The Old-New New Edwardians
If you are looking where Edwardian details in modern fashion originated, the fashion industry wasn’t inspired by a Johnny Depp and his brief return to top hats.
Nicole Jenkins, of Circa Vintage, recently brought my attention to a recent photo shoot by Ben Watts and the original Teddy boys. In the 50s and 60s, the Teddy boys took their name from a nickname for “Edward” and were throw-backs to the Edwardian era in their wardrobe choices. They wore pocket watches, waistcoats and other trappings of dandyism. Of course, anachronism is periodically shattered by the odd tattoo or piercing.
You can view more photos from Ben Watts, here, and order limited edition Giclee prints as well if you click here.
If their heyday was today, I can’t help think the lads would have been on the forefront of the Steampunk style and culture. Of course, they are minus the Jules Verne antique-futuristic mechanical gear that separates Steampunk from historical re-enactment, but perhaps that would have just been a matter of time. Instead of being solely influenced by a fashion era of another century, a style’s influence on each subsequent decade seems to sometimes simmer slowly instead of being a radical change, even if it was just simmering along the fringe.
1960s, fashion history | Comment (0)Yikes Stripes
Over the holiday, I walked through an architectural salvage warehouse. A couple was buying Heywood Wakefield twin headboards for the guest room. The plans were to adorn them with Zebra Bed Sets, though the male of the party was objecting due to the historical era they were looking to recreate. Did you know that zebra prints were not out of the question in the 50s? Granted, I would probably put it in a luxe master suit rather than a twin bed guestroom. So, she gets a point for historical accuracy and he gets a point for objecting to the setting….that is, if you are going for historical accuracy. 1950s, fashion history, Stuff for the Pad | Comment (0)
Robert Talbott: A Brief Bio
Robert Talbott was founded by Robert and Audrey Talbott in the 1950s. Audrey, prior to her marriage to Robert, was a clothing buyer. As a hobby, she created bowties for Robert and his friends. With her skill and Robert’s dream to manufacture a true quality product, Robert Talbott the company was born. By 1955, the business was a success and they were traveling the world for silk.
In 1958, the first Robert Talbott store opened in Carmel, New York with a second opening in Pebble Beach in 1968. 24 years later, in 1992, a Madison Avenue showcase store was opened. Dress shirts were added to the Robert Talbott line in 1990, which had been exclusively ties up until this point. Casual shirts and outerwear followed.
Today, Audrey Talbott has shifted her focus to high quality ladieswear and her eponymous line is featured at many boutiques throughout the country.
A woven SILK tie…square bottomed and skinny. Robert Talbott for Jacobson’s from the 80s…
This bio that I wrote appears in the Vintage Fashion Guild label resource. If you are a trivia junkie or a fashion lover, you should check it out.
1980s, 1990s, designers, fashion history, vintage clothing | Comment (0)Interview Coming? Expert Offers Fashion Tips
The theory that a man shouldn’t go into an interview with a two day old beard growth is universally accepted. If you are the lucky guy, or are the girl of the lucky guy who has been called for an opportunity, there is info about the latest shaving products at the Gillette Resource Center. Of course, a clean shave, or a fully grown in but cared for beard is not the only fashion choice that makes an impression. Gillette has info for you on that matter, too.
Style expert Brett Fahlgren, who you may know from E! and GQ, has style tips for you at Gillette Career Advantage. If you are looking to put your best foot forward during and interview or an initial probation period, it is best to err on the side of tried and true rather than taking extreme risks, at least until you check a place out. While you might tend to dress on the more adventurous side, or you may be working with a strict budget and cannot afford a new wardrobe, in either case, there is something in your closet that you can use. Editing your wardrobe may take a little time, and if you have old favorites, a little courage. Fahlgren writes, “A good rule of thumb: if you think a shirt might look too loud or busy or looks bad on you, chances are it does.”
