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Natania Barron

27 Apr, 12 tweets, 7 min read

23 - I could do a whole thread on caftans, and maybe I should?

This caftan is from Turkey and dates from the 19th century, and y'all know I love gold and red. The stripes contain the floral pattern, and draw the eye up and around.

10/10 would wear right now. d

24 - So much happening here, and normally would avoid this period -- but I am such a sucker for green velvet accents that I had to share this one. It's also a lovely closeup. 1861-1863, England. And it's moiré silk. So um. Just gaze.

25 - By the 1870s things get real wild. New advances in dressmaking mean shapes get out of the box. Multiple textures going on here, multiple stripes, and a serious nod to the sailor suits we talked about earlier. ALSO POCKETS EVERYWHERE. Just darling.

26 - Occasionally I stumble across someone who was clearly my boyfriend, like this man.

I mean. Hello, Nurse!

::gestures:: BLUE SILK. HIGH SCARF. THAT HAIR. Artist: Jean Baptiste Isabey (French, 1767–1855)

27 - Imagine wearing this one to the beach. I mean, super gorgeous. But like, lots of places to get sand. I'm itchy just thinking about it. This one is from about 1915, in America.

I do, however, adore the black accented blue stripes.

28 - This 1840 gown squeaks in on account that it's got some really neat tailoring going on (totally not perfect, but I kind of like that--you can tell it was hand made), and it's purple taffeta. I swear I can smell grapes just looking at it. Also JEWEL TONES.

29 - And finally, a masterclass. I mean, does it look a little like a circus outfit? Maybe. Could it also work on the cover of a Beatles album? Yup. From the satin trimmings to the orange on the violet & the delicate stripes... I love it.

30 - Time for sources. Part one:
smithsonianmag.com/history/journe…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stripe_(p…
thegoodtrade.com/features/histo…
fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/fabrics-fibers…
nytimes.com/2001/06/09/boo…
lucafaloni.com/blogs/news/sum…
harperandlewisvintage.wordpress.com/2013/08/30/a-b…

31 - Sources part deux: lofficielusa.com/beauty/history…
jstor.org/stable/3632617…
thoughtco.com/medieval-cloth…
femmefashionforward.com/2020/08/01/see…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seersucker
vocabulary.com/articles/wordr…
iranicaonline.org/articles/cloth…
bbc.co.uk/programmes/art…
strangehistory.net/2016/10/09/pro…

32 - And that concludes my brief history of the stripe. There's plenty more, of course, if you read between the lines (ha ha ha ha I kill me).

Stripes: They're iconic, daring & delightful. And possibly devilish. What's not to love? Thanks for coming to #ThreadTalk! Good night!

THAT SAID. I was surprised how little non-Western info there is on stripes. The Pastoureau book has a corner on the market & it's eh scholarship. I struggled to find stuff outside of his work.

SO if you have any sources, do tell! I can always do a second thread. (Seems fitting)

I forgot to share this one last night -- French, 1880.

The pleating here plays so artfully with the striped fabric. It's extra, but so am I. ALL ABOUT the dotted SATIN.

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Natania Barron

@NataniaBarron

26 Apr

1 - Welcome to #ThreadTalk! This week we're talking stripes. And let me say, y'all have *opinions.*

Which is totally on brand for this pattern.

From the high seas🏴‍☠️ to the school yard🧑‍🎓, the red light district 🚨to the palace at Versailles🏰: Let's dive into the striped past.

2 - Stripes may be humankind's first fabric pattern, simply woven in as the yarn color shifted from one to another. The word "stripe" is from "a line in cloth."

And stripes show up everywhere: fabric, pottery, and jewelry. Like this Neolithic (2650 BC) pot from China. Gorgeous!

3 - 'Cause you know what? Stripes are POWERFUL. Just like we naturally turn our gaze to the horizon, stripes grab attention. Contrast, y'all.

