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Stepping Out: Blythe Feet and Other Matters

28/2/2020

I realised I hadn’t done a doll-related post for way too long, so this is for anyone one who has ever wondered about the size of Neo Blythe doll and Middie Blythe doll feet! Oddly their feet are very similar sizes – both are approximately 7.5mm wide; Neo’s are about 2.1cm long, and Middie’s are about 1.8cm long.

Neo Blythe foot length

Middie Blythe foot length

Blythe foot width

While I’m on the subject of measurements, Neo Blythe is about 28cm tall, with a head circumference of 26.7cm give or take a millimetre. Middie Blythe is about 20.3cm tall with a head circumference of 19.5cm. (Measurements are as accurate as I could make them, but there are things like hair thickness and the fact that Blythe feet aren’t flat to take into account).

I know stock Blythe doll bodies have limited movement, but what I love is that they are pretty robust, and (unlike with Pullip) I don’t have to worry about a limb falling off randomly! Speaking of limbs, Middies’ knees don’t bend.

Neo Blythe head with pull cord and Middie Blythe head with wheel

Neo Blythe and Middie Blythe

When I bought my Middie I’d forgotten that they only have one set of eyes – so no pull cord - with a wheel at the back of the head that moves them from side to side. It was actually quite a relief to only buy one new set of eye chips (not yet installed, because the stock ones are VERY firmly glued in). I would love it if Neo heads could tilt like Middies (and if Middies could swivel at the hips like their big sisters), but there are pros and cons to everything, and that includes dolls!

My models for this are Alice, who is a custom Simply Love Me (Radiance), and Mia, who is a custom Dainty Meadow. Alice’s underwear is Decopatch paper (so it’s permanent); Mia is yet to get hers done.

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Roses at Alexander McQueen - Part 3: Flower Power

6/2/2020

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More from McQueen Roses on the second floor of the Old Bond street shop. As with parts one and two I’ve mostly just included the descriptions on the labels, because you can see for yourselves how stunning they are.
https://www.alexandermcqueen.com/experience/en/alexander-mcqueen-roses/

Hessian dresses, possibly AW03 Scanners, Look 21 and SS99 #13, Look 61 (but I got a little muddled with photos of the labels…). Shown with pieces and samples inspired by them.

‘SS18 Look 45 [& 46]
Hand-dyed layerings of petal pink silk tulle, net and washed taffeta strewn with garlands of 3D [poppies] constructed in free-hanging appliques and satin stitch embroidery.’

‘AW12, Look 32
An ice pink exploded flower dress made from multiple layers of silk organza, pleated and shredded by hand, a technique which inspired two pieces in the SS20 collection.’

‘SS20 Toile, Look 37
A toile for the hand-pleated, hand-cut, spiked flower dress in degradé flax flower blue silk gauze organza which recalls the pleated and shredded organza pieces from AW12.’

I very deliberately finished with the looks that reminded me of feathers, because my next blog post will be a long overdue one on Swan Lake.

As before, if this has left you wanting more McQueen here are some links for you:
https://www.alexandermcqueen.com/experience/en/
https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2019-ready-to-wear/alexander-mcqueen

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Roses at Alexander McQueen - Part 2: Tell it to the Bees

6/2/2020

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More from McQueen Roses, and (aside from descriptions given on the labels) I’m letting the garments speak for themselves.
https://www.alexandermcqueen.com/experience/en/alexander-mcqueen-roses/

‘SS13, Look 26 [and 25]
Silk organza black [and pale yellow] hive jacquard dress[es], hand-smocked in a honeycomb pattern over a silk tulle and net corset are bee appliqued in a mix of goldwork embroidery techniques’.

‘SS13, Look 28
Golden Queen Bee corseted tulle dress with an embroidered cage adorned with goldwork honeycomb techniques, 3D flower applique, gold thread and beadwork.’ Plus samples of embroidery techniques.

As before, if this has left you wanting more McQueen, there’s part three of the blog post, and here are a couple of links for you:
https://www.alexandermcqueen.com/experience/en/
https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2019-ready-to-wear/alexander-mcqueen

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Roses at Alexander McQueen - Part 1: Coming up Roses

22/1/2020

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I bring you photos of exquisite garments to relieve the gloom of January! The second floor of the Alexander McQueen flagship store in Old Bond Street is an exhibition/educational space where you can get right up close (but no touching allowed) to haute couture pieces from the McQueen archives. There are generous glimpses into the inspirations and processes that produce many of the textile works of art, including a video of Judy Halil – head of atelier at McQueen – talking the viewer through the steps of making the AW19 red rose dress.
https://www.alexandermcqueen.com/experience/en/alexander-mcqueen-roses/

There were so many gorgeous dresses and details that it was a huge effort to make the number of photos manageable for a blog post (and I didn’t even photograph all the items on display). To make things more coherent for you and myself I have split Roses into three posts: Coming Up Roses, Flower Power and Tell it to the Bees. I’m mostly keeping wordage to the descriptions given of each piece, as you can see for yourselves how stunning they are.

‘AW08 The Girl Who Lived In The Tree, Look 39
A draped, overlapping trompe l’oeil petal jacket predates the drapes and folds of the AW19 rose dress. The duchess satin jacket is worn over a silk tulle dress jewelled with glass rubies.’

‘AW06 Widows Of Culloden, Look 41
A dramatic inspiration behind the AW19 rose dress, the voluminous taffeta shape and pintucked neckline were closely studied and reconfigured.’ Bottom right shown with the black taffeta rose dress it inspired.

AW19 Pintucked bodice with draped rose petal skirt.
I chose to include this version rather than the Lust Red one because the details came out clearer in photos.

‘SS07 Sarabande, Look 45
Corseted skirt suit with an exploded neckline and sleeves filled with a mix of fresh roses, hydrangeas and silk organza flowers. Restored with hand-dyed silk organza flowers in delicate hues of lavender, eau de Nil and pale pink, some original dried flowers survive.’

‘SS07 Sarabande, Look 42
Hand-dyed ombre petals trapped under draped fine silk tulle with a chantilly lace scalloped corset in shades of mauve, faded amethyst and tea rose.’

‘SS07 Sarabande, Look 46
The Sarabande finale dress was a mix of fresh roses, hydrangeas and silk organza flowers. Restored with hand-dyed silk organza flowers in delicate hues of lavender, eau de Nil and pale pink, some original dried flowers survive.’
‘’… the flowers were real, and couldn’t be put on until the last minute… they began to drop as she walked, leaving a trail of flowers behind her… people were gasping…’’ Sarah Burton

AW19
‘We’ve referenced the rose in many collections. To me, it’s the queen of flowers, the most British flower of all, a symbol of femininity… I love the fragility and splendour of it… the idea that it represents birth and rebirth and the whole life cycle… which has beauty as a bud and beauty through its decay [… ]It’s taffeta… The colour is what we call lust red, and we’ve had it for many seasons. It’s an iconic red for us, a really specific red. It’s a very saturated red in a collection that was very grey and black… [Lee] developed this amazing technique… where you stich all the fabric into the pleats, cut away the fabric from behind, and mould it to the body. We used that same technique… I wanted to then rework the skirt […] into the shape of rose petals […] The fabric needed to keep its volume and not be too light or too heavy. Because it’s quite light, the silk taffeta has a memory to it so it could retain the form of the roses…’ Sarah Burton

AW19 Black jacket with train and rose. I forgot to photograph the description – but I did photograph the design notes, so it sort of balances out! Souvenir posters of the Sarabande invitation and the Roses experience.

You’re supposed to leave your audience/reader wanting more, so I will! Until part two of this blog post. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to go off on your own voyage of discovery of Alexander McQueen.
https://www.alexandermcqueen.com/experience/en/
https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2019-ready-to-wear/alexander-mcqueen

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Fashioning The Favourite: Sandy Powell's costumes from The Favourite, on display in the Queen's Rooms at Kensington Palace

19/7/2019

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Well, I’m way in arrears with my blog posts (there’s a backlog), and this exhibition (and its companion at Hampton Court Palace) ended on 10th March 2019, but I loved The Favourite and its costumes too much not to post photos. Plus I'm still obsessed with The Night Circus, and the (mostly) monochrome of this was like a magnet!

This post is very heavy on pictures – because I LOVE the details, and fairly light on commentary – because so much has already been written about Sandy Powell’s amazing designs. As I’m an information magpie/squirrel who loves to share, I’m including links to an eclectic assortment of articles connected to the film and the outfits – see end of post.

For anyone who isn’t familiar with the film, it’s set in the early 1700s during the reign of Queen Anne (played by Olivia Coleman) – sister of Mary, as in ‘William and Mary’ – and the last of the Stuart monarchs. Queen Anne is plagued by ill health and the tragic loss of all her children. Sarah Churchill, Lady Marlborough (Rachel Weisz) is Anne’s formidable friend, and, essentially, proxy ruler of the realm. Abigail Hill (Emma Stone) is a distant cousin of Lady Sarah who has fallen on hard times and is determined to improve her circumstances. Rather deliciously these women are the power players and the men are (mostly) their pawns.

Their costumes reflect this – Sarah and Abigail in particular are mostly make-up free, hair relatively simple, pared back and ready for business in their styling; they are women in control (or gaining control). The men are bewigged and slightly ridiculous – especially the looming bully Lord Harley – and they break up the monotone with splashes of colour to indicate their political affiliations, red for Whigs, blue for Tories.

Powell’s designs give a flavour of the period without being weighed down by over-earnest authenticity, and join the screenplay and cinematography in making the characters feel immediate and contemporary. The mix of historic silhouettes and modern fabrics, including copious (and very effective) use of laser-cut vinyl as lace, and the ways in which some of the outfits are treated so casually (ripped apart, covered in blood), closes the distance that sometimes occurs with period drama - it quickly becomes almost timeless.
There were ten costumes displayed against the wood panelling and Grinling Gibbons carvings of the Queen’s Rooms – rooms that Queen Anne actually lived in, and where some of the filming took place. Yes, it would have been lovely if there had been more of them, but it was a wonderful treat to see these gorgeous pieces up close (ish - no touching allowed).

‘’I knew it was going to be period yet slightly off the wall and there was an element of stylization involved – all the things I love.’’ Sandy Powell*

Queen Anne’s robes of state: The film’s most opulent costume; enough layers and detail to look opulent, but not so much that it distracts from the dynamics. I am in love with the pleats and tucks on these sleeves! ‘’The closest costume I copied from my research are the Queen’s robes of state that she wears while addressing Parliament. The shape and silhouette you see in the film is based off those courtly portraits, but the details are still utterly made up and stylized.’’ Sandy Powell*

The Duchess of Marlborough’s shooting outfit: Complete with fake blood stains… ‘’I never thought of this costume as being masculine. Lady Sarah is in control and manages to maintain her control for quite a long time. She is a commanding presence and she wears the pants in the same way as Katharine Hepburn did, that was my point of reference for her in a way.’’ Sandy Powell*

Abigail’s kitchen maid outfit: Probably my favourite (oops!) costume from the film; I love the striking simplicity of it. ‘’The bodice is made from old jeans bought from charity shops near Slough. All the kitchen staff costumes are made from old jeans.’’ Sandy Powell*

Probably my second-favourite piece: ‘’Abigail’s Lady in Waiting costume, like all the Ladies in Waiting in the court, is a simplified version of the dresses worn by the female courtiers.
I decided to make them black in the tradition of maid’s outfits and to fit in with the monochrome palette of all the costumes worn in the palace.
It’s made from embossed and printed black-on-black African fabric, bought in Brixton Market.’’ Sandy Powell*

Courtiers: All the ‘lace’ on these and other costumes is laser-cut vinyl and leather.
‘’There’s something exhilarating about limiting the colour palette. As much as I love colour, this is the first time I’ve practically eliminated it from a film. In the palace scenes, we restricted the colours to black-and-white mostly, with some silvers and greys.’’ Sandy Powell*

The Duke of Marlborough (Lady Sarah Churchill’s husband) - dressed in red to show he is a Whig; Lord Harley - dressed in blue to show he is a Tory.

Footman: You know the scene: ‘’Look at me! Look at me! How dare you look at me!! Close your eyes!’’

*Quotes from information panels in the exhibition at Kensington Palace.

Click on https://pridesource.com/article/nicholas-hoult-gets-in-formation-the-favourite-actor-talks-lipping-beyonce-wearing-wigs-hollywood-inclusion/
to see Nicholas Hoult lip-syncing to Beyonce while dressed as Lord Harley, and for the names he gave his wigs!

https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/the-favourite-wigs-and-makeup-nadia-stacey

Plus a couple of pieces about the eclectic costume worn by Melissa McCarthy to co-present the Oscar for Best Costume Design ; it featured a ruff inspired by Mary Queen of Scots, and a toy bunny-covered version of Queen Anne’s robe:
https://slate.com/culture/2019/02/melissa-mccarthy-oscars-costume-favourite-brian-tyree-henry.html

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/feb/27/oscars-costume-melissa-mccarthy-academy-awards-bunny-brian-tyree-henry-arianne-phillips-designer

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July 14th, 2019

14/7/2019

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Pieces of Frida - 'Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up' at the V&A - Part 2 of 2

23/6/2018

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The Calderón González family inscribed ‘Mother (Oaxaca) Matilde Calderón age 7 1890’ Ricardo Ayluardo. Frida’s mother’s family in a mix of European and Tehuana dress. The Vincente Wolf Collection. (My photo of photo)

The Kahlo Calderón family, Guillermo Kahlo, 7 February 1926, Coyoacán, Mexico. Gender-fluid Frida, possibly wearing a suit belonging to her father. Banco de México Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. (My photo of photo)

Frida Kahlo with family members, Guillermo Kahlo, 2 November 1926, Coyoacán, Mexico. Banco de México Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. (My photo of photo)

Seventy five years after her death, fourteen years after her personal belongings were rediscovered, this exhibition is a rediscovery of - a reintroduction to - Frida Kahlo. Co-curated by Circe Henestrosa* and Claire Wilcox, it’s a moving, haunting, intimate experience – even with other people around; the (tonal?) soundtrack adds to that feeling. Film footage shows a vivacious Kahlo with Rivera, and provides glimpses of the Mexico they lived in. As you progress through the rooms you are increasingly immersed in her world, culminating in the room with her outfits, which feels almost like entering a shrine – complete with grand entrance. The busts displaying her jewellery echo the bandage textures of her plaster corsets. The experience is beautiful, sensual, playful, unsettling, inspiring; layers and facets of Frida Kahlo in three dimensions.

Display homage to 'The Two Fridas'. Left: silk velvet cape with pointed tails (early 1900s), and silk skirt; right: Tehuana outfit.

Corridor to the room of Frida's outfits.

‘Self-Portrait as a Tehuana’ Frida Kahlo, 1943. The Jacques and Natalia Gelman collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and the Vergel collection. (My photo of painting)

Side back view of huipil grande/resplandor.

Resplandor/huipil grande (ceremonial lace headdress) and skirt.

‘I paint myself because I am so often alone.’

You can’t separate Frida Kahlo’s art from her appearance – not least because she painted self-portraits – her appearance and her art brought together and reflected all the influences in her life in her own unique style. She wasn’t just a muse to herself, as can be seen from the photographs taken of her during her life by her father, friends and lovers. She’s still a muse, her image instantly recognisable, and endlessly reproduced, reworked and experimented with by others. Even now she seems so modern – her gender-fluidity, her frankness about her personal life and state of being. I keep wondering what she’d have made of Instagram had she been alive today – would she have thought it was too commercial, or would she have created her own political memes, posted outfit inspirations and choices, shown works in progress?

Cotton huipil with machine-embroidered chain stitch; printed cotton skirt with embroidery and holán. Ensemble from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Photograph Javier Hinojosa. © Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Archives, Banco de México, Fiduciary of the Trust of the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums.

Frida on the bench, 1939, photograph by Nickolas Muray © Nickolas Muray Photo Archives.

Embroidered huipil; embroidered enagua; holán. Cotton velvet huipil; enagua; holán.

Fringed magenta rebozo (seen in Nickolas Muray’s photographs of Frida); brocaded cotton huipil; silk skirt. Embroidered huipil; silk skirt; holán. Striped rebozo (rectangular shawl); silk skirt with panel of Chinese embroidery; holán.

Polka dot huipil; embroidered enagua (skirt); holán. Puebla blouses with enagua and rabona skirts, Blouse on left has panel of glass beads – such pieces are often heirlooms. Outfit on right features rebozo.

‘I must have full skirts and long, now that my sick leg is so ugly.’

The Tehuana dress that Frida Kahlo began wearing in her twenties was for her a combination of camouflage and cultural pride. The long, wide, ruffled skirts hid the leg that had been affected by polio, and the square-cut huipil tops were comfortable to wear over her orthopaedic corsets. She mixed and matched Tehuana pieces with European, sometimes adding elements of Chinese embroidery, and finished with torzales (long gold chains), necklaces of Mexican silver, pre-Columbian jade beads, and her hair adorned with bright wool and flowers. Her appearance combined past and present in a way that has become almost timeless. It is extraordinary to see these pieces in real life, shown next to the photographs and paintings they appear in. These are clothes that she lived in – you can see stains, a speck of paint, fabric worn thin – the working wardrobe of a remarkable woman.

Detail of holán (ruffle/flounce) with worn patch.

Detail of holán with two layers in different patterns.

Detail of satin rabona (skirt)

Kahlo’s sewing box and threads, and a rag doll probably made by her.

Detail of stained silk skirt with woven velvet flowers and pleated hem.

Pre-Columbian jade beads – including a carved fist – probably strung by Frida Kahlo.

I’ve seen this twice now and it’s still rather overwhelming; I’ll be going back again later in the year because I don’t feel I’ve finished with this exhibition yet! Rediscover the woman behind the icon; see this exhibition!

Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up, 16 June – 4 November 2018. Sponsored by Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, Aeromexico, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne and GRoW @ Anneberg.

www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/frida-kahlo-making-her-self-up

*Circe Henestrosa also curated ‘Appearances Can Be Deceiving:
The dresses of Frida Kahlo’ at Museo Frida Kahlo in 2012: www.museofridakahlo.org.mx/esp/1/exposiciones/los-vestidos-de-frida-kahlo

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Pieces of Frida - 'Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up' at the V&A - Part 1 of 2

18/6/2018

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Frida, 15 June 1919, by Guillermo Kahlo, 15 June 1919. Banco de México Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. (my photo of photo)

Frida Kahlo, c.1926. Museo Frida Kahlo. © Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Archives, Banco de México, Fiduciary of the Trust of the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums.

