Popular forms of women’s dress shoes in the 1920s can be divided into three basic types: pumps (no straps), ankle straps (mary janes), and T-straps. Closed toes and heels were worn throughout the 1920s. Peep toes and sandle-style high heels (with either a sandal front or an open back) did not come into fashion until the later 1930s. The split upper, with the vamp covering the toes separated from the heel, came into high French fashion in the 1920s, and eventually worked its way into mainstream American fashion by the 1930s.

Women’s evening shoes in the first half of the decade usually had a fairly pointy toe and a Louis heel (curved) or Cuban heel (block) of 2” or 2 1/2”; in the second half, the pointed toe started rounding out and they usually sported a 2 1/2 – 3”Boulevard heel (straighter than the Louis, but with a slight curve). All these heel styles were thicker/sturdier than today’s thin high heels. Evening shoes were often made with fabric exteriors (e.g. silk satin, brocade, velvet, lace) over a leather base; sometimes they were decorated with beading, embroidery, or shoe clips. It was fashionable to have heels in a contrasting color or decorated with patterns or rhinestones. Popular colors were gold, silver, bronze, black, pastels, and bright silks.

Women’s daytime dress shoes were made from leather or more durable fabrics like silk faille, and usually had a heel from between 1” and 2 1/2”. For more casual wear, women wore low- heeled mary janes & oxfords, button up shoes, boots, etc.

Where to buy modern shoes that can pass as 1920s shoes: If you don’t have anything in your closet that looks 1920s, your best bet are character shoes from a variety of dance shoe suppliers: Capezio, So Danco, Danceshuz, etc. Capezio seems to be priced in the middle, with others cheaper and more expensive. Capezio also makes pricier versions in their “theatrical” line. A great place to try online would be: www.womensvintageshoes.com. Women’s Vintage Shoes has hundreds of choices from real vintage and retro shoes to modern look-a-likes.

If you want a color other than the standard black or tan, character shoes can be spray-painted. I have seen it done with women’s Capezios in metallic paints (gold, silver), and they look great. I have found one pair of character shoes from Danceshuz that comes in silver.

Another option for women is Retro-01’s “Flapper” shoe, which is closer to a 1920s shoe than any other costume shoe I have seen. Plus they come in several colors (black, white, red, silver, gold), and you can get them for under $30: You can most likely find them on either Amazon.com or Women’s Retro Shoes.

Chucks were invented in 1917, and named after Charles “Chuck” Taylor, a basketball player, coach, and salesman who traveled the country evangelizing the game and selling the shoes. The 1920s through 1970s were Chucks’ glory days. But the 1970s brought new competition from Nike, Reebok, and Adidas, and Converse ceded territory as a performance shoe. After losing their footing in basketball, the brand floundered. And despite its strong ties to the counterculture movement – it was the shoe of choice for bands like Nirvana, The Pixies, The Ramones – Chucks never fully capitalized on the phenomenon. Converse declared bankruptcy in 2001.

Then the tide turned. The company, under new leadership, concentrated on rebuilding its brand name and focusing on what made Chucks so successful: simplicity and authenticity. Converse re-established timeless bestsellers with updates. They designed new streetwise models that retained the original style. They brought the brand’s focus back to basketball with NBA endorser and superstar-to-be Dwyane Wade. They also started to embrace the counterculture movements that had been embracing them. The result? Converse and Chucks came back as sales tripled over the first three years after Converse’s reorganization. Today Converse continues to cultivate its edgy rebel status by partnering with up-and-coming designers and bleeding-edge hip-hoppers and rockers. Sales continue to increase each year.

Part of what made Chucks so successful is they connect with timeless values. Putting on a Chuck, young people feel a sense of authenticity; they are part of something real because the shoe is old-school cool. Chucks also convey a message of freedom: freedom from the work world and freedom of expression. Chucks’ design hasn’t changed much since 1917, symbolizing simplicity of design and straightforward comfort. Chucks tap into membership: wearing a pair makes you part of a group. Perhaps most importantly, Chucks foster a sense of personal identity: there are many different colors and styles to choose from to express yourself. If you want to make a political statement, try Democracy Chucks; if you love music, try hip-hop producer Pharrell Williams Chucks; you can even go online at Discount Chucks or Retro Shoes to find the perfect pair. The variety and carefree image of Chucks make them fun to wear. Chucks tap into timeless values: They are the soles of a century.

