8-TMD 125

ARTS

Tuesday, September 29, 2015
The Michigan Daily
michigandaily.com

4A

Tree Town’s stylish history

A look back at 
Ann Arbor’s 
20th-century 

fashion

By CAROLINE FILIPS

Daily Arts Writer

With locals defined by their 

trademark insouciance and a 
student 
population 
primarily 

invested in its studies, fashion has 
never been on the average Ann 
Arborite’s radar.

By simply surveying the streets 

of Ann Arbor, the correct decade 
is indeterminate, with street style 
ranging from those who just can’t 
get rid of their perms to those imi-
tating ’50s sensibility. Though a 
sizeable coterie of sartorial savants 
has sauntered through the Diag for 
nearly two centuries, truly fashion-
able ensembles remain a strikingly 
rare sight. Ultimately, University 
students past and present gravitate 
toward quintessential college garb 
that transcends the ages — some 
variation of pants, tees, sweats, 
sneakers and an endless cocoon of 
layers during the somewhat miser-
able days of winter, rendered toler-
able by the rare and precious snow 
days.

Though college permits those 

enrolled to experiment academi-
cally and socially, it also lends stu-
dents an opportunity to define their 
own style. From the most transient 
of trends to classic wardrobe main-
stays, it’s all been seen on campus. 
However, the student population of 
each decade seems to retain an over-
arching commonality in dressing. 
Without peeking at the date, photos 
of University women from the ’40s 
are evidenced by their penny loafers 
and angora sweaters, while those of 
the ’90s are easily spotted by their 
sheer stylish irreverence. Though 
University of Michigan style has 
never quite been that of the runway 
scene, it now seems a close reality 
while perusing the clothing racks 
of Bivouac’s women’s fashion sec-
tion or poring over the pages of the 
student-run SHEI Magazine.

With the obvious constraints 

of time limiting this chronicle of 
University fashion — namely late 
alumni unable to share their com-
mentary — in collaboration with a 
crop of fashionably inclined alumni, 
this piece serves as a comprehen-
sive examination of student fash-
ions as far back as the late ’30s and 
as current as the now. 

Late 1930s to Early 1940s 
Student 
Lynne 
Ford’s 
“On 

the Clothesline” column for The 
Michigan Daily chronicled the 
trends of the ’40s — with her content 
ranging from her partiality for 
cinched waists to critical apropros 
of swimsuit trends. Ads from the 
late, beloved Metro-Detroit retailer 
Jacobson’s for women’s sportswear 
were 
the 
Daily’s 
primary 

advertisements.

From 1939 to 1941, Jean Grillins 

might as well have attended the 
University — she dated and eventu-
ally married student Harvey Gril-
lins, with whom she spent nearly 
every weekend on campus, always 
making a stop at The Marilyn Shop 
during its heyday. She attended 
her then-boyfriend’s formal date 
parties, mesmerized by women’s 
elegant long gowns, full skirts and 
bobby socks along with men’s for-
mal tuxedos.

“They didn’t wear flats, I can tell 

you that,” Grillins recalled. “But, 
they did dress up.”

Penny loafers, blazers, angora 

sweaters and long skirts were fash-
ion markers of the era, as was the 
social calendar centered around 
J-hop dances complete with “dance 
cards” denoting who one was fated 
to dance with next.

1950s

Though a member of the gradu-

ating class of ’63, Carren Sandall 
had a keen eye for style long before 
and after her collegiate years. 
Immediately following her academ-
ic career, Sandall modeled in New 
York City and emerged as a syndi-
cated style columnist for The Ann 
Arbor News when she returned 
home to Ann Arbor. She continued 
to bridge the gap between the local 
community and the fashion world 
when she created her own course 
at Washtenaw Community College 
called “The Art of Fashion,” which 
accelerated her personal studies of 
fashion’s historical context.

“Prior to the ’50s, Paris and 

London dictated fashion,” she said. 
“Then during the late ’50s, the 

youth started making a difference.” 

