john singer sargent -- 6/7/24

07 Jun 2024

john singer sargent -- 6/7/24

0 COMMENTS

Today's selection -- from Fashioned by Sargent by Erica E. Hirshler. John Singer Sargent was the leading portrait painter of the Edwardian Age, the creator of astonishing likenesses of his wealthy clients:

“John Singer Sargent once referred to himself as a ‘painter and dressmaker.’ He made this remark after three weeks of work on Lady Helen Vincent’s portrait. Dissatisfied by the white dress worn by the sitter, he scraped the painting and re-created a new garment in black. His quip reveals the lengths he went to to make sure that the sitter’s clothing, in color, texture, and style, furthered his artistic vision. That Lady Vincent’s dress doesn’t correspond to any current fashion and also suggests that he may have literally created it, by draping her with fabric, restyling one of her garments, or simply by imagining it. Although it’s unlikely that Sargent actually put his hands to scissors and cloth, his comparison of himself to a dressmaker also emphasizes the centrality of that profession to women’s clothing in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when dressmakers created most women’s garments, while tailors did the same for men.

“At the turn of the nineteenth century, clothing, whether acquired through a dressmaker or tailor, or made at home, was custom fit and usually made of fabric that the wearers supplied themselves. Most people owned few garments, as having clothing custom-made was a time-consuming process entailing multiple visits to the dressmaker or tailor.

“Textiles were also expensive, and fine materials were out of reach for all but the well-off. Toward the end of the century, this system began to change dramatically, especially for women; by the 1920s, the couturier became the driving creative force behind fashion, and ready-to-wear fashion for men and women was common and more widely affordable.

Portrait of Lady Helen Vincent, Viscountess D'Abernon (1904) by John Singer Sargent.

“At the time Sargent began his career in Paris during the 1870s, dressmakers and tailors were plentiful and the couture—where the couturier created several collections a year from which women would choose to have something custom-made in their size – was in its infancy. Paris was the center of the women’s fashion industry, as it had been since the eighteenth century, and London had developed a reputation for fine men’s tailoring. American and European women of means flocked to Paris to have their clothing made by fashionable dressmakers and the newly established couturiers, while London became a destination for men, who often stopped by on their travels to visit the city’s tailors. Mamy of Sargent’s sitters frequented the best tailors, dressmakers, and couturiers in London and Paris, who created the fashions that often appear in their portraits — although always filtered through the artist’s sensibility.

“Traditionally a client arrived at the dressmaker or tailor with the fabric in hand and an idea of the garments to make from it. The style of the final garment was decided in collaboration, often using fashion plates as inspiration. The fashion press came to play and important role in the dissemination of contemporary styles of men’s and women’s dress throughout the nineteenth century, as cheaper printing methods made magazines more widely available. The majority of these designs published in the women’s magazines originated in Paris, created by fashion artists and later by the couturiers. They were distributed around the globe by publications such as the British Ladies Gazette of Fashion (1842-94), the American periodical Godey’s Lady’s Book (1830-78), and the German Die Modenwelt (1865-1942). Men’s tailoring journals in the second half of the nineteenth century included the French Journal de Tailleur and Journal l’Homme du Monde and the English Gazette of Fashion and Cutting Room Companion: Evening Wear and Hunting Dress (1850-99).

“Along with making new fashions, another important aspect of the dressmaker’s and tailor’s job was to repair and restyle clothing . Restyling garments was especially common for women during the nineteenth century, as a way to reuse expensive cloth. It was also fairly easily achieved, as the basic silhouette evolved slowly and the dressmaker could update a garment by altering the size of the sleeves or the drape of a skirt. The dress worn by Mrs. Charles E. Inches in her portrait by Sargent is an example. The original red velvet dress from 1887 would have had a skirt with a large bustle at the back, the top of which is obscured by dark shadows in Sargent’s portrait. The dress was restyled around 1892 by the Boston dressmakers Auringer & Lewis, who recut the skirt to give it a more fashionable silhouette by flattening it at the back and adding a short train. A new bodice was made with a longer torso, indicating that the dress may have been restyled for a different wearer. The high value of fine clothing made it a measure of economy to restyle or repair. Those who could afford to hired lady’s maids or valets, to help their employers dress and stay properly groomed while also taking on some of the tasks of the dressmaker or tailor for their employer’s wardrobe. Lady’s maids and valets traveled with their employers, partly to ensure that their needle skills were always at hand. For instance, the Bostonians Sarah Choate Sears and her husband, Joshua Montgomery Sears, were regular travelers to Europe; according to the New York Arriving Passenger and Crew lists, their lady’s maid and valet always accompanied them. In 1892, the family visited Europe with their two children; Ada Mancher, a companion; Kathlee Donohue, Mrs. Sears’s lady’s maid; George Farley, Mr. Sears’s valet; and Marie Amere, their three-year-old daughter Helen’s governess.”