London fashion designers: the work of members of the incorporated society of London fashion designers, London, England, UK, 1945

A model wears a navy blue spring suit by fashion designer Madame Champcommunal of Worth

A model wear a black dinner frock by fashion designer Peter Russell

Actress Peggy Bryan models the wedding dress designed for her by fashion designer Bianca Mosca. The dress is to be worn by Peggy in the new British horror film ‘Dead of Night’.

A model wears a brown and beige all-wool checked suit by fashion designer Hardy Amies

(Imperial War Museums, London)

1936-1937 Négligée attr. to Madeleine Vionnet (France)

silk

(Palais Galliera, musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris)

excuse me that cat is belgian and he solves mysteries

1927 Marlene Dietrich (photo by Arthur Benda)

(Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg)

photoes for British Vogue magazine, March 1953 by Norman Parkinson:

Fashion designer Hardy Amies photographed with models June Clarke and Fiona Campbell-Walter

British fashion designer, and original editor of British Vogue magazine Elspeth Champcommunal, photographed with models Fiona Campbell-Walter (right) and June Clarke

Fashion designer Norman Hartnell with Myrtle Crawford and Margaret Phillips who wear his designs

South African-born British couturier Victor Frank Stiebel photographed with an unknown fashion model (Margaret Phillips?)

Fashion designer Victor Stiebel with models Margaret Phillips and Fiona Campbell-Walter

Irish London based fashion designer John Cavanagh photographed with Helen Connor and an unknown model

British London-based fashion designer Peter Russell with two models

British fashion designer Charles Creed photographed with a model wearing his designs

(Norman Parkinson Archive/ Iconic Images)

They had overnight flower delivery in the 1890s??

Look the Netherlands takes its flower industry very seriously

People underestimate how fast the Victorians could move things. There were no cars, so they had lots of trains instead - way more train lines than exist today, with much cheaper and more frequent services, because everything moved by rail so that was where all the investment went. This was the height of the industrial age, after all. And since there were no (or not many) telephones and no internet, they had multiple mail deliveries every day, because all communication was done by mail or telegram so that was where all the investment went. They had a same day mail service, even.

I'm not exaggerating about that, btw. My great-grandfather collected postcards all his life, starting as a little boy in Norfolk in the early 1900s, and among his collection is a postcard sent by a cousin who lived way up north. She posted the card first thing one morning saying that she was coming down by train to see her aunt and would be arriving at just after 3pm that afternoon - the same afternoon she posted the card. The card literally says 'this afternoon'. Posted first thing, and it arrived in good time for her uncle and aunt to know they needed to meet her off the train at 3pm that same day - and she knew posting it that it would arrive in good time. Same day delivery, and that was something like 1905.

Flower shipments from the Netherlands to London in that same era was a booming business, that's how all the markets were kept supplied. So yes, van Helsing could get flowers delivered overnight on a daily basis.

My annotated Dracula has informed me that when Harker said his robber steak was “in the style of the London cat’s-meat!” he was referring to “A tradition in London was the “cat’s-meat man,” a vendor who sold little bits of meat on skewers for consumption by cats”

I am overjoyed by this knowledge that there were Victorians just randomly getting lil kebabs for their CATS

I am so happy to learn this was a thing, looks like they were door to door pet food sellers.

1830 Édouard-Henri-Théophile Pingret - Portrait of Two Young Men

(Private collection)

Agatha Christie at the window of her house in Derbyshire (1913).

1930-1940 Tweed men’s hiking suit (jacket, vest and pants) (by “Piet. Jonkers 348” and  “LAIRD / MONTAGUE / BURTON / THE TAILOR OF TASTE LTD / SCOTLAND’s / SUPER SUITING”)

(Museum Rotterdam)

If Jane Eyre had married Maxim de Winter, she would have engaged Mrs. Danvers in head to head passive aggressive war and she would have won.

Absolutely. And the narrator of Rebecca would have helped Rochester hide Bertha.

Jonathan Harker would have been polite and kind to The Creature, and Victor Frankenstein would have noped right out of there as soon as he saw Dracula

Carolyn Wyeth.

J.C. Leyendecker

Are we talking about soap or…?

Via Owl! at the Library

Written for the Unconventional Courtship challenge on DW.

