All posts filed under: 18th Century

Terminology: what are ikat, abr, warp-printing and chine?

Ikat (also spelled ikkat), abr (also spelled ebru), warp-printed and chine (or chine a la branche) are different names for variants of the same technique: fabric woven from yarns which have been pre-dyed (using a resist method) or printed with the intended pattern, producing a characteristic soft, blurred pattern once the yarns are woven into a cloth. Strictly speaking, ikat and abr are created by pre-dying the threads with a resist dye method before weaving, and chine and warp-printing are created by printing the warp threads before weaving, though the line between the two different techniques, both in which fabrics are called which, and in how the fabrics are produced, is as blurred as those on the fabrics they describe. Ikat is the Indonesian term (from the Malay mengikat ‘to bind’), and is the most commonly heard name for the fabric in modern times. 18th century fashion enthusiasts will know the French name, chine or chine a la branche, which specifically refers to multi-coloured warp-patterned fabric, and Pompadour silk, a later English term for the …

Rate the Dress: Lady in White

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week I posted a vibrant, exotic 1930s frock with a simple silhouette. Some of you were a little unsure of the bolero, both in length and decoration, and karenb went against the trend and flat out didn’t like it, but it got so much love from everyone else that it managed an more-than-respectable 8.5 out of 10. This week let’s tone things way down (colour wise – ornamentation wise things are going to get a little busier) with a white themed ‘Rate the Dress’. Perin-Salbreux’s ‘Lady in White’ is very white, from her powdered hair to her fashionably pale skin, through her pearl bracelets, white on white on white on white dress, and to the peep of white shoe. Her dress is probably part fancy dress, part fantasy, meant to conjure up images of the ancient maidens who the 18th century public imagined to have dressed constantly in white while garlanding altars to love with roses. The details of the outfit, though, are pure late 18th century: the shorter petticoat with deep ruffle, the …

Terminology: Marmottes and the Savoyarde style

Published by The Dreamstress

A few weeks ago, when I wrote about the difference between kerchiefs, buffonts & fichus, I posted a picture of a ‘fichu en marmotte.’ We had a bit of discussion about what a fichu en marmotte actually meant, and why it was called a marmotte, and where the term might have come from. I was pretty sure that a marmotte actually referred to a marmot, but did the headscarf and the rodent have anything to do with each other, and why? Being me, I kept wondering about marmots and marmottes, and kept digging and researching, and I am pleased to say I have figured out why a fichu en marmotte is en marmotte. It turns out that fichus en marmotte are named after marmots, in a roundabout way. In the 17th & 18th century peasants from the alpine region of Savoy would train marmots and dance with them as street entertainment. Yes. You read that right. 18th century. Streets of Paris. Dancing groundhogs. DANCING GROUNDHOGS. Basically they were a precursor to the more-famous organ …