All posts filed under: 19th Century

Terminology: What is a balmacaan?

We’ve looked at items of womenswear like swiss waists, and fabric for womenswear like aerophane. I think it’s high time for a menswear terminology post. How about a balmacaan? A balmacaan is a single-breasted, unstructured calf-length overcoat with raglan sleeves and a Prussian collar, usually made of tweed or gabardine. Balmacaans started as menswear in the mid-19th century, and were adopted for womenswear at the end of the century (sorry, can’t help it. Pretty much every article of menswear has been incorporated into womenswear at some point). They were particularly popular as motoring coats for women in the first few decades of the 20th century. The name balmacaan comes from the Balmacaan estate which is near Inverness in Scotland. Intriguingly, the term balmacaan for a coat does not seem to have been used in New Zealand, though one of the few New Zealand-born hereditary lords, the 11th Earl of Seaford, inherited the estate as part of his baronetcy. Balmacaans are definitely meant as outerwear. Their loose shape makes them eminently suitable for pulling over layers …

Terminology: What is Aerophane

Published by The Dreamstress

Aerophane has been on my to-do list for a terminology post for ages, and then, when this Rate the Dress turned out to be Aerophane I thought “ah-hah! I simply must do it now!” So what is aerophane? Well, there is a bit of confusion about it. At its most basic, it is a fine, slightly crisp, silk gauze, sometimes with a slightly crinkled, crepe appearance. In The Book of Silk Phillipa Scott describes it as: Fine thin silk crÃªpe, popular in the early nineteenth century for decorative appliques, as raised motifs, or applied and re-embroidered, and for pleated and gathered dress trimmings. ‘Aerophane’ is also used to describe a type of ribbon embroidery, where wider, crisper silk strips are used to create three dimensional ornamentation (usually roses). Aerophane embroidery is probably so called because the silk that was originally used for it was aerophane silk, but it is used somewhat indiscriminately these days, making it impossible to tell if someone means that the aerophane roses on a dress are roses made of aerophane silk, …

Rate the Dress: Purple & bows in the 1860s

Published by The Dreamstress

Sorry dear readers, I haven’t had time to add up the numbers from last week – I’ll try to get to that soon! UPDATE: The Callot Soeurs dress with its layers of sheers in nude and sea blue found APPROVAL in capitol letters from most of you, but those who didn’t like it, really didn’t like it. I rather agreed with Geoffwah that the dress suffered from much-ness, but this opinion was in the minority, and the dress still managed a 7.8 out of 10 This three-part frock from the MFA Boston is a dress for a woman with a definite opinion, and a somewhat limited purse. You’d have to really like purple to wear this dress, especially since you would be wearing it day, and evening. What do you think? Does either bodice work? Is one more effective than the other? Would you give them different ratings? Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10