Comments on: Pretty dollies

Pretty dollies

dersins — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 09:11:09 -0800

The Theatre de la Mode exhibition featured scaled down haute couture designs from Paris's top designers on miniature mannequins, and was intended to help revive French fashion after WWII. If you're in the area, you can go see the exhibition where it ended up-- the Maryhill Museum, established by a rather unique guy named Sam Hill (who also built a full-scale poured-concrete replica of Stonehenge nearby) in a small town in south-central Washington state.Or you can just look at some flickr pictures (hey, look, it's "Metafilter's own" Harvey Girls!) Or get the viewmaster disk.

By: amberglow

amberglow — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 09:36:57 -0800

very cool! (pre-New Look stuff is so different) someone needs to put every single ViewMaster image online, i think. : >

By: jessamyn

jessamyn — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 09:45:16 -0800

That's actually the world's second largest stonehenge, you know. When I went to the Maryhill they had a great collection of Rodin hands and feet.

By: sleepy pete

sleepy pete — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 10:10:12 -0800

That's actually the world's second largest stonehenge, you know. And, I'm guessing, the only one that's a WWI memorial. They still have the Rodin leftovers. They also have a great collection of Russian art, furniture, and clothing from the Romanovs, complete with repaired pictures slashed by Bolsheviks. I so wanted the viewmaster set, but I couldn't remember if I still had a viewmaster laying around. I guess we'll just have to go back when I have the $5.

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 12:43:59 -0800

What a superb post dersins. Really interesting story, across so many countries, World War, fashion houses, collaboration to create unusual miniatures, Druid replica, impractical and extravagant American magnate, Romanian royalty with her huge entourage. Sam hill's Peace Arch. "Fifty three design houses, including such well known names as Schiaparelli, Fath, Hermes, Ricci, Balenciaga, Worth, Lelong, Carven and Madame Gres, were given the task of creating up to five outfits each. The only difference between these clothes and those made for real people, was in their size; they had proper linings, closures, buttons and trimmings. Many were hand beaded, and designers often provided miniature foundation garments to go underneath. The couturiers were not the only artists who were involved. The mannequins' wigs were all professionally made and styled, and each one wore a pair of beautifully scaled down shoes. Jewellery, little gloves, hats, purses, belts, and even little powder compacts had to be made." wow.

By: Parannoyed

Parannoyed — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 12:56:41 -0800

This place is in my (relative) backyard, and yet I've not gone to visit. *smacks self up-side the head*

By: dersins

dersins — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 13:03:07 -0800

It's a great time of year for that drive through the gorge on 14, Parannoyed. You should go!

By: y2karl

y2karl — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 13:24:55 -0800

The house that Sam Hill built in Seattle is three blocks north from my apartment complex on Broadway.

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 15:52:07 -0800

What a rip off, I don't see scoops of ice cream on top of any of these.

By: melissa may

melissa may — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 16:48:12 -0800

Hey, cool! After seeing the Theatre de la Mode and being blown away I thought about doing a post like this, but I was lazy. My lousy photography can't begin to convey how beautifully made and impressive the mannequins and their outfits are. Thanks for putting this together, dersins. Parannoyed, seriously: go! There's no other museum in the entire world with this kind of collection -- it's so worth it, and the days won't be this beautiful much longer. (As an added bonus, you'll get to hang out with some beautiful and incredibly friendly peacocks.)

By: nickyskye

nickyskye — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:15:42 -0800

melissa may, you and sleepy pete are an adorable couple. Love the peacock pics. Cool.

By: melissa may

melissa may — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:44:25 -0800

Aw, nickyskye, what a lovely thing to say. I'm remembering that picture you posted of yourself in Coney Island. Truman Capote once wrote an anecdote about Greta Garbo encountering Babe Paley in an elevator and saying, "Why, Mrs. Paley, you're beautiful." Babe, amused and touched, replied with the same words I'm thinking now: "Gee, look who's talking." (dersins, please forgive this unscheduled kissing derail of your thread. Back to couture!)