Month: January 2012

Rate the Dress: peaches and daisies in the late 1860s

Gosh, all my Rate the Dress selections have been doing so well lately! Even when I pick ensembles I think you will all hate you like them! I wasn’t sure what you would make of the 1917 golfing togs last week, but despite a few dismal ratings, it still managed a respectable 7.3 out of 10 – not bad for a difficult period and a saucepan hat! Let’s see if I can do it again this week. You often like 1860s, but this reception dress for sale on antique-frock.com is quite specific in its design details and colouring. What do you think? Is palest grey with peach and black daisy trim working for you? Do you like the neck ruffles and skirt pleats? The curtain effect on the skirt front? Will this be a smash hit, or should we bring the curtain down? Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

Felicity attacks the 18th century

Published by The Dreamstress

Felicity found the little bird in a nest that I use for 18th century hairstyles. She was pretty much beside herself with delight. She lives in the hope that she will catch a real bird one day, and darn if she wasn’t going to pretend this one counted with all her might! Luckily for the nest and bird I discovered her before she did too much damage. She was so cute I almost let her keep it.

The ‘please don’t photograph me’ 1930s-ish nautical skirt

Published by The Dreamstress

Remember how I made a mid-1930s skirt to wear with a nautical outfit for Windy Lindy 2011 way back in August? Well, I’ve been trying to get good images of me in that skirt ever since, and I tell you, that thing just doesn’t want to be photographed. So I’ve finally conceded defeat, and am just showing you some mediocre images. The inspiration for my skirt was a common mid-30s design with outward facing pleats front and back. I can’t find the actual image I used for inspiration, but you Wearing History has posted some images of similar skirts, like this adorable one with lacing (on the right) and a simple one in flat silk crepe (on the left). Like I said, very common design! For my skirt I used the same white cotton with irregular diagonal rib that I used for the 1770s man’s redux waistcoat and breeches. It’s not a period accurate fabric for the 1930s, and the resulting skirt is a bit more structured and tailored than a real 30s example would …