The Edinburgh and Glasgow School of Art trained pair inspired the launch of our Modern Hosiery Department earlier this year. Today we are excited to launch their second collection inspired by Ostrich feathers, Tattoo parlours and Showgirls - perfect for winter parties or brightening up everyday outfits!
Designed and manufactured in Scotland and made with beautifully soft and strong 80 denier tights they look delicate but can take a lot of dancing!
********************
Whilst we call our new department 'Modern' Hosiery, finding this beautiful miniature painting by Isaac Olivers from 1615 (from the Victoria & Albert Museum) shows a pair of tights that could easily be included in our collection today.
The man in the portrait is Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset. In the diary of his wife, Anne, she records the many extravagances that led to the mortgaging of their house, Knole in Kent.
Amongst other outlandish pursuits, such as medieval jousting festivals, I imagine that his hand embroidered blue tights (the most expensive dye and pigment in the 17th century) greatly added to his financial difficulties!
Not content with commissioning a portrait by a leading artist of the time, Sackville requested Olivers to use the three most important blue pigments: costly ultramarine (lapis lazuli) for his breeches spangled with moons and suns; smalt (a pigment made from cobalt-coloured glass) for the greyish curtain behind the sitter and blue bice (azurite) for the stockings.
Those were the days, when a pair of blue tights could cause such a commotion!
No comments:
Post a Comment