In applying Fahlgren’s tips, the first thing you want to make sure you have is two pairs of shoes. Minimally, you want a pair of black and a pair of brown lace up dress shoes. If you are buying new or “shopping in your closet,” choose a classic style. I would also suggest making sure at least one brown and one black belt are handy. This way, you can change the colors of your accessories based on the color of your suit, or if a more casual environment, your shirt and trousers. Speaking of trousers, a pant with a flat front, rather than a pleat, flatters most men. If you are nervous about shirt choices to pair with suits, go for traditional white or light blue. Experiment with subtle stripes, such as pinstripes, or a small check pattern when you gain fashion confidence.
Do you have an interview coming up? If so, from all of us at VintageGent.com: Congratulations! I would love for you to comment and let me know how it went. Do you wish you had done anything differently with your first impression, or do you have additional words of wisdom for readers?
Michael Jackson, Shoe Designer
You can not go anywhere and not hear about the untimely death of Michael Jackson. Many will wistfully remember his early days at Motown, and recall perhaps wearing a single glove to school. The later years of his career were obscured by public relation nightmares, that seem to have affected his reputation in the United States more so than the rest of the world. His lie served as a cautionary tale about lost childhoods, and also the loneliness that lurks at the top.
A little known fact about Michael Jackson is that he was also a shoe designer. He shares a US Patent for gravity defying loafers with Michael Bush and Dennis Thompson. You may recall incredible dance moves, where he tilted so far forward that you attributed it to his unworldly sense of balance and his slim frame. Actually, the moves were attributed to a special hinge that was an integral part of the shoe. There was a small slot in the stage where they could hook on, or maybe several spots. Since he choreographed things to a “T,” it definitely was not a problem finding the mark. The move was popularized in his early 90s Smooth Criminal video and subsequent performances.
There was an earlier patent that was for a personnel restraint tract which someone would attach work cleats too. This was something that was used for developing what was underneath the stage.
This little known trivia about his life may be one of those things, when the dust settles, and the jokes end, that he may be remembered as an innovator for.
Rest in Peace, Michael Jackson.
Made in the USA: What It All Means
Not all products require a country of origin label. However, those that do, including those under the jurisdiction of the Wool Products Labeling Act and the Textile Fiver Products Identification Act, are often a subject of this blog. I just received a newsletter form MadeByYankees and it hits upon the FTC standards for labeling an item Made in the USA:
Though many products do not require labeling‚ if a company chooses to label‚ they must adhere to the guidelines issued by the FTC. First and foremost if a product is labeled or advertised as Made in USA‚ either expressly or implied‚ it must be “all or virtually all” made in the USA. “ ‘All or virtually all’ means that all significant parts and processing that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. That is‚ the product should contain no — or negligible — foreign content.”3 This definition
seems simple enough but wait. Read on….
I did some more research on what “negligible foreign materials meant, and that took me back to the FTC wesbite HERE
In this analysis, raw materials(18) are neither automatically included nor automatically excluded in the evaluation of whether a product is all or virtually all made in the United States. Instead, whether a product whose other parts and processing are of U.S. origin would not be considered all or virtually all made in the United States because the product incorporated imported raw materials depends (as would be the case with any other input) on what percentage of the cost of the product the raw materials constitute and how far removed from the finished product the raw materials are.(19) Thus, were the gold in a gold ring, or the clay used to make a ceramic tile, imported, an unqualified “Made in USA” claim for the ring or tile would likely be inappropriate.(20) This is both because of the significant value the gold and the clay are likely to represent relative to the finished product and because the gold and the clay are only one step back from the finished articles and are integral components of those articles. By contrast, were the plastic in the plastic case of a clock radio that was otherwise all or virtually all made in the United States found to have been made from imported petroleum, the petroleum is far enough removed from, and an insignificant enough input into, the finished product that it would nonetheless likely be appropriate to label the clock radio with an unqualified U.S. origin claim.
