All posts tagged: 1870s

More terminology: What is a pardessus?

Continuing on from my post about guimpes, I’ve been noticing all sorts of costuming words that I see, and can guess what they mean, but never properly research. My latest word is pardessus. V&E posted a gorgeous 1874 pardessus pattern that started my research. Pardessus, unglamorously enough, just means ‘overcoat’, from the French ‘passed over’. We can see the term, or variants of it, used in early French fashion magazines. The notes for this fashion magazine from 1814 described the garments as 1. Robe de Levantine et fichu-canezou garni en broderie. Chapeau en Gros de Naples garni dune ruche de gaze. 2. Canezou de velours. Jape de reps garnie en rouleaux. Chapeau en velours epingle garni de plumes d’Autruche. 3. Par-dessus four-6 en merinos garni de chinchilla. Toque de velours plein garni de roses. The term pardessus gained popularity in English in the 1840s as a term to describe a mantle, along with pelisses, paletots, camails, and crespins. Mentions of pardessus are most common in English fashion magazines in the ’40s & ’50s, and American …

Rate the Dress: Purple and Black in 1870

Published by The Dreamstress

Last week you disapproved of Elizabeth Taylor’s very frilly, very feminine, very pink and white, and not very historical Civil War era-ish dress for 1957’s Raintree County. It came in at a dismal 3.7 out of 10. The only thing that saved the score from being one of the lowest ever was that most of you felt that Liz would look good in anything. This week I stick with a bi-coloured gown, but it’s all a little darker and scarier and quite a lot less lacy. To get you in the mood for Halloween, here is a purple and black dress from 1870. And a back view that shows you much more of a rather scary orange paisley shawl than it does of the dress itself: What do you think of the striking striped frock? Are purple and black just a little too-Halloween-y at any other time of the year, even if the purple is verging on violet? Do the stripes and the fringe charm you or scare you? Rate the Dress on a scale …

Impressions of undergarments

Published by The Dreamstress

Impressionism is famous for capturing the mood of scenes, and the nuances of everyday life, so it’s no surprise that many impressionist artists were inspired by the most ordinary, but intimate moments of life: the act of getting dressed. The most famous Impressionist painting depicting underwear doesn’t show quite such an ordinary scene. Manet’s Nana looks sweet enough, but subtle clues in the painting reveal her identity as a courtesan. I love how you see the rounded stomach, and the flesh of her thighs bumping up below the corset. It’s so realistic, despite the glamour of the setting. I wonder if ‘Before the Mirror’ shows the same model, and the same corset, as Nana? It’s certainly a possibility. I love how this one echoes the garter tying in Boucher’s La Toilette De Witte’s painting does a good job of showing an underbust corset, and the way the bust sits above it. Degas work is a great illustration of how you put on a corset. The model must have had someone to help her with …