2012-05-02
post/22276113166
A photo of the Savile Row Protest against the coming of Abercrombie and Fitch as organised by The Chap (“a journal for the modern gentleman), posted by John Hawkins to Pinwheel (which is still in private beta).
More coverage: Stephanie Wolff’s Flickr set; a comment piece by Gustav Temple in the Guardian.
2012-04-02
post/20326161947
Final fitting of the A7L spacesuit for one of the Apollo 17 astronauts (possibly Harrison Schmitt), from the Project Apollo Gallery (image ap17-72-H-314).
This one’s as much for the cheeky chaps in the background as for the spacesuit itself. It’s worth looking at some of the other photos on that site, too, such as this image of the suit in launch position.
2012-03-26
post/19922882771
One last Richard Avedon photograph from the 1965 Harper’s Bazaar modern special: Naty Abascal. (You’d never allow a cigarette near the pure-oxygen atmospheres of a 1960s space mission, but never mind.)
2012-03-25
post/19919288228
Paul McCartney in a Mercury spacesuit, London, 1965, by Richard Avedon. (image, via)
I’m far from a huge fan of the Beatles, nor McCartney, but this is such a good cultural artefact I feel like I should post it anyway.
The special issue of Harper’s Bazaar - edited by Avedon - that included this image and the Jean Shrimpton photographs is iconic enough that it was the focus of a Vanity Fair article, in the December 2009 issue. Sadly it’s not online; I expect it’s interesting.
post/19902974564
Jean Shrimpton in a Mercury spacesuit, for Harpers Bazaar’s April 1965 issue. Photographs: Richard Avedon (via)
Alana Zimmer at The Fox Is Black:
Shrimpton was the It girl of 1960s fashion and became the face of off-beat culture. Avedon couldn’t have picked a better model to be his galaxy girl. At a time when the idea of a female astronaut was unheard of, Shrimpton was the face of youth culture.
2012-03-21
post/19670479724
Mirella Petteni by F.C. Gundlach, at iainclaridge.co.uk.
A couple of years ago I saw an exhibition of Gundlach’s work at the Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin. I’m not usually a huge fan of fashion photography, but I think Gundlach deserves to be well (better?) known. His black and white work, in particular, hits all the right spots for me.
This photograph is from 1963, and it’s not the most practical space suit in the world, but I like the angle and the parachute, so here it is.
2012-02-29
post/18476217446
March 4, 1968: “Don’t call them paper dresses,” began a report about a line of disposable dresses that could be reimagined as posters. The one seen here features Cape Kennedy. Another? An Allen Ginsberg poem. “The intent is for pretty young things to buy them on impulse and wear them to the beach or parties,” the reporter wrote. “Matrons, stay away.” Photo: Arthur Brower/The New York Times
I love the idea of the Lively Morgue posts, which combine archival photographs with the more ephemeral scribblings on their reverse. Obviously, the picture I reblog is going to be the one with the rocket in it.
2012-02-24
post/18210496943
The History of Skirt Lengths from Ptak Science Books:
This graph illustrating the history of skirt lengths in the United States is oddly interesting and appealing, a job well done. I like that the graph lines fairly well reveal the amount of leg shown by the rising and lowering hemlines, measuring the height above the ankle from bottom to top.