Before adding light streams to an image, first ask yourself where you want the light source for the steams. What aperture or opening will the light be streaming through? What is in the path of the steams? Once you’ve made these decisions, you can begin.

Open the image you will be adding light beams to and create a new layer. Select a hard black brush, and paint over the aperture (or opening) where you want the light to stream through. This might be a window, flashlight, or gap in the trees. Be as accurate as possible when painting. It’s the small details in the openings that give light streams character.

Choose Filter > Blur > Radial Blur. Adjust the amount to 100, Blur Method to Zoom, Quality to Draft, and move the Blur Center to the estimated position of your light source. Since there’s no preview, this can be a bit tricky. Don’t be afraid to Undo and reposition. If the light source is out of the image window, enlarge your canvas so you can reach it. Once you have the blur originating from the light source, apply it several more times. (Command/Ctrl-F). Then apply a Radial Blur one last time with Quality set to Best.

Choose Edit > Transform > Scale to shape the light streams. Zoom out, place the center point of the transformation outline on the center of your aperture, and resize pressing Shift-Option/Alt, dragging the handles beyond the canvas if necessary.

Create a new layer, fill it with white, and place it below the light streams layer. Create another new layer and turn off the visibility of the light streams and white-fill layers to see only the original image. On the new layer, paint a white silhouette of the objects that will be blocking the light streams. Place the silhouette layer above the light streams layer, and turn on the visibility of all the layers. Select the entire canvas (Command/Ctrl-A) and copy to clipboard using Copy Merged (Shift-Command/Ctrl-C).

Select the Background layer and make it the only visible layer. Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon and choose Curves. Click OK to close the curves dialog box. Option/Alt-click the layer mask thumbnail on the Curves adjustment layer. Press Command/Ctrl-V to paste the clipboard contents, the Option/Alt-click the layer mask thumbnail again.

Double-click the Curves adjustment layer thumbnail to open the Curves dialog box and adjust the curve to darken the non-light stream portions of the image.

Duplicate the Curves adjustment layer, select the layer mask thumbnail, and press Command/Ctrl-I to invert the layer mask. Double-click the Curves adjustment layer thumbnail to open the Curves dialog box and adjust the settings to lighten the light streams.

With this technique, the original image isn’t altered, so you can continue to edit and add additional adjustment layers. Watch for visual cues that contradict your new lighting.

There are many types of sewing shears and scissors, all used for different applications. Below is a description of each model and their respective uses.

Bent-handle dressmaker’s shears are best for pattern cutting. The angle of the lower blade lets fabric lie flat. They are made in 6″ to 12″ lengths with the 7″  and 8″ lengths used most often. There are also left-handed models and special models for cutting synthetics and knits available.

Pinking shears have a sawtooth blade and cut a zig-zag, ravel-resistant edged line. These are excellent for finishing seams and raw edges on many types of fabric. These are also widely used for crafts and decorations. Patterns should not be cut with pinking shears. They come in 5.5″ to 10.5″ lengths. The 7.5″ length is a good choice if only buying one.

Scalloping shears work like pinking shears but cut a more ravel-resistant edge. This is because of the rounded edges of the blade teeth.

Lingerie shears cut extremely sheer fabric and can effectively trim close to the stitching line. Its’ serrated blades prevent slipping or stretching of the fabric. The finger guide aids in control.

Light trimmers are ideal for repairs, alterations, trimming seams and small cutting jobs. This is a good all-around shear with its’ best length being 6″ or 7″.

Sewing scissors come in 5″ and 6″ lengths. One blade has a blunt point which prevents the snagging of fabric when trimming.

Embroidery scissors are small portable scissors useful for general needlework, ripping, clipping and making buttonholes.

Tailors’ points have sturdy blades for easy clipping into hair canvas and other heavy fabrics.

Electric scissors cut quickly through light and heavy fabrics. They make the job easier and less tiring because of the automatic opening and closing of the blades. These come with or without cords.

November 8, 2006

There were only a few galleries in The American Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  The art was sorted by date with the most recent 20th century work being shown in the first gallery.  I decided to limit my paper on one particular gallery, which displayed art from 1825-1901.  This gallery was the most interesting to me even though there were some flaws in the layout of the room and in the way the art was showcased.

