All posts filed under: 19th Century

Rate the Dress: 1830’s menswear

Despite my concerns about your interest in last week’s Victorian Batgirl dress (black and white and a fashion sketch), it attracted lots of attention. So much discussion about bats and aesthetics, and links to modern versions of the dress! It rated an 8.3, because while some of you thought it was fabulous, a few of you don’t care for Victorian fancy dress. This week I felt it was time for a change – we leave the details of the Renaissance, the splendor of Worth, the puffs of James, the wacky sexiness of Victorian fancy dress, indeed, all the frills and furbelows of womenswear, behind. Instead, we look at menswear. What will you think of this restrained man’s ensemble from the early years of the Romantic era? The fitted blue silk jacket dates to 1833, and is worn with a palest yellow waistcoat, pleat-front buff trouser-breaches with stirrup bottoms, and a black silk cravat. Simple with a touch of interest, or boring and mismatched? Rate the outfit on a scale of 1 to 10

Those crazy (creepy) Victorians – take 4

Published by The Dreamstress

Some time ago, someone mentioned Walter Potter to me, but foolishly, I didn’t look in to him. Last week, I was reminded again. And boy, have my eyes been opened. This is Walter Potter: He looks like a lovely, staid Victorian gentleman. Until you see what he did for a job. This is Potter’s most famous work: Yes, those are kittens. Taxidermied kittens. Having a tea party. Felicity does not approve. (Damian Hirst does though, go figure) Potter worked with other animals too: Who thinks up exercising toads? I mean, really!?! Apparently they are all mechanised, and do their individual exercises. Freaky. When bunnies at school starts too look ‘normal’, you know you have seen too many of these works. Only the Victorian’s could have thought up, and celebrated, something like this. The genre is called ‘Victorian Whimsy’. Really. Potter ran a museum dedicated to his works in Brighton. Tourists could take special coach trips from Brighton just to see the works too. I kid you not. Should you really feel the need to see …

1880â€²s fancy dress — it’s electric!

Published by The Dreamstress

I’ve been itching to show off this dress for ages. It’s from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York. I saw (and photographed) it over five years ago, during their Glamour, New York Style exhibition. I have searched at length, and cannot find any better contemporary images of this dress on the internet, so the best I can give you are my shaky photos taken without flash (and with the museum’s permission) in 2005. Luckily, there is lots of information on the dress on the internet. It was worn at the 1883 fancy dress ball thrown by Alva Vanderbilt (mother of the famously beautiful, and tragic, Consuelo Vanderbilt) as an excuse to get The Mrs Astor to recognise her and allow the Vanderbilts entrance to the upper echelon of New York society. The ball involved 1200 guests and reportedly cost $3 million dollars. It was held at the Vanderbilt’s newly completed French Renaissance style mansion at 660 Fifth Avenue. This dress was worn by Alva Vanderbilt’s sister in law, Alice Claypoole …