The Deco Diaries

Chronicling the inspiration and creativity of the Art Deco era

Diary Articles

Prohibition Cocktails

Prohibition Cocktails

Ada Coleman - Head Barwoman at The Savoy Hotel American Bar, 1920s  The prohibition of alcohol in the United States during the 1920s, led to the...

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The Fashionable Silhouette

The Fashionable Silhouette

Coco Chanel in a Jersey suit, Biarritz, France 1928 The 1920’s fashionable silhouette lacked structure and was radically different to the Edwardian corseted fashions.  This trend was...

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Must Have 1920s Toys

Must Have 1920s Toys

Louise Brooks with Dismal Desmond ~1927 So, what were the 'must-have' Christmas toys of the 1920s? Dismal Desmond, designed by Richard Elliott and created by the...

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Wall Street and 1930s Fashion

Wall Street and 1930s Fashion

    At the end of the summer in 1929, economist Irving Fisher famously announced that “Stock markets have reached what looks like a permanently high...

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'Le Magnifique' - Paul Poiret

'Le Magnifique' - Paul Poiret

Paul Poiret's work had a significant influence on modernism. His clothing designs, in what we in the UK would call the Edwardian era, seem visionary and 'before...

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Art Deco Architecture - Miami, Florida

Art Deco Architecture - Miami, Florida

The Bass Museum, Miami, Florida, built 1930 On 18th September 1926, a Category 4 hurricane made landfall in Florida. The eye of the storm passed...

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Leslie 'Hutch' Hutchinson

Leslie 'Hutch' Hutchinson

Leslie Hutchinson, affectionately known as 'Hutch' was a pianist and singer, born in Grenada in 1900. Hutch made his West End debut in 1927 playing in the...

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Tamara de Lempicka

Tamara de Lempicka

Tamara de Lempicka One of the most recognisable artists of the "Arts Decoratifs" (Art Deco) era, was Tamara de Lempicka. She was born in Poland, but fled...

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Lady Diana Cooper (nee Manners)

Lady Diana Cooper (nee Manners)

Diana Cooper, was a glamorous socialite, born on 29th August 1892 into an aristocratic family, who enjoyed the privileged upbringing of the British upper classes.  During the...

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