When cities like New York 

emerged as fashion capitals, the 
styles that trickled down into most 
closets were heavily influenced by 
the glamorous cinematic styles of 
Audrey Hepburn films.

“You might take an element of 

film and put it in your wardrobe,” 
she said. “Hepburn heavily influ-
enced the rise of capri pants.”

1960s

“We dressed,” said Joan Abra-

ham, University graduate of 1966 
and current adjunct professor at 
Parsons School of Design in NYC.

Translation: there was a certain 

formality to the arrangement 

of ’60s garments. An unofficial 
uniform of immaculate polish was 
often seen on campus — skirts, 
knee socks, penny loafers and 
crewneck sweaters.

“Everything 
was 
very 

preppy,” 
Abraham 
said. 

“Everybody was very serious 
and we all looked alike.”

Abraham recalled that informal 

ensembles were seen only once 
weekly — casual Fridays were 
celebrated as a day permitting blue 
jeans, yet Abraham doesn’t recall a 
University-wide dress code in place.

Prior to the counterculture 

movements of the decade, Abraham 
spoke on behalf of her era’s 
University women, noting the stark 
contrast to today’s feminist ideals 
— she believed being a wife and a 
mother was her imminent future. 
Yet as the ’60s unfolded, Abraham 
and her counterparts realized their 
power as educated women and 
sought brighter futures than their 
suburban housewife predecessors. 
Carefree, 
bohemian-influenced 

styles reflected the sociopolitical 
turn and continued through the rise 
of the ’70s.

1970s

The ’70s dressing on campus 

was partly disco and quasi-rogue, 
as guys and girls alike were often 
sporting fringe on nearly every 
garment and accessory, along with 
bellbottoms and distressed denim.

Carren Landau, University grad-

uate of ’77, recalls rocking a primar-
ily peasant-inspired wardrobe.

“I wore a lot of Frye Boots, long 

jean skirts and pea coats that were 
almost floor length,” she said.

Length and volume, of flared 

pants, hairstyle or women’s skirts, 
were markers of the era. 

Students of the era even incor-

porated anti-war buttons into their 

ensembles, as they protested the 
prolonged Vietnam War. Photos 
found in the Bentley Historical 
Library on North Campus show-
case a University woman and her 
picket sign, sporting a sort of activ-
ist-chic hippie garb — a denim shirt 
accessorized with peace sign but-
tons, as she stands tall and proud in 
her extremely flared jeans.

Late 1980s to Early 1990s 

“The least fashionable I ever was 

was in Ann Arbor, no question,” 
said Marly Graubard, current exec-
utive director of fashion and beauty 
at W Magazine and 1990 alum.

Graubard stressed the era’s gen-

eral disregard for fashion, main-
taining the typical styles were those 
heavily influenced by the years’ 
music, art and film.

“Our hair was big, we had tons 

of makeup on and I think we 
dressed kind of like preppy meets 
grungy meets college campus 
… it was all about the Michigan 
clothes,” she said.

Scant shopping options on Main 

Street left students like Graubard 
either the option of Bivouac — 
where she recalled her first expo-
sure to Lululemon athletic gear 
— or weekend retreats to the retail 
havens like Somerset Collection in 
Troy, Mich. or downtown Birming-
ham, Mich. 

The period was marked by the 

common garb of Levi’s, namely 
those of the loose and ripped vari-
eties, plaid shirts and rugged boots.

“It was sort of like anti-fashion, 

there was that sort of hippy con-
tingence, sweaters and jeans,” 
Graubard said. “It was pretty 
Midwestern.”

Early 2000s

With the advent of the Inter-

net, immediacy and clothing 
slowly 
became 
synonymous. 

The outside realm of retail was 
becoming extremely brand-ori-
ented, which trickled down into 
the campus scene.

Ashley-Brooke Sandall, 2003 

graduate and current senior man-
ager of strategic partnerships for 
the Council of Fashion Designers 
of America, recalled the prepon-
derance of premium denim on 
campus, along with the overall 
utilitarian ways of dressing — 
jeans, sweaters and T-shirts.

