With the help of clothing connoisseur Corinne Sidney, UNLV graduate students get a lesson in fashion and history. Take a peek inside her legendary closet.
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From the trapeze dresses of Christian Dior to the shoulder-padded suits of Giorgio Armani, Corinne (Cole) Entratter Sidney has worn them all. A Vegas insider and renowned clothing collector, Sidney has been sharing her expertise and wardrobe with public history graduate students under the direction of the program's associate director Deirdre Clemente.
For Clemente's History 749 class, the students spent three months cataloging more than 1,000 items in the closet of Sidney and her late husband, famed film director and legendary clothes horse George Sidney.
The students are now working with curators to place pieces permanently in the collections of such museums as the Smithsonian, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and Las Vegas's own Nevada State Museum.
"Corinne and George Sidney's wardrobes are collectively the most impressive private collection I have encountered as a scholar of American material culture and a collector myself," Clemente said. "Their lives and clothing document an era when California and the American West commandeered the visual aesthetic.
"Mrs. Sidney understands and celebrates the power of clothing as a social tool and expression of individuality. She knows her and her husband's clothes with such intimacy; hearing her talk about the garments is an education in itself."
The closet of Corinne and the late George Sidney is filled with museum-worthy fashion artifacts, many of them custom-made by designers in Los Angeles, Paris, and Rome.
UNLV graduate students vetted ensembles, dressed mannequins, and worked with UNLV Photos Services to document the collection. The images will be used to promote the work of public history program and to enrich discussions with museum curators around the country.
George Sidney ordered this custom-made, striped blazer to wear for a volunteer gig as a carnival barker at a child’s birthday party. Even though it was a whimsical piece, Sidney insisted on besom pockets, the signature of luxury menswear.
Inspired by his work on Annie Get Your Gun, George Sidney developed a lifelong love of Western garments. Featuring two sets of patch pockets, epaulets, and pointed collar, this suit is made of virgin wool — a far cry from the synthetic fibers used for men’s casual wear in the 1960s and 1970s.
The epaulet was born of function and used by military men to hold gloves, compasses, handkerchiefs, and tools. As sportswear redefined menswear in the early 20th century, the epaulet became fashionable with a push from designers such as Coco Chanel, who found inspiration in the uniforms of her military beaux.
The Sidneys shared a common love: shopping. This tie-at-the-waist wool dress by French fashion house Hermès speaks to Corinne Sidney’s preference for simple yet chic clothing. George Sidney had more than 350 Hermès ties—some of which he owned for more than 50 years. Sidney had a deep appreciation for Burberry raincoats and used many in his films. Frank Sinatra's plaid coat in Pal Joey was made by the oft-forgotten luxury brand, Aquascutum and borrowed from George's closet.
A Playboy model whose face graced the cover of 29 magazines in one year, Corinne Sidney lived the life of a socialite, a Hollywood actress, a Vegas showgirl, and the wife of two cultural icons — Sands’ legend Jack Entratter and film director George Sidney. She certainly dressed the part. This pleated silk dress with matching wool jacket attests to the timelessness of her wardrobe. It is as striking today as it was was when it was made 30 years ago.
Sidney’s long tenure of MGM began at birth; his father was a high-ranking executive with Loew’s, the parent company of MGM. Born to a show business family (his mother was Hazel Mooney of vaudeville’s Mooney Sisters), George grew up at the epicenter of Hollywood culture. He wore this zip-up cardigan sweater to participate in the MGM’s skeet shooting club. He and his colleagues formed teams to compete against other studios in bowling and baseball.
The MGM lion finds its inspiration in the mascot of Columbia University — the alma mater of a studio publicist who first used the lion to promote Goldwyn Pictures. In 1924, Goldwyn merged with Metro Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Pictures to make MGM, and the lion remained. Though many viewers associate “Leo the Lion” with his familiar roar at the beginning of Tom and Jerry cartoons, this whimsical version inspired company employees to join the skeet shooting club, one of the studio’s many social activities.
The most prized of fur pelts? Russian lynx. Corinne Sidney bought this fur-lined coat at Christian Dior in the late 1970s because she loved its dramatic collar. Lynx fur is both warm and lightweight. The more white on the pelt, the more expensive it is.
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