All posts filed under: 20th Century

Rate the Dress: Springtime evening dress of 1915

Not everyone liked last week’s mid-Victorian paisley wool wrapper on an aesthetic level. But the emotional reaction to it was nothing but complementary; it made you dream of curling up in front of the fire with hot chocolate and a good book. Evoking that response speaks more than any rating could! (But the actual rating was 8 out of 10). Since last week’s dress was an autumn dress for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere who are looking towards winter, I thought this week I should go with something spring-y for the Northern hemisphere. I also wanted to do a 19teens dress to coincide with Anzac day. What do you think? Does this dress just epitomize spring? It is exactly the sort of thing that boys would have dreamt of their girls wearing to dances as they struggled in the muddy trenches of France and the beaches of Gallipoli? Is it the perfect escapism, or too frilly and frivilous to connect with reality? Rate the Dress on the Scale of 1 to 10?

Dancing on the Titanic

Published by The Dreamstress

The Ghosts of the Titanic Ball was last night, and it was fabulous. We had the best time. It was held at Breaker Bay Hall, which is this adorable little 1950s community hall along the coast in Wellington. It has a lovely wood floor, and a itsy-bitsy stage with a mural depicting the scene outside the hall. Here are just a few pictures. I didn’t get that many because I was busy arranging music/refilling the punch bowl/calling dances/greeting people/dancing/posing/teaching. Alas, I didn’t finish the Luna Moth dress in time to wear it. I debated between the Laurel dress and vintage tails, and actually took both to the hall to get dressed there. When it came time to get dressed, I realised I’d forgotten a shirt and bowtie for the tails, so the dress it was! Though I didn’t manage to get a new dress made for myself, I did make two new costumes for other women: a simple mauve-grey overtunic to go with a purple dress I made years ago, and a fabulous gold sheath …

Waialua to Wellington tap pants

Published by The Dreamstress

I love tap pants. You might think that is because I live in Wellington – one of the windiest cities in the world, where the Southerly gales lift your skirts over your head if you are lucky. If you aren’t lucky they are lifting your feet over your head! Or you might think it is because I am into vintage clothing, and dress like an early 20th century fashion plate half the time. My love of tap pants goes back much further than this, to my childhood. I’m kama’aina – Hawaiian born and raised. And in Hawaii, people love shorts. People love shorts so much that little girls wear shorts under their skirts, and bigger girls do too. You know those emails that go around that go “You know you are from _____ if…?”. The one for Hawaii says “You know you are from Hawaii if you always wear shorts under your skirts.” Yep. Tap pants are a part of my culture! These are my favourite tap pants – they work perfectly under any skirt, …