All posts filed under: Admire

The 1660s Ninon gown – now with trimmings!

I’ve held off on trimming the Ninon gown for literally years, because I loved it so much untrimmed, and have been afraid I wouldn’t like it as much trimmed. But I’ve finally sucked it up and done it, and (luckily!) I love it even more with trimming! For trimming inspiration I wavered between the Beaubrun portrait that had been my primary inspiration throughout the making of the dress: And the van der Helst portrait of a couple, which appealed to me because of the simplicity of the trimmings (I know that a gazillion bows going up the front of your bodice doesn’t seem simple, but it’s really such a basic trim): At first I leaned toward the ribbon for simplicity. I’ve got some rather nice quality viscose ribbon that is a good match for the ribbons on van der Helst’s woman in colour, width and texture. I made a bunch of bows from them and pinned them up the front, and while they looked lovely, the were a little too obvious. So I had a …

A Bastille Day Masquerade Ball!

Published by The Dreamstress

There was a ball! And I wore something! (well, of course, and thank goodness!) After a week of dithering (oh dear – it’s not as as bad as say, snivelling, but it’s certainly best to be avoided) over the options and working on all of them at the same time, I decided I liked the way the trim to Ninon was developing so much that I settled on it. I even managed to get a last minute haircut and am 13″ lighter! Also, my mum said I should wear that one, and one should always listen to one’s mother. 😉 I went with a small group, and three of us got ready at my house, to help with lacing and hair-curling and last minute stitching. Oh, and I may not have worn them, but as you can see the Marmotte Masquerade Stays got finished and worn, because the Sewphist is enough shorter in the torso than she could wear them without offending general sensibilities, and she was willing to do the binding on them to …

Heaven on Earth: Mele Cascades, Vanuatu

Published by The Dreamstress

Every winter, NZ television is full of advertisements for escapes to tropical islands. Ads for Rarotonga, Samoa and Fiji dominate, but this year there have been a lot of ads for Vanuatu. Mr D & I went to Vanuatu on holiday last year, and it was amazing. This year Vanuatu is pushing tourism very heavily, because most of the country was devastated by Cyclone Pam this March, and the country desperately needs tourism money to rebuild. Unfortunately I don’t think a Vanuatu holiday is on the cards for us for this year, but I can’t help thinking back to the islands, and thinking of our favourite spots, and wondering how they fared. My favourite spot in Vanuatu was the Mele Cascades. It was, basically, more than anywhere else I have ever been, heaven on earth. I love Hawaii, and it is, beautiful, and wonderful, and it is home, it is tÅ«rangawaewae. I will always go back to Hawaii, dream of a certain valley, feel most connected there. But the Mele Cascades were paradise. They were …