History of the Mini Skirt

Though the miniskirt revolution took place during the 1960s, they have been around for much longer than one might think. In some of Europe’s oldest known villages, archaeologists have discovered ancient females (dating between 5400-4700 B.C.) in miniskirts similar to those of the 60s. Another civilization where the miniskirt was not an uncommon article of clothing was ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptian frescos have been found showing female dancers wearing short skirts showing off the woman’s hips and legs.

In contrast to the corsets and long, restrictive skirts of the 1800s, advances in women’s emancipation following WWI led to the knew-high “flapper” style of the 1920s. After the drop in skirt lengths in the 30’s, hemlines rose once again to the knee during WWII due in part to fabric rationing. By the 1960’s youth protests for individual expression revealed that young adults no longer wanted to be identified in the same group as their parents, and wanted to form together into a unified group. Up until then, young women had been expected to dress in the same style as their mothers, and did not have a style for their own generation. Young women began to feel more and more empowered and when British designer, Mary Quant, launched her iconic and youthful miniskirt, girls everywhere went crazy over it. This skirt, which she named after her favorite car, the Mini, was the epitome of youthfulness and freedom, and became and instant success.

Sources:

http://www.randomhistory.com/2009/05/25_miniskirt.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniskirt

The Hula Hoop

The history of the hula-hoop dates back to ancient times although the details of the invention to include the exact date and name of the inventor are not known.   Ancient Greek Art from the Archaic Period (620 to 480 B.C) shows Ganymede, a Trojan prince in Greek Mythology, with a hoop.  Hooping, as it was earlier known, was popular in the 1300 in Great Britain for recreation.  In the 1800s, British soldiers coined the term “hula hooping” after watching Hawaiian hula dancing.

The Wham-O Company, a US based company, was formed in 1948 by Richard Knerr and Arthur Melin.  In 1958, Wham-O obtained a trademark for the name “Hula Hoop” and began manufacturing a plastic version of the toy.  Other hoops in history were made from metal, grass and vines.  When the popularity died after 10 months, Wham-O added ball bearings to the hula-hoop, which made noise and spurred another craze.  Though the crazes were short-lived, the hula-hoop is still present in toy stores.

Sources:

http://inventors.about.com/od/hstartinventions/a/Hula_Hoop.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hula-hoop-patented

http://www.hulahooping.com/history.html

The Fountainebleu Hotel

The Fountainebleu Hotel was named best building in Miami by the American Institute of Architects in 2012.  The hotel was designed by Morris Lapidus in 1952 and built by Ben Novack on the Harvey S. Firestone estate in Miami Beach.  The hotel opened its doors to the public in 1954.  The Fountainebleu was the setting for numerous films to include Jerry Lewis’ film, “The Bellboy” and the James Bond film, “Goldfinger” to name a few. 

It underwent a $1 billion renovation from 2006 – 2008 which preserved some of the original architectural designs to include the famous “Stairway to Nowhere”.  The luxury hotel boasts 1500 guest rooms, 12 restaurants and night clubs and a bow-tie shaped pool.     

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fontainebleau_Miami_Beach

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/18/2755533/voters-miami-beachs-fontainebleau.html

Earl Tupper and Tupperware

Earl Silas Tupper, the inventor of Tupperware, was born in New Hampshire in 1907.  As a child, Tupper worked for his small family farm and greenhouse business.  Tupper was not only a successful inventor but also a creative businessman.  At the early age of ten, he first demonstrated business savvy with door-to-door sales of the produce from the family business.

In his late twenties, he worked for a division of DuPont where he gained his knowledge and interest in plastics.  Tupper founded his own plastics company in 1938. The Earl S. Tupper Company first designed and sold plastic products in support of the war.  After WWII, he focused his design efforts on the consumer, and invented the non-breakable, air tight plastic containers.  Slow sales on the department store shelves encouraged home demonstrations and sales otherwise known as the direct selling system.  Today, Tupperware and Tupperware Parties are household names.

Sources:

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bltupperware.ht

http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/archives/d8470b.ht

http://order.tupperware.com/coe/app/home

Futurama

 

One of the most spectacular exhibits at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City was General Motors’ “Highways and Horizons.”  Designer Norman Bel Geddes created General Motors’ vision of a New York City as it would appear in 1960, 20 years in the future.  Thousands of visitors rode on “Futurama” for an aerial view of nearly 35,000 square feet of a miniature New York City.  The ride took over 300 visitors at a time through multiple dioramas containing hundreds of thousands of houses and buildings, 50,000 futuristic automobiles, and realistic landscaping laced with superhighways. 

Following the Great Depression, the exhibit portrayed a promising future where being an American was synonymous with owning a car and driving through a healthy prosperous city.  While the spectators were buying the idea of owning an automobile, General Motors was selling the system of superhighways funded on taxpayer’s dollars.  “If you build it, they (the automobiles) will come.”  The growth of the city and highways were realized in the New York of 1960 yet not to the extent depicted in “Futurama.”  

Sources:

http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/magazine/15-12/ff_futurama_original

http://www.1939nyworldsfair.com/worlds_fair/wf_tour/zone-6/witschard.htm#

http://history.gmheritagecenter.com/wiki/uploads/a/a9/1939-3.jpg

De Stijl

The De Stijl, translated as “the style” was an art movement that began after the First World War led by a group of Dutch artists.  The idea of the movement was to simplify art and abstraction.  Formal art 

concepts were placed aside; the artists incorporated primary colors, straight lines, and geometric shapes.  While various resources credit either Theo van Doesberg or Piet Mondrian as the founders and primary advocates of the movement, several other artists like Rietveld, Oud, and Vantongerloo supported the movement. 

While the members of the movement followed the collective ideas of De Stilj, placing the art ahead of the artist and individuality, the media on which the artists practiced varied.  Mondrian focused primarily on paintings where van Doesberg extended the ideas into architecture and furniture.  The movement published a journal named De Stijl from 1917-1932.  Although the movement did not last, the concepts and influences are still seen today in abstract art, architecture, interior design and furniture.

Sources:

http://www.abstract-art-explained.com/DeStijlMovement.html

http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/d/destijl.html

http://www.arthistoryguide.com/De_Stijl.aspx

John Bull

John Bull, known as the English Uncle Sam, is a political caricature originally created by John Arbuthnot in the 18^th century, specifically 1712.  Bull came to life during the Napoleonic Wars, and just as Uncle Sam, was seen as a symbol of freedom and loyalty by the English people.  He is usually described as a wealthy man with rosy cheeks who is short and stout and wears a Union Flag waistcoat with a tailcoat overtop. On the bottom, he wore light colored breeches and often wore a top hat accompanied by a walking cane.  For obvious reasons, Bull was frequently pictured next to a bulldog.  Bull was an average man who was ready to fight for what he believed in and was said to fight Napoleon with his bare hands if it was ever necessary.  He became so familiar at the time that he was seen in many books, plays, and periodicals, just as Uncle Sam was.  Since the 1950’s, John Bull has been seen much less. 

Sources:

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/uncle-sam/john-bull-history.htm

http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/John-Bull/