So, when you see something with the Made in the USA label, you can be assured that it has for all intents and purposes, been made in America. There are, from time to time, violations in which the Federal Trade Commission monitors. In 1999, Abercrombie & Fitch was noted for its failure to list the country of origin for a wool product advertised in their catalog, and sold it in their store.
Historical Fact: Garments that were labeled Made in the USA beginning in 1996 must comply with FTC regulations. A variation on the label is a “Assembled in the USA” label which means the item was manufactured in the United States using parts of a foreign source, or a large amount of foreign materials.
Made in Usa, Japan label: There is also some confusion over a label that states “Made in Usa, Japan.” There is in fact a province or area called Usa in Japan. These garments started appearing in the United States in the 60s, imported from Japan. Usa is a real place that has been there for centuries but it has caused confusion.
When you are out and about, watch those labels. It will probably make you more conscious of just who is making your clothing, or exactly what is going into them, if you are attempting to support as many American made products as possible.
fashion history, made in the usa | Comment (0)Lacroix files Chapter 11
It was recently reported in Women’s Wear Daily that the design house of Christian Lacroix is filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection:
“Our intent is definitely a continuation of the business,” Nicolas Topiol, Lacroix’s chief executive officer, said in an interview before meeting with the firm’s 125 employees. “But the crisis has definitely hit us below the knees.”
Topiol said orders for the fall-winter season sank 35 percent, with many retail buyers skipping Paris Fashion Week altogether.
Lacroix won wide acclaim in March for his chic take on Parisian style, from tapered peacoats to draped jersey dresses, but the venue — a shabby parking garage in the Marais district — spoke to the firm’s financial constrictions.
Topiol declined to say how much creditors are owed — principally suppliers and general service providers — but said losses have ballooned to about 10 million euros, or about $14 million at current exchange, on revenues that have shriveled to about 30 million euros, or $42 million.
In my opinion, sometimes the fashion houses need a shake up. If I had a fashion line that had no choice but to appear in a parking garage, I would have ditched the live fashion show altogether. I would have invested in a few hip backdrops and would have staged an exclusive web only pod casted fashion show. With the right smoke and mirrors, no one would have known it wasn’t at a posh location. The show would have had additional staying power as people watched it many hours after the actual event was to take place. In fact, there could have been no live event at all. The other alternative was to make it look like the parking garage was avant gard and went with a theme.
Many designers have found new life with creating items for mass market stores, such as Vera Wang and Isaac Mizrahi. Should Lacroix go back to his roots of design and try his hand at designing something that could be mass produced? Do you think Lacroix should stay as it is, but scale back? Do you think the greates hits of the Spring 2009 fashion show was too little too late? If people aren’t buying, I always say either you are not promoting yourself, you have started to ignore the original people whose interest you built your business on the backs of, or you are mismanaging the wallet.
The latest news is that a Swiss group of investors is looking to purchase Lacroix? Will the name alone be a good investment? Will Lacroix go the way of many other designers and just be a name slapped onto items of various origins, or will the new structure be the same old business, but with better watch dogs?
What do you think?
fashion history | Comment (0)The Name Remains the Same, The Meaning Has Changed
There are many designers that the mainstream just are not aware of from the past unless prompted to study academically because their fashion houses often closed upon their retirement many years ago. Unless, of course, one has studied them academically or they struck a chord with a particular social movement or clothed a Hollywood star. There are exceptions. There are greater opportunities today to license one’s name to insure that one’s moniker will be recognized in average households far beyond a usual time frame for a designer to have worked and then retired, and far beyond death. Pierre Cardin, who began his career following World War II was the first to come out with a “ready to wear” line. He was also revolutionary in bringing his fashion to China and Russia.
