All posts filed under: Admire

An Edwardian Evening Gown Interlude II: a touch of modern

Here are more photos from my Edwardian evening gown photoshoot with Theresa. These ones are by our friend Daniil @dmanww, who is seriously the most amazing person ever. He’s always ready to help with anything, including a photoshoot. Sometimes behind the camera, sometimes in front of it: Daniil has also modelled for me! We took most of these photos at the memorial at the Basin Reserve, the old Wellington Cricket grounds. It was hard to keep out all the modern additions and architecture around the memorial out of the photos. After realising how much that limited our angles, we stopped trying to be strictly historical. It was fun mixing it up, with shots of selfies, and 1970s grandstands in the background. What do you think? Should we try to keep it as plausibly period as possible, or is an interesting photo good even if it’s very anachronistic? Other Theresa photoshoots include: ca. 1880 (one and two) 17th & 18thc yellow (one, two and three) hoopskirts (one, two, and three) Regency (one, two & hair), and …

An Edwardian Evening Gown Interlude, with complications

Published by The Dreamstress

Theresa came to Wellington last weekend, and as usual, we did a photoshoot!* This photoshoot was our trickiest yet. The weather had been beautiful for weeks. It was, in fact, way too beautiful. It was so hot I cancelled my 18th century plans. Even with icepacks in the paniers (yep, I tried that!), silk franÃ§aise were just too hot. Instead I decided to go with 1910s Edwardian evening gowns: Theresa in the Laurel & me in Cobwebs. Slightly lighter. Also, as it turns out, slightly tighter. Theresa is slim, but I was really slim when I made the Laurel. And, thanks to the Fortnight in 1916 and the amazing weight-loss properties of a 1916 lifestyle, I was slightly slimmer when I made Cobwebs. Things were…snug. The weather had been beautiful for weeks. It was beautiful all day. And then, just when we finished dressing, masses of clouds rolled in and wiped out the late afternoon sunshine. So the lighting was terrible, and fading fast. We’d planned to go to the Botanical Gardens, but there was …

Rate the Dress: a ca 1900 day dress gets the blues

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week’s 1750s Robe a la Francaise was far better received than I had anticipated. I thought the muddy colours and square shape would put people off. If they weren’t enough, there was the lacklustre presentation and dreadful wig. Despite all those, you found the back pleating sufficiently swooshy, and the fabric sufficiently luxurious, to keep all your ratings at 6 and above. The ratings averaged out at 8.3 out of 10. 8 (or 8.5) was the most commonly rated # for the dress, so for once the ratings reflect the general reaction. This week: A ca. 1900 day dress This week I’ve chosen something in a nice bright, bold colour: a ca 1900 day dress in deep blue printed silk: The silhouette of this dress, with its drooping bell sleeves, not-yet-excessive pigeon breast, and gored skirt with ruffled hem, is absolutely typical of fashionable 1900s dress. The S-curve has yet to reach its most outrageous proportions, but is definitely in evidence. The only throw-back is the sleeve heads, which retain a slight fullness. The …