All posts tagged: 1820s

Rate the Dress: 1820s harlequin happiness

This week in Rate the Dress we’re going from 18th century silk hoodies to 1820s harlequin patterned cotton – with really, really, really big sleeves. Last week:  A lavender pink mid-18th century Brunswick Last week’s Brunswick (or, as Anna pointed out, possible a Jesuit) was the most popular Rate the Dress in a while.  Some of you felt that she did look a bit like a little girl dressed up in her older sister’s outfit, or just found the proportions of the bodice to be a bit odd, but those were the only real criticisms. The Total: 8.3 out of 10 Better than we’ve had in a while, but not spectacular. This week: A harlequin print 1820s dress It’s cold, and rainy, and windy, and horrible in Wellington today.  Luckily I’ve had the perfect sunny, cheerful, über-happy Rate the Dress option squirrelled away for just such an occasion: 1820s fashion is always a bit silly and over the top, but this dress takes it to another level with a harlequin patterned cotton print in yellow …

Rate the Dress: 1820s chine a la branche remake

Sometimes choosing garments for Rate the Dress is really hard, and I pick dud after uninteresting dud.  Sometimes I find it so easy to find interesting frocks – whether fabulously interesting, or awfully interesting.  Let’s see if this week’s chine a la branche themed pick can continue the streak of compelling dresses. Last week:  an Edwardian afternoon dress in moss green velvet Not everyone loved last week’s pick, but it definitely seemed to have struck a chord with a goodly percentage of the readership.  Only one score was less than an 8, and a whopping 54% of the votes were perfect 10s. The Total: 9.2 out of 10 Impressive!   This week: a ca. 1820 dress re-made from 18th century chine a la branche* Since green was so popular last week, I thought I’d keep with the green theme.  I’ve also stuck with the idea of a dress that is both visually cooling, and warm and cozy. *wondering what chine a la branche is?  Read my terminology post on it and find out! This ca. …

Rate the Dress: 1820s flame red aerophane

Oh poor frock from last week! I think I doomed it by pointing out so clearly that it wasn’t Parisian.  If I’d only told you it was by Doucet  you’d probably have lived it so much better! As it was, so many of you disliked so much about it.  The skirt fabric (one of my favourite parts actually, for being such a fascinating textile) came in for particularly harsh criticism.  I would have rated it an 8 out of 10, for being the absolute perfect balance point between 1890s stiffness and 1900s too-much-froth, but alas, not enough of you agreed with me, and it came in at a paltry 5.2 out of 10. Since you didn’t like the textured textile and the mix of different fabrics last week, this week’s selection is in just one colour, and predominantly one fabric. This evening dress or ball gown of flame red aerophane silk (one that I missed when researching aerophane, due to a spelling error in the LACMA catalogue) features self-fabric streamers bound in silk satin which …