According to the Vintage Fashion Guild Label Resource:
“Some see his couture accomplishments eclipsed by his reputation as “The License Man.” After all, the Cardin moniker is affixed to more than 500 licenses. Caroline Rennolds Milbank states in her book, Couture, “Today, Cardin’s diversification overshadows his work in couture. His current reputation rests more on the variety of his endeavours…as well as on his undaunted efforts to dress (or somehow effect) every human being in the world.”
So what does one do with so much clothing? There has to be a way to know what to look for, with Cardin items existing from the couture on down to discount and from the 40s to months from now. As far as strictly the eye of the vintage lover, it is important to note that Mr. Cardin had a hand in design up until the very early 70s. In particular, this Creation Pierre Cardin label from a silk tie that is shown at the bottom of the photo is a good example of one of the Cardin labels to look for, though there are other earlier ones as well. After that, Mr. Cardin was more of a figurehead and a marketer. Other people designed items, if indeed they were not produced elsewhere, or even sold under other names, and just affixed with a Cardin label.
1970s, designers, fashion history | Comment (0)It Started with a Man with a Lot of Sweat…
(At Left: Is that an early jump suit? Feetie Pajamas for Men without the Feet??)
Whenever I am in a blue mood, I sometimes wander to the Lileks.com site and look at the gallery concerning the rise and fall of Dorcus Menswear.
Visitors are given a preperative preamble:
The brand is long forgotten; the name itself has not been uttered by a fashion critic for decades. The days when doors opened at the mention of these two simple syllables are gone, long gone. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised; this company never had the glamour or prestige of a Saint-Laurent, a Givenchy. It never sought the adulation of the fickle scribes, the playboy set. It simply wanted to make interesting clothes for everyday people.
In a broad, generous definition of “interesting,” one can certainly say they succeeded.
Dorcus abandoned the goal of putting men in dresses in the 1960s, but triumphed in the application of extremely large plaids. The question arises: When does a plaid stop being a plaid?
Barney Dorcus’ drive to create clothing was born of his halitosis and predisposition to sweat profusely. It all started when Dorcus purchased a surplus of army gasmasks and used the lightweight fabric to create SWETZ-ALOT fabric. Since the fabric kept gases out, it was sure to keep B.O. odor at bay. The suits flew off the shelves. It may have been that Dorcus would have been in the annals of fashion history with his product. That was of course until son Raoul Dorcus had been given the reins and decided that the company should go in another direction all together, and his own personal style of tall socks with shorts, ghastly plaids (which almost sunk the company), and the male skirts that the world was not ready for caused the company to gradually dwindle.
Have fun flipping through the pages of a dream gone a little bit sideways.
fashion history | Comment (1)Ladies Can Nail It Safer These Days
Nail polish has been around, experts say, for 3,000 years. The original formula contained a base of gum arabic, egg whites, gelatin, and beeswax. Ladies would dip their hands in for hours. The modern concept of nail polish, however, emerged in the 1920s, inspired by the new lacquers that came out in the auto industry, so women started painting their nails instead of staining them.
I shouldn’t say just women. Some punk rockers adopted wearing black nail polish for men on occasion. Then again, the Max Factor corporation probably didn’t have that quite in their vision. Nor did they probably imagine I would use some in the ninth grade to write my initials on the back of my scientific calculator so none of my classmates would accidentally walk away with it. I think it was some sort of color between pink and plum. Plum colored eyeshadow was big then. So was the Clarion computer. Well, that might not have been “big” but it was something that you could turn the dials of at the store if you were bored.
I met a man who was repulsed by the use of nail polish on his lady’s hands and discouraged her from using them. I never understood what the aversion was, unless her nails were so rediculously long and had such ornamentation that it was almost like a handicap, preventing her from tending to her daily life for fear of marring them. However, they weren’t like that. Hmmm….
