Today is ANZAC day, the anniversary of the first major NZ and AU action during WWI. Everywhere across New Zealand, Australia, and some of the rest of the Pacific, people will have little poppies pinned to their lapels in memory of those who served, and those who dies. Remember what happened, so that we never again let ourselves be led into a situation where such a tragic loss of life becomes inevitable.
Last week you were divided on Anne Miller’s dance routine frock from Easter Parade. Did you rate it as a dance dress? As a pretend historic costume? Most of you loved the stockings, but the reaction to the rest was mixed, balancing out at an unimpressive 5.9 out of 10. Poor Anne. I usually present outerwear as Rate the Dress options, but since you loved Anne’s stockings so much, it occurred to me, why not present underwear? Or at least informal wear? And someone requested an autumn themed Rate the Dress (since it is autumn in NZ), and what is more snuggly and fall-y than a warm, cozy robe for curling up in in front of the fire with an apple and a good book? Something like this perhaps? This cosy wool wrapper from the MFA Boston features warm colours and a paisley inspired pattern. It may or may not be made from a cheaper Western replica of a Kashmiri shawl. It’s even paired with paisley embroidered petticoats. Here is a detail of the pattern: …
Last week’s very red mid-18th century Rate the Dress was awash with confusion. Was Mr Howard really that round and pink? Or did Batoni have it in for his unfortunate sitter? Or was Batoni really quite kind in his painting, indicating that Mr Howard was even rounder and pinker in real life? I am surprised that no one brought up that roundness and pinkness were actually rather admired attributes in the mid 18th century! Perhaps Batoni made him rounder and pinker than usual, and flattered him. But that still left the mystery of why his suit was so very, overwhelmingly, red. Was it supposed to evoke a military uniform? The biggest mystery of all: what was that thing across his crotch? Despite this, red and 18th century most always win out, bringing in a reasonable 6.8 out of 10. Last week I picked red to contrast with the dull colours of the week before. Why this week’s Rate the Dress? Well, I’m in Melbourne, and all the houses in Melbourne are decorated with this amazing …
