All posts filed under: 20th Century

Rate the Dress: Extremely green in 1919

Despite the difficult rust colour of last weeks 1840s dress you quite liked it, and thought it one of the best examples of its era. It rated a quite fabulous 9.2 out of 10. This week I thought I should pick something a bit brighter: This end of the ‘teens dress from the Metropolitan Museum of Art is all chartreuse velvet and gold lace. Do you like the bold colours and the transition from Directorie revival to the 20’s silhouette? Or is it too garish, and neither one period nor the other? Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

Finished project: The Summertime Southerly 1931 dress

Published by The Dreamstress

I’ve finished another dress this week: a wool crepe dress from a 1931 pattern. I killed two birds with one stone with this dress: this week’s theme on the Sew Weekly was ‘Down Under’ (sew something from the opposite season to the one you are experiencing), and next week’s theme is ‘UFO’. This dress does both. Well, sort of. It’s definitely a UFO: I started it at the beginning of spring, with the idea that if I sewed a wool dress Murphy’s law would the weather would definitely be too warm to wear it! The weather may have cooperated, but the dress got set aside when other stuff became more pressing. The ‘Down Under’ challenge was a bit murkier. The whole idea of ‘seasonal’ weather in Wellington is just ridiculous though. We are the land of four seasons in one day (yes, I know you have that stuck in your head now. You’re welcome). On various days this week I’ve been in jeans, wool tops and wool socks, and shorts and a singlet. What on …

Elise’s gift: the 1920s tunic

Published by The Dreamstress

Sometimes my life is really amazing. Almost two years ago Elise asked me about inspiration for an Art Deco wedding gown. I posted a whole week’s worth of pictures. We chatted a bit by email, she picked the most adorable modern Art Deco dress, and I sewed and sewed. And then she contacted me again: her mother had given her a bunch of 1920s and 30s clothes from a museum clear-out. Would I like them? Would I!?! So I paid shipping and Elise sent me a box of gorgeous vintage things which I drooled over and meant to show you right away and just got caught up in too much other stuff and didn’t get around to photographing. But now, months and months and months later, I have. So for the next couple of months I’ll be showing you images of the stuff Elise sent, and giving a bit of info on dates and background and stuff. And because I’m nice, I’ll be showing you the most interesting garment first: a spangled gold on black …