It takes at least 45 minutes to write a Rate the Dress Post (find dress, download images, format if necessary, upload, write post, link everything), and lately, I’ve just struggled to find the time. It’s the end of the year at Toi Whakaari (graduation is tomorrow!), work is hectic, and the weather is warming up, so when I have down time I just want to be outside.
So this weeks Rate the Dress pick reminds me of spring flowers and strawberry ice cream. It’s possibly a little un-complicated, because I’m not in an over-thinking mood. Hopefully it’s enough for you to rate though!
Last week: an 1870s evening dress ensemble — complete with shoes
So, that’s a no on the very gold front and very green back then. And many of you found the mis-matched shoes annoying rather than witty – or if they were witty, that didn’t carry over into the dress. Daniel called the dress “ugly-chic austere luxury”. A few of you did love the dress, but on the whole the scores were some of the most uniform a dress has every gotten – a sea of 6s & 7s, for a dress of two halves that didn’t come together as a cohesive whole.
The Total: 7 out of 10
Worse than the week before, and very reflective of the overall sentiment!
This week: an 1770s-80s pink gown
LACMA identifies this dress as a Robe a la Anglaise (with the centre back of the bodice and the skirt cut as one piece), but looking at the images, I think it’s an Italian gown, with the skirt and bodice cut completely separately.
Or perhaps it has some elements of the construction of both types of dresses? When fashion is in transition garments don’t always fall into one category or another. Modern Mantua Maker did a wonderful instagram thread showing how the pink striped dress at the Met has elements of the cut and construction of both Anglaise & Italian gowns.
This is certainly a simpler and more straightforward dress than the striped Met dress. Skirt, petticoat, self fabric trims. Sorted. It probably also has simpler construction.
Does its simplicity work? Does it make you feel all rosy and happy?
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!)
