CONSERVATORY GAZETTE  

Is it 1980s or 1980's? '60s or 60's? We're here to help! Join us as we explore the proper way to write decades & historical periods.

We just can't resist when fashion & music collide! We hope you enjoy this interview with Robin Brazy, who designed touring jackets for a veritable who's who of musicians, Including Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Beach Boys, & Elton John.

The fashion world is full of stories - large and small - but there’s nothing quite like digging a little deeper into the story of a dressmaker that didn’t really make a big splash in the fashion pond.

In the world of fashion, good ideas travel fast, and when ready-to-wear fashion and bored housewives combined with businesses willing to adapt their selling styles, it became a recipe for success.

When Ellen “Nell” Quinlan - the woman behind the creations of the Handy Dandy Apron and subsequent Nelly Don fashion empire - married Paul Frances Donnelly in June of 1906 in Parsons, Kansas, the young couple had no idea what kind of drama awaited them. 

The designer for fashion house Don Luis de Espana, his dramatic origin story and his downfall.

Kathryn Vrooman was known for hosting fashion shows and was the driving force behind the first style show of its kind at the Ascher’s Forest Park Theater in 1924.

In the early years of the twentieth century, three women - Englishwoman Mary Jane (Hill) Fraser, Virginian Emmadean (Hanger) Ogle, and Connecticut-born teacher Julia M. Patten - were responsible for building the foundation of what was to become the Colorado Springs, Colorado-based Ogle Gown Company.

Shannon Rodgers - the world-famous designer for Jerry Silverman - planted a lot of seeds in his native Ohio when he left his significant private wealth and incredible costume collections to Kent State University. But that’s not surprising, given he was the great-nephew of Jonathan Chapman, better known to the world as Johnny Appleseed.