Greenwich Village Block Associations NewsAn Occasional Publication from the Greenwich Village Block Associations & An Open Community Forum |
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Greenwich Village, long celebrated as the sanctuary of free speech and free spirits, has now yielded the very latest designs in women's dress. Under the patronage of Kate Seabrook, the Village designers, weavers, and modistes recently lifted the bushel measure from their shining light and put the world wise to the real thing in wearing apparel. Mrs. Seabrook is the owner and operator of a coffee house in Waverley Place, New York. Not everybody knows where it is, for no sign is out and no effort to bring in a general patronage has ever been made... a place where the bobbed haired intelligentsia of Washington Square may invite their souls, roast chestnuts and debate the difference between mutation and evolution. Not long ago the girls in the Village decided they were tired of being sartorially misrepresented in the Philistine world. It was the impression north of 14th Street, out in the wilds of Iowa, and the steppes of Georgia that a Greenwich Village lady was all dressed up for anything from a grand bal or to a shower bath when she was wearing a pair of horn rimmed spectacles, a calico smock, and a set of sandals. So the dessmakers decided they would put on a show. And it was only natural that "156" should be the theatre of their sartorial parade. Plans were laid, Tony Sarg of marionette fame, and Ethel Plummer drew posters. Achmed Abdullah, novelist and playwright, volunteered as stage director, and Sybilla Lamont supervised the details. Mrs. Antonio de Sanchez served cigarettes....The cognoscenti of Sheridan Square were jostled a bit by slicked-up Philistines from uptown and out of town, but on the whole, it was a great party from first to last. Each model did a slow patrol up and down the length of the room while the spectators lounged at their ease on all sides, drank coffee and smoked. Sometimes beautiful batiked silks were draped carelessly over the sylphs and when the patrol pirouetted, the silks floated aft. At such times the male spectators forgot to lounge at ease.... Bobby Edwards twanged a ukulele to the words of "The Sultan's Wives Have Got the Hives" and "Down in Greenwich Village Where the Old Maids Go for Thrillage" or Aleta Crump did chansos, chocolate choruses, and chastouschki (Russian folk songs) The gowns, wraps, and lingerie managed to be startling and practical at the same time.... Generally speaking - though generalities are dangerous when you are talking about the Village - the styles in frocks ran to modest shortness of skirt, long and voluminous sleeves and simple lines. Dresses for the most part, were in one piece and negligees were slashed to the hip...... Undergarment novelties included black velvet trimmed gingham step-ins and a cheery colored georgette chemise. Style exhibits were not confined to clothes. There was a girl named Tarzanne of the Greenwich Village Follies, who showed the ladies what they might do when it was necessary for their knees to be bare. Tarzanne was wearing a bathing suit cut low above the waist and high below. In fairness, it should be stated that her legs ...needed no adornment. But for the benefit of those not so well satisfied with unrelieved nature, she exhibited on her legs a black line drawing. When her knees were pressed together, the audience saw the portrait of a man. His right eye was mounted directly on top of her right patella and, by manipulating her knee muscles in a way that wasn't explained, she would wickedly wink this right eye. Anna May Cliff of Madame Frances' Hildred of Lucille's, and Alden Gay of Tappes's showed how effectively the Village clothes should be worn just as they are used to showing Mrs. Fifth Avenue how she might look if Mrs. Fifth Avenue looked like Anna May Cliff et al. The exhibitors included a number of such typically Village institutions as Ann's Shop, Billies Personality Shoppe, Kraftwove, Reiss Studios, the Treasure Box, and the Village Weavers. The show will be a semiannual event for the Village thinks it has a mission in the world. (from the Portland Oregonian, July 9, 1922) |