com

Galeriebalzac.blogspot.com.es

Micasaesmimundo.blogspot.com.es

Imágenes:

@María Vintage Photography

@Pinterest

Vivian Maier, the magetism of the daily nature

Posted on 30 October, 2014 by María López Linares

Vivian Maier (1926-2009) left an impressive photographic legacy. You might have enjoyed a tiny part of her job in an exhibition last Summer in Valladolid (Spain) or any other city where it was showed in the country. If you did, you are very lucky, because I couldn’t find any other show with her pictures.

I found her thanks to Beatriz Garcia Couriel during an online photography course. Her simple and plain work will take you to the streests of Chicago and New York during the second half of the 20th century. Those pictures really amazed me.

Vivian used to develop her rolls in the bathroom of the house where she was working as a babysitter. She gathered houndreds of them! Most of them have not been developed yet. Her legacy was discover by chance when over 100,000 negatives were found after an auction in Chicago back in 2007. The owner of that material John Maloof hasn’t been able to public everything yet.

She shot at daily life scenes in Chicago and New York: prostitutes, beggars, homelesses, children in the streets… All of them common daily scenes full of magnetism.

One of the series that grabbed my attention was her self-portraits. They are reflections over mirrors or windows. Shots that she made while walking on Sundays. You’ll find on them a serious Vivian; shy, reserved and discreet. At least, those are the feelings this series makes me feel! The manager of the commission of the exhibition in Valladolid, Anne Morin, explained the reason might be the permanent search for herself. Vivian was the foremother of this trend.

In the beginning I thought to focus on those self-portraits to do my copy of her work, under the most common “Vivian style”, made with a camera very similar to the one she used. A camera I found in an old wardrobe that belonged to my father. A complete Rollei with several lenses, filters and even a remote shooter. Finally I decided to get out with my camera and try to get the shots she would have made.

Here’s the link to the movie of Vivian’s life. It’s totally recommended since you’ll know why whe was the way she was.

This is my own work, the one I’ve done with my colleagues from El Objetivo Magico. I hope you like it!

With “R” for “Rosary beads”

Posted on 28 October, 2014 by María López Linares

A rosary is a strand of beads ending in a cross that is used to lead the prayer. Back in the past the beads were made with dry roses, that’s the reason it was called “rosary”. Currently it’s one of the most important symbols within Christianity.

The knots or beads are used to count sequences of prayers. Each prayer is formed by 15 equal parts called mysteries.

However sometimes the ter mis used to refer to a strand of beads itself. In vintage jewelry there are many silver and Golden rosaries, with beads made of mother-of-pearl, pearls, or semiprecious stones. It’s a very common gift for children who receive their first communion.

Something that in the very beginning was just a Christian devotion object is today inspiration for many jewellery masters to create their necklaces and bracelets. You’ll find designs with different sizes of beads of all colours, or others more vintage from the 19th century.

As usual, the jewelry inspires in popular habits.

Images: María Vintage Photography

Frida Kahlo: Icon of strength against life adversities

Posted on 21 October, 2014 by María López Linares

She knew how to recover after a tragic accident that marked her life as a teenager. Back then many people started admiring her because of her bravery. However, the Mexican artista Fidra Kahlo (1907-1954) was much more than just a fighter. Nowadays she’s considered one of the most relevant women over the last century.

She was interesting, close and extremely independent. She actually was the pioneer about women emancipation. For many years people only saw in her the partner of a great Mexican muralist, the painter Diego Rivera, but her over 200 works have left a deep track in her contemporary colleagues as well as following generations.

Her wish of independency, far from Diego Rivera both economically and professionally, is the reflection of her innate artist heart. Of course Rivera and his way of understanding art influenced Frida, but studies showed that without him, she would have succeeded the same way.

Frida had a complicated life specially marked for that accident that kept her on bed for long periods of time as well as under constant surgeries. Her need of analyze herself through her art also was a way of over complicate things.

She left us before she was 50 years old, but the life that hit her also allowed her to enjoy really intense relationships – mainly sentimental- and also let her be witness of one of the most relevant cultural and political times in History.

She shared experiences with Picasso, André Breton or even Trotski. All of them admired her because of her magnetism. She was photographed many times accompanied by the pets she truly loved and wearing her well-known native costume. She used to show that way her love for Mexico. Her art is nowadays universal and her –strongly biographic- work has been showed in the best museums in the world.

In the 21st century Frida Kahlo is already an icon, not only because of her art though but for her humanity. That is what makes her different from Diego Rivera whose influence always was artistic and political.

Going deeper into Frida’s self-portraits is like read a fascinating biography. The accident where she broke her column in three parts would have finished with the wish of living in most of the cases but she went on. “I tried to drown my pains but they learnt how to swimm”, wrote a woman who rowed against adversity.

Artículo escrito por @Esther Ginés

Photographys

@MaríaVintagePhotography

@Pinterest

The high society’s jewelry in the Renaissance: Lucrezia Panciatichi

Posted on 16 October, 2014 by María López Linares

Lucrezia, the beautiful wife of the Florentine politic Bartolomeo Panciatichi, has come to us in a stunning portrait with no background, where is seems Bronzino, the Renaissance artist who painted it, did want us to focus our glance on this aristocratic amazing woman.

And I don’t blame it… Over her slim and elegant neckline a pearl necklace rests, with a brooch holding from the middle. Then underneath there’s a long gold chain with a little inscription on it that says “Sin fin amour Duré” (love should last forever).

And in her left hand she wears a little ring in gold and ruby that easily might have been her engagement ring, a piece that is today our protagonist in our Historic Jewels Collection.

The luxurious dress in sateen and red velvet defines her cold and quite beauty. Bronzino made a very good job playing with lights and shadows along her figure.

Lucrezia holds with the right hand a little prayer book over her lap. It seems she was waiting for the artista to tell her it was finished to just keep naturally reading.

The humanist and politic Bartolomeo Panciatichi’s whife since 1528, Lucrezia Panciatichi was inmortalized together with her husband by the artista Angelo di Cosimo, il Bronzino (1503-1572), who always worked under Michelangelo’s shade. Back in that time the art in the city of Florence was controlled by two huge names: The Medici family and Michelangelo.

Bartolomeo Panciatichi was son of Bartolome “The Old” and belonged to a very influent family of businessmen from Pistoia. They owned a business in the French city Lyon, a place very popular in that time due to the strategic situation it had as a central point of France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany.

Bartolomeo did rather prefer to carry on with his career as an humanist and politic and left aside the familiar business whe he was very young. In Lyon he met Lucrezia and after a few years the whole family moved in to Florence. There he achieved very good positions as an important politic and became in one of the most influential men in his time.

And his spouse, a lady who in this portrait rests solemn, dmure, elegant, devoted and quite symbolises Renacentist women in the high society.

Giorgio Vasari referred to this painting with these words: “…portraits of his and hers are so natural that seems to be really alive, and only surprises the spirit”

Both Bronzino’s portraits are shown in the Uffizzi’s gallery in Florence.

Bibliography:

Imágenes: María Vintage Photography

Vintage by López Linares

Pure vintage Blog

Author Archives: María López Linares

The Assemblies’ dresses in the Georgian England

Marie Curie: Shining in a world for men

Mary Dayton Richards; A bride from the end of the 19th century

With “S” for “Sortija” (Ring)

A vintage wool factory

The jewels witness of the most touching love story in the Renaissance: Margherita Luti

Vivian Maier, the magetism of the daily nature

With “R” for “Rosary beads”

Frida Kahlo: Icon of strength against life adversities

The high society’s jewelry in the Renaissance: Lucrezia Panciatichi