The idea is to take a summary of a gaudy romance novel and write a fic in any fandom you like, having adjusted the summary for your needs. It seemed fun, the deadline was flexible, and the mod is very friendly! So tried my hand. Never thought I’d write in the Emerald ‘verse, even though I really enjoed both the short story and the graphic novel. For those unfamiliar with the universe: Britain is ruled by tyrannical invaders, H.P. Lovecraft’s monsters. Holmes is an outlaw who fights to overthrow them. Title: R for Rache Author: mightymads Fandom: Sherlock Holmes - A Study in Emerald Pairing/Characters: Sherlock Holmes, John H. Watson, supporting characters Rating: T Length: 7691 Summary: Falling in love was not an option for Dr John Watson. Certainly not with the mysterious stranger who had been rushed into his surgery. Watson had felt an instant connection to the man and wanted to help him. But being the stranger’s ally would put the doctor’s life in danger. On the brink of a scientific breakthrough, an obscure chemist named Sherlock Holmes was now on the run. He had knowledge that the Royal Family would kill to possess. He desperately needed a person he could trust, and Dr Watson could be the one. But would Dr Watson choose the life of an outlaw over the quiet stability of the practice he’d managed to establish after returning from the war? Notes: Based on the summary for ‘Racing Against the Clock’ by Lori Wilde.

At 40, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who never married and had no children, walked through the park in Berlin when he met a girl who was crying because she had lost her favourite doll. She and Kafka searched for the doll unsuccessfully. Kafka told her to meet him there the next day and they would come back to look for her.

The next day, when they had not yet found the doll, Kafka gave the girl a letter "written" by the doll saying "please don't cry. I took a trip to see the world. I will write to you about my adventures."

Thus began a story which continued until the end of Kafka's life.

During their meetings, Kafka read the letters of the doll carefully written with adventures and conversations that the girl found adorable.

Finally, Kafka brought back the doll (he bought one) that had returned. “It doesn't look like my doll at all," said the girl.

Kafka handed her another letter in which the doll wrote: "my travels have changed me." the little girl hugged the new doll and brought her happy home.

A year later Kafka died. Many years later, the now-adult girl found a letter inside the doll. In the tiny letter signed by Kafka it was written:

"Everything you love will probably be lost, but in the end, love will return in another way."

Song: “Murder”, He Says / Something to Remember You By

Artist: Dinah Shore with Gordon Jenkins and his Orchestra

Record Label: RCA Victor Records 20-1525

Released: 1943

Location: KTI Radio

Now I don’t pretend to think that everyone in Los Angeles talks like this, but then again people are more relaxed around there.

This is novelty jive number from the 1943 Paramount film “Happy Go Lucky” about unsavory slang. It was introduced by Butty Hutton in the film, but as a more raunchy and explosive rendition.

Oddly, Dinah Shore low-key and honey-voiced version was the one that caught the public’s ear, peaking at #4 on Billboard, beating out Helen O'Connell and Peggy Mann.

Most people remember Dinah Shore as the blonde TV personality full of Southern charm and encouraging people to “See the USA in your Chevrolet” with a friendly kiss.

But she first got her start in radio, and as a brunette, while entertaining the troops for the USO. Born Frances Rose Shore, she earned her stage name by often auditioning with the song “Dinah”. She was unsuccessful at obtaining a position as a vocalist with the Goodman and Dorsey Orchestras, but was able to make a hit career by pioneering the field of solo artists.

She obtained major hits with “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To”, “Yes, My Darling Daughter”, and “I’ll Walk Alone”.

Gordon Jenkins is a triple threat as a composer, arranger, and conductor for the likes of Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and Louis Armstrong. Some of his best known songs include “P.S. I Love You”, “Goodbye” (written after his wife’s death), and “When a Woman Loves a Man”.

Listen to the flip side “Something to Remember You By” here.

sometimes I get so angry thinking about ‘The Imitation Game’ that I have to go in a little ‘upset big tantrum room’ in my head for a calm down

like, Benisnatch Cumberque played the same character he’s always plays as an asshole genius and we were all supposed to be okay with it, but it’s basically character slander

at different parts of the movie Turing is described as ‘arrogant, “inhuman,” “narcissistic,” and even “a monster,” in the film he goes against those around him and is shown to periodically ignore and belittle his colleagues

And. I. Am. So. Angry.

