Roaring

Summer School 2025

This year’s summer school was very fun and something close to my heart…we looked at the history of fashion and fashions from around the world!

We had a small list of books and hands-on activity kits that were the basis for our historical knowledge:

  • Fashion: The Definitive History of Costume and Style
  • What People Wore When: A Complete Illustrated History of Costume from Ancient Times to the Nineteenth Century for Every Level of Society
  • Sketch Your Style: A Guided Sketchbook for Drawing Your Dream Wardrobe
  • Coco Chanel: Pearls, Perfume, and the Little Black Dress
  • Fancy Party Gowns: The Story of Fashion Designer Ann Cole Lowe
  • Klutz Tiny Fashion Studio Craft Kit
  • Fashion Design Kit

From there, we started with the basics…how color, pattern, and texture are the foundations of any fashion, and how fashion and true style are different. This was the part of the summer where I got to share my opinions on the topic, especially emphasizing that “fashion is about fitting in; style is about standing out.” We talked about things like couture vs. fast fashion, how popular fashions have influenced body image, the purpose of uniforms in various settings, and how things like rationing during war times forced styles to change. We even watched some bits from fashion shows, and discussed how the styles at shows do not necessarily reflect what even the designers expect the average person to wear in any given season.

What was really exciting, though, were the field trips we were able to go on, neither of which I was aware of when I chose the topic! First, we went to “Roaring” at the St Louis Art Museum, which focused on art, fashion, and automobiles in France from 1918-1939. We got to see a lot of cool designs (including one by Coco Chanel!), and Chickadee worked on sketching some of her favorites:

They even had a whimsical photo opp, which we both enjoyed:

And on a more serious note, we also toured the “Stitching History from the Holocaust” exhibit at the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum. This exhibit gave us beautiful clothes to admire, but also a lot to think about…I’m very grateful that I ran across it!

There were plenty of opportunities for crafting and creativity this summer:

And we even had a guest designer make a beautiful creation…Bunny crafted this gorgeous pink dress!

This year’s summer school was very different because I only had one student, but it was also a lot of fun to talk about fashion throughout time and across the world!

Chickadee Thursday

Chickadee really enjoyed a summer school field trip to the St. Louis Art Museum to see the special “Roaring” exhibit, which is about fashion, art, and automobiles in France from 1918-1939!

Roaring

On Friday we took advantage of the “Free Friday” at the St. Louis Art Museum and checked out the latest special exhibit, “Roaring.”

The exhibit focuses on art, fashion, and automobiles in France from 1918-1939. They have a total of 12 cars on display, and they are themselves works of art!

I really enjoyed getting a chance to look at some of the details up close…like most things, I find that the design of early to mid 1900s automobiles, with their curves and bright colors, to be much more pleasing to the eye than modern design. There were also some surprises…I couldn’t believe the kind of patterns they used to place on the outside of cars!

There were pieces of art mixed it in with the cars and clothes, like this classic by Dutch painter Piet Mondrian:

Of course my favorite thing about the exhibit was the fashion. There were primarily dresses on display (we even got to see a Coco Chanel or two!), but there was also some outerwear, a pair of beach pajamas, and even examples of what we would call “Athleisure Wear” today!

I learned so much about how automobiles influenced fashion design, and how in turn, cars became fashion accessories themselves!

There were also drawings of fashion designs:

And some other textiles mixed in…the colors of this rug were so vibrant!

I really enjoyed seeing the colors and prints of the time…it’s easy to think of the past as being dull and flat, but the opposite is true!

This is one of the best special exhibits I’ve seen at the St. Louis Art Museum…I learned a lot, and I’m so thankful that they gift their visitors with the opportunity to see them for free on Fridays!