{"id":9586,"date":"2014-04-15T08:05:34","date_gmt":"2014-04-15T12:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yalsa.ala.org\/thehub\/?p=9586"},"modified":"2015-09-07T16:04:44","modified_gmt":"2015-09-07T20:04:44","slug":"fashion-hits-and-misses-from-ya-historical-fiction-book-covers-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yalsa.ala.org\/thehub\/2014\/04\/15\/fashion-hits-and-misses-from-ya-historical-fiction-book-covers-part-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Fashion Hits and Misses from YA Historical Fiction Book Covers, Part 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

I love historical fiction.\u00a0 The drama, the intrigue and, oh– the fashion.\u00a0 I just assume all the period details regarding clothing are accurate.\u00a0 Or I did until my friend Liz shared it was her secret delight to troll the adult fiction section and find anachronistic apparel.\u00a0 Curious to know how Liz knows all that she does about fashion? \u00a0Check out her bio in the first post\u00a0Fashion Hits and Misses from YA Historical Fiction Book Covers.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"In
In the Shadow of Blackbirds
by Cat Winters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The jazz age of American history is very popular right now in TV and books. Recent Hub posts like\u00a0Get Ready for Downton Abbey Season 4 With These Books<\/a>,\u00a0The Glamour and Greed of The Great Gatsby<\/a> and Prohibition Era: Ohio Roots in History and YA Lit<\/a>\u00a0highlight our current fascination with the 1920s and 1930s. While imitation is meant as a sincere form of flattery, this only works if the copy is accurate, no matter the intention.<\/p>\n

Here are some \u00a0Young Adult historical fiction novels sent during the Roaring\u00a0Twenties with covers that try and sometimes fail to reflect accurate costuming\/<\/p>\n

Hit:\u00a0<\/strong>In the Shadow of Blackbirds<\/em> by Cat Winters (Morris Award Finalist: In the Sh<\/a>adow of<\/a>\u00a0Blackbirds by Cat Winters<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Set in 1918, bombarded by the war and Spanish Influenza\u00a0Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black is mistrustful of popular fad spirit photography until a seance takes on personal meaning. \u00a0This dress is a bit short length-wise, at this time you would expect to see a longer hem. Overall style is decent. \u00a0The fashion of the time often featured a waist that was accentuated with a belt or sash.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"American
American dress, 1916-1917<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This cotton dress was a gift of Mrs. Edwin Stewart Wheeler in 1956 to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. This costume is not on display and can only be viewed online<\/a>. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"French
French linen and cotton dress from 1920.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This dress is from the\u00a0Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. \u00a0Gifted to the museum in 1955 by\u00a0Mercedes de Acosta, the garment is made almost entirely of lace and was made to worn over a dark colored garment to highlight the workmanship. This costume is not on display at the museum and can only be viewed online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"
Costume Institute Fashion Plates 1921-1940, Plate 014<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Find a variety of other fashion plates online thanks to Costume Institute Fashion Plates<\/a> of Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Miss:\u00a0<\/strong>The Flappers<\/em>\u00a0series by Jillian Larkins (A Jazz Party for the Books<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\"The
The Flappers series.
Vixen Book 1, Ingenue Book 2 and Diva Book 3.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Think\u00a0Gossip Girl<\/em> set in 1920s Chicago and you have\u00a0Flappers. \u00a0<\/em>Cigarettes and cropped hair dos are as prevalent as sultry secrets and social climbers. While each new novel may leave readers clambering for more drama and romance, the covers are sadly uninspired. \u00a0Set during the Roaring Twenties, you’d expect to see drop-waists and knee length skirts. \u00a0But these covers feature girls in empire waist dresses and straight skirts. \u00a0With the focus on socialites and soir\u00c3\u00a9es, much of\u00a0The Flappers\u00a0<\/em>takes place during cocktail hour. “The cocktail affair generally took place between six and eight p.m. Cocktail garb<\/a>, by virtue of its flexibility and functionality, became the 1920s uniform for the progressive fashionable elite.”\u00a0Problematically, Vixen\u00a0<\/em>shows a\u00a01930s Garden party costume. \u00a0Nothing about the cover is from the 1920s.\u00a0Ingenue\u00a0<\/em>isn’t a complete miss since the cover doesn’t show enough to really critique. \u00a0Flapper outfits were made to catch the light and the attention of other partygoers. \u00a0The dark, drab attire hardly seems festive.\u00a0Diva<\/em> is a near miss in terms of accuracy. \u00a0The jewelry and hair style are good examples of 1920s fashion. \u00a0Even the textiles used for the dress are appropriate for the time but the style is wrong.<\/p>\n

\"Evening
Evening Dress, 1925.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This silk and rhinestone dress from France has a column shape that was common for the time. \u00a0The details are in an Art Deco style and close-ups of the embellishments can be see online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"DT434\"
French Silk Evening Dress, 1926-1927<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Any flapper would feel grand in this bedazzled dressed designed for maximum shine. \u00a0Decked out in sequins, it is the polar opposite of both the ready to wear costume seen on In The Shadow of Blackbirds<\/em>\u00a0and the strangely tailored dress from Diva.\u00a0<\/em>Designed by\u00a0Edward Molyneux, this fabulous frock was a gift to The Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/a> from\u00a0Mrs. Adam Gimbel in 1942.<\/p>\n

For more images of correct costuming check out the Pinterest page\u00a0Fashion History: 1920-1930<\/a>\u00a0The Museum at FIT, Fashion Institute of Technology.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

More in this series:<\/p>\n

Fashion Hits and Misses from YA Historical Fiction Book Covers<\/a><\/p>\n

Fashion Hits and Misses from YA Historical Fiction Book Covers, 2<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

-Laura C Perenic, currently\u00a0reading A Feast for Crows<\/em> by George R.R. Martin<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I love historical fiction.\u00a0 The drama, the intrigue and, oh– the fashion.\u00a0 I just assume all the period details regarding clothing are accurate.\u00a0 Or I did until my friend Liz shared it was her secret delight to troll the adult fiction section and find anachronistic apparel.\u00a0 Curious to know how Liz knows all that she … Continue reading Fashion Hits and Misses from YA Historical Fiction Book Covers, Part 3<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[3761,4475,807,4468],"class_list":["post-9586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-cat-winters","tag-elizabeth-arenaro","tag-historical-fiction","tag-jillian-larkins"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1ddKk-2uC","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yalsa.ala.org\/thehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yalsa.ala.org\/thehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yalsa.ala.org\/thehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yalsa.ala.org\/thehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yalsa.ala.org\/thehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9586"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.yalsa.ala.org\/thehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17061,"href":"https:\/\/www.yalsa.ala.org\/thehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9586\/revisions\/17061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yalsa.ala.org\/thehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yalsa.ala.org\/thehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yalsa.ala.org\/thehub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}