It is hard to believe but we are almost at the end of Blogmas and 2022- 30 December already? We’ve covered my favourite history posts of 2022, and my favourite culture posts as well; my favourite books of 2022 and my top 5 royal moments. Finally, we come to the fashionable part of the blog: Style File Friday. Again, for this post, I am choosing my favourite posts rather than those that had the highest numbers to highlight the posts I enjoyed working on the most. These are my favourite Style File Friday posts of 2022!
My Favourite Royal Winnipeg Ballet Costumes
While I am incredibly fortunate to have the Royal Winnipeg Ballet here to enjoy, our museums are not close to my areas of interest. Very few of them have rotating exhibitions, so the likelihood of me seeing an exhibition here that truly strikes my fancy here is low. However, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet more than delivered with this mini-exhibition!
The RWB staged several of their costumes around the Fairmont hotel here in Winnipeg for visitors to enjoy. We went for afternoon tea, and were able to spend as much time as we wanted to enjoy the costumes. The costumes on display spanned over four decades, and included classics like Romeo and Juliet, and newer productions like Dracula and Peter Pan. Musical costumes receive quite a bit of attention, but ballet costumes tend not to receive much- they are just as gorgeous, and the construction is amazing!
Rivals on Bond Street: Fabergé and Cartier Talk
The V&A continued on doing online talks in 2022, and I am thrilled for it. (They could have more, but I will take what I can get…) Fabergé and Cartier are two massive names when it comes to both fashion history and royal history, and two experts came together to talk about the companies’ shared history.
I’ve shared my highlights of the talk for anyone who wasn’t able to listen/watch themselves. (And I’ve included screenshots from the talk!) While I would have considered myself fairly knowledgeable on both companies, I learned quite a bit watching this talk. And if you are interested, I have a review of The Cartiers book that the Cartier expert here wrote!
Queen Elizabeth II’s Best Pearl Tiaras
I did a Platinum Jubilee series this year on Queen Elizabeth II’s best tiaras, separating them by main stones. (Let’s be realistic, they all have gold and diamonds…) It was difficult to choose just one post to highlight here because I adored researching and writing this entire series. However, I’ve chosen the Pearl post for two reasons: firstly, the pearl is one of my favourite gemstones and secondly, the Vladimir Tiara is one of the most stunning tiaras in the British collection. (It does not hurt that I’ve seen it in person!)
Style History: Lilly Pulitzer
I returned to my Style History designer profile series this summer to highlight a more modern designer, Lilly Pulitzer. Lilly Pulitzer is a fairly specific style; I would describe it as “coastal prep” and is mostly worn on the eastern coast and the south in the US. (Yes, while I love my Lilly pieces, I do sometimes get looks up here in Canada.)
The history of Lilly Pulitzer is quite different from the other designers that I’ve profiled. The brand is in no way an haute couture brand or fashion house, and its story is much quieter. It is a beloved brand, though, and it was a fun research session!
The Devonshire House Ball
The Devonshire House Ball is one of those famous fashion history events that lives on in infamy. (There are a few others that will be appearing on the blog in 2023…) House balls, and balls/galas in general are one of those things that have largely disappeared, but in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, they were incredibly popular with the aristocracy.
This particular house ball was even more notable given the stacked guest list with royals and aristocrats from around Europe. I had a lot of fun researching all of the different historical figures used as the basis for costumes, and looking up the pictures for them. Given that the world is still in a pandemic and now also a significant recession, it would be in exceptionally poor taste to hold a house ball, but at the same time, I would also love to see what historical figures would be chosen if it were hosted now.
Which have been your favourite Style File Friday posts of 2022 on the blog?
Cheers,
The Historian
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
