All posts filed under: 19th Century

Nana’s Corset – beginnings

Remember how I posted that I wanted to finish a corset so I could make shorts so I could make panniers? Well, you have seen the shorts, the panniers are done but yet to be posted about, but the corset isn’t quite finished. But it looks pretty amazing anyway, and here is a sneak-peek: This corset is my long planned, long awaited version of the Nana corset for me. I’m never going to achieve quite as many curves as Nana (and also, I’m not a teenage courtesan who destroys the lives of every man she encounters – but Manet didn’t know that) but I’m pretty pleased with how I look in it. The images of me in the corset are courtesy of Mrs C, who kindly took photos on her camera at a sewing night at her place when I stupidly forgot to bring a memory card for my camera. D’oh! I’ve been working on it since the sewing night, and the corset is almost done. I just need to finish the binding on the …

Rate the dress: plaid in 1840

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week’s St Patrick’s themed dress elicited some strong reactions. Some love, some loathing, and a lot of “Well, the skirt is great, but that bodice…ewww” and “I love the bodice…but the skirt is just OTT.” The dress needed to be cut in half! The divided opinions cut the rating to 7.4 out of 10 – not quite a pot of gold, but at least the shine didn’t completely disappear like leprechaun gold. This week I’m leaving behind naturalism and historicism, and looking at geometry, and cutting edge design. Well, cutting edge for 1840: The skirt pleating, the bias cutting of the bodice, the elaborate pleated bertha, the wrapped sleeves, the buttons: every element of the dress shows off the distinctively unusual eggplant, mallard blue and mustard plaid. What do you think? Does the unusual almost-plaid work? Does the drape of the dress work? Or is it all just a bit too weird and strange and experiemental? Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

Rate the Dress: Clovers & green in 1897

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week Elizabeth of Bohemia in her flowered frock elicited lots of comments on early 17th century silhouettes, farthingales, ruffs, and the advisability of dressing children as adults, but overall the sumptuous fabric won out, and she got the best rating yet for a first-quarter-of-the-17th century gown, coming in at 8.2 out of 10. As it’s St Patrick’s day week I thought it would be fun to have a St Patrick’s themed Rate the Dress. What could be more Irish (only, well, it’s French) than this medieval influenced gown from 1897 from Les Arts Decortifs? It’s got clovers! It’s green! Is it adorably timely or just a bit too costume-y? Will this dress get lucky and hit the pot of gold (OK, I really need to stop now) or prove to be no more than Leprechaun’s treasure – where the gleam wears off when you try to grasp it (OK, I really, really need to stop now). Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10