#milliners

Léon Benigni, Réunion des Modistes, Gouache. The milliners depicted are from left to right: Paulette - Blanche et Simone - Maude Roser - Le Monnier, n.d.

Biography :

Leon Benigni was a fashion illustrator and graphic designer who worked with fashion designers such as Jeanne Lanvin, Marcel Rochas, Elsa Schiaparelli, Lucien Lelong, Jacques Fath, Jean Patou, Nina Ricci, and Cristobal Balenciaga.

In addition he worked closely with fashion magazines such as Harper's Bazaar, Modes et Travaux, and Femina, both for editorial and magazine covers, creating bold Art Deco influenced fashion illustrations, capturing the sophistication and glamour of the period.

Women’s History Month: The 1956 Millinery Workers Union Strike

As we draw near the end of Women’s History Month, we wanted to spotlight some of the working women’s history in our collections, starting with the women of the Millinery Workers Union (Local 50) and the 1956 strike against the Slocum Hat Corporation.  Local 50 of the union has its beginnings in the 1930s and represented a large number of women, many of whom worked for the Slocum Hat Corporation.  

After a breakdown in negotiations between the union workers and Slocum, workers started a spontaneous strike on July 18th, 1956.  Slocum responded by shutting down operations, leading workers to picket in front of the plant in the days that followed. Featured above are photographs of the workers picketing and some of the correspondence between union representatives and Sidney B. Slocum, President of the Slocum Hat Corporation.

The photographs and correspondence featured here can all be found in Box 4 of the United Hatters, Cap, and Millinery Workers International Union. Local 50: Records here at the UWM Archives.

queen of reusing photos and getting overexcited about rainbow lighting. 

Hopefully by the time I’ve posted this I will have found my student ID (given that I kind of need it) and also will have gotten somewhere with this whole studying thing. 

Also I hope I’ve conducted myself in a respectable manner during sports ball because cmon, Yashu. It’s not first year anymore.

Hold your breath for me guys!