Since today is Friday the 13th, a day known amongst the superstitious as one during which things have a tendency to go sideways or backwards, as the case may be, I thought I would share a little blooper I noticed in relation to a Jean Harlow gown which I had had the pleasure of seeing in person when I had visited the Hollywood Museum in L.A. back in November. The short of it is that, recently, I came upon a photo of Harlow in the fur sleeved velvet gown and noticed something which the curators of the Harlow exhibit apparently had not: the gown was worn by Harlow with the v in front, not in back! As further evidence, by sheer coincidence, I found a newsreel clip of Harlow in that very same gown (see below). To add insult to injury, as I was composing this post, I noticed there is yet another photo of Harlow in the gown displayed right in front of the actual gown in the Museum (see my photo just below). Clearly, the curators are displaying Baby's gown backwards. Oops?
To be fair, 30s gowns can sometimes be tricky in relation to determining which is the front and which is the back, often due to the fact that it was quite common to have a gown dip lower in the back and inset goring that modern wearers might want emphasizing the rear were designed to highlight the hips and so forth. How to avoid such glitches?
Look for any bust darts. This will tell you which side is meant to face front;
Look for side closures (in my experience, button/snap/hook/zip plackets typically sit on the left side waist of garments from the 30s);
Lay the gown flat or put it over a dress form if you have one and see if you see a difference in hem length (often the back hem will dip lower).
Sometimes, none of these clues will be there. In such cases, what's a gal to do? Try it on both ways and wear it how you want!! Btw, if any other 30s lovers have tips or tricks on this topic, I'd love to hear 'em!
