According to James Laver, the British historian of women's fashions, the same dress will be "indecent" if worn ten years before its time, and "daring" if worn a year before, "smart" the year of its coming of age, and "hideous" ten years after. But it will become "amusing" 30 years after its vintage year, and ultimately it may become "romantic" or even "beautiful." The same sort of pattern, Laver maintains, can be traced in interior decoration and design. He may be right.
The artifacts and accouterments of the years between the two World...
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