All posts filed under: 18th Century

A little mending

I actually did do some mending for the Make Do & Mend HSF challenge: there has just been so much else to post that I haven’t gotten around to writing about it! First, a little 10 minute mend.  One of the bones in my 1770s silver gilt stays was the tiniest bit too long, and had worn a hole in the kid leather binding: I unpicked that section of the binding, slipped it off the tab, pulled out the bone, cut it shorter, and smoothed it off: Then I pushed the bone back in, and used a tiny piece of leftover kid to patch the area with the hole: All that was left to do was to slip the original binding back on, and re-sew it down: The Challenge:  #1: Make Do & Mend Fabric:  a tiny scrap of kid leather Pattern:  My own, based on one in Jill Salens ‘Corsets’ book. Year:  ca. 1770 Notions:  Just thread for the mending. How historically accurate is it?  Period stays were certainly mended, but my binding technique …

Rate the Dress: ca. 1800 innovation & tradition

Last week  I was a little disappointed in the lack of interest in Élisabeth de Valois and her velvet dress.  I thought it was a fascinating fashion choice, but it just wasn’t a good week for discussions.  Those of you who commented did like it though – it came it at 8.6 out of 10, which was just off its most common rating (8.5).  And it was a big hit as a pinterest pin, which is always a good indication of popularity! This week, let’s return to the HSF as a source of inspiration for my Rate the Dress choices.  The next fortnight’s theme is ‘Innovation’ and one of the most innovative fashion periods ever was the streamlined neoclassical styles of the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century.  Few fashion innovations are introduced completely out of nowhere: there is often a period of transition, in which elements of the old style mingle with the new trend. This dress represents both the innovation, and the transition: radical in its overall simplicity, it …

Terminology: What is a reticule or indispensable?

Since I don’t want my HSF-marathon posts to get monotonous, I’ve come up with the clever idea of combining them with other thematic posts, for double-goodness.  Today I have a cute finished project, and a long overdue terminology post. First, some terminology: A reticule is a small drawstring bag carried as a purse by a woman in the 18th and early 19th century.  It was also used as a synonym for any kind of purse or handbag carried by a woman. The name comes from the latin reticulum, meaning a net or mesh bag (the same word has given its meaning to reticle – the cross-hairs (or net) in a firearm scope or telescope).  It entered English, as so many fashion words did, from the French, in this case, reticule. The word was first used in the 1730s, but remained relatively uncommon through the 18th century.  The Memoirs of the Reticule states ” I am not aware of any mention of the reticule until after the French Revoluton.” At the end of the 18th century, …