“My friends’ style influenced me 

the most,” she said. “Then, it was 
the trends that were so exciting. 
We would read Vogue magazine.”

Along with the importance of 

brands, trends such as chunky, 
chain-link Tiffany & Co. necklac-
es and charm bracelets were the 
must-have accessories. Though a 
rather trend-centric time, struc-
turing one’s individual style was 
gradually becoming the norm.

 ***
Clothing 
existed 
as 
a 

primordial need of the masses 
long 
before 
the 
University’s 

founding, 
and 
continues 
to 

maintain its essentialism. Fashion 
at its best serves as a solace from 
a world of woes, a bubble outside 
of day-to-day routines, somewhat 
similar to the four-year journey of 
an undergraduate education — a 
window of time partially closed 
off from the frivolity of youth, just 
opening to the horrifying realities 
of adulthood (looking at you, 
taxes). And though Ann Arbor has 
never been regarded as a fashion 
capital, at the very least, one is 
sure to source inspiration from 
the eccentricity so essential to this 
beloved college town.

Daily Arts: 

A retrospective

By MATT BARNAUSKAS

Daily Arts Writer

Some may say that 1969 was the 

year of the Apollo 11 moon land-
ing, but at The Michigan Daily, an 
even more momentous occasion 
was about to take place: the forma-
tion of the Arts section. While the 
Daily covered the arts in the years 
prior to 1969, it wasn’t until late 
August of that year that the section 
was formally listed on the Editori-
al Board, with Leslie Wayne as the 
section’s first editor.

Arts coverage began with a 

diverse range of topics — a tradi-
tion that continues today. 

Reviews of records like B.B. 

King’s 1969 effort Live and Well, 
a recording writer Bert Stratton 
claimed “is the equal of any other 
electrical guitar recording and is 
unquestionably the best of B. B. 
King,” along with attention to clas-
sical and other popular music, like 
Pink Floyd’s show at the Hill Audi-
torium in October 1971, allowed 
the young section to cast a wide 
net.

Film commentary was pres-

ent in these early years with Arts 
as well, with some of the section’s 
earliest critics offering their opin-
ions on films that would become 
cornerstones of cinema.

Film critic Bruce Shlain assert-

ed in 1972 that “director Francis 
Ford Coppola has flipped ‘the 
gangster movie’ on its ear. To say 
‘The Godfather’ is merely better 
than the gangland-oriented mov-
ies which precede it, would hardly 
touch upon its uniqueness.”

Closing out the ’70s, Arts con-

tinued its attendance of live music 
including some of the decade’s big-
gest acts. Writer Mike Taylor went 
to three separate Bruce Spring-
steen 
performances 
over 
the 

course of a couple weeks in 1978, 
while Dennis Harvey reviewed 
Fleetwood Mac’s performance at 
Crisler Arena. In his review, Har-
vey wrote, “Admittedly, the Mac is 
neither one of the best or the most 
original of 1970s bands … But their 
finest songs capture a feel of silky 
folk-pop-rock catchiness that’s 
effortlessly appealing.”

Into the ’80s, Arts further grew 

with significant additions to the 
section’s leadership and coverage.

In 1985, the year John Hughes’s 

“The Breakfast Club” — which 
the Daily said was a “flawed but 
still strangely compelling film” 
— released in theaters, the Arts 
section began to expand with the 
introduction of associate editors 
and beats (areas focusing on a par-
ticular aspect of the arts). The ini-
tial beats — movies, music, books 
and theatre — have developed and 
shifted in the 30 years since their 
beginnings with additions like 
TV/new media in 1997 and style 
in 2014. Meanwhile certain beats, 
including books and theatre, have 
exited or merged into new beats, 
notably community culture.

Another introduction in the 

early ’80s was “The Weekend,” 
a weekly arts and culture insert 
that aimed at prepping the Uni-
versity’s students for their brief 
reprieve from the school week 
with “The List,” a collection of 
upcoming campus cinema, parties 
and shows. Also inside were fea-
tures on culture, style and inter-
views with random students over 

the phone. Amusingly, on Jan. 10, 
2002 there was not one but two 
pieces about the mullet in “The 
Weekend.” 

The rise in prominence of tele-

vision and cable TV during the 
decade led to Tony Sibler writing, 
“Throughout this entire coun-
try, our only common language 
is television. But it is much, much 
more than a common language. 
It is our pillow each night to shed 
tears into. It is our punching bag 
to strike. It is our dreamworld to 
escape to and our unattractive 
reality to come back to.”

This fascination with other 

forms of media would carry into 
the ’90s with television coverage 
beginning 
intermittently 
with 

“Turn on the Tube” and becom-
ing more consistent as the decade 
went on.

The Arts section and the media 

consuming culture as a whole 
agreed with Podoisky, as DVDs 
replaced VHS. Arts began review-
ing DVD releases, not just on the 
quality of films but the disc’s fea-
tures as well. This led to some 
eyebrow-raising antics, exempli-
fied by Bob Hunt’s January 2005 
24-hour binge of the third season 
of “24.”

These advances led to the 

2000s, where “The Lord of the 
Rings” trilogy garnered three 
perfect, five-star ratings from the 
Daily.

Where 
Hussain 
Rahim 

reviewed Kanye West’s debut 
album, The College Dropout. 
On the rapper who would later 
become notorious for his per-
cieved arrogance, Hussain wrote, 
“He’s not trying to scare you with 
his prison record or tell you he’s 
the best rapper ever. He knows 
he’s not.”

Where “Lost” premiered and 

took viewers, “On a horrifying 
thrill ride that is unlike anything 
on television today,” according to 
writer Doug Wernert.

On Sept. 15, 2005, “The Week-

end” magazine gave way to “The 
Statement.” To further fill in the 
absence, the pilot issue of “The 
B-Side” launched on April 12, 
2006, then-Managing Arts Editor 
Jeffrey Bloomer describing it as “a 
new features section that will give 
us a chance to write about things 
that don’t usually fit on our page. 
It’s a work in progress, but in the 
fall, you can expect to see it week-
ly, and maybe — if we can find the 
money, that is — even in color.”

With the title “The Sun Also 

Rises,” the premiere issue specu-
lated about the coming summer’s 
entertainment offerings, includ-
ing “Superman Returns” and 
Gnarls Barkley’s St. Elsewhere, 
and analyzed the legal quandary 
a burgeoning YouTube faced with 
copyright issues. Since then, “The 
B-Side” has turned its eyes to the 
local arts scene with extended 
pieces and profiles on various 
artists, organizations and events 
within and around Ann Arbor 
— and yes, Jeffrey, it’s printed in 
color.

Today, the Arts section, run by 

Co-Managing Arts Editors, LSA 
seniors Adam DePollo and Chloe 
Gilke, continues to embrace the 
variety of coverage and respond to 
constantly shifting entertainment 
media that have been present since 
the section first began in 1969.

FROM “UM ALUMNI ASSOCIATION” COLLECTION OF THE 

BENTLEY HISTORICAL LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

FROM THE “UM NEWS AND INFO” COLLECTION OF THE BENTLEY 

HISTORICAL LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

FROM THE “UM PHOTOGRAPHS” COLLECTION FROM THE 

BENTLEY HISTORICAL LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 

1969

The Arts section is formed with 

Lesie Wayne as the section’s 


1985

The Arts section begins to expand with the 

introduction of associate editors and beats, areas 

focusing on a particular aspect of the arts. The 

initial beats are Movies, Music, Books and Theatre. 

1970

Writer Bruce Shlain’s review 

of “The Godfather” asserts 
that it “flipped the gangster 

movie on its ear.”

1990s 

A TV beat — known as 
“Turn on the Tube” — is 
introduced. In 1997 it 
is officially renamed 
“TV/New Media.”

2002

“The Weekend” features 
not one, but two pieces 

about the mullet.

