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Pretty princesses in yellow

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week Theresa came to town from Melbourne, and of course we made time to do what we do best together: get dressed to the nines and take pictures.

Last time our theme was late Victorian, this time we went yellow: Ninon on me (yay, finally!) and the pet (Oooooh) on Theresa.

It was a cold, windy, drizzly, overcast day , so an outdoor photoshoot was out.  Ninon can NOT get wet, and I’m not too sure about the water-fastness of the chintz the pet is made from.  Where to go in Wellington that is indoors, attractive, has good lighting, and where they will let you take pictures?

The old Dominion Museum building, now the arts building at Massey University.

We got soooooooooooooo many beautiful pictures.

I managed to edit an hour and a half of photos down to 250 keepers.  Then I had to edit those down to 90 that I really wanted to show you.  More grueling editing, and I’m at 75 that I really, really want to show you.  By the time I’m down to a reasonable amount I’m going to be at really, really, really, really, really, really.

Theresa and I make a great team because we are equally excited about being behind and in front of the camera.  Our shoots are punctuated by excited cries of “Oooh…my turn, my turn!”, and they are equally likely to be a desire to take pictures as to be taken.

Of course, as lovely as it is to take pictures of each other, it’s even better to get some together.  On this occasion we were helped out by a fashion student who had just finished his exams and was waiting for his friends to finish.  Fashion students are used to photographing people in improbably clothes!

Here are the best of the images of Theresa and I together.  Total era mixing, but I rather like that.

I’ll be showing you the other 70 or so soon 😉

The Raspberry Swirl at tea

Published by The Dreamstress

I loved the chance to get the Raspberry Swirl out for the Afternoon Tea talk at Premier House.  It’s had so few proper outings, and I still can’t decide if the evening bodice is actually ‘finished’ or not.

Does it need a bertha?  I’m beginning to think not.  As a cotton dress, an evening bodice is never going to be properly historical, and there are examples of plain evening bodices, sans berthas and much in the way of trimming, in the 1850s.

So then all I really need to do is actually make the day bodice that was always meant to go with this skirt!

Some of you may be wondering what a paisley evening gown has to do with afternoon tea.  It gave me a chance to talk about the continued links between England and India, and the cultural cross-pollination that characterised Victorian England.

It also gave me a chance to talk about the re-thinking of manners and mores in the mid-19th century.  In the 1850s Queen Victoria attended official day events in evening wear.  Why?  It was a carry over from standards of court dress set out by Louis XIV in 17th century France.  Talk about outdated!

Throughout the 19th century Victoria and Albert, and then Edward and Alexandra, with varying degrees of forethought, intent, and success, re-wrote the standards of behavior and dress at the British court and in British society.  British society was the society of the 19th century, so what they did, the rest of the world emulated.  In a convoluted and straightforward way this led to garments like the tea gown, that presented a sense of ease, but within strict societal restraints.

Anyway, I digress!  Here are some pretty, pretty pictures of the ever so sweet and appealing Raspberry Swirl.

And a final photo that really encapsulates how lovely and sweet and mid-Victorian this dress is: