Early last year I was asked by Sally Schwartz, Founder/Owner of Randolph Street Market which is celebrating its sixteenth year in 2019, to do two monthly exclusive posts for the RSM newsletter she has given me permission to share some of them with you in 2019, starting with DENIM. I have added a few more photos to my original piece. Enjoy!
nenasnotes Fashion Trends Exclusively for The Randolph Street Market reprinted with Sally Schwartz permission. All photos from Pinterest photo credits unknown.
A quote from FIT’s DENIM: Fashion’s Frontier, the cover is seen in the photo above.
“Denim is one of the world’s favorite fabrics, and today it accounts for the largest segment of the clothing industry. The market for jeans alone is worth over 55 billion dollars. Accompanying a recent exhibition at the Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, this handsome book explores the history of denim and examines the continually evolving relationship between it and high fashion.
Prized for its durability and strength, denim began as an ideal fabric for workwear, most famously in the clothing produced by Levi Strauss & Co. for fortune hunters during the 19th-century California gold rush. Over the past 160 years, however, film, television, and advertising have helped transform denim into a symbol of youth, rebellion and sex. The fashion industry has also played a large role in the expansion of denim into casual and couture clothing.”
Quite a transition from it’s lowly beginnings as overalls worn by the men and woman seeking their fortunes in the Gold Rush of the latter part of the 19th Century. Levi Strauss saw the need for a sturdy fabric…denim…and sturdy closers to hold the fabric in place…thus “jeans” were born, first in the form of overalls.
Seeking their fortunes….then…
And now….
In my opinion, in my youth, denim was only worn to garden, maybe go grocery shopping but never seen as a fashion item until the “Hippie Movement” of the 1960’s. Everyone, at the time, thought that it was the beginning of everyone wearing “uniforms” that uniform being traditional jeans. This was not the case, think embellishments, think the “flower child” and individuality came to the forefront and quite frankly has never looked back. It might be “uniform” but only the fabric, not the fashion. People want acceptance but with their own twist. For years I would think….denim is dead instead of long live denim!
Obviously the latter is the case and it just gets stronger and more trend worthy. Take for example the entire denim collection Karl Lagerfeld did for Chanel in 1996.
He is quoted as saying Mlle Chanel thought Mini skirts were dreadful as was denim….there you have it…the rest as they say is fashion history (or fashion myth!)
When I worked with Victoria Beckham, in 2008, she was only doing sunglasses and we introduced her jeans which became status symbols so much so that I “paid” our models in the jeans they wore for the personal appearance, I must admit a rather clever marketing ploy on my part…gorgeous young models wearing the product out and about didn’t hurt sales!!!! The jeans all had embroidered stars on the back hip pocket….the item of the season. Her talent has blossomed and I might add, she was a dream to work with, loved her.
Claire McCardell’s popover dress of 1942 featured in the FIT Denim exhibition and book
“Rosie the Riveter” interpretation 1942-1945 also featured in the FIT Denim exhibition and book.
Junya Wataniabe dress 2002 (detail is on cover of the FIT exhibition book)
From the creativity of the Antwerp designers 2005
Vivianne Westwood’s denim interpretations…
John Galliano for Dior 2002…
And wearing denim 2009…
Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen 2016.
Celebrities have always wore denim….
Then….Marilyn Monroe in the film The Misfits
Now…Rihanna out and about.
The 2018 Collections featured denim in its many guises…..
The King of American sportswear, Ralph Lauren, at his beginnings and at the finale of his extraordinary 50th anniversary extravaganza 2018….I’m obsessed with the tuxedo jacket and jeans…what could be more modern….
Or perhaps a patchwork quilt…..the possibilities of working with “blue jeans” is obviously endless…I can hardly wait to see what our designing geniuses will create in future collections with what was considered “workman’s” cloth…..stay tuned….