In the past decade or so, the practice of women wearing nail polish has ebbed and flowed. The new trend has been having makers look for more ways to create nail polish without formaldehyde and other not so appealing ingredients that vintage ladies had to live with. It may be okay at Maaco, but not on the human body. The Olan brand, at left in cosmopolitan red, is one such offering on the Hello Gorgeous! website that lets a gal browse from the comfort of home (or I should also say “person who wants to put their initials on their calculator regardless of gender”). I think Rita Hayworth, the original red nail trendsetter, and Uma Thurman, who influenced women again in the 90s, would have approved of the hue.
Menswear Innovator: Then AND Now
Here is a trivia question for the garment history buffs out there:
Q. Name the company that first treat wool gabardine to be water repellant.
A. It was Sanyo, a Japanese clothier with a history dating to the 1940s. Sanyo Shokai extended the business by opening New York in 1978 to reach a North American audience.
In some places, fall seems to be taking a pass and winter feels like it is just around the corner. It may seem a little premature according to the calendar, but my woolens are already unpacked and it is time to think about overcoats. If you are looking to buy new so that you don’t ruin your antique or vintage overcoat in the wind and snow, the Sanyo Fashion House is making some very well made and luxurious mens wool coats.
In fact, not only was the company a trailblazer in the beginning, but it is continuing to make innovations. The buttons on the coats are affixed by a special state of the art sewing machine that simulates the back and forth sewing movement of something sewn. It is certainly more stable, but might even fool you into believing no machine was involved. They also have a special windbreaker interlining, at left, that is usually only reserved for police winter uniforms. It retains heat as well as protects against the elements.
On their site, their coats are available for purchase, or you can find a local retailer to see them in person.
Mr. Blackwell’s First and Last
Recently, fashion lost another prominent figure. Mr. Richard Blackwell’s (born Richard Selzer) list of the ten worst dressed women morphed from a curmudgeonly missive to an annual event. He went to school with Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney and starred in stage productions until he introduced his own clothing line. In American households, the “list” eclipsed all of that.
Mr. Blackwell’s very first “list” came in 1960. Interesting trivia: the first list both included Morticia Addams (Carolyn Jones) AND Lily Munster (Yvonne DeCarlo)
1. Anna Magnani (“The female counterpart of Emmett Kelly. One of the most distinguished actresses of our generation, who suggests Eleanora Duse playing in a Shakespearean tragedy wearing tramp clothes.”)
2. Brigitte Bardot (“An unruly child who has acquired the bad habit of taking off her nightie before the bathroom door has been closed.”)
3. Yvonne De Carlo (“A gypsy who stole a wine-red portiere from a window and draped it over her body in combination with a Kelly green couch cover.”)
4. Lucille Ball (“One of our most gifted comediennes, she seems to bend over backwards to look ridiculous, and her greatest asset in this department in her clothes. Her preferences in fashion can best be described as a sense of turmoil, because nothing blends or complements.”)
5. Anita Ekberg (“If a woman who wears a shoe two sizes too small is apt to suffer from bunions, I wonder what is the fate of one with a 39-inch bust who wears a size 16 dress? Miss Ekberg, in either street or formal wear, provokes the idea that she dresses with a shoehorn.”)****
6. Shelley Winters (“The only description for Miss Winters dressed for a party is a rag doll brought to the circus and covered with pink cotton candy.”)
7. Carolyn Jones (“There is so little material between Miss Jones’ bust line and the hem of her garment one wonders which will get where first.”)
8. Kim Novak (“Lavender, like old lace, belongs in a bureau drawer, not on a torso with too great a frequency to offset it. She has adopted lavender as her trademark and is guilty of fabric redundancy.”)
9. Anne Baxter (“She wears a sweater as if she were headed for the showers instead of the moonlight sail with a handsome escort. In formal attire her hair looks as if someone ran a brush through it and then said, ‘Oh, the hell with it.’”)
And Mr. Blackwells’ very last list
1. Victoria Beckham (“Forget the fashion spice – wearing a skirt would suffice! In one skinny-mini monstrosity after another, pouty posh can really wreck-em.”)