'I suffered two grave accidents in my life. One in which a streetcar knocked me down… The other is Diego.’ Frida Kahlo, 1951

After Frida Kahlo died in 1954 her husband, Diego Rivera, had her clothes, jewellery, makeup, photographs, letters and other personal possessions sealed inside the bathroom of Frida’s home, the Casa Azul (Blue House). In 2004, half a century later, the room was opened, and cataloguing and conservation began. In the decades since her death Kahlo has been recognised as an important artist in her own right, not just an appendage to Rivera, and has become a global icon. The V&A’s exhibition, curated by Circe Henestrosa* and Claire Wilcox, is a fascinating and moving insight into her life and style.

Wedding Portrait of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, 1929 by Victor Reyes. Banco de México Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. She's wearing a rebozo, a traditional Mexican shawl. (My photo of photo)

Revlon compact and powderpuff with blusher in 'Clear Red' and Revlon lipstick in 'Everything's Rosy'; emery boards and eyebrow pencil in 'Ebony'. Before 1954. Photograph Javier Hinojosa. © Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Archives, Banco de México, Fiduciary of the Trust of the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums.

‘They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.’ Frida Kahlo, 1953

Used to sitting for her photographer father, Frida became her own muse. Her art was her life and her life was her art. Her pride in her cultural identity, her injuries, her inability to have children, her communism, her problematic marriage, her sense of fun – all are expressed in her work and in this show. Frida shocked people, she challenged expectations, and she lived her life in glorious colour and texture, with an earthy realness.

Four poster bed-style display case containing plaster corsets.

'Appearances can be deceiving', Frida Kahlo, 1944-54. Charcoal and coloured pencil on paper. Banco de México Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust. (my photo of drawing). Frida illustrating Tehuana dress as a disguise and distraction from her infirmities.

Frida Kahlo at the American British Cowdray (ABC) Hospital. Juan Guzmán, 1951. ©Juan Guzmán. Courtesy of Throckmorton Fine Art. (My photo of photo). Using a hand mirror to paint her plaster corset.

‘I am not sick, I am broken. But I am happy to be alive as long as I can paint.’ Frida Kahlo, 1953

Kahlo lived with disability for most of her life, first as a result of polio when she was six, then from the bus accident when she was 18. It’s one thing to know that, but another thing to see the three dimensional evidence of it up close. In one dreamily-eerie room her orthopaedic corsets and built-up boots are displayed in cases resembling the four poster bed she spent so much time immobilised in. It makes this woman’s body of work and passion for life even more extraordinary. Her paintings are commemorations of what her body and soul have been through, and these items add even more layers to them.

She suffered pain, indignity and heartbreak and she turned it into art.

Plaster corset with a painting of her 'broken column' spine, 1944.

Front half of plaster corset with holes in - possibly for ventilation, the large hole is possibly a reference to the near-fatal miscarriage Kahlo suffered in 1932.

Orthopaedic corset, fabric-covered steel, 1944. Possibly the one shown in her painting 'The Broken Column', 1944.

Ankle boots, one with a built-up heel, 1948-52. Due to polio, Frida's right leg was shorter than her left.

Prosthetic leg with lace-up boots, 1953-4. Red leather with Chinese silk panels, and bells. Frida's right leg - damaged by polio, then sustaining a fracture to the foot in the bus crash - had to be amputated below the knee in 1953.

Detail of Kahlo's red leather boots.

I don’t think a single visit is enough to process all that’s in this exhibition; if possible, go and see it, buy the (excellent) exhibition catalogue and have a good perusal, then go back and see the exhibition again. I’m going back this week – I’d already booked my ticket before I went to the preview – I’m a Frida fan and a textiles fan, and this exhibition is hugely satisfying for both!

Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up, 16 June – 4 November 2018.
Sponsored by Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, Aeromexico, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne and GRoW @ Anneberg.

www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/frida-kahlo-making-her-self-up

*Circe Henestrosa also curated ‘Appearances Can Be Deceiving: The dresses of Frida Kahlo’ at Museo Frida Kahlo in 2012:
www.museofridakahlo.org.mx/esp/1/exposiciones/los-vestidos-de-frida-kahlo

Part 2 coming later this week.

