All posts filed under: 18th Century

The 1780s chintz pet-en-l’aire

I’m making a 1780s Indian chintz inspired pet-en-l’aire. I’ve been holding off on telling you about this project, because I didn’t want it to turn into one of those things that takes 8 months to make (and maybe never quite gets finished at all) and is difficult to follow as a reader. But I’m determined to have it done in time to be worn for the Afternoon Tea talk (which has sold out!) just over a week from now. So I hope it’s safe to start blogging the story! The pet was inspired by this fabric: Yum! It’s block printed Japanese silk habotai, and when I bought it, it was an obi. I just couldn’t resist. It was just so, so, so perfect for a late 18th century garment. The colour scheme, the small scattered floral, the slight imperfections in the print. It would be even more perfect if it was cotton, since Indian and Chinese silks were usually hand painted, rather than block printed, but I’m willing to settle just a little. …

Rate the Dress: Anna Karolina in blue

Published by The Dreamstress

A few of you like the red floral and striped 1890s dress last week, but most of you found it well, frankly headache inducing, or even more frankly, umm…anatomically suggestive. I was NOT expecting that! Eye-strain or brain-stain, the dress raked in a barely positive 5.9 out of 10. This week I’m going from anatomically suggestive dress to someone who probably would have enjoyed the suggestion. Anna Karolina Orzelska, the illegitemate daughter of Augustus II of Saxony and Poland, is shown in a blue dress with silver trimmings. Anna was an ‘adventuress’ (was there ever a more evocative description?) known for her beauty, uncanny resemblance to her father, and scandalous behaviour – quite a feat considering she lived at the wildest court in early 18th century Europe! via Wikimedia Commons When not posing in pretty (?) blue dresses Anna entertained herself by drinking, smoking, dressing like a man, and having numerous affairs, including one with the future Frederick the Great of Prussia. Her life was certainly wild and unconventional, but what do you think of …

Friday Review: Fitzroy Gardens & Cooks Cottage

Published by The Dreamstress

While I was in Melbourne I stayed just a few blocks from the famous Fitzroy Gardens, and everyone told me that I simply must go visit Cooks’ Cottage “where Captain Cook was born.” Exciting! An 18th century house in Australia, and one so closely linked to one of the most famous and influential explorers ever. Wait, what? Captain Cook wasn’t born in Australia! And there weren’t European settlements in Australia until the 1780s! How could there be a proper stone cottage from 1750? The answer is sad and prosaic. The cottage was built in 1750, but not in its current location. It was built by Cook’s parents in England, sold in the 1930s, bought by a wealthy Australian, transported stone by stone to Melbourne, and re-assembled. So really, it’s only kinda an 18th century cottage. Darn. And the news gets worse. Despite what everyone in Melbourne (with the exception of the cottage staff) will tell you, Captain Cook wasn’t born in the cottage. It was built by his parents, but it was built when he …