I recently ‘acquired’ several sequin pieces from my Mom. I use ‘acquired’ because they are truly pieces of art. Indulge me a bit here. Early to mid-1990s, the Donna Karan ‘before’ the DKNY phase was fabulous. These are her “Essentials” collection, a line mostly sold at Nordstrom Couture and other high-end stores during the 1980-1990s. It was a BIG deal to drive out from Arlington, Virginia up into McLean and even Tyson’s Corner to seek out high fashion. But my Mom did it and often I came with. Although during that time I was probably in my Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, Guess, and Esprit phase. But I’m I tagged along.
The picture above and the recently posted pieces on my Instagram (shameless plug for @norstorela), a full black sequin Donna Karan sweater jacket and matching skirt. These sequins are so well-made that I can’t find any areas where they’ve fallen off. Back then, the jackets were silk with sequins meticulously sewn on and then any or all sequin pants started with a wool base, again then sequins sewn on and applied. It seemed to work as these pieces have been enjoyed for over 30 years. And that’s a long time in today’s ‘fast fashion’ mindset.
My mom wore the matching set to some DC events, or showed up for dinner looking fabulous as she normally would and not without some big statement cuff or necklace. I snatched the copper sequin pants from her closets in early 2000s and even wore them to a disco dancing event at the Music Center with my son. As college kids now, he and his friends know they can come back, peruse my rolling racks and find something for a costume or theme party. Without fail, I can usually ‘make it work’.
In my own dorky way of ‘continuing education’ I looked up sequins and learned more than I ever imagined. From Arabic ‘sikka’ meaning ‘a die for coining’ to then modeled after a Venetian gold coin (Zecchino), and as early at 16th century came ‘zecca’ meaning ‘a mint’. And finally today, the French version ‘sequin’. In Renaissance and Baroque periods, sequins were used to display social standing and wealth. However, this history is the etymology of the word ‘sequin’ not the physical creative design origin. Sequins with shells are found dating back to 12,000 years in Indonesia.
And it must be addressed, that today sequins can be made in all different qualities and available to all.
All fascinating. No, really. Or at least for us fashion nerds.
As you can probably see, my blog is still under construction. My vision going forward is to ‘marry’ the love of words and observational writing with my love for fashion and clothing history. Toss in a few anecdotes about my family too for good fun.
One of the future blog tabs will be called Dirty Laundry, yes for stories about the stories while wearing the clothes. Don’t worry, those who know me, it’s not X-rated, more like R. So don’t get too excited, but there is nothing better than a fashion story.
Perhaps I’ll share the night out dancing with my younger sister, this was before she was married and definitely before I had my son. We convinced a few people at a club that we were the Nordstrom sisters. Can’t make this up. And we were tall and blonde. Of course, those were the days you could go out with an ID and some lip gloss – and that’s it.
More on that later. I need to steam some sequins…
XO, C. Nor