This will be a combination post….a book review, an overview of my conversation with the erudite, Valerie Steele for my monthly nenasnotes The Fashion Book Club, and additional thoughts on PINK. The book edited by Steele is the companion to the current exhibition, ending January 5th, at 
Exquisite pink entryway
Pink Cadillacs and Grease’s Pink Ladies
I have worn, shown, lived with, admired, Ralph Lauren’s creativity for all those 50 years. The excitement of this extraordinary exuberant extraganza was a once in a lifetime “happening”. From the venue, the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain, to the pre-show reception (and the people watching), to the staging (perfection), to the presentation (featuring a diverse mix of 150 models and more people watching), to the finale (all models on the staircase with Ralph taking his finale bow-wave), to the formal sit down dinner (further people watching and a toast lead by Oprah!), WOW! For those of us not there in person, we have the modern experience of technology and can watch the evening streaming, via video feeds, still photos, the joyous postings, on all social media platforms, and can absorb this perfect event from beginning to end whenever we choose. All I can say….I can’t wait to see what is in store for us in the ensuing years. Fashion is not dead, long live fashion…Bravo Ralph Lauren Bravo!!!
Notice Chicago’s own, Chance The Rapper (in baseball cap) in the front row.
Love Ralph in a typical outfit, tuxedo jacket with distressed jeans, modernity at its best!!! I think this is one of Jeffrey Banks’ fabulous photos of the evening. See his Facebook postings for a incredible capture of the evening. An aside, Jeffrey was a sketch artist for Ralph back in the day. Two true American creators, long may they wave!!!!
I thought I’d give you a preview of some of the books I will be reviewing this month.I have SO many on my TBR list that it was difficult to choose just a few…but here goes…
I must begin this review by saying I am most certainly not a fan of the current Russian regime, in fact I am appalled by it. I was fortunate to visit this extraordinary country and meet its gracious people in 2002 (I will do blog posts on the amazing trip in the future) when it was just learning to embrace its new “freedom” from Communism, well, I’m afraid, that was short lived. Since I’m not a political commentator nor do I like to express negativity in my posts, I shall not bore you with my opinions on how I feel about the Russian government and its involvement in our affairs, but rather turn to the grandeur of the Romanov’s in the 19th century and their ultimate demise.
1938 caddying for all the top players in the PGA, my Father, Ivon (that was his signature on his artwork and what everyone called him) in his glory. Next to Ruthy and Nena, his wife and daughter….it was his life and he excelled at it, but then he was a natural born athlete. Being the daughter, and only child of a major jock, I learned at a very early age if I wanted to spend special time with my Daddy, I needed to love sports as well. I can assure you I have no athletic prowess what so ever but do love to attend or watch sporting events, especially football (my favorite) and golf….I spent many hours walking golf courses as well as going to see the Bears and Cubs, with him, we were “North Siders” after all!!!!. As much as he loved playing he never wasn’t there for his family. He would play early matches and be home early….he even played with colored balls in the winter. We would stop at the golf range to hit a few buckets of balls on weekends, it was across the street from Indian Boundery Park, we were there all the time. In addition, I went with him to play the Evanston Community Course, now 
A mocked up photo (I can’t imagine what he would have done with today’s technology)….fooling around while taking the sport very seriously, same year 1938.
A couple of trophies I found at 
And here with some of his chums, circa mid-1940’s….love the cap (not really) and not my favorite photo of him….but here you see one of his trophies. They were stunners. Many sterling, some silver plate, all engraved. One of our housekeepers decided she liked them so much she decided to take them! Sad but true….at least I can picture them in my mind. 
A bit of golf history…it seems it’s origin is China, not Scotland, although it is most certainly the Scots who can lay claim to it’s popularity.
Love this by Norman Rockwell. 
All the photos of Ivon from my scrapbooks all others unless, otherwise noted, found on Pinterest photo credits unknown.
One of my go to authors, Laurie King, never disappoints and she hasn’t with her new book Island of the Mad the lastest in her Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes adventures. This is the fourteenth in the series beginning with The Beekeeper’s Apprentice. I was given the opportunity, by NetGallery, to preview the book, thanks to them I throughly enjoyed this story which primarily takes place in Venice. I have read most of the series, and as usual, if you are new to Russell and Holmes, I would suggest you begin at the beginning, after that you don’t need to read them in order, but not a bad idea…I do love a good series, don’t you!!!
Cesar Ritz and Auguste Escoffier
The Ritz, Paris
Gabrielle Chanel in her apartment at The Ritz, Paris