The Dreamstress

Thanks for your well wishes on lasts week’s Rate the Dress.  My  posts are going to be written with help for at least another week I’m afraid…

Quite mixed feelings on last week’s 1906ish corded velvet ensemble.  Some of you thought it rich and regal, some of you thought it irredeemably ugly, and some of you liked it, except for a) the mismatched lace and/or b) the fabric and/or c) the clunky sleeves.  Lots of things to detract from perfection pulled the score down to 6.6 out of 10.

I personally loved the fabric and would take a chair upholstered in it any day of the week, but do struggle with 1906 sleeves.  They just make me think of an ape posturing to make itself look as big as possible in the chest and shoulders…

This week’s Rate the Dress, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is also purple and black.  The dress,  one of the extremely fashionable new purple shades made possible by the discovery of aniline dyes, features the simple shape and enormous swathes of fabric typical of the mid 1860s, with visual interest achieved through applied ornamentation: in this case an ‘apron’ effect on the skirt, and trimming on the bodice and mancheron sleeves that enhance the illusion of a tiny waist and full rounded bust.

Visiting dress, 1863—65, American, silk, cotton, glass, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1977.204.2a, b

The lace and bead trim anticipates the late-Victorian  fashion  for layered and  trims in jet, lace, and other materials, but  its placement is pure 1860s.

Visiting dress, 1863—65, American, silk, cotton, glass, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1977.204.2a, b

The lace is almost certainly machine made – reflecting all the improvements in machine lace technology since the invention of the bobbinet machine in 1810.

Visiting dress, 1863—65, American, silk, cotton, glass, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1977.204.2a, b

Visiting dress, 1863—65, American, silk, cotton, glass, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1977.204.2a, b

What do you think?  The early-mid 1860s silhouette doesn’t always make for very exciting fashion.  Does this take on the style of its era, with all the new trends, and some unusual  twists on trimming,  do enough to set it apart as interesting, and more importantly, elegant and aesthetically admirable?

Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10.

I’m having some problems with my hand due to an injury, so I can’t do much computer-y (or exciting sew-y, sigh…) stuff at the moment, so things may be a bit quiet here on the blog front here for the next few weeks.  Not too quiet though – the amazing and wonderful Mr D* is helping me to write this post, and to finish off all the draft posts I’ve had sitting around waiting to publish, so there should still be some interesting stuff.

Last week’s 18th century frothy pink masquerade Rate the Dress was quite popular, although some of you didn’t care for the darker bead (?) trim, while others thought it worked, but needed more black.  You did notice the asymmetry of the skirt, but no one seemed to mind it much.  So Arabella managed a very rosy 8.8 out of 10, with only a few tiny flies marring  the ice-cream sundae perfection of her confection (the spots, not the poor ratings).

This weeks  Rate the Dress is the first thing  I randomly chose from my bookmarked list of RtD possibilities (to avoid irritating Mr D too much) – but it works perfectly, because it looks like it could have stepped right out of the 1906 fashion plates I showed you last week, and the spotted lace under-sleeves resonate nicely with the darker spotting on last week’s pink frock.

Afternoon dress, silk & cotton, ca 1905, Galleria del Costume di Palazzo Pitti, 000003281, via EuropeanaFashion

This dress appears to be made from a corduroy or some other type of corded velvet.

Afternoon dress, silk & cotton, ca 1905, Galleria del Costume di Palazzo Pitti, 000003281, via EuropeanaFashion

The spotted net of the sleeves was  particularly fashionable ca. 1905 – it  appears frequently in fashion plates, and I’ve encountered at least three other spotted net sleeves in person in museum collections.

Afternoon dress, silk & cotton, ca 1905, Galleria del Costume di Palazzo Pitti, 000003281, via EuropeanaFashion

The skirt is a five-gored skirt, similar to the Fantail, but with curved panels, creating the typical bell shape of the ca. 1905.

Afternoon dress, silk & cotton, ca 1905, Galleria del Costume di Palazzo Pitti, 000003281, via EuropeanaFashion

What do you think?  Do you like the mix of dark and light, heavy and frothy?

Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

* she told me to write that