The Dreamstress

Latest Posts

Rococo Ridiculousness in Wellington

Last week it was Georgian shenanigans in the Wairarapa, this week we’re up to Rococo ridiculousness right here in Wellington!

These photos are proof that sometimes taking things seriously definitely isn’t the right way to go.

When Nina and I scheduled our francaise photoshoot with her photographer friend Leon of @apped_as I wanted photos in the gardens with the spring rengarenga lily bloom. He wanted photos in the Wellington train station with its fabulous ceilings.

So, we did both!

The serious costume photos? Eh, they are OK. I’m stiff and posed, and you can tell we’re very cold.

My favourite photos? The ones where we’re just being silly and playing with the preposterousness of our Francaise and the modern world interacting.

And my absolute favourite photos? Those happened after we’d spent a bunch of time freezing our paniers off standing in front of the open doors of the train station so Leon could catch our dresses billowing in the wind. We were cold and tired and hungry, and still had to take garden pictures.

But you know what the Wellington train station has?

A supermarket!

Drinks and chocolate to the rescue!

What are paniers for if not to fill with chocolate?

Did we bemuse the other shoppers and staff? Umm…yeah… But this is Wellington, so everyone just pretended that they were much too cool and cosmopolitan to be surprised by two ladies in full 18th century regalia stocking up on coconut water and Whittakers!

So they basically ignored us. Except for the little girl who wanted to know if we were princesses…

I told her we were even better – we were teachers and costumers! (I’m not sure she was convinced).

All photos by Leon, colour balance and post-processing by me.

Dress, 1927-1928, plastic, silk, Gift of Mrs. Herbert O. Johnson, Goldstein Museum of Design 1981.033.032

Rate the Dress: 1920s voided velvet

Published by The Dreamstress

The last few Rate the Dresses have been quite subdued and muted in their colour scheme. That means it’s time for something bright! How about..orange? And velvet!

Last Week: an 1880s dress with embroidered cherries

I really wasn’t sure how people would feel about last week’s dress. It was so unlike most 1880s garments. Well…most of you loved it! And then some of you really, really didn’t like it, and thought it resembled a straitjacket, and looked ready to scold you. It would be the only cherry embroidered straitjacket to ever exist, that’s for sure! There was also a small group who thought it had definite possibilities, but needed accessories.

The Total: 8.5 out of 10

Just a fraction of a point up from the week before.

Can this week do better?

This week: a 1920s dress of voided velvet in vibrant orange

I felt that there was something a bit staid about last week’s dress, despite its perky pleats and cherry embroidery. This week’s dress, in contrast, is decidedly playful.

The dress is made of voided or ‘devore’ silk velvet in dark orange, with a border pattern of abstract roses and interlocking arches.

The velvet body of the dress is cut in a straight rectangle from shoulder to hip. It has long sleeves with very low, dropped armscyes, forming a ‘batwing’ effect.

The sleeves are made of a light silk chiffon in the same shade of orange as the velvet.

The same chiffon is used to form sashes which fall from a low half-belt which wraps across the back of the dress. The sashes are fastened to the belt with ornamental buckles made from an early form of plastic.

The sleeves and sashes add movement to the dress, creating shape and interest out of the otherwise straight rectangle.

The dress would originally have been worn with a slip underneath, likely in a matching orange, but possibly in a skin tone. At this date it’s unlikely the underdress would have been cut on the bias, so even in a skin tone it would have been as straight as the outer dress, and would not have revealed the body as the mannequin is revealed in these photos.

What do you think? How does this rank as a 20s frock?

Rate the Dress on a Scale of 1 to 10

A reminder about rating — feel free to be critical if you don’t like a thing, but make sure that your comments aren’t actually insulting to those who do like a garment. Phrase criticism as your opinion, rather than a flat fact. Our different tastes are what make Rate the Dress so interesting. It’s no fun when a comment implies that anyone who doesn’t agree with it, or who would wear a garment, is totally lacking in taste.

As usual, nothing more complicated than a .5. I also hugely appreciate it if you only do one rating, and set it on a line at the very end of your comment.

Amalia Jacket and 18th century dress ups thedreamstress.com

Georgian Shenanigans in the Wairarapa

Published by The Dreamstress

Five years ago on Labour Weekend Stella, Priscilla and I threw up our heels and scampered off to New Plymouth, to play with deer, and dress up in Edwardian costumes, and take lots of photos.

Quite a lot has happened since then: marriages, children, moves across the country, houses have been built and bought…and I started Scroop Patterns!

This year we decided that five years was far too long, and it was time we did it again – especially as New Zealand relaxed Covid restrictions just in time for us to plan.

So we booked a cute cottage out in the Wairarapa, and set out on three days of fun and friendship, and a well deserved break after a very stressful year. And dress ups and photos – if I could find the energy to organise that!

I was juuuuust about to finish my first Amalia Jacket toile (in fact, I finished it on this weekend), so decided on an 18th century theme.

I basically just threw everything that might fit either Stella or Priscilla and that was 18th c in my car.

The goal was just to have fun. Dress up, be ridiculous, enjoy each others company, take photos, that’s it. We didn’t worry about looking perfect, or being accurate.

Stella’s never worn my pet-en-laire, so she picked that.

Priscilla’s borrowed pretty much every costume of mine that might plausibly fit her at one point or another. She opted to mix things up with some menswear. It only took a couple of safety pins and a few basted seams to keep her in it!

My Edwardian tricorne was a trifle anachronistic, but fit the mood. I’d brought some shoe options too, but turns out Pricilla already had the perfect shoe match! (also, can we take a moment to appreciate her calves? They would be the envy of any 18th century gentleman!)