All posts filed under: 18th Century

Rate the Dress: Eleanor Frances Dixie puts her gloves on

Last week’s green and black 1920s frock proved very divisive. People either loved it, or hated it. To be perfectly honest, all the love took me completely by surprise. I was convinced that everyone would think it frumpy and dowdy, but all you ‘want it now!-ers’ balanced the ‘old lady being eaten by her dress-ers’ and it rated a 6.3 out of 10. Inspired by Madame Ornata’s finished pet en l’aire, this week let’s look at 1750’s fashion. I present the very slim Eleanor Frances Dixie in a brocaded robe a la francaise, in the act of putting her gloves on. Madame O accessorised her pet en l’aire with a rosy petticoat and stomacher, and a very hat-y hat. Miss Dixie accessorieses her robe with lace cuffs, a very sheer fichu, a lawn cap, and blue silk bow at her centre front, and a blue silk trimmed bergere. And, of course, the gloves. What do you think of it all? You’ve seen Miss Dixie put her gloves on, but as you rate her dress, please …

The finished pen en l’aire (finally!)

Published by The Dreamstress

As promised, Madame Ornata’s lovely, gorgeous, sublime pet en l’aire. With lovely, gorgeous, sublime pictures by Sarah (aka Diana Villiers) ’cause the ones I took on this photoshoot weren’t nearly as good! Don’t you love the colours? And the hat? The hat sure is something isn’t it? That veiling goes past her waist! And look at the beautiful detailing on her stomacher! She made the silk roses herself (mad handsewer) and the ruffle is real metal silk. Clearly, Madame O’s stays are doing a good job 😉 Every proper 18th century photoshoot should involve a session on the swing! The rubber matting isn’t exactly historical, but her joy sure makes up for it! Standing on the pier at Bath perhaps? The Georgians did like the seaside! More seaside fun Some very improper behavior for an 18th century lady! For more fabulous photos from the pet en l’aire shoot, check out the rest of Sarah’s livejournal. Especially these ones.

Pet en l’aire progress

Published by The Dreamstress

Remember Madame Ornata’s gorgeous silk brocade pet en l’aire? No? Oh…that would be because I was a bad blogger and forgot to post about it for almost a year. Eeek. Sorry! To make up for that, I’ll give you a little update on the sewing progress, and in just a few days I’ll do a whole post with the finished pet and petticoat and the most gorgeous, drool-worthy stomacher ever. So, sewing updates! When I last posted, Madame O and I had draped the pet, using a lovely cotton voile for the draping so that it could then be used as the lining. We’d also cut out the glorious silk brocade she picked. After the draping, Madame O decided that the voile lining was too white, so she tea-dyed it: It looks much better with the silk brocade too: Madame Ornata then disappeared with all her fabric, and a few days later she casually mentioned that she had ‘gotten a tiny bit of work done’, and would I check it? Yeah, tiny bit! This is …