Mad Men, Woodstock, And The Death Of Fashion
"There’s a reason why no one has created a computer program that allows you to create a cartoon version of yourself as a hippie."
"It’s because that’s called a Halloween costume and at one point or another, we’ve all dressed as a hippie, knocked on a door, and said 'Trick or treat, man.'’’ Boston Globe
While I love Janis Joplin (above) and think she was the most powerful performer I've ever seen, the writer is right about Hippie fashion.
On the other hand, the fashions featured in such exquisite detail in "Mad Men," set in 1960-1964 (the final years of what we think of as the Fifties) have inspired a make-your-own-avatar site, which has been wildly popular. And they have influenced current fashion as well.
Time certainly has a way of separating the wheat from the chaff.
Lillian Bassman
Lillian Bassman was one of the most important photographers of the 20th century, and, finally, there will be major exhibitions of her photography, as well as a book from Abrams this Fall.
She became disillusioned with the dumbing down of women's fashion that began in the late 1960s/1970s, and walked away from it all.
Now 92, and living in Manhattan, she's finally about to be properly honored.
The images above are from the early 1950s, for Olga and Warner lingerie; much of her work was commercial, for Harper's Bazaar.
"It is easy to see why Ms. Bassman would have found little appeal in the uniform of the sexual revolution, first the childlike clothes of Mod style and then the hippie’s caftans, which seemed intended to counter the mass libidinal energy that had been the whole point. Hers was a world of adult sexuality that wasn’t ranted about. And the new breed of models coming of age in the late ’60s and ’70s unnerved her as well." (New York Times)
Wow!
To paraphrase the New York Times, it's really great to watch the First Lady rock some fashion looks!
Don't miss the slideshow part of the article.
Don't miss the slideshow part of the article.
Wombs For Rent
Here's an update to a Freeway post about women lining up to sell their eggs:
In a recent Wall Street Journal, Thomas Frank responds to New York Times reporter Alex Kuczynski’s personal account of hiring a surrogate mother.
Actually, “responds to” is probably not the right phrase -- it’s more like “rips apart.”
Thomas Frank writes:
"Surrogate motherhood has been the subject of much philosophical and political dispute over the years.
"To summarize briefly, it is a class-and-gender minefield. When money is exchanged for pregnancy, some believe, surrogacy comes close to organ-selling, or even baby-selling.
"It threatens to commodify not only babies, but women as well, putting their biological functions up for sale like so many Jimmy Choos.
"If surrogacy ever becomes a widely practiced market transaction, it will probably make pregnancy into just another dirty task for the working class, with wages driven down and wealthy couples hiring the work out because it's such a hassle to be pregnant."
In a recent Wall Street Journal, Thomas Frank responds to New York Times reporter Alex Kuczynski’s personal account of hiring a surrogate mother.
Actually, “responds to” is probably not the right phrase -- it’s more like “rips apart.”
Thomas Frank writes:
"Surrogate motherhood has been the subject of much philosophical and political dispute over the years.
"To summarize briefly, it is a class-and-gender minefield. When money is exchanged for pregnancy, some believe, surrogacy comes close to organ-selling, or even baby-selling.
"It threatens to commodify not only babies, but women as well, putting their biological functions up for sale like so many Jimmy Choos.
"If surrogacy ever becomes a widely practiced market transaction, it will probably make pregnancy into just another dirty task for the working class, with wages driven down and wealthy couples hiring the work out because it's such a hassle to be pregnant."