My 1920's Book- WIP

Well, here it is, as far as I've got.  As I said, this was a challenge. The 20's would not be my personal decade of choice for a subject, so I found it hard to get my head into  the right place.

My cover was originally, going to be some sort of geometric flowery thing, then Frances mentioned the silk I'd dyed for my cover looked like stockings! Light bulb moment and complete re-think! I did a sort of reverse applique with some tea dyed sheeting and ......

.....What's this you say, lace, and beads, and girly type things? What has happened to Jules, and her traditional austerity!?  Luckily, having decided to be completely 'not me', there are lots of wonderful laces and beads to be had  at Frances' workshops!

As luck would have it I had some thread which was also the colour of stockings! I embellished the laces with Chinese Knots,  added buttons - (which are old, probably 1920/30s) made a teeny 'pearl necklace' and  used rose petals  hoarded from some dried buds. I bonded the silk  cover to pelmet vilene for support.

Frances gave me some vintage blue lace and  1920's little matte sequins, so I could make the garter.

Now the inside is another story! I'd already made my pages in paper,  convinced I'd want lots of straight lines. You guessed it, as soon as I saw everyone else's books and ideas,  I wanted  to do fabric, but  alas, it was too late, so  I pressed on.

Here are the pages  I've started so far, they aren't complete,  I want to add more stitching and fabrics.
The inside cover is lined with tea dyed sheeting, and the pages are painted wallpaper lining paper.

I did do a lot of reading up  beforehand, and found out some interesting things which I didn't know. My idea was to create a sort of scrap/sketch  book progressing  through the decade, showing how embellishment changed through cultural influences.

 So, in  the very early 20's, organic design and Art Noveau was still very much in vogue, and the Great War was still  uppermost in minds.

Beading  was everywhere, be it clothes, accessories or household items. It became really popular, with lots of magazines devoted to it.

 I made the tiny bag previously, but it didn't 'fit' my book- so I've hidden it in the envelope!

When Howard Carter opened Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922, 'Egyptmania or Tutmania' took hold  of the West and had a major influence on styles through most of the decade. The picture on the left is my interpretation of a Palmolive advert,  headlined 'The Re-incarnation of Beauty'!

 The infamous bob was also a result of the passion for all things Egyptian!

 It wasn't until 1925  that the Paris Exhibition heralded the onset of Art Deco and the Age of Chic.

 

I had to include the Year of the Flapper - as those radical styles influenced the embellishment of the popular - especially the passion for pearls.  The inventions of new plastics and fake pearls meant now that jewellery could be worn and afforded by many women,  not just the rich.

This is an interpretation of a Vogue cover,  it just says 20's to me so I put it in!

That's it so far. I suspect this one will get put away for a bit, but it has been an interesting challenge. I learnt quite a bit about myself and what I want to do through the process of creating it, plus of course having a wonderful time!x