I missed Rate the Dress last week due to my brain switching into complete holiday mode, but at least I left you on a high note!  Peter de Kempeneers 16th century Italian noblewoman in blue-green was almost universally popular – but only almost, because there is always one or two who don’t like something!  Because of the only almost, our noblewoman came in at 8.3 out of 10. I’m feeling quite grey this week, so picked a dress to match: This circa 1880 evening dress from Czechia an unusual grey, and tonally, reminds me of the last Rate the Dress.  It features the (relatively) figure hugging natural form silhouette of the late 1870s and early 1880s.  The body conscious silhouette is emphasized by a curvaceous cream panel, beating  2011’s illusion dress trend by over a 130 years! Curve conscious it may be, but the curves are definitely Victorian: with full hips, and back emphasis that would have been supported by a small bustle. What do you think? Can grey be good? Rate the Dress on …

Last week’s 1850s homage to the 18th century attracted a few ardent admirers, a few vehement naysayers, and a lot of people who thought it was soooooo close to great….but not there (mostly because of the blue-green trim).  So it balanced out at 7.8 out of 10, which isn’t bad for a dress trying to carry SO many colours and design ideas. I found I loved the dress if I just looked at it, but the minute I tried to inspect and analyse I found dozens of things I thought were awful.  I suspect that if I saw it at a party I still would have gone away remembering it as fabulous and lovely, because the overall impression of delight would outbalance all the little niggles. Since last week’s dress was so very, very sweet, I felt that we need a palette cleanser: something entirely free of florals and frills and pastels. I’d already settled on this ensemble when I realised the base colour was actually quite  similar to that of last weeks dress.  Despite …

The rate the dress of 7 days ago was a vivid green 1910s number, with black lace over-tunic, paired with a belt that, as it turns out, didn’t necessarily belong to the dress, and inexplicable modern necklace.  Whether you liked it or not hinged on how you felt about the colour (deliciously vivid vs. gaudy), and your attitude towards the white neckline filler (refreshing vs. abrupt).  Despite a few people who really weren’t fond of the colour or silhouette (or very obvious hem), it came in at a quite pleasing 8.2 out of 10.  Very nice! This week, we’re going from bold green to soft pastels paired with  dark neutrals, but keeping with the theme of lace overlays, albeit in a very different mood. This mid-1880s dress with unusual asymmetrically tiered skirt comes from the wardrobe of the Empress Maria Feodorovna of Russia (aka Dagmar of Denmark, aka Princess Alexandra’s little sister).  You’ve rated Maria Feodorovna here on Rate the Dress before, and  this dress seems in keeping with her taste as demonstrated in other …