2. Amy Winehouse (“Exploding beehives above…tacky polka-dots below…she’s part 50′s car-hop horror.”)
3. Mary Kate Olsen (“YIKES! In layers of cut-rate kitsch, Mary Kate’s look is hard to explain…she resembles a tattered toothpick-trapped in a hurricane!”)
4. Fergie (“Another style-free “Fergie” in fashion’s hall of shame? Yes, when it comes to couture chaos, guess it’s all in a name!”)
5. Kelly Clarkson (“Her heavenly voice soars above the rest…but those belly-baring bombs are hellish at best! She may be the queen of “Pro-Active” – but that wardrobe looks downright radioactive!”)
6. Eva Green (“Stuck in neon nightmares not fit for the sane. Fashion this loud could give Bond a migraine! A profusion of confusion from toes to nose!”)
7. Avril Lavigne (“Gothic make-up courtesy the mad spatula-Fashions provided by…The house of Dracula!”)
8. Jessica Simpson (“Forget the Cowboys. In prom queen screams, can it get any worse? She’s a global fashion curse!”)
9. Lindsay Lohan (“Lindsay the fashion frenzy strikes again! Lohan takes fashion to a new low.”)
10. Alison Arngrim (“Little Nellie of the prairie, looks like a 1940′s fashion editor for the Farmers’ Almanac.”)
Mr. Blackwell did not include his perennial least favorite, Brittney Spears, on the list because of her tumultuous personal life. He felt sorry for her, but sure she would be on the list for the end of 2008.
****= 1959/60 was before the sizing standards change. A size 16 was not large at all, closer to an 8
1960s, fashion history | Comment (1)MLB Logo turns 40
The Major League Baseball Logo, which has adorned zillions of licensed sportswear, television graphics, and more turns 40. Jerry Dior, who worked for Sandgren & Murtha at the time, created it to commemorate the 100th anniversary of of the league back in 1968. It was unveiled in the fall of 1968, and appeared on uniforms during the 1969 baseball season. What it also signified was that the league was going into a new direction of mass merchandising as well and needed a “face” and a logo.
Dior never received royalties for the design, as his work was property of the firm. He later left and spent the rest of his career designing commercial packaging. Now 1976, Dior is not bitter. He states that the logo “belongs to baseball.” However, Dior has petitioned just for acknowledgement.
(Note: as far as we know, Jerry Dior is no relation to Christian Dior.)
fashion history | Comments (2)Joe Famolare and the Platform shoe: Part III
Joe Famolare and the Platform Shoe – Part III in a Series
Part III Joe “Gets There”
Despite many naysayers who thought he was crazy, when Joe saw the “writing on the wall” at Marx and Newman, he didn’t cultivate his long list of business connections from all over the world. His business ethic and the personal commitment he made to the company just wouldn’t permit his conscience to.
He totally started from scratch with his new company. He had to start over with being the new guy and pitching his ideas to investors to get nickel one. But in the end, he charmed them with his ideas and his sense of showmanship.
An early product was a molded clog, for which he won a Coty award in 1973.
Even though the clog was a sensation in the fashion world from a design perspective, what really showcased Joe’s abilities as a self promoter was the “Get There”
The Get There took the world of platform shoes by storm.
The secret behind the shoes, while many platform shoes of the day left one teetering, the Famolare platform shoe was well balanced and practical.
The patented, 4 wave sole promotes posture and balance. Instead of having a main area of balance underneath the ball of the foot and then one under the heel, with a hollow at the arch, creating the “figure 8″ style foot print, the foot print is a series of waves that helps one “roll” and flow when they walk as opposed to the other two mobility situations with platform shoes.
The next ad appeared in magazines and newspapers everywhere as the “birth” of the Get There…featuring an implication that the Get There was carved out of marble like a masterpiece sculpture…
Not only did he use the traditional means of print advertising to promote his product, such as shown below, but he even choreographed the “Get There” dance, and ran a contest for an aspiring song writer to perform the “Get There” song on a 45 rpm record, and the record was released and it became the theme song for them.