Unsurprisingly, the great pharaohs of Ancient Egypt chose stripes for their Nemes (headcloths) like head-turning Thuthmose III below.

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Natania Barron

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19 Apr

1 - Welcome to #threadtalk, the first in my icon series.

Yup. It's gonna be ruff.

It's fitting that begin with the very monarch who signed the East India Company into being: Queen Elizabeth I.

Join me as we travel back to the 16thC to one truly warped family. 👑🧵🪡

2 - No one expected the daughter of Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn would ascend the throne--but she did. Her coronation (1558) portrait shows her swathed in cloth of gold--the very same her deceased sister Mary had worn (bit creepy).

Oh, that cloth of gold? £2170 a yard in today's $$.

3 - Every line of her dress is a message: the cloth of gold was a favorite of her father's; the fleur-de-lis represented the ongoing claim of France; the Tudor roses: legitimacy. Her long hair and serene expression? The beginnings of the Virgin Queen. And all that ermine.

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12 Apr

1 - Welcome to #ThreadTalk & gird your loins! We're talking skivvies, undies, unmentionables, lingerie🩲-- that's right: underwear.

Tonight we'll part the veil & to find what lies beneath. We've got witchcraft, weird myths & plenty of spice. 🔥 🔥 🔥

But first, mummies!

2 - Tradition says Adam & Eve used fig leaves, but the most likely first "underwear" was woven of plant materials or leather. Hence, it's hard to find extant remains.

Ötzi the Iceman, though, who's about 3500 years old, had a very well preserved one. So did the Aztecs, pictured.

3 - Loincloths were kind of a global sensation for a while. Got a belt and some felt? Strap it together, vavoom!
Unsurprisingly, the ancient Egyptians used linen for their flappy bits. Indeed, King Tut had a staggering 145 loincloths starched and pressed for the afterlife.

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Natania Barron

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5 Apr

1 - Greetings, everyone. It's time for #ThreadTalk!

By popular demand, everything's coming up paisley.

#Paisley is an ancient motif with a Scottish name--to learn more about it, we'll be traveling the globe🌍, visit goats 🐐 & talk shit about the East India Company 🤬.

2 - Paisley's proper name is boteh or buta, but it's also been called "persian pickles," "Welsh pears," "ham hock" pattern, or "mango" just to name a few.

Persian pickles?🥒 Right.

And it's old. You can see it on architecture in Balkh, Afghanistan dating to the 9th C.

3 - "Boteh" is a Persian word that means "shrub" or "bush." Whatever it is, it's leafy. And it's very eye-catching!

It's asymmetrical and playful, and appeared on carpets, tiles, fabrics, & more. This woodblock would have been used to print the pattern on fabric.

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Natania Barron

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4 Apr

Y’all know that the 1850s and 60s are not my jam... BUT. In terms of dresses that look like Easter?

This is late 1868, and you can totally see the 1870s coming in the lines.

Also looks like it’s made of taffy (but it’s taffeta). Met museum.

This one is similar but has more of that “fresh from the jello mold” look. I do like the pleats and the color scheme.

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This here is peak chiffon cake. And disjointed shoulders, like @ceruleancynic or @BursonGrace were saying yesterday.

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Natania Barron

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29 Mar

1 - Welcome to #ThreadTalk! Today we're tackling the venerable bead.

Don't be fooled: This. Subject. Is. Huge. 🤯

We're touring the world throug alchemy, biology, archaeology -- and learn how colonialism & slavery figures in.

Featured: Sioux (Teton) woman's dress from 1880.

2 -Like its cousin embroidery, beads are a world heritage art. Beads evolve next to humanity, it seems.

But how beads are treated, valued & traded--and what they're made of--well, that's where things get interesting.

Featured: Helmet - Fang People, late 19th C/early 20th C

3 - Beads are plentiful in archaeology, often long outlasting the threads that held them. These here are probably from Cyprus from 750BC-300BC & I would totally wear them.

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