On entering the gallery, American Art III, the first things I noticed were “The Agnew Clinic” and an assortment of furniture and accessories in the back of the room.  There were also two statues and fourteen paintings hung on the walls.  Three of these paintings were hung over each entrance into the room about twelve feet above the floor, and two painting were hung on top of one another on the west wall.  Also among the paintings were Hovenden’s “Breaking Home Ties” and “The Annunciation” by Tanner.

I found it strange that three of the largest paintings in the gallery were hung above the entrances.  It was really hard to see and enjoy them so far away.  The smaller paintings, which were hung on top of one another, were also hard to see.  One was below eye level while the other was way above.  There was some organization behind this though because each painting above an entrance was a beautiful landscape and the smaller two were both of the ocean.  I asked the gallery attendant if the art was hung this way because of space issues due to the temporary exhibits and she said that the room hadn’t changed except for the new painting, “The Agnew Clinic.”

“The Agnew Clinic” occupies a half wall between the north and east entrances into the room.  It’s the only painting on the whole wall.  I found it strange that there was so much wall space if only one painting was hung there prior, which was half of it’s size, when there are two paintings on top of one another on the adjacent wall.  There should have been plenty of space to have everything at eye level.

“The Agnew Clinic” is about ten feet by seven and a half feet.  It is hung horizontally in the center of the wall space, one and a half feet off the ground.  The frame was about ten inches of solid oak with text engraved into the bottom left-hand corner.  It was hung perfectly.  The surgeons are all eye-level with the viewers.  I felt like it was a huge window into the operating room itself.  I really felt like I was there watching the operation take place.

While I was looking at the painting, the gallery attendant came over and told me a little bit about the art.  I learned that it was on temporary loan from the University of Pennsylvania due to a flood at their facility and that Dr. Agnew has a scowl on his face because there is a woman present.  Normally, women weren’t allowed in the operating room but she was given the opportunity to observe because she had graduated at the top of her class.  She also told me that Eakins had painted himself into the work on the far right side as one of the observers.  I really enjoyed her explaining the work for me.  It was a nice experience.

Each painting had it’s own information card, but they weren’t a consistent size.  The width should have been uniform throughout the gallery.  It took me a while to find the information cards for the two ivory sculptures in the room, which did seem a little out of place.  I eventually found the information cards on the walls next to the south and west entrances.

Displayed on a short landing on the south half of the gallery was a mix of furniture, accessories and four paintings.  There were also four display cases on the floor filled with pitchers and vases.  The art here was organized very nicely.  All of the colors were dark shades of brown, red, green and blue.  The paintings above the landing reflected the furniture because they had similar furniture painted in them.  One of the paintings “Portrait of George Burnham,” by Cecilia Beaux was of a man who appeared to be wealthy.  It was a nice accompaniment to the furniture and accessories, which were very ornamental and expensive.

I did have a few problems with this section of the gallery though.  The information cards for this work were on the floor of the landings, making them hard to read.  The four paintings above the furniture were too far away from the viewer to see all the detail, and the display cases had room in between them for someone to walk through, but the space was very cramped and almost dangerous.  There should have been either more room in between the cases or none at all.

The gallery was very loud due to the construction of the room.  The room was very large with a high, level ceiling.  Each wall came together at a 90-degree angle, which allowed sound to reverberate easily.  When it was quite, I tested the reverberation time and it took three seconds for a sound to decay.  There didn’t seem to be any attempts at isolating sound within the gallery.  A few simple fixes could have been bass traps on each corner of the room painted the same color as the walls and a large rug in the middle of the room, that mimicked the style and colors of the furniture that was already on display.  Even if the walls were built at slight angles such as 2 – 3 degrees, sound would have been minimized.  There were a lot of people talking and joking around in the room.  At one point, a crying baby was brought through in a stroller.  I could also hear conversations from two galleries away. This made it harder for me to picture myself in the hospital while viewing “The Agnew Clinic.”