Joe envisioned it as a yearly contest to find aspiring talent and spread the word about comfortable platform shoes that you could actually walk in! This didn’t turn into a yearly contest, but it was something that burned the Get There in everyone’s memory. They could read about it, dance about it and listen to it!
The shoes not only hold a patent but are on display in the Smithsonian museum, and is also featured at the Costume, Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. So next time you are in the neighborhood…pay the exhibit a visit.
To Be Continued…
1970s, famolare shoes, fashion history | Comments (3)The World’s Most Famous Watch
The most famous watch in the world was donated to the Smithsonian in 1998 by Don Hewitt.
It is a Minerva stopwatch previously owned by a Mr. Arthur Bloom. Mr. Bloom was a television director and one of the founder’s of the perennial news magazine “60 minutes.” He lent it to the production crew and on Oct. 22, 1968, the familar tick of Bloom’s stopwatch greeted America for the first time. The watch is an icon, and has been dramatized and parodied hundreds of times over.
Artie Bloom passed away but the Minverva…now computer generated (as the article informs)…ticks on…
reprinted from http://www.cbsnews.com
’60 Minutes’ Founder Arthur Bloom Dies
NEW YORK, Jan. 29, 2006
Arthur Bloom (CBS)
Arthur Bloom (CBS)
(CBS)Arthur Bloom, the award-winning CBS News television director responsible for the distinctive on-screen look of >60 Minutes since its debut 37 years ago and who led the modernization of on-screen graphics at CBS News, died at home Saturday of cancer. He was 63 and resided in Grandview-on-Hudson, N.Y.
He was one of the last remaining original 60 Minutes founders still working for the program. Bloom also played a role in helping to train Dan Rather to succeed Walter Cronkite in the CBS News anchor chair in 1981.
Bloom spent his entire 45-year career at CBS and used his keen eye and a symphonic vision of camera work to become one of the medium’s best directors of live political event coverage. His outstanding talent was recognized with the first Lifetime Achievement Award in News Direction from the Directors Guild of America (DGA) in 1995. The same organization had honored him twice before, once for news direction of CBS News coverage of the 1976 Democratic and Republican conventions and, before that, in 1973 for his work on 60 Minutes.
Most of Bloom’s time was devoted to 60 Minutes; he helped to create and then honed the consistent, classy look of the broadcast. Each week he worked in Studio 33 in the CBS Broadcast Center monitoring the program’s studio production and directing the 60 Minutes correspondents as they taped introductions and tags for their reports. He influenced some of the broadcast’s most basic elements, starting with its famous ticking stopwatch.
The first stopwatch was Bloom’s own. The timepiece symbol began as part of 60 Minutes creator Don Hewitt’s idea for “60 minutes of reality” and came to life when Bloom filmed his own Minerva stopwatch. The concept worked well enough to be used at the beginning of the broadcast’s third edition on Oct. 22, 1968.
Soon it was shown between segments, eventually becoming the iconic logo recognized by generations. Bloom updated the logo, but only in barely noticeable ways at intervals of several years. His modernizing touches included the use of slimmer typography and the addition of subtle shading and texture to the logo’s background. He oversaw the stopwatch’s transition from a filmed image to a computer-generated one.
“Artie had an eye for what worked visually and what didn’t – he was invaluable to me,” said Hewitt. “I depended on him to make the broadcast as visually appealing as it turned out to be. He was at my side every step of the way.”
Bloom also helped Hewitt execute the graphic concept for 60 Minutes as a magazine for television, deciding on a mock-up of a magazine page to put behind the correspondent to begin each of the broadcast’s segments. Now also computer-generated, the magazine concept has essentially remained the same.
entertainment, fashion history, history | Comment (0)
