Caftans = Freedom (with Elizabeth Taylor)

Why are caftans/kaftans so popular among Hollywood icons from the golden age as well as the queer community? In this solo episode, Gertie discusses the fashion (and cultural) history of this gender-free garment, spanning from ancient Egypt through to the modern day.

Links & Images

• Charm Patterns mentioned include:

  • The Elizabeth Caftan

  • The Pride Caftan

• Elizabeth Taylor swanning down the stairs in 1974's That's Entertainment

• Elizabeth Taylor's website archive

• See 17-year-old Elizabeth Taylor cinched in A Place in the Sun

• See her less cinched (and barely covered!) in Cleopatra

• The Elizabeth Taylor Collection auctioned by Christie's

• Vanity Fair article about Taylor's AIDS work

• Another article (in The Guardian) about her AIDS work

• Provincetown, MA (P-Town) fabulousness

• Palm Springs, CA Hollywood history and queer history

• Trina Turk's modern caftans

• Non-gendered designs by Rudi Gernreich (with more photos in this Vogue article)

• The caftan-like designs of Paul Poiret and the Balenciaga Sack Dress

• The Chiffon Trenches book by Andre Leon Talley

For more vintage-inspired sewing patterns in sizes 2-34 (with A-H bust cups), check out us out at Charm Patterns.