The Dreamstress

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Why the robe a la francaise still isn’t done….

Yep. I’m spectacled.

I’ve been noticing for a few months that my eyes ached after I’d been doing a lot of detailed hand-sewing, or a lot of research on the computer. I tried to ignore it for a long time. After all, I’ve always had perfect vision, my parent’s didn’t get reading glasses until their late 50s, everyone else in my family has perfect vision…

But I did end up avoiding reading and research and hand-sewing, and reading on the computer, and that wasn’t good. So finally, last week, after a doing a lot of reading for university work, I noticed how bad I felt, and finally got myself to an optometrist.

Turns out that while my vision is still excellent, I am the tiniest bit long-sighted, and have a slight astigmatism. It’s so minor that most people wouldn’t notice, and wouldn’t need glasses, but since I spend hours peering at old newspaper articles online, and teeny-tiny stitches in fabric, I give my eyes a serious workout.

So I need glasses for reading and fine sewing.

They just came in yesterday, and I’m getting used to using them. I can definitely tell that they help with the reading, but I’m still figuring out how to sew and watch TV at the same time. Having a long nose so that I can let them slide down and peer over the top helps.

So, once I’ve totally figured out the glasses, and they stop giving me vertigo as my eyes adjust, I’ll finally be able to get back into the serious hand-sewing of the robe Ã la franÃ§aise, and catch up on my blog reading. Yes.

On the bad side, custom glasses in NZ (and they have to be custom because of the astigmatism) are expensive, and having to get these means I can’t get the American Duchess Pompadour shoes which are currently on pre-order. I just saved up for them and instead I have glasses. I’m just going to cross my fingers and hope that there are still some in my size by the time I save up enough fun money again!

The glasses weren’t as pricey as they might have been. I tried on every pair of frames in the shop, and amazingly, the pair I liked best was also the cheapest (I usually have the unerring ability to fall in love with the most expensive thing in any shop), but even the cheapest frames + lenses + optometrist appointments runs around $500 here. The optometrist asked me if I didn’t want to go look for frames at other shops and I said “Are you kidding?!? I like the cheapest frames – why would I tempt fate by looking around until I like something more expensive?”

Sometimes I surprise even myself with how practical and frugal I can be!

If I can’t manage another pair of Pompadours, I’ll have to use my renewed ability for extended detailed hand sewing and challenge myself to make a pair of 1720s appropriate shoes to go with my robe de cour myself…

Rate the Dress: Silk feathered Redingote

Published by The Dreamstress

I know I need to add up the ratings for Winnaretta Singer, and let you know what her score was, but tonight I just need sleep, so you’ll have to wait a bit. Sorry.

UPDATE: What a fascinating discussion came out of Winnaretta Singer and her checked suit, with people divided on the outfit as a whole, and divided on whether we should consider just the outfit, or the woman and her outfit. I do think that the wearer is so important to an item – there are gorgeous frocks that would look stupid on me, and rather insipid frocks that I could bring to life. Ultimately though, while I completely disagreed with the reasons I concur with Cathy that the outfit was a fashion risk that didn’t pay off. I liked the androgynous silhouette – such a hallmark of late teens and early 20s fashion, and such a refreshing shock after the shapely ‘prettiness’ of earlier teens looks. It was a sharp, deliciously bitter amuse-boche between more standard tasty courses. The hat though, was twee and ridiculous with the clever suit. Or that’s what I thought. Anyway, it rated a 6.9 out of 10 – which is exactly where I would have put it.

On a side note, I should mention that Singers’ flat shoes were definitely a signal that she lived an alternative lifestyle – rather like extremely short hair on a woman today signals her willingness to live outside the norm of societal expectations, although neither necessarily indicates or indicated that a woman is lesbian.

This week, let’s look at another piece of outterwear: a wool redingote with feathered trim:

Pluche de soie trimmed wool redingote, Lancaster-Barreto collection, ca. 1808

The redingote was featured in Napoleon and the Empire of Fashion, so we get to see it fully styled and paired with accessories: ruffled chemisette collar, feathered hat, cameo, marocain purse and gloves.

Redingote of camel wool, with collar, buttons and piping of silk organza, and feathered trim, circa 1808, Lancaster-Barreto collection

Redingote of camel wool, with collar, buttons and piping of silk organza, and pluche de soie (silk feather) trim, circa 1808, Lancaster-Barreto collection

Still, accessorised or not, this outfit is all about the redingote and its detailing, from the feathered trim to the fashionably too-long sleeves.

Redingote of camel wool, with collar, buttons and piping of silk organza, and pluche de soie (silk feather) trim, circa 1808, Lancaster-Barreto collection

UPDATE: Thank you to Sabine, who was the first to properly identified the trim as pluche de soie – silk made to imitate feathers. I’d suspected that is what the trim was, but the only name I knew for it was in Hawaiian, and I didn’t think describing it as a redingote trimmed with lei huluhulu kilika was going to be very illuminating for most of you. And yes, it’s very hard to find, but you can actually make it – with a lot of effort and time!

What do you think? Is it fabulous or feather brained?

Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10.

