All posts filed under: 18th Century

Pet-en-l’aire magnificence

I still can’t get over how many good shots Theresa and I got from our photoshoot at the old Dominion Museum, and how spectacular Theresa looks in all of them. Her face just changes from frame to frame, meaning that I ended up with dozens of photos with almost the same pose, but, oh, what a different mood! Hehe. Do you see it? All of these photos were taken from the balcony around the entrance hall of the old Dominion Museum. It’s such a great place to shoot – with balconies on both sides, you can get every angle, and lots of different kinds of light. I love how you can see the details of the side-pleat in these photos The only problem with these is her face is so amazing you hardly notice the outfit!

Rate the Dress: Mantua of Spitalfields silk, 1730s

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week I presented an early example of athletic wear for women, a red and blue wool gymnastics suit from the 1890s. Everybody was loving it for ‘sheer exuberance’, though you couldn’t agree if the pom-poms were ‘wonderfully ridiculous’, or just ridiculous. Then Stella & Lynn B had to go rain on the parade and hate it (don’t worry, I still love you two!). It still managed a very impressive 8.5 out of 10 – pretty good for sportswear as we aren’t really a sporting crowd. This week I think it’s time to dial the formality up. Way up. So I present a mantua of Spitalfield’s silk from the 1730s. I think the dating for this dress is so fascinating: they know exactly when the fabric was woven (presumably based on dated design cartoons), and that the dress was made up within 5 years of the fabric. The fabric dates are interesting, because the fabric really makes this dress. Is this good, or bad? Does the large print, so characteristic of the 1730s, balance the …

The compere front of the pet

Published by The Dreamstress

With the back of the pet draped, I tackled the false compere front. I mentioned previously that I wasn’t sure that sewing on the compere front as a false front, sewed on to a solid bodice piece, was accurate. I’m afraid I confused some of you, as you thought I wasn’t sure a compere front is accurate. I know the aesthetic is right, I’m just not sure my way of doing it (creating a solid bodice foundation, and just tacking on the fashion fabric piece as a false front) is historically accurate. Janet Arnold’s pattern for a compere front gown, based on this gown, has the dress and compere front made up completely separately, with the compere front sewn in last (almost as if if was a stomacher that was sewn in), and all the other examples of compere front garments where I can determine the construction seem to have been assembled this way. So, sigh. Mine may not be accurate. C’est la vie. I’ll get it right next time. I didn’t take pictures the …