That's So Last Century - What We Wore 1950s - 1990s

 

That’s so last century: What we wore 1950s-1990s provides a snapshot of what some New Zealanders were wearing during the latter half of the twentieth century. Learn about how the garment industry impacted on different parts of Aotearoa society including the popularity of home sewing, where we shopped for clothes, the emergence of New Zealand based fashion designers, and the prevalence of local clothing manufacturers.

This exhibition is on at Level 2 of Auckland's Central City Library from Wednesday 20 March - 13 July 2024. 

In this podcast you’ll hear stories of all things fashion – from home dressmaking to professional tailoring, pattern shops and fabrics, being a follower of fashion and what sustainable fashion means in this century.

Voices have been drawn from Auckland Libraries Oral History and Sound, Heritage Collections. 

The lived experience – 50s & 60s fashion 

In this track, jazz singer and follower of fashion, Wendy Moore provides her lived experience of post-war hair, makeup and clothing fashions.

This was a time of poring over pattern books, searching out new fabrics, and home sewing. Recorded in 2017 with Sue Berman for the Rykenberg Oral History Collection.  Ngā Pātaka Kōrero - Auckland Libraries · The lived experience - 50s & 60s fashion

Listen to the track here

Learning to sew – home and school lessons

Recorded in 2013 as part of the Dominion Road Stories Collection, Marianne Hay the owner of the specialist sewing shop Exquisite Stitch - Bernina Sewing Centre, talks with Sue Gee about her childhood sewing influences and memories.

This recording was done in the shop – so you’ll hear some background sounds through the track.  Ngā Pātaka Kōrero - Auckland Libraries · Learning to sew - home and school lessons

Listen to the track here

Capturing what we wore – street photography

In this track we hear from Wendie Wright. Wendie worked with, and later married, well-known street and studio photographer John Rykenberg.

In this clip, Wendie briefly recalls her mother sewing her dresses from pictures in 17 magazine. This is followed by a description of the late 1950s and early 1960s Rykenberg Street Photography.

Ngā Pātaka Kōrero - Auckland Libraries · Capturing what we wore - street photography

Listen to the track here 

A tailoring trade from Mumbai to Henderson

In this track we hear from Jay Khatri, a Mumbai born tailor who migrated to NZ in the late 1980s. He worked at clothing manufactures Street Wise and then Cambridge Clothing Company before opening his own tailoring business- Island Style (Jay's Clothing Ltd) in Henderson.

This interview was conducted in 2015 by Julia Barron as part of the Henderson Stories Collection.

Ngā Pātaka Kōrero - Auckland Libraries · A tailoring trade from Mumbai to Henderson

Listen to the track here

Sustainable fashion

In 2019, Auckland Libraries hosted a Fashion Week talk on the theme of sustainable fashion. In this clip, we hear from Wayne Siu, retro fashion man about town, on why vintage fashion is important in the context of climate change.

Ngā Pātaka Kōrero - Auckland Libraries · Sustainable fashion

Listen to the track here