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100 Years, 100 Banners: Making a Suffragette Banner for the W.I. (Part 2 of 2)

7/6/2018

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We’d made our banner, so what next? First up was Care International’s March4Women www.careinternational.org.uk/march4women on Saturday 4th March. Kate and Esmé, two of my fellow Field Dames banner makers, had collected the poles our banner was to hang from, and we gathered with the rest of the 100 Banners near Parliament Square. That was the first chance we’d really had to see the range of banners that had been produced (though we’d seen some on Twitter and Instagram), and a chance for photographs and mingling before the march. Whenever I’ve been on a march there has always been a lot of waiting around, and this one was no exception. Eventually we were led around the back of Westminster Abbey to join up with the rear of the procession, and made stop-start-stop-start progress to Trafalgar Square, where the rally was being held. I couldn’t carry the banner – I have M.E/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and use a walking stick – but my Mum (also member of Field dames) and I walked along with Esmé and Kate. It was rather a windy day, and the ribbon loops at the bottom of our banner proved very useful finger-holds to prevent it billowing too much! Once at the square I’m afraid we didn’t linger long - I was exhausted, Esmé had things to do, and Kate was in the middle of Lambing Season (yes, really!); my mother and I were also the only two Field dames who could make it to the next ‘100 Banners’ event, and I needed to be in a semi-fit state for that.

Esmé and me at March4Women Photo by Kate McGeevor

Esmé and Kate at March4Women

Some of the 100 banners gathering at March4Women

On Thursday 8th March, International Women’s Day, the project participants gathered at the Royal Albert Hall to be reunited with our banners (which had been handed in after March4Women). First we shuffled in to claim our banners, then we arranged ourselves on the Hall steps for a photo. Mum and I had borrowed a member from another banner group to help with wrangling ours, so I joined various other people standing in the middle of the road taking photos. This done, we shuffled back into the Hall for tea, coffee and talks from Elizabeth Crawford, the historical consultant to ‘100 Banners’, and Suzanne Keyte, the archivist at the Royal Albert Hall.

Banners on the steps of the Royal Albert Hall

100 Banners photo session in front of the Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall played a significant role in the campaign for Women’s Suffrage; at least 25 Suffrage rallies were held there – both Suffragist and Suffragette. In 1908 the hire cost was £150, and £7,000 was raised at the first meeting held there – women donated jewellery as well as money to the cause. Nowadays full capacity is about 5,000 people, but the Suffrage rallies were attended by between 8,000 – 10,000 a time. At first the RAH was very tolerant, but in 1912 the Suffragettes were informed that they could no longer book the Hall unless they took out a Lloyds of London insurance policy for £10,000! In 1913, two days after the death of Emily Wilding Davison, the Suffragettes were banned from the Royal Albert Hall. In 1918 Emmeline Pankhurst was allowed back to celebrate (some) women at last being granted the right to vote.

After refreshments and history there was a banner procession to Kensington Palace. I joined Alison (from Digital Drama), and two other WI members who also had mobility issues, in a cab, and we met up everyone else behind the statue of Queen Victoria for another photo opportunity. Field Dames was at the front by (dubious) virtue of the poles having fallen off en route – a very common occurrence for the banners at this event and at March4Women! After packing up the banners we were then offered more refreshments, and free entry to the Palace.

'Women Unite!' front and centre of the group shot at Kensington Palace

Wider group shot of the 100 Banners at Kensington Palace

The banners made two more stops. They were hung above the stage at the Royal Festival Hall for Mirth Control at the WOW Festival, and are currently part of an exhibition at the London School of Economics: www.lse.ac.uk/library/exhibitions . There are lots of Suffrage Centenary events being held this year in galleries, museums etc. – many stories to hear, and many women to be grateful to; I am proud to have been a part of the tributes to them.

