All posts filed under: Admire

Ramsay to Renoir thedreamstress.com

Ramsay to Renoir in photos

My charity talk for LifeLinc went off beautifully last weekend, thanks to fantastic organisation on their part, and an absolutely wonderful set of models. Here are my favourite photos of the day: I couldn’t bring a full contingent of shoes down to Nelson, and the ones I did bring didn’t fit Miss Francaise that well, so we had fun with her shoe collection. Sometimes it’s nice to be historically accurate, and sometimes it’s nice to rock My Little Pony high tops. The Frou Frou Francaise was wearable-done, but needed more trimming.  Having seen it on a model, I’ve decided I’m not totally happy with the back pleats or sleeves, and am going to re-do those. Miss Ninon was the youngest model I’ve ever worked with, and looked absolutely perfect. And what luck to get a model who looks exactly like Jane Bennet! Thank you thank you to all the models, and to everyone who came.

The Pictoral Review, July 1916

Lingerie frocks from the Pictorial Review 1915 & 1916

Following on from my terminology post about lingerie dresses and lingerie frocks, here are a few more advertisements featuring lingerie frocks from the June 1915 and July 1916 issues of the Pictoral Review magazine. These illustrations show patterns sold by the American Fashion Company.  The detailed images give ideas for fabrics and trim, while the simple line drawings show the basic dress lines. Pictoral Review June 1915 Pictoral Review June 1915 Pictoral Review June 1915 The simple line drawings also show other pattern variants, like the fancy puffed mameluke sleeves of 6203, instead of the simpler sleeves shown above. Pictoral Review June 1915 The July 1916 page shows fashions for spectators and sportswomen.  It should be pretty clear which is which! This page is quite interesting, because it shows how garments were considered ‘frocks’ or ‘dresses’ even when they were two-piece garments. (side note, how adorable are those hats?  The sculptural ribbons on the one with the plaid dress, and the little tipped-up bergere revival hat on the far right… delicious!) Check out how the …

Theresa with a Fichu at Old Government House Parramatta, thedreamstress.com

A new 18th century fichu – HSM 2018 #5

I always try to have a bit of handsewing on the go, so I have something to work on while sitting in a waiting room, or whenever else I have a tiny bit of down-time (an all too rare occurrence in my life at the moment, sadly). My last handsewing project was another 18th c fichu – a twin to the one I made back in December, because it’s easier to cut a square and divide it into two triangles than to cut an individual triangle, so you might as well make fichu in pairs! I finished my fichu on the flight to Sydney, just in time for Theresa to wear it for my talk and our photoshoot at Old Government House in Parramatta, Sydney. There isn’t a great deal to say about the fichu’s construction.*  I cut it at 80cm/31.5″ along the straight edges, which creates a 132cm/52″ angled edge.  The little slit in it is 12cm/4.5″ long. The slit allows it to sit nicely and snugly against the back of the neck. The …