The walls were painted a medium grey/brown from the floor to 3/4 of the way to the ceiling with a dark blue/green stripe between the off-white color that extended to the ceiling.  These colors complimented the dark colors in the artwork.  The ceiling was covered in slightly transparent tiles allowing some natural light to mix with the track lighting.  The light was very nice.  It was bright enough to see all the details of the artwork with no obstructive glare on the paintings as in some of the other American art galleries, which I am not covering in this essay.

As a whole, my experience was fine.  I enjoyed the artwork, but I didn’t enjoy some of the ways in which the art was being displayed.  For the room being so large, the walls should not have been so cluttered.  There was only two feet of space separating most paintings.  The gallery was also in need of some serious acoustical treatments.  I visited on a Sunday, which is the day you can gain admittance for as low as a penny.  Teenagers and parents with children are more likely to attend on Sundays.  This may have had something to do with the overall experience and the loud ambiance of the gallery.

Wisconsin Landscape is an oil painting painted between 1938 -1939 of a farm-home in Wisconsin and the beautiful nature surrounding it.  The perspective is from up on a hill looking down on the quiet landscape mottled with cows and sheep.  We can see for miles from the heaps of hay in the foreground to the blue rolling hills in the distance.  Thick clouds dominate the top half of the painting with a blanket of green and yellow fields below.  It is a bold yet calming image with powerful strokes and rich recurring shapes of color.  All of the elements are sewn together by the use of a grid and horizontal divisions.  It is evident that the artist took a very structural and mathematical approach in laying out the scene, but in no way does this affect the overall natural beauty of the landscape.

Color is balanced throughout the painting by placement and intensity.  The blues in the sky share the same strength and tonal qualities as the hay.  The dark greens of the tress in the foreground are balanced with the trees in the upper left.  Even the deep red barn, which would normally dominate a pallet of earthy colors, is matched with the bright yellow light in the clouds above it.  This placement of color keeps the viewers’ eyes moving around the painting.  I was never distracted or trapped in any one area.

There are many recurring shapes throughout the painting that create balance and symmetry.  The clouds, trees and hay all have oval shapes.  The shape of the tress in the background is almost identical to the shape of light reflected off of the fields.  The row of cows is very similar to the thin row of bushes above and to the right of the fields. Even the size of the clouds to the very right of the painting match the shape of the fields directly beneath.  Almost every shape in the middle ground is a rectangle.

Most areas are painted with very heavy strokes.  Some have enough paint to create a three-dimensional texture.  Details are painted with light daubs of paint, resembling rough pointillism.  Stroke is used to define space and distance.  For instance, the closest two cows are painted with more detail and with smaller daubs of paint.  Each additional cow is painted with less detail.  Shapes which could be sheep or chickens are just daubs of paint near the house.  This gives us a great sense of distance.  The further the objects are from the viewer, the less sharp and focused they become.

The use of light is very important in defining the contours of the land.  Without it, the land would be flat and lifeless.  The light rides along the plains to show the direction of each hill.  The light is also used to highlight the cows.  This brings them into the painting as characters where without it, they’d blend right into the background.

The painting is divided into long horizontal sections, each representing a particular space and distance.  There are three main sections: The foreground, which consists of the buildings, trees, cows and hay; the middle ground which consists of the fields and hills, and the upper section which holds the sky.  The angles of each section are very important.  They are all 45-degrees which meet the adjoining sections at 90-degree angles.  An example is the beams of light meeting with the divisions in the fields.  The first angle underneath the cows leads the viewers’ eye across the canvass up to the middle section. Here, the angles draw attention left across the painting and up into the sky.

This painting gains a lot of energy from its angles and shapes.  At the same time, it’s very relaxing and surreal.  It reminds me of the calm moment before a storm.  The clouds are all angled downwards to the left as if digging through the sky.  The beams of light are also pointed in this same angle.  The main line of trees in the bottom left, are leaning to the right as if being blown by wind.  This could either be from turbulent winds circling the landscape or just a way for the artist to create motion.

When I stood in front of Wisconsin Landscape, I immediately felt relaxed.  It may be because I enjoy sitting outside right before a storm.  I felt this in the painting by the use of colors, the thick clouds and the multiple directions of wind. The artist most likely felt differently because the cows don’t seem to be affected by a change in weather.  If something were about to happen, I felt that at least one of them would be looking up into the sky.  I visualized being there.  I could hear the sounds of nature, the cows and a faint tractor when the wind blew just right.  I could smell the rain and feel the moisture approaching.  Even though this probably wasn’t the artists’ intention, it’s how I interpreted the scene.

