The Dreamstress

From bold stripes to delicate embroidery, from bell shapes to slinky slim numbers: we’re shaking things up on Rate the Dress with a Titanic era gown with two formal bodice options. How will the rating shake out in comparison?

Last week: 1850s purple stripes and tassels

Well.  It got compared to a circus tent.  Multiple times.  And lots of you really, really don’t like tassels.  And false fronts.  And the purple was hardly universally popular – not to mention there were diametrically opposite opinions about which possible shade was better!

Some of you even disliked it so much that I had to remove a comment because it veered into being mean and insulting to people who did like the dress.    Please remember to be respectful of other commenter’s right to have different taste from you in Rate the Dress.  The fun is seeing how we all ‘see’ a dress: no one’s opinion is wrong.

While most of you weren’t huge fans, it also got called ‘luscious’, and some of you thought it was really fun and vibrant and quirky – so it had its admirers as well.

The Total: 6 out of 10

It had admirers, but they were an exclusive club!

This week:

Since purple didn’t really work for you, what about pink?

This Titanic-era concoction features white silk overlaid with pink chiffon embroidered with an unexpectedly abstract and modernist design.

The dress comes with two bodices, described as day and evening by the auction house.

The lush silk, beaded chiffon, and trained skirt still suggests a very elegant event.  The day bodice, with its high lace collar, less-beaded bodice, and fichu-effect overlay, was probably worn for formal afternoon receptions, or extremely dressy garden parties – not just for relaxing around the house.

The evening bodice features shorter sleeves, a modest V-neckline which still revealed significantly more skin than the high collar of the day bodice, and a plunging overlay of heavily beaded pink with borders in pink satin – giving the impression of decolletage without any real exposure.

The V of the front neckline is echoed at the back of the dress, with a wrap-effect and an asymmetrical application of satin: both very fashionable ca. 1910

What do you think of this Titanic Era twofer?  Pretty in pink?  Or an odd mix of modernity and missishness?  And do you prefer the day or evening look?

Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

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The response to last week’s Rate the Dress was quite a surprise to me, so this week I’ve picked something surprising: a crinoline era dress that combines a very traditional silhouette, and very traditional trimmings, with very unusual fabric, in a very unusual layout.  What will you make of it?

Last week: A blue bustle-era dress with embroidered roses

I can never exactly predict how a garment will be received, but sometimes I can make a pretty good guess.  Less often, I am totally and completely wrong.  Last week was one of those.  I thought the dress was an awful mish-mash of unrelated ideas, in a very unflattering colour combination.  Most of you, however, did not agree!

The Total: 9.2 out of 10

It’s quite unusual for me to think a dress is a 6, and most of you think it’s a 9 or 10 – usually it’s exactly the opposite.  It’s great though: lovely to see totally different perspectives.

This week:

This striking purple and grey number makes full use of its bold, big stripes to accentuate the design details, from the wide collar, to the darts that shape the bodice.

Rows of tasselled fringe in perfectly matched colours, provide a textural counterpoint to the shiny taffeta, and a visual balance to the strong vertical lines.

The front tassels mimic the desired silhouette, and create the faux-front effect fashionable in the 1850s.

Interestingly the fabric layout mixes balanced and unbalanced stripes, and the dressmaker chose to showcase an unbalanced pattern across the back of the dress, creating an interesting visual asymmetry in a dress that is otherwise completely balanced from side to side.

The various available images show a range of colours, from muted pinky-mauves, to almost blue-purple.

What do you think of the stripey-tassle-y concoction?

Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

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