Alan Turing was described by his friends and people that knew him as “intensely shy and kindly”, he was said to “inspire loyalty and affection among those who appreciated his unusual gifts” and was “unfailingly generous with his time and expertise, especially toward younger recruits”

He was kind, he was kind, HE WAS KIND, he was kind

he was kind and geeky and awkward and gay, I don’t care if the whole of society doesn’t find that compelling, I don’t care if we don’t value kindness as an attribute in men, he deserved to be loved and respected as he was, not as we wish he was

I am so sorry Alan Turing, I am so sorry your story was not told with care and thoughtfulness, I am so sorry you didn’t get to be shown to be deeply in love with the men you loved, I am sorry your great and terrible tragedy was never unfolded as a kind and brilliant man abused by a horrible homophobic system

You are a hero that turned the tides of history like no other and I am so sorry

hey op if you’re looking for a kinder movie about alan turing, you should check out breaking the code (1996). breaking the code was originally a stage play, and this is a filmed adaptation. it’s more faithful to his personality, stars derek jacobi (who was also a gay man and plays the part with so much sympathy), and it doesn’t bungle historical details for the sake of adding more drama. here’s a link to a youtube playlist where you can watch it in full

He felt bad for the children who were stuck at bletchley park without their toys so he used spare paper from his office to make them a monopoly board by hand

He was also reported as having a goofy sense of humor where he used to make a show of saying goodbye to everyone at the party and then walk into the closet instead of out the front door

Plus, he was quoted as saying quips like “Beyond the way they speak, there is only one (no two!) features of American life which I find really tiresome. The impossibility of getting a bath in the ordinary sense and their ideas on room temperature.” — Alan Turing (1936)

He was a huge athlete and biked everywhere and sometimes ran the five miles to work every morning, and did things like calculate when his bike chain would break so he could keep riding the thing despite it being ancient

He was still “odd” according to his coworkers as he sometimes wore a gasmask to work to avoid spring allergies and used to chain his coffee mug up to avoid theft at the office, but the same colleagues described him as very friendly, open, and thoughtful as well if not shy.

and finally, of course, there was Porgy

He used to practice his Cambridge lectures in front of this stuffed bear he got in college named Porgy and was delighted when his mom sewed it a little outfit. He kept the bear with him throughout life.

Henry Higgins is Eliza’s gay adoptive dad

This is a series of meta exploring my new perspective on the relationships in My Fair Lady.  Though many people, previously including me, interpret it as a love story between Eliza and Henry Higgins, the film actually seems to encourage another reading entirely – Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering are Eliza’s adoptive parents.  I’ll go into how I think this queer reading of My Fair Lady is supported by the text and subtext, and how it actually allows Eliza and her gay dads the happy ending they all deserve.

Part 3: Henry Higgins is as straight as Sherlock Holmes

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Henry Higgins is Eliza’s gay adoptive dad

Though I’ve loved My Fair Lady for as long as I can remember and always thought of it as wonderfully romantic, the ending always left me confused and unsatisfied. After Eliza’s bold declaration that she would marry Freddy (who has been nothing but sweet to her) and be perfectly fine without Henry Higgins (who is a right dick to her most of the time), Eliza’s reappearance in Higgins’ home at the end always seemed like a backtrack in her character development.  “There’s no way Eliza will be happy in a relationship with Higgins!” I always cried.  “This is the most forced romance I’ve ever seen!”  

But, after discussing it with @oddcomoddity and @tremendousdetectivetheorist, I realized that the romance I thought I saw was actually just a product of a heteronormative lens, and I only saw a romance between Higgins and Eliza because I thought I was supposed to.  There is nothing in the film’s text (and I’ll be going off of the film here, because it’s the version I’ve seen) that explicitly points to a romance between Higgins and Eliza; there’s quite a bit of evidence, in fact, that points to the contrary.  On top of that, once that heteronormative lens is removed, there are elements of Higgins’ relationship with Colonel Pickering that read as queer, and the two of them end up in the role of bumbling adoptive parents to Eliza. The entire film then blooms, like one of Eliza’s flowers, into a story that not only tackles feminism and class distinction but also, quite progressively, what makes a family.  I have seen the light, my friends, and I want to share that light with the world!  And so, in honor of Eliza Doolittle Day, I’m going to start a series of meta exploring how this reading of My Fair Lady is supported by the text, and how it actually allows Eliza and her gay dads the happy ending they all deserve.

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