Curry was much more interested in the form of the painting than the subjects themselves.  It is very evident that the painting was well thought out beforehand.  Every shape and color is balanced out with another similar shape or color intensity.  All of the angles and strokes lead the viewers’ eye in a zigzag fashion across the canvas.  Every line and direction has a purpose.

Even with this mathematical-like structure, it still presents itself as something that could truly exist in a natural setting.  The structure is undoubtedly there, but in no way over-powering or obstructive.  It’s amazing that when you blur your eyes, you can really see the horizontal sections and subdivisions within each one.  When studied, this painting reads like a grid, but on a first look, it really is just a beautiful and exciting landscape.

Everyone has used the crop tool, and most people have probably used the Crop tool’s Perspective options. But when you break away from the conventional use of the Crop tool, you’ll find some really interesting results.

Select the Crop tool and click-drag to create a selection. In the resulting Crop Options menu bar at the top of the screen, check Perspective. (This option only appears after you make a crop selection).

Shape the Perspective selection. Here, I shaped a selection two different ways for a One Way sign. When you bring two crop anchor points toward each other, Perspective expands the area in the result; if you spread two points further apart, it narrows the area. This effect may not be suitable for every project, but it’s perfect for an edgy, dramatic look.

Take the warped perspective a step further by using the ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) plug-in to purposely distort the white balance, tint, and exposure of an image. You can really change the feel and attitude of a photo this way.

In Photoshop, use the Crop Perspective for quick and wild effects. I made several attempts on numerous portraits and chose crops where the effect worked best. The results were distortions that appear to be shot with a special lens but were simply a clever crop.

Step 1: For brightening teeth, irises, whites of the eyes, eyebrow arches, undereye circles, and the bridge of the nose, add a Curves adjustment layer. Click a point in the middle of the curve and drag upward. Click OK.

Step 2: Change the adjustment layer’s blending mode to Luminosity. Press Command/Cntrl-I to invert the mask of the adjustment layer. This turns the mask thumbnail black, hiding the adjustment. Press D for the default colors, and switch the Foreground Color to white as necessary by pressing X. Painting with white reveals the settings of the adjustment layer; painting with black conceals them.

Step 3: With a medium-sized airbrush and preferably a Wacom tablet, brush the areas of the photo that need lightening, adjusting the brush size with the Left/Right Bracket keys as necessary. Naturalize the overall lightening by lowering the adjustment layer’s Opacity. I set mine to 30%.

Step 4: For contouring and darkening areas like the eyelashes, pupil, eyebrows, and eyelid crease, add another Curves adjustment layer. Click a point in the middle and drag downward. Repeat the invert mask procedure and painting in Step 2. When darkening eyelashes with a Wacom tablet, use a tiny airbrush with Other Dynamics in the Brushes palette set to Pen Pressure for Opacity and Flow. Use a larger, soft airbrush for shadowing the eyelids. Lower this layer’s Opacity to 68%.

Step 5: Add a layer to dab white in the pupil’s center with a small soft brush, and apply an extra dab on the teeth. Lower the layer Opacity.

Step 6: Create a Color Balance adjustment layer, adjust the settings to +16, -14, +9. Choose Midtones, check the Preserve Luminosity box, and click OK. Press Command/Ctrl-I to invert the layer mask. With the Foreground Color white, use a large soft airbrush to add color into the cheeks, forehead, and chin. Brush the lips with a smaller brush. Lower the layer Opacity to 37%.

Step 7: Add a blank layer to scratch in some white squiggles for lip gloss with a 1-pixel hard-edge brush. When you’re done, press Command/Ctrl-J to jump a copy to a new layer. Apply a 4 to 5-pixel Gaussian Blur. Lower the Opacity for this layer to 64% and the original to 21%.

Step 8: Top it off with a couple of Curves adjustment layers if you like a brighter and more contrasty image. For the first Curves adjustment, simply select it without changing the curve. Click OK, change the layer’s blending mode to Screen, then lower the Opacity to 12%. Add another Curves adjustment layer. Change this layer’s blending mode to Soft Light and lower the Opacity to 42%.