The Great Wellington Craft Crawl – Part 1

Published by The Dreamstress

For the past few months I’ve been part of the Wellington Sewing Bloggers group. I don’t do most of their challenges, because when they make patterns they have names like Tiramisu and Renfrew, and when I make patterns they have names like Excella and Anne Adams. They are wonderful women though, and one challenge/get together I was definitely in for (well, I had to be, it was my idea!) was a Craft Crawl of Wellington’s sewing and crafty goodness, using the wonderful Craft & Textile Lover’s Guide to Wellington that Maryanne of Made on Marion designed as a guide.

A Craft Crawl is like a pub crawl but way prettier, in every possible way, and just as with a pub crawl, we crossed off the locations on the map as we did them.

On this Saturday we concentrated on the outer-suburb craft locations.

There are actually over 20 Wellington Sewing Bloggers, but it was just Zara of Off-Grid Chic (who has a sewing cat almost as delightful as Felicity, and makes amazing detailed garments), MaryLouise of Thanks, I Made This Myself (who is teaching herself how to sew this year, and doing an awesome job of it) and I on the Craft Crawl.

Stop #1: #17 on The Craft and Textile Lovers Guide to Wellington: Wellington Sewing Services in Kilbirnie Plaza.

We started out the day at Wellington Sewing Services, the best place in Wellington to buy a sewing machine or get one serviced, plus they have tons of quilting fabrics and yarns and ribbons and buttons all your sewing basics.

Zara discovered that cutting mats come in PINK (and this one was reversible – cm on one side, inches on the other, which is super helpful when you sew in NZ) AND they don’t even charge extra for it being a ‘girl’ colour.

Zara bought some thread, MaryLouise bought the cutest buttons ever (ceramic cats and sheep and hedgehogs made in South Africa) and an iron protector.

Purchases in hand, we popped around the corner to:

Stop #2: #14 on The Craft and Textile Lovers Guide to Wellington: Stitchbird Fabrics.

Stitchbird is basically the home of all things cute and gorgeous and adorable and more-ish, particularly amazing designer fabrics like Echino and Alexander Henry etc. Everything is so gorgeous and tempting that you can’t decide what to buy! They sell fabrics like the stuff I made my Mad, Bad & Dangerously Green Shorts out of, and the Love at First Flight Dress. Yum…

MaryLouise bought some gift labels, and we resolved to have a WSB challenge that centred around Stitchbird fabrics, so that we would have an excuse to go treat ourselves to the amazing wares.

Just across the street is:

Stop #3: #1 on The Craft and Textile Lovers Guide to Wellington: Asia Gallery

I love the Asia Gallery, but MaryLouise and Zara had never been there before.

Zara basically had a too-much-goodness meltdown moment:

MaryLouise found the thing: a child’s kimono, with a photograph of the child in it attached.

We all got super excited and bought a ton of fabulous fabrics. Zara pretty much bought a capsule wardrobe in kimono fabrics.

She got the honour of crossing the Asia Gallery of the Craft Crawl map:

After the Asia Gallery, it was into the cars, and ’round the southern coast of Wellington, past some amazing views…

…(crafts and scenery! So much goodness!) to…

Stop #4: #16 on The Craft and Textile Lovers Guide to Wellington: The White Room Gallery at the Empire Cinema.

The White Room, located in the Empire Cinema, means that you can sample crafty gorgeousness before or after your film.

It’s more of a shop for already-made crafts, rather than materials, so perfect for birthday and holiday gifts.

The White Room is crammed FULL of pretty stuff, from an entire wall of owl themed things:

To jewellery and mobiles and cut glass and tins and pretty tea towels and napkins and a fabulous vintage book which (sadly) was not for sale.

I bought lip butter and a little sewing-themed tin to store my needles and scissors in when I travel (it’s so cute!).

After tea we got in the car and headed uphill to Karori for:

Stop #5: #12 on The Craft and Textile Lovers Guide to Wellington: Piece by Piece Quilting Store.

So much delicious fabric! It makes me want to quilt…

Of course, you don’t have to use this stuff for quilting. I discovered that Piece by Piece carries vintage reproduction fabrics. Swoon!

There was so much goodness that we decided we couldn’t limit the ’boutique fabrics’ challenge to Stitchbird, so it will now include Piece by Piece and Nancys and Made on Marion on the list!

I bought silk thread (a new kind, which I haven’t tried) and Zara bought Piecemakers needles, and WE WILL BE BACK.

Down the other side of the hill is:

Stop #6: #3 on The Craft and Textile Lovers Guide to Wellington: The Craft House.

The Craft House sells stuff for papercrafts and scrapbooking.

A long time ago, I actually did scrapbooking, and still have some of the supplies. I haven’t touched it in ages, but I mean to pick it up again to document my dresses: I think that a page with images of the finished dress, and scraps of fabric from it, and the notions, is the best way to keep a record of them. It will be like Barbara Johnsons album, but for my sewing!

I picked up some of the label holders that you attach to drawers and boxes so that you can keep a record of what is in them.

Just down the road is our final stop of the day:

Stop #7: #11 on The Craft and Textile Lovers Guide to Wellington: Nancy’s Embroidery Shop.

In addition to materials for every possible kind of embroidery, Nancys sells Bernina sewing machines, and yarn, and yet more gorgeous quilting fabric.

Zara and MaryLouise got excited about the embroidery stuff:

By this time I was pretty worn out, but managed a final smile for the ‘Hey, we did it!’ shot:

I headed home for a rest, but the last I heard the other two were still going strong, finding goodies to drool over and buy…

Next Craft Crawl we’re hitting all the inner city shops!