After all the excitement of the festive fancy frock-a-thon, it was hard to pick an ensemble that wouldn’t seem like a letdown for this week’s Rate the Dress. Hopefully this week’s pick is interesting enough to pique your interest, even if it isn’t a glittering evening gown.
Last week: a sparkly, pleated, bow-bedecked 1920s frock
Last week’s 1920s dress didn’t receive quite the enthusiastic reception that heralded the House of Worth frock of the week before – at least in the number of commenters. Those that did rate it, however, quite liked it (except the bow), and so it received exactly the same rating!
The Total: 9.3 out of 10
I was very surprised by how many people didn’t like the bow (and didn’t realise that it was exactly the same fabric as the bodice – it just appears different because you’re seeing many layers of it). Rachel’s comment sums up exactly how I feel about the bow and the dress. Without it, I thought the dress would actually have been very boring and ordinary. But, of course, different opinions are what make Rate the Dress interesting!
This week: a ca 1870 dress in deep raspberry pink, with two types of fringing
This ca. 1870 dress is a classic example of the transition from the hoopskirt era to the first bustle era. There is still significant fullness in the skirt, with the addition of definite back projection.
The raspberry pink shade is typical of the bright hues favoured throughout the 1860s and into the 1870s. It’s hard to tell if the slight colour difference across the dress are the result of fading and dye changes, and are not original to the dress, or if they are intentional (or a combination of both). The hem ruffles do seem to be a distinctly darker hue than the rest of the dress. The macrame fringe may have once coordinated with them perfectly, but has faded more than the rest.
The dress is decorated with self-fabric pleated trim with unravelled fringed edges, additional macrame fringing, and deep pleats at the hem.
It’s definitely frillier and more ornamented that 1860s fashions, but hasn’t yet hit the extravagance of every type of ornamentation and trim that is seen in later 1870s fashions.
So, what do you think of this dress that sits between the screaming brights of the initial aniline craze, and the darker, heavier hues of the 1880s; between the enormously wide skirts of the elliptical crinoline and the enormously bustly-bustle of the first bustle era; between the relative simplicity of the 1860s and the ornamented extravagance of the late 1870s?
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!)