Hat, 1920-25, French, Met
Today is ANZAC day, the anniversary of the first major NZ and AU action during WWI. Everywhere across New Zealand, Australia, and some of the rest of the Pacific, people will have little poppies pinned to their lapels in memory of those who served, and those who dies.
Remember what happened, so that we never again let ourselves be led into a situation where such a tragic loss of life becomes inevitable.
Hat, late 19th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Not everyone liked last week’s mid-Victorian paisley wool wrapper on an aesthetic level. But the emotional reaction to it was nothing but complementary; it made you dream of curling up in front of the fire with hot chocolate and a good book. Evoking that response speaks more than any rating could! (But the actual rating was 8 out of 10).
Since last week’s dress was an autumn dress for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere who are looking towards winter, I thought this week I should go with something spring-y for the Northern hemisphere. I also wanted to do a 19teens dress to coincide with Anzac day.
Dress, Evening, 1917, American cotton, silk, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Dress, Evening, 1917, American, cotton, silk - Metropolitan Museum of Art
What do you think? Does this dress just epitomize spring? It is exactly the sort of thing that boys would have dreamt of their girls wearing to dances as they struggled in the muddy trenches of France and the beaches of Gallipoli? Is it the perfect escapism, or too frilly and frivilous to connect with reality?
Rate the Dress on the Scale of 1 to 10?
Last week I was privileged enough to do a photoshoot with Mandi of A La Mode Photography for Radio New Zealand. The photoshoot will be featured on the Radio NZ website to coincide with a programme developed by Clarissa Dunn, who collaborated with me on the Grandeur to Frivolity talk.
The day was just fantastic – three gorgeous models, and Clarissa as an (also gorgeous) advisor and model all in my 17th and 18th century outfits, hair and makeup fully done.
Mandi took a whole series of formal studio portraits while I madly ironed and laced and did hair while all the models who weren’t in front of the camera helped. She’s posted a sneak-peek of the shoot on her website, and now I’m even more excited about seeing the rest, if that is possible!
After the formal studio shots it was time for fun. We ventured out into the streets of Petone, and I captured a series of very un-serious and un-historical, but totally fabulous, images of the models blending modern life and historical dress. Here are my favourites.
