The Dreamstress

Last week’s Rate the Dress was made up in an extremely classic blue and white stripe – a timeless colour combination and pattern. This week I’ve gone for something decidedly more daring, with a tomato red and fuchsia pairing that few decades would presume to attempt.

Last week: an 1860s day dress (part of a robe a transformation) in blue and white stripes.  

The blue and white stripe of last week’s Rate the Dress was so classic I was pretty sure no one would actually hate it – and as I predicted, the the ratings were more focused on the few things that weren’t perfect, or the fact that it was lovely but couldn’t really be counted as memorable or spectacular, than on the [amusing but] terrible comparisons that some dresses attract.

The Total: 8.8 out of 10

It really pleases me that last week was 7.9 and this week is 8.8. It just feels like balance has been achieved in the universe…

This week:  a 1920s number in tomato red and fuchsia with gold

The 1920s were a daring era for fashion, carrying the style innovations of the 1910s to bold extremes, including the bright colours and improbable hue pairings that started with early 1910s Ballet Russes and ‘exotic’ inspired designs. This dress, which ties tomato red and fuchsia purple together with gold designs that look like they were taken from the margins of illuminated manuscripts, is one such example:

The gold patterning is not the only medieval inspired element to this dress. There is something distinctly tabard or surcote-y about the bold shoulder seam, and the wide sleeves give a nod to the costumes of angels in early Renaissance art:

The gold motifs are very interesting. The flat designs almost appear to be painted or screenprinted on.

There is something quite theatrical, almost costume-y about the dress, but at the same time nothing to specifically suggest it’s not exactly what the museum identifies it as: an evening dress

What do you make of the unusual colour combination and equally unusual motif treatment?

Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

A reminder about rating — feel free to be critical if you don’t like a thing, but make sure that your comments aren’t actually insulting to those who do like a garment.  Our different tastes are what make Rate the Dress so interesting.  It’s no fun when a comment implies that anyone who doesn’t agree with it, or who would wear a garment, is totally lacking in taste.

(as usual, nothing more complicated than a .5.  I also hugely appreciate it if you only do one rating, and set it on a line at the very end of your comment, so I can find it!  And 0 is not on a scale of 1 to 10.  Thanks in advance!)

Stripes are a classic pattern which appear in almost every era of dress. Some fashion historians have claimed that they are most common and fashionable in eras where there has been upheaval and unrest, and there is a general desire for order and simplicity. My life certainly feels very busy and chaotic at the moment (in a good way), and this week’s striped frock, in a cool and relaxing blue and white colour scheme, just jumped out at me as the right pick for rate the dress. Maybe there is something in the claim!

Last week:  an 1890s wedding dress is muted purple with cream and mouse-brown

Everyone loves a bride, but not everyone loves a wedding dress…

Most of you felt there was a lot that was positive to say about the dress as a picture of restrained elegance and practicality. But there was also something not-quite-right about the trim, whether it was an unappealing resemblance to wasps nests, or the suspicion that it was a later add-on that wasn’t up to the general sewing and design standards of the original dress.

The Total: 7.9 out of 10

We’re dropping just a few points each week…

This week:  an 1860s day dress (part of a robe a transformation) in blue and white stripes.

This dress, from the collection of Les Arts Decoratifs, is a robe à transformation: a dress with multiple bodices, or alterable bodices, which allows it to be suitable for wearing at different times of day, or at a range of different events. Unfortunately there are no images of the other bodice to this dress available online, so we are rating the day bodice only:

Both bodice and skirt are made from a thin, lightweight (probably cotton, judging by how visible the hem is) fabric, in a rather bold blue and white stripe.

The stripe of the fabric is used to create visual interest and additional patterning, with a V drawing they eye up the back peplum to the curved back bodice panels which flow up the back like wing lines. The same Vs are repeated on the front of the peplum, drawing the eye to the bust darts. On the skirt the stripes show the exact grain of each skirt panel.

The stripes and the overall design play tricks with your eye, and your mind. From one angle the dress is almost clownishly playful, from another quite severe and restrained. Is it full of little design details, or austere in its simplicity?

Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

A reminder about rating — feel free to be critical if you don’t like a thing, but make sure that your comments aren’t actually insulting to those who do like a garment.  Our different tastes are what make Rate the Dress so interesting.  It’s no fun when a comment implies that anyone who doesn’t agree with it, or who would wear a garment, is totally lacking in taste.

(as usual, nothing more complicated than a .5.  I also hugely appreciate it if you only do one rating, and set it on a line at the very end of your comment, so I can find it!  And 0 is not on a scale of 1 to 10.  Thanks in advance!)