All posts filed under: Admire

The 1910 Little Miss Muffet at the Village Fete Dress thedreamstress.com

Magic in them thar hills: an Edwardian photoshoot at Otari Wilton’s Bush

Remember my yellow 1920s dress, and how I said it was magic? Now I think maybe the magic is in Otari Wilton’s Bush instead. I’ve never done a photoshoot at Otari Wilton’s that hasn’t looked beautiful: there is something about the trees and the angle of the light that is just perfection. Case in point: Theresa was in town last weekend, and, as we do, we had a dress-up photoshoot. I picked Otari Wilton’s Bush as our location, because Theresa had never been there. Theresa wore the 1910 Miss Muffet at the Village Fete dress, and I wore a brand-new just-finished dress from an original 1919 pattern, and my tricorne revival hat. I actually made the dress as a wearable toile, because I wasn’t sure about the pattern. And… We love it all. Out of 760 photos, at least 500 of them are good enough that I’d be proud to show you! (which is actually a problem, because I’m pretty sure you don’t want to see 500 photos!) So here is a quick look at …

1760s Frou Frou Francaise thedreamstress.com

The Frou Frou Francaise – almost there

Published by The Dreamstress

After many, many bouts of unpicking and re-sewing the 1760s Frou Frou Francaise is almost there. Maybe. I’ve unpicked nearly every seam in the dress and re-sewn it at least three times, and I still can’t get it to a place where I’m really happy about it. So I don’t know when I can stop and call it done, because the more work I invest in it, the more I feel I need to get it right, and right now…it isn’t quite there. The last time you saw it it was worn by a model at Ramsay to Renoir in Nelson. I also blogged about making the sleeves, and how their fit wasn’t quite right. When I looked at the photos from Ramsay to Renoir the Francaise was pretty, but something about it wasn’t quite right to me. I looked at it, and looked at it, and couldn’t figure it out. Then I posted this francaise for Rate the Dress, and my mind went ‘ah hah!’ What my Francaise was missing was the floating pleats. …

The 1899 tea gown gets and outing (and tea)

Published by The Dreamstress

I made my 1899 tea gown back in 2012, and until this year, I’d never found an excuse to wear it myself. It’s been worn by models, but not by me. The Sew & Eat Historical Retreat was the perfect excuse to remedy that. We were having afternoon tea, and there was talk of everyone wearing 18th century, but my Francaise wasn’t going to be done in time, and in any case, my tea gown has a sacque back! Amazingly, 6 years after making it, it actually still fits me (the same cannot by said of everything I’ve made in the last 6 years…) My sewing skills have definitely grown since making it, and the problem with the fabric becomes more obvious every time I pull out the tea gown (its got metal in it, and WONT uncrumple. We ironed it for nearly an hour before I wore it, and you can see what it looks like…), but I still love it. It’s so elegant… Maybe someday when I have lots of free time (laughs …