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Sun bonnet, USA, mid-20th century (TRC 2017.4241).The TRC collection houses two American examples of headwear that couldn’t have more different purposes. The cotton sun bonnet (mid-20th century, TRC 2017.4241) was a utilitarian item, used by women working on farms as protection from the sun. The two knitted pussy hats (TRC 2017.0186 and TRC 2017.0187) were made explicitly to wear during women’s protest marches against the election of former US President Donald Trump.

None of these examples can compare with the headwear created by American milliner Mildred Blount (1907-1974). In the 1930s and 1940s she was called ‘the milliner to the stars”, designing hats for celebrities such as Ginger Rogers, Marlene Dietrich, Gloria Vanderbilt and Joan Crawford. She was first exposed to millinery when she worked as an errand girl at Madame Clair’s Dress & Hat Shop in New York.

Pink, so-called pussy hat, worn by women demonstrating against President Donald Trump after his inauguration in January 2017 (TRC 2017.0187).In 1920 she saw an advertisement for work for milliner John-Frederics. This momentous step was later described by the African-American magazine Ebony in 1946: “It took courage for her to ring the bell at John-Frederics in answer to their ad, for this was the royalty of America’s hatters. They were taken aback. No Negro had ever applied before. Yes, she assured them she had talent. All she asked for was a chance. P.S.—She got the job.”

Always interested in historical styles, in 1939 she made a set of 87 miniature hats, reflecting styles from 1680 to 1937, for the World’s Fair in New York. The exhibition proved popular and brought Blount to the attention of Mrs. David Selznick, wife of the producer of the classic film “Gone with the Wind”. Blount won a contract for John-Frederics to design the film’s hats, and worked personally on all of Vivien Leigh’s headwear. This led to work on many other films.

Over the years the TRC in Leiden has been making a collection of embroidery booklets and other items relating to the famous French company of DMC.

Booklet with designs for Tenerife lace, published by DMC, early 20th century (TRC 2020.0393).

DMC (Dollfus-Mieg et Compagnie) was set up in the mid-eighteenth century by Jean-Henri Dollfus, Jean-Jacques Schmalzer and Samuel Koechlin. The three partners established a company known as Dollfus, based in Mulhouse, France. The company produced textiles with hand printed, Indian-style designs for the European market.

At the end of the eighteenth century Dollfus’s nephew, Daniel Dollfus, took over the business. In 1800, Daniel Dollfus married Anne-Marie Mieg and in the same year he gave the company a new name, Dollfus-Mieg et Compagnie (DMC).

A young boy's shirt from Guatemala, with ikat stripes, late 20th century (TRC 2020.4573).As part of our planning for the next six months, we are working on the next TRC exhibition, which will open at the end of September 2021 (all being well).

One of our MA student volunteers, Francesco Montuori, is fascinated with ikats. So he has asked if we could do an ikat exhibition, not just Indonesian forms as so often happens in the Netherlands, but from all over the world, and with all the different terms, names, and techniques.

So we have been looking at the TRC Collection and have identified examples from Guatemala, Ecuador, France, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, and Uzbekistan. So yes, we can do an exhibition that reflects the diverse nature of this historic textile technique, and many of its variations, including the chiné a la chaîne cloth from France in the 1920's and 1930's (see a special blog dated 22 September 2015). 

It is exactly one year ago that the TRC, as well as much of the Netherlands, was forced to shut its doors because of the corona virus, but at that time with the expectation that it would only be for a few months and then life would get back to normal. And although between June and November last year we could welcome small groups of visitors and participants to a limited number of lectures, workshops and courses, we are still far from a return to normal!

However, we have not been wasting our time. We organised two onsite and online exhibitions, firstly Textile Tales from the Second World War and more recently From Buteh to Paisley: The history of a global icon (which is receiving more and more international attention). We will extend the paisley exhibition until the end of the summer, so we hope you will have the opportunuty to visit this magnificent display.

