It’s cold and winter-y and rainy here in NZ, and I planned to find something deliciously floral and summery and light to show you for this week’s Rate the Dress, but somehow my inspiration lists and boards just did not supply.  Instead this week’s pick is dark and lush and winter-y. Perhaps that will appeal to those of you suffering with hot weather?  You can dream of a time cool enough to wear it… Last weeks (ish) rating:  an 1890s tea gown in the aesthetic style Most of you liked last week’s dress, but few of you loved it.  It was just…nice.  But not amazing. The Total: 7.9 out of 10 Nice.  Not amazing. This week: an early 1860s formal gown in brocaded silk. The museum listing for this gown describes it as an evening dress, but, despite the lush brocaded fabric, I think it’s actually a formal afternoon dress.  The high neck and long sleeves are more consistent with daywear than evening wear in the late 1850s and early 1860s. The fabric is definitely …

Welcome to all the new readers! Last week’s Rate the Dress must have been shared somewhere, because there was a flood of new commenters. I’m down in Christchurch this week, doing research and visiting Lynne (who you’ll recognise as a frequent commenter on Rate the Dress posts). It’s been a hectic few weeks of wrapping up school terms, and I’m tired, and was feeling quite uninspired about this week’s Rate the Dress. Nothing I could think of seemed perfect. So I pulled out all the options, and read out their basic description to Lynne. Purple floral 1880s? Rust on rust 1876? Black & white striped 1869? Yellow with rosettes 1867-8? Lynne picked the last one, on the premise that it’s spring here, and we’re enjoying a beautiful vase of daffodils, and I went for a walk in the daffodil woods in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens today. She was concerned about the rosettes though: rosettes are so often pinked, and her mothers aversion to unfinished edges has remained. She need not worry about unfinished edges, these …