Latest Posts

Rate the dress: Fretwork evening gown, 1893

Last week’s very red mid-18th century Rate the Dress was awash with confusion.  Was Mr Howard really that round and pink?  Or did Batoni have it in for his unfortunate sitter?  Or was Batoni really quite kind in his painting, indicating that Mr Howard was even rounder and pinker in real life?  I am surprised that no one brought up that roundness and pinkness were actually rather admired attributes in the mid 18th century!  Perhaps Batoni made him rounder and pinker than usual,  and  flattered him.  But that still left the mystery of why his suit was so very, overwhelmingly, red.  Was it supposed to evoke a military uniform?  The biggest mystery of all: what was that thing across his crotch?  Despite this, red and 18th century most always win out, bringing in a reasonable 6.8 out of 10.

Last week I picked red to contrast with the dull colours of the week before.  Why this week’s Rate the Dress?

Well, I’m in Melbourne, and all the houses in Melbourne are decorated with this amazing metal fretwork.  I spent all of yesterday walking around, taking pictures of it, and saying “Oooooooh.”  I couldn’t decide what to do for ‘Rate the Dress’, and asked friends and readers.   One suggested Autumn, another a movie costume, and a third something Japanese to go with the Japanese patterns I posted yesterday, but Theresa (my hostess) suggested I do one inspired by the fretwork.

Ooooooh!

So I’ll get to the autumn and movie themes in the coming weeks, but for now, a Melbourne-fretwork inspired Rate the Dress in the form of an 1890s evening gown by Worth from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston:

Evening dress, French, About 1893, Charles Frederick Worth, MFA Boston

Worth evening gown, bodice detail

Worth evening gown, skirt detail

What do you think of the pale pink brocade with its latticework patterns, and the way the design is highlighted with beading and applique on the skirt front?  Does the asymmetrical fall of beads across the bodice add interest to the dress, or unbalance the whole aesthetic?

Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

Early 1950s fashions & fabrics in Japan, Part 5 of 5

This is it.  The last few pages of my catalogue of early 1950s sewing patterns and fabrics for the Japanese market.  No I guess I’m going to have to start making some of them up!

There is actually a little story to these photographs that I haven’t told you.  I went out one afternoon, bought lots of delicious things at the Asia Gallery, got given the patterns, was having an absolutely fabulous day.

Then I got home.

And realised I didn’t have my key, and the house was completely locked up.  Blast!

Mr D would be home from work in an hour or so, and it was the middle of summer, so light and warm, so I decided to wait it out.

Felicity came out of her cat door and meeped at me while she tried to work out why I wasn’t coming inside.  And I tried to find something to occupy my time.  I realised I had my camera (I always have my camera) and the catalogue to look at.  So all of these photographs were taken outside on my front steps on a late summer afternoon while I waited to get inside.  Irritating at the time, but a charming memory in retrospect!

I wonder what secrets the two on the left are sharing?

Love the massive flowers and cunning belt of the 2nd from the left!

Three charming but practical dresses

I think the one on the left is my favourite dress in the whole book! It's soooo darling!

Smart wear for shopping

More cute fabrics

Doggie and duckie stuffed toys for the little ones

I love this leaf fabric, and its in my favourite colours

Flowers? Seashells? Abstract squiggles?

Music and birds...this seems familiar!

Strawberries! Sometimes the vintage cliches are true!

Cat Nap

Oh dear.  I’ve been dreadfully busy, and a dreadfully lax blogger, and have missed a few posts.

And I’m still busy!  Busy having an AWESOME time in Melbourne of course!

But I am going to try to be a good little blogger anyway, with the last of my posts on early ’50s fashion in Japan tomorrow, and Rate the Dress on Tuesday (because I never miss Rate the Dress!).  And on Wed I’ll tell you a little about Melbourne.  And when I get back to NZ it will be sewing galore, because I’ve been doing so much.  And some exciting new projects.  Good fun!

For now, here are a few images of Felicity being her cutest as she naps in her favourite sunny spot on the corner of the couch.