More information: www.digitaldrama.org/project/100-banners/
Banner photos and information: http://www.digitaldrama.org/100-banners-images/

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100 Years, 100 Banners: Making a Suffragette Banner for the W.I. (Part 1 of 2)

4/6/2018

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I’d only been a member of the Women’s Institute for about half an hour when I volunteered to help make a Suffragette banner; it was part of a project called ‘100 Banners’ organised by Digital Drama
www.digitaldrama.org/100-banners/ to mark 100 years since women were first allowed to vote. 2018 is the Centenary of the Representation of the People Act, which granted the vote to property-owning women over the age of thirty - it would be another ten years before women achieved voting parity with men. ‘100 Banners' was/is ‘an artistic response to the campaigns run by Suffragettes and Suffragists in their ambition to achieve women’s equal voting rights’; participants included assorted London museums as well as other WI groups. I’d grown up with an awareness of how hard it was for women to gain the right to vote, and how important it is for us to use it, so I was very excited about being involved with commemorating and celebrating such a milestone.

Early ideas and inspiration for banner

Banner ideas and inspirations including a reproduction Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) - Suffragette badge from the Museum of London

A WhatsApp group was created for the banner volunteers, and we began sharing ideas and inspirations, including original Suffrage banners from the collection in the Women's Library at the London School of Economics. I started off thinking of something quite traditional – oak leaves reflecting the semi-rural nature of Enfield at the time of the Representation of the People Act. As people got more involved we moved away from that, and I took inspiration from a silhouette one of our group had posted on our banner group WhatsApp thread. I liked the idea of ‘ribbons’ forming outlines of faces in the Suffragette colours of purple, white and green; it was important to me to honour the women who had been imprisoned, gone on hunger strike and endured so much else to obtain the vote. Millicent Fawcett’s Suffragists (the law-abiding side of the Women’s Suffrage movement) and Emmeline Pankhurst’s Suffragettes (the militant side) both deserve our gratitude and admiration, but the Suffragette colours are so iconic that it felt wrong not to use them (plus purple is my favourite colour!).

Early version of 'Women Unite!' banner by Kate McGeevor

Later version of 'Women Unite!' banner by Kate McGeevor

Our banner ended up being a mix of traditional and not so traditional! A design meeting led to a sort of constructivist element. We wanted to keep it fairly simple and striking, with a message that was as relevant today as it was to those who campaigned for the vote 100 years ago, especially in the light of ‘Me Too’, ‘Time’s Up’, the BBC pay issue etc. We chose ‘Women Unite’ because to really make change happen people need to come together and take action to get things done and to challenge injustice and inequality. An early idea for a slogan was 'Women! Raise Your Voices! - highlighting the need to speak up about issues that affect us - hence the speech bubble. The purple, white and green colour scheme also helped us make it about ALL women, regardless of race, religion or sexuality – women uniting regardless of things that might be used to divide us. The three silhouettes represent the original suffrage campaigners, the women who worked in the factories and on the land during WWII, and women today; the struggle continues, and there’s still a lot to be done. The type faces are retro – another homage to the women who paved the way and achieved so much, including later 20th century feminists. Continuing the theme of unity, it felt important to stress our own identity as a WI, and Field Dames’ colour is turquoise; the colour went really well with the Suffragette colours. Using a silvery grey instead of white made it a bit less stark and a bit more sparkly!

Fabric swatches for banner

Speech bubble pieces cut out and placed

Placing lettering on the sewn-down speech bubble

Finished banner ready for action! Photo by Kate McGeevor

It wasn't an easy process. As a designer-maker used to working on my own it was at times rather frustrating to have to take other people's opinions into account! But the result was something that brought diverse approaches and opinions together - literally together; as with the original suffrage campaigners, we too had banner-making sessions around dining tables. The physical act of making the banner felt like a tangible link to the women who campaigned with such dedication over a century ago.

(Part 2 coming on Thursday 7th June)

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