Sample of the Lee Major design, developed for Liberty of London, co. 2020. Donated by Liberty to the TRC collection in February 2021 (TRC 2021.0639).We have also been thinking hard about a range of events that can be organised at the TRC later this year. We hope that the TRC will be able to re-open its doors in April, but this is up to the Dutch government and the relevant corona regulations. And if a third wave hits the Netherlands then this may not be possible. So we are actively planning a programme of events, courses, study days, workshops, etc., which will take place from the summer onwards. In other words, as soon as possible we hope to welcome all textile enthusiasts back to the TRC, and we will make sure that during much of the summer holidays the TRC will remain open for people to see the paisley exhibition and to attend a variety of textile events.

A small group of dedicated volunteers at the TRC has been working very hard on extending the (online) TRC Library catalogue and getting the TRC Collection in order and based on our experiences during the last few weeks, this may take some time! Why? Because of the number of boxes that keep arriving with donations! They came from all over the world, literally from America to Japan. The boxes and other recent donations included a diverse group of items, including a group of paisley textiles donated by Liberty of London, an American military uniform and wedding dress, Japanese embroidered jackets based on American baseball jackets, Japanese beaded bags, an intricate Chinese embroidery, a collection of Mexican woven clothes, as well as Guatemalan and Mexican garments (two different donors).

A detail of an Afghan/Pashtun bridal dress in velvet, with extensive gold thread embroidery, 2004 (TRC 2005.0251b).The TRC collection includes some stunning examples of gold thread embroidery. They include a Yemeni dagger belt (TRC 2012.0392), an Indonesian ikat (TRC 2013.0290), an Afghan wedding dress (TRC 2005.0251b), Indian zari work (including an example of the iconic buteh/paisley motif, TRC 2020.5154), a pair of slippers from Singapore (TRC 2009.0117a-b), and much more.

No one knows for sure when working with metallic thread began, either for weaving or embroidering. Some people have suggested that the technique may have originated in China and spread from there, but this is by no means certain. The oldest recorded instance in Europe and the Middle East dates to the Roman period. It is likely that the technique of using gold thread was developed independently in various places.

Long costume in turquoise net with applied silver coloured braids and turquoise sequins. The costume was made for drag queen Jennifer Hopelezz, Church Club, Amsterdam (TRC 2019.1622).A few years ago the popular Amsterdam drag queen, Jennifer Hopelezz, donated a lovely turquoise net costume (TRC 2019.1622) to the TRC collection. It featured silver coloured braids and turquoise sequins, all hand stitched to the costume by Hopelezz’s husband.

This garment was more than just glitter. It had to be both comfortable to wear and flexible and sturdy enough to dance, swing and high kick in. Designing and producing clothes for performers is not an easy task.

African-American fashion designer Zelda Wynn Valdes (1905-2001) mastered the art of creating clothes that looked glamorous and that could withstand the rigors of public performance. Her customers would eventually include stars like Josephine Baker, Mae West, Ella Fitzgerald, Eartha Kitt, and opera singer Jessye Norman, among others.

Valdes was training to be a performer herself—a classical pianist, but in the 1920s found herself working in her uncle’s tailoring shop. She then worked as a stock girl in an expensive boutique, eventually becoming the shop's first black sales clerk and tailor. She opened her own dressmaking business in 1935 and never looked back.

With the help of Kikuchi Naoko (Japan), a TRC (long distance) volunteer, the TRC in Leiden has been able to acquire a small collection of embroidered sukajan jackets from Japan. The term sukajan derives from: (Yokio) Suka-jan, meaning ‘(Yoko)suka jumpers’. This type of jacket dates to the end of the Second World War (1939-1945) and is based on American baseball jackets. They were worn by personnel on the US military base at Yokosuka (a city in the Kanagawa Prefecture). A specific feature of the sukajan is the use of machine embroidery (using a single needle machine that is hand operated, rather than large commercial machines).

Japanese sukajan jacket, early 21st century (TRC 2021.0625).

Back of a Japanese sukajan jacket, early 21st century (TRC 2021.0625).

Liberty is a well-known emporium located on Great Marlborough Street, in the centre of London. Established in the late nineteenth century, it focusses on the design, production and sale of luxury textiles, clothing and household accessories. They are especially known for their Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau and Oriental-style products.

Detail of a sample of the Pineapple Paisley design, Liberty of London, c. 2020 (TRC 2021.0638).