Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

177 results found

ephod

(Encyclopedia)ephod, sacred linen garment worn by the high priests of Israel. It was in two parts—one covering the back, one the front of the body to the hips—and was fastened at the shoulders by two clasps of ...

Rykiel, Sonia

(Encyclopedia)Rykiel, Sonia, 1930–2016, French fashion designer, b. Neuilly-sur-Seine as Sonia Flis. Rykiel focused on ready-to-wear clothing rather than haute couture, and was especially noted for her “poor bo...

doll

(Encyclopedia)doll, small figure of a human being, usually used as a child's toy. The many types of dolls found among the relics of primitive peoples were cult objects. Egypt, Greece, and Rome have left well-preser...

Lauren, Ralph

(Encyclopedia)Lauren, Ralph lôrˈən, lərĕnˈ [key], 1939–, American fashion designer, b. New York City as Ralph Lipschitz. He began his career by creating neckties under the name Polo for Beau Brummel. In 196...

monologue

(Encyclopedia)monologue, an extended speech by one person only. Strindberg's one-act play The Stronger, spoken entirely by one person, is an extreme example of monologue. Soliloquy is synonymous, but usually refers...

Huntingdon, Selina Hastings, countess of

(Encyclopedia)Huntingdon, Selina Hastings, countess of, 1707–91, English religious leader, patron of the Calvinistic Methodists. She was closely associated with the Wesleys and George Whitefield. When they split,...

du Plessix Gray, Francine

(Encyclopedia)du Plessix Gray, Francine, 1930–2019, French-American writer, b. Warsaw, studied Bryn Mawr, Black Mountain College, B.A. Barnard, 1952. She worked first as a writer and editor for radio and magazine...

Balenciaga, Cristóbal

(Encyclopedia)Balenciaga, Cristóbal krĭstōˈbäl bälĕnthyäˈgä [key], 1895–1972, Spanish-born French fashion designer. He established houses of couture in Spain (1919–31) and Paris (1937–68) and quickl...

Wood, John

(Encyclopedia)Wood, John, 1704–1754, English architect, called Wood of Bath. When he went (1727) to Bath from Yorkshire to begin his career as a road surveyor, the city was at its height as a center of fashion. W...

Yamamoto, Kansai

(Encyclopedia)Yamamoto, Kansai, 1944–2020, Japanese fashion designer, known as Kansai. Essentially self-taught, he showed his first collection in London in 1971. The theatrical garments, with an exotic, oriental ...