George Barbier's illustration Blue Dress by Beer was published in 1922. Although primarily known for the design of conservative clothing and lingerie, the House of (Gustav) Beer created this turquoise gown with a plunging neckline.
L'Heure du Thé by Eduardo Garcia Benito was featured in Gazette du Bon Ton in 1921. This pochoir depicts a fur coat designed by renowned designer Jeanne Lanvin.
The USC Chronicle featured two colorful illustrations from the Gazette du Bon Ton. The French magazine captured the aesthetic of the Roaring Twenties, and it is just one of the many resources special collections offer for learning more about the history of design, fashion, and popular culture. This semester, the Chronicle added a new feature, titled "From the USC Libraries," showcasing rare items from the USC Libraries special collections.
Here's Dan Knapp's article from this week's issue:
Fashion Plates from Doheny's Special Collections
Throughout the 1910s and ‘20s, Gazette du Bon Ton was among France’s most unique and influential fashion journals.
To reinforce the relationship between art and fashion, the magazine’s founder, Lucien Vogel, published fashion plates illustrated by renowned modern artists such as George Barbier, Georges Lepape, Erté, Charles Martin, Pierre Brissaud, Paul Iribe and Eduardo García Benito.
The fashions—created by some of France’s legendary couture houses, including Doeuillet, Paquin, Doucet and Worth—were presented in stenciled prints hand-colored on handmade paper.
The magazine’s fashion plates became so popular that many were reprinted by Dorbon-Ainé publishers in a two-volume collection titled Le bon ton d'aprés-guerre (art-modes-frivolités): collection de 200 planches en couleurs. Each volume contains nearly 100 prints, known as pochoir, of some of the haute couture creations produced between 1920 and 1922.
Because of their initial exclusivity and relationship to the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements, the books remain hot commodities for collectors. The USC Libraries acquired them as part of magazine photographer and film designer George Hoyningen-Huene's art-book collection in 1968.
The libraries’ set of Le bon ton d'aprés-guerre resides within Special Collections on the second-floor of Doheny Memorial Library. Special Collections also holds a number of other rare books and journals that trace the course of fashion throughout Europe during the early 20th century.
Contact Special Collections librarians at 213-740-5900 or specol@usc.edu for more information about the rare fashion and costume resources available in the USC Libraries’ collections.