Readers, To round off my recent series of London posts, a roundup of news items and observations: I loved The Imperial War Museum’s show “Fashion on the Ration: 1940s Street Style.” If you’ve wanted to see ingenious examples of making do and mending in Britain during World War II, this is the show for you. […]
Field Trip: “Riviera Style: Resort & Swimwear Since 1900,” Fashion and Textile Museum, London
Readers, I am no swimmer. Growing up, I never advanced beyond the shallow end of the pool. As an adult I summoned the courage–twice!–to take beginner swimming classes but chickened out after the first session both times. So when I saw that what would be showing at the Fashion and Textile Museum during my recent […]
Taylors Buttons, London
Readers, When I did the research while living in London for two months in 2011 for my article “Sewing Destination: London, England,” (Threads magazine, June-July 2012), I tried to be as comprehensive as possible. There was no ready-made master list of suppliers, markets, events, tours, and museum and library collections of interest to sewers and […]
Kenton Trimmings, London
Readers, Ever since I took the Savile Row tailoring class at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London last year I wanted to check out a tailors’ supplier our teacher, Victoria Townsend, recommended. Frustratingly, I caught a bad cold after the class ended. The two days I had hoped to roam the city were spent […]
A Couple More Button Places in Berlin
Readers, Before Jack and I leave Berlin tomorrow morning for Cambridge I wanted to mention two other places I looked at for buttons. One was recommended recently by Helen on her sewing blog, Button & Snap: ZickZack Nähwelt, Torstraße 49. As Helen noted, the entrance to the store is actually around the corner–and then more […]
Buying Buttons in Berlin: Knopf Paul
Readers, What could possibly be better than a wall of buttons? How about two walls of buttons–plus trays, boxes, and display cases of buttons? That’s what Jack and I found yesterday when we made our way to Knopf Paul. When I set up our computer in our hotel room in Berlin Monday, I found an […]
Buying Buttons in Salzburg
Readers, On a day trip from Hart, Germany to Salzburg, Austria yesterday Jack and I happened upon a button shop: Jos. Mayer, on Rathausplatz 1. I daresay it’s the oldest button shop I will ever go into–it was founded in 1758! Packing for our excursion, I tossed my swatches in my bag–just in case, even […]