1939 Eagle Rock High School Yearbook

Happy New Year! I hope it's not too late to say that :) I've had some writer's block lately and haven't felt like saying much, but then yesterday I received an eBay package that I'm excited to share! I bought a 1939 yearbook from my high school in Eagle Rock, CA (northeast part of Los Angeles). When I was in high school I loved looking through the old yearbooks, and I'm thrilled to have one of my own.

Eagle Rock High School was opened in 1927 and was built in a traditional Spanish style, with tile roofs, arched doorways, and a courtyard. The original buildings were torn down in 1970 and rebuilt (due to earthquake safety standards, I believe), and unfortunately the "new" buildings weren't nearly as cute. The only original building still remaining is the auditorium.

The ERHS yearbook is called the Totem, as a tribute to the Native Americans who first settled the region. The yearbook still retains this name, I believe.

In this period, the school had 2 graduating classes per year - Winter and Summer. I think they combined the classes in the 40's? My yearbook has all the Winter classes/clubs/sports at the front, and Summer in the back.

The yearbook is dedicated to the burgeoning city of Los Angeles. It's fun to look at the pictures of our historical LA landmarks (Hollywood, Los Angeles City Hall, and Griffith Observatory) and think how they were so new back then. I guess they're still new by most architectural standards, but they feel old to us Angelenos!

Some snapshots of the old school - you can see the courtyard and classrooms, and I think tennis courts?

Winter Class 4-H Club. I think those are classrooms in the background?

This is one of my favorites - this club is standing in front of the auditorium, and you can see the class plaques out front. Every graduating class votes for a Class Name, designs a logo, and raises funds to have a plaque made for the front. It's nearly full out in front now! Next time I'm driving by the school I should take a picture - it's quite cool to see how the graphics changed over time.

Of course, there are loads of hair and clothing inspiration in this book, so I will be posting more. (did someone say Stripey Socks? They're all over!) After I finished scanning I found the book's original owner - Shirley Martin. She's quite cute and judging from the inscriptions she was quite popular with the boys!

A Dealer's Life

For me, the most fun talk at last weekend's symposium at LACMA was "A Dealer's Life: Conversation with Martin Kamer and Wolfgang Ruf". These were the two men who teamed up to build the collection that LACMA acquired, and together with Sharon Takeda, the senior curator of the Costume and Textiles Department, they told many interesting stories about their friendly rivalry and acquiring these pieces.

I managed to snatch a couple of burry photos from their Powerpoint presentation - there were a lot of behind the scenes shots that were a real treat.

This 1860's dress is featured in the exhibition to display the roller printing techniques that were newly developed. What didn't make the exhibition cut was the matching day bodice:

Exciting, right? Well, the audience thought so - there was an audible gasp when the picture flashed on the screen. Kamer also explained that this day bodice has hook and eye tape down the front, which is the earliest example he's seen of that. (Hope I got that info right - I was madly taking pictures and notes and probably didn't get everything right!)

Another crowd favorite is this dress from the 1830's:

Aren't those beret sleeves delish? Here's a couple more (fuzzy-wuzzy) shots from the screen.

Bottom and Interior Views

THE SLEEVE FOLDS FLAT!!! Pure genius.

It kind of reminds me of this, but the pink one is way cooler. :)

"Fashioning a Collection": Costume Mannequins

Last weekend I attended the Fifth R.L. Shep Triennial Symposium on Textiles and Dress, "Fashioning a Collection: Vision and Viewpoints". The symposium had been sold out for weeks, so when I was offered an extra ticket I jumped at the chance! (Thanks Lauren!) It was an amazing day of talks and papers, focusing on both LACMA's current "Fashioning Fashion" exhibition and the scholarship behind it.

Akiko Fukai, the director and chief curator of the Kyoto Costume Institute, opened the day's talks. She spoke about how the KCI was one of the first major institutions to collect western historical fashions in the 1970's, and how they were able to develop their collection for a relatively low cost because there wasn't competition from other museums at the time. It sounds like they acquired their collection for a tiny fraction of what it would cost today!

She also spoke about the physical considerations of displaying these historical garments - Fukai described it as a challenge to display them in an "authentic and artistic" manner, which is even harder to do in Japan, because they have had to learn what this means in a western culture. To accomplish this, the KCI has developed a range of mannequins that have different body types (sloping shoulders, high bust, monobosom, etc.) and are highly adjustable in their size and movement. They can't just pin the garments back like in a shop window, so they have to make the mannequin fit the clothing!

Front and Profile View of Mannequins - 18th C, Beginning 19th C., Mid 19th C., Belle Epoque (L to R)

Mannequins showing life-like movement

If you're interested in how LACMA set up their exhibition, check out their blog entry, Fashioning Mannequins. What a